Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

  Someone needs to step up and tell it like it is. I understand that most people writing Delaware River reports have a horse in the race. They paint a picture of beautiful fall colors, speak of "tinted" water helping the streamer fishing, talk of olive sipping fish in the evening, all in an effort to get fishermen up to their lodges for one last fling. Other, perhaps more ethical writers, just don't update their reports from August 'til October. The truth is that the water currently being released from Cannonsville at 1,150cfs, closely resembles coffee with two creams, and it is unsafe for most to wade. Despite the mud, almost all fish can identify the pattern and tier of every streamer thrown, and virtually no fish are rising to eat size 22/26 size olives in the current high water sea of mud. The UEB. EB and Bk on the other hand, are so low and clear that a false cast puts fish down. There is no good justification for spending money on lodging and a guided trout fish...

  If today was still the end of the trout fishing season, as it was many years ago, I could have hung up my waders without shedding a tear. To be sure it's been a difficult and challenging season, I've been skunked a good many times, but today was somehow worse than a skunking.  My GHOF came down and we decided to join forces and show the trout who was boss. Walked down the tracks from Bouchouxville to Cold Flats at about 10:00 this morning. Hooked a two year old brown on my third blind cast and never rose, or cast at, another fish the rest of the day. My GHOF hooked two fish, landing a brown that was about the same size as mine. In three hours of fishing neither of us saw a fish rise. Trudged back up to Bouchouxville, drove back to the Lordville Estate and rested up for the evening olives. My GHOF went back to his house on the WB and fished the "home pool" for an hour without seeing a fish rise. At 5:30pm we drove up to the gamelands, which were deserted. With the fl...

  Fished another split day with a couple hours of yard work in between. Fortunately with the sun subdued by a high haze it kept the streams fishable and it stayed cool enough to work. Drove over to the Bk this morning and found a few fish. Also became reacquainted with an adult bald eagle that patrols the bottom few pools. Last May he was sitting in a tree across the river from me when I hooked a fish. When the fish jumped the eagle flew right over and circled above the fish, I let the line go slack, the eagle flew back to his tree and I landed the fish without further incident. Seemed to encounter the eagle almost every time I fished the lower pools. He would be flying up or down the river and would land in a tree near me, caught fish in front of him, but had no further acts of aggression. Until today! Hadn't given the eagle a thought since back in June. Didn't see him today until I had hooked and was playing a 12/14 inch rainbow. Had the fish on a tight line and was reaching ...

  Started out this morning with the spike horn and what seems to be a gramma, mom, (a yearling that was bred as a fawn), and her fawn, nosing around the base of the apple tree looking for drops. At nine-thirty I headed out to fish and had to stop while two hen turkeys and at least five of their young crossed the road. While in the middle of the EB fishing, I looked up and there was a bear swimming across the river not more than 50 yards downstream from me. Returned to the fishing camp for lunch, shot the bow, picked the last of the tomatoes, left the fence open so the deer could dispose of the tomato plants, and at about 3:30 on a bright sunny, 84 degree day, left to go fishing. Had to stop again on Lordville Road, this time for a covey of Partridge, four of them flew, all in different directions. That ended the glut of wildlife sightings, (not counting eagles, osprey, great blue herons, kingfishers, and mergansers that are every day occurrences), until my return to the Lordville E...