Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

 It's 5:55 and the Perfect Manhattan has been poured and the first sip taken. Got in two hours and fifteen minutes of fishing for rising trout feeding on pseudos on the UEB. Before you jump in the car and head up, know that of the ten fish landed, only two were "counters", (over 10 inches). I've been going up there about once a week, it's fun, sharpens your casting skills and is a pleasant way to spend a couples of hours. There are of course big fish in the UEB, but after the drakes are done in early June, they spend precious little time sipping tiny bugs off the surface. It takes a lot of pseudos to provide the nutrients a big trout gets from eating just one of it's great, great grandchildren. What's happening? There are reports of pseudos up in Deposit, and in the middle portion of the WB. Sightings in the lower section, not so much. I've seen pseudos on the EB, BK, and UEB. If you are hoping to cast at fish feeding on pseudos, look for sippers in th...

 With the remnants of the nor'easter circling New York state like a vulture over a road kill, predicting where and when the rain would actually fall was beyond the capabilities of both  AI and the weatherman. Had worked hard getting the area around the bass pond leveled off with all the major holes filled, seeded and the seed raked in because a nice all night rain was predicted for Lafayette. Left for Lordville this morning with only dew dampening the ground. Ran into several bands of rain on the way down, but it stopped at Windsor and the ground was dry under the Norway Spruces at the back of the Troutfitter parking lot.   Got down to the small, partially restored, Sears package home which I now refer to as the "fishing camp", unloaded my clean clothes, the bow, (which I again, (third time), never shot in Lafayette), a few vittles, and went fishing.  The fishing -Stopped at three places on the EB, first had an angler ensconced in the prime spot, I drove on. Sta...

 With my old football helmet on and my loins girded, I'll enter the blog and attempt to quell the fire. I took offense to "couldn't disagree more" when he was saying exactly what I was saying about the fishing, (although admittedly coming at it from a different angle). Also took offense when he said that he found what I said was comical. In retrospect I should have just kept my fingers off the keys. Most readers know how much I love to fish and if I'm going home to work on a landscaping project in Lafayette, (yes there were three sunny days in the forecast), nothing more needs to be said. Nevertheless, the outpouring of support was unexpected and deeply appreciated. Will have to read a bit of Dickens and look up where Jabip is to fully understand all of the comments, but with so few people now fishing and assumedly reading the reports, I was surprised by the number of people who felt compelled to jumpin.  Thanks to all! Add on - to meet blog minimum length require...

It's Friday morning and I just checked the Thursday fishing report. Was surprised to find a post from a new contributor who claims to have read my reports for the past five weeks. Says, "he couldn't disagree more with what I am saying" and that "he finds it comical that I am swaying anglers to stop fishing due to my findings". He also said typically you can rely on the last 45 minutes before dark to get some good bugs and fish taking note of them, (which is true). As many readers are aware, I have posted reports for the past eleven years, always striving to paint an accurate picture of the fishing conditions on the river system. I checked back over the 28 reports since August 15th when I q uit the Sulfur Zone. Thirteen of the reports pertained to my experience fishing the olive hatches on the UEB and WB and tell of both my success and lack thereof. They told of the absence of bugs during the bright sunny days and that on those days the olive fishing was in t...

 Today was full of surprises, woke  to find that all the apples under both trees had been eaten which isn't unusual except that I haven't seen a single deer in Lordville all week. Normally there are more deer present in the greater Lordville metropolitan area than people. A week or so ago I mentioned that any apple with broken skin is  covered with bees. It has only gotten worse and perhaps the deer are waiting to eat the apples at night to avoid the bees, (of course they may also just be up on the hill feasting on acorns which are very plentiful this year). Started mowing the yard around 10:00 and quickly discovered that not only had the resident skunk been here digging up grubs, (which I'm fine with), but he had solved the mystery of where all the bees were by digging a hole the diameter of a football in the side yard and extracting the honeycomb and eating the honey. The bees were not happy and some seemed to blame me and the lawn mower. In addition to digging up the g...

 It has finally become evident to me, (I'm a slow learner), that I'm just not going to catch many fish waiting for the bugs to hatch in the last hour of daylight, so I decided to start earlier and see if I couldn't do better. Shot the bow in the morning, (it was easy to see that I hadn't shot since last Thursday). Left the fishing camp about one, took a short mushroom walk, (it apparently didn't rain hard enough here for another burst of mushrooms), and was in the water by 1:45.  The fishing - Saw less than a handful of iso's on the first two stops. Caught two rainbows on blind casts, (these were the pools where I caught 7 nice fish one week ago). Third stop was worse. Had two small fish refuse my fly. Walked one hundred yards of shoreline in a pool where isos usually abound and counted just four iso husks, (there's usually more than that on each shoreline rock). Fourth stop was on the EB at a place I haven't been able to fish since last June. From 3:30 ...

 While Brian C. was catching fish Sunday on a rainy, cloudy olive kinda day, I was home grinding  my teeth, knowing that I was probably missing good fishing and yet, because of the rain, unable to get much accomplished on the bass pond restoration project. Got out early this morning and finished up some of the work I had planned for Sunday, then packed the car and headed for the Lordville Estate with a heavily overcast sky and fog, (maybe just maybe??). Alas by Cortland the fog had lifted and there were patches of blue. At Binghamton the sky was blue with the sun shining brightly. Was out front when the postmaster went by, (our mail lady is on vacation), and he stopped to talk fishing. Told me that the eagle that patrolled the lower section of the BK and took fish that were hooked by fishermen had met his demise. Apparently landed on a hot wire and was fried. I may have commented in my reports that I hadn't seen him on my recent visits to the BK. I love to watch eagles and it ...

 It's Saturday at 7:30pm and if you haven't already figured it out, yesterday I bailed, (and I wasn't in a boat). It was sunny with a 10/15 mile per hour breeze, drove around for an hour and a half without seeing a bug on the water or a trout rising and quit. It has been another tough week, one super day and three days where two fish was apparently my limit. Have much work to do getting the landscape around the bass pond back in order so I headed home. Those of you who have fished, (despite my warnings), thanks for your reports. There is almost no one on the river and those that are have found the fishing very difficult on the seemingly endless string of beautiful bright sunny days. I bailed on a rainy evening with fish up to watch a Syracuse football game, (won't do that again), and now I'm in Lafayette with an all day rain predicted for the Delaware tomorrow. If you're on the water Sunday let us know what I missed. There are a few questions that have gone unan...

 I'm sitting on the back porch with my Perfect Manhattan and a bowl of kettle corn listening to the rain pound down on the roof. The mini spike and his sister with her fawn are bedded down on my neighbors lawn, (the grass is longer and perhaps softer). The deer have had a hard time keeping up with the apples, but by morning the day's drops are usually gone. There are two apples just out in front of the porch that haven't been touched. Noticed them Tuesday and they are still there tonight. If the deer take a bite out of an apple and leave it, the bees descend on the part where the skin has been removed. The uneaten two apples have neither bite marks nor bees. Don't have a clue why they remain uneaten. With a 100% chance of rain today, I was hopeful of a good olive hatch. Set out at 1:30 and gave the Lordville riff a try. It was bugless, riseless and within half an hour, fishermanless. (Left the porch lights on last night, the screens had about a dozen Pumpkin caddis on t...

 It was the day of the Associate Editors annual meeting, (the fourth, I think), which was scheduled for 1:00pm at the Troutfitter. I spent the morning planting grass on some of the remaining bald spots from last year's grub invasion, gave a thought to cleaning out the bluebird houses, but that's on the shut down list and I didn't want to start on that quite yet. Drove up to Deposit, picked up the meatball subs that everyone ordered and delivered them to the pavilion at the Troutfitter where the meeting took place. Once again there was perfect attendance. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed exempting all of us from sitting on the bench of redemption until it has been refinished as it presents a clear and present danger to keisters in its present condition. There being a reluctance to talk about religion and politics, a motion to adjourn was unanimously by voice vote. Knew in my heart that if I went back to the places where I fished yesterday I'd face the r...

 I'll admit it, my confidence has taken a hit. Ever since I quit the Sulfur Zone back in mid- August I have struggled to find and catch fish. Have had two or three good trips on the BR, but when the only reliable hatch you can find is on the UEB and the fish of the day doesn't make it to twelve inches you just might begin to doubt yourself. Awoke to 44 degrees on the porch and 67 in the fishing camp.The water on the entire system was in the 50's and I was hopeful that that would get the bugs hatching earlier in the day. Left the estate at 2:30 and headed up the PA side. No bugs at Buckingham, but five trailers and six cars in the lot. Stockport had both cars and trailers parked roadside. Shehawken was busy with boats both putting in and taking out. Sat down on my high water rock, (had my shoes on), and actually saw some olives, (some is NOT a big number but way better than none). Alas, there were no risers. Drove up to Balls Eddy and it was also busy with drift boats depart...

 Had several chores to do this morning before heading for the fishing camp. Met with the guy who brought in stone to level the site for our new shed, sprayed Roundup on the patch of Knotweed that has, so far, survived our efforts to kill it, continued work on the bass pond restoration project, and drove down the road a couple of miles to pick up two five gallon pails of apples. By 9:00 I was soaking wet, took a shower, packed the car and headed for Lordville. Sometime after my departure the first genuine fall front pushed through. A stiff northwest wind of at least 15 had the wind turbines spinning and cooled things down, dried things out, and put space behind the hills. The drive down was slowed by the repaving project between Castle Creek and Binghamton. I was in no hurry and by the time I arrived in Lordville the cool dry air had the grass ready to be cut.    With the wind blowing like it was Hendrickson time, I mowed the lawn, puttered around the yard, came in and tri...

 Bright sun and warm temps may work for summer sulfurs but they sure don't help the olive and iso hatches. I don't think it got as hot temperature wise today as the weatherman predicted but the bright sun heated up the water well past where the olives and isos are comfortable hatching. I saw one iso and considered myself lucky after talking with guides and fishermen calling it quits between six and seven tonight. If you're thinking about coming, think again, and wait for cooler temps, (especially at night). Nighttime temps in the low forties will get bugs popping. Hot sunny days for fall fishing are not the fisherman's friend. Look for an extended forecast of cloudy, cold, rainy days and book a room. If you're here now, talk to whoever you're renting a room from and get the name and directions of a "fisherman's bar", there will be both guides and fishermen there that feel your pain, (it's important not to be alone). The bugs - Just will not hat...

 Today was to be cloudy, (it was), and rainy, (it wasn't). I was hopeful of seeing a few bugs and rising fish before the last hour or two of daylight, and I did.  Here's the story. Had a date with Vicky at her unisex salon in Deposit at 12:30. Arrived five minutes early and got the seat with the scissors, no waiting. Finished up by 12:45, (the top takes almost no time at all), and stopped to chat with David at the Troutfitter. The motel business has been good but the fishermen have abandoned the tailwaters in favor of the freestones and the shop business has slowed as a result. Drove down to the Men's Club seeing but one boat anchored at the sewage treatment plant and not a single wade fisherman. It was dead at the Hale Eddy bridge and there was nary a boat or wade fisherman to be seen on my drive down 17 all the way to Hancock. At four o'clock I decided it was time to fish or cut bait. Waded out into the Lordville riff knowing that isos have been hatching there for abo...

 If you are planning a late season trip to the Delaware expecting to catch some of those big browns everyone was talking about during the sulfur hatch you should probably trim your sails and lower your expectations. Why? The summer sulfurs started to wane about the middle of August, and the big browns that had been feeding on them all summer abruptly stopped rising. The olives that usually begin hatching in earnest as the sulfur hatch fades have so far been a disappointment, making their appearance no more than an hour before dark. The fall Isonychia hatch, (like this years spring hatch), has also been a disappointment. With mid September fast approaching the outlook for catching big browns on top is not good. They will soon be moving to their spawning grounds and have other things on their minds than eating size 20 olives. What to do? Fish for rainbows! Why? For one, they aren't concerned with spawning this time of year. Second, they love to eat flies, and any significant hatch of...

 Never mind what the calendar says, it's fall. Started the first fire in the stove this morning since sometime back in May. It was 47 out on the porch and a chilly 68 inside. Made three trips to the big apple tree to pick up drops, (the deer just can't keep up), filling a five gallon bucket in the process. Between  the neighborhood peach and apple trees, the deer are very well fed. The fawns are still struggling with even the small apples, but they pick up the pieces mom drops chewing the bigger apples. Have not yet seen a buck out of the velvet. Watched the US Women's team win handily today. Caitlin Clark has been forced to play a plodding structured game preferred by the coach. Will be interesting to see what happens when they play the good teams later in the tournament. When the game was over I left the camp and went fishing. Stopped at a place on the EB both on the way out and back. Saw no bugs either time, but did see one rise on the way back. Fished to rising trout fo...

 Returned to the Lordville Estate today, in part because I'd gotten several major tasks out of the way at home, in part because I didn't want to deal with Labor Day traffic tomorrow, and in part because I just plain missed the fishing. The first two are done deals. The third may turn out not to be true. Arrived early enough to mow the grass, (again), before watching CC and the women's national team seemingly shoot beach balls at a hoop the size of a tea strainer, (look that up you Gen Zers). Left the fishing camp a bit after four, tried two spots on the EB, (no bugs and high water), Bk was too high to fish and the UEB was too crowded, did a U-turn and drove over to the WB which was surprisingly uncrowed. Picked a spot in the middle section with no anglers in sight, hoping to luck out like Michigan.  Entered the water at 7:00 with the sun shining on just the top of the hills on the far side of the stream. Stood on shore for five minutes swatting mosquitoes, without seeing a ...

 Woke this morning to more surprises, there were two wet spots on the porch which was a clue that it had rained. Looked out at the river and it was clear that I would be heading home again. Looked at the screens and they were again covered with isos. Mowed the grass on the railroad land up by the tracks and on the bank down to the yard, left notes for the neighbors to help themselves to the peaches, delivered some peaches to Dave at the Troutfitter and headed home. Watched replays of the US women's basketball team beating China, (they have a 19 year old girl that is 7' 4"s tall). Fed the fish and cleaned out the pond inlets, (both ponds are both now full). Watched my friends star two year old filly comfortably win a stakes race for N.Y. bred two year olds. Then enjoyed a dinner with Jean featuring  Chanterelle mushrooms and shrimp cocktail for hors d'oeuvres, (with a Perfect Manhattan and two Mic Ultras) , corn on the cob, baked potatoes and prime rib made up the entre...

 Yesterday's "drive by" did nothing to boost my enthusiasm for the fishing, neither did the absence of bugs under the porch light, and the thunderstorms that passed through during the night. Awoke this morning to see muddy water flowing by on the BR, checked the USGS gages and where I was going to fish was not an issue, (above Oquaga or back home in my trout pond). Walked out on the back porch to turn off the light and got my first pleasant surprise, there were over thirty isos on the screens along with several october caddis, (aka pumpkin caddis), two stone flies and a miscellaneous assortment of other bugs. With the rivers up and muddy, (BR at 5,000 cfs), there was nothing I could do about the isos except tie some, but my spirits were clearly lifted. Drove up to Deposit and had my pick of the pools, there was a greater danger of running into JimF or Mike the Cop, (all of us driving around looking for a rising fish), than there was of finding someone in the pool you want...

 It's not that I couldn't have driven back down Monday morning, fished two days, then driven back to Lafayette for the Wednesday appointments, just didn't think it was worth it, had things that needed doing back home, and sometimes I just like to spend time with Jean.  Wasn't able to head for Lordville until 3:30, drove on dry roads all the way until leaving Hancock,  where a mist required wipers to be put on intermittent, low. The main objective today was to get the hay in the barn. The lawn could have been mowed Friday but wasn't, and today it was wet and a good 8/9 inches tall. Had to go slowly and only cut about one half a swath of new grass on each pass. It was 6:45 before I put the mower in the garage. Headed for the home pool with two rods, only to find a fisherman ensconced in the prime spot. Not having fished since Friday, I then decided to take a tour and assess the situation. Went up the PA side, crossed over into NY, and headed back to Lordville. Stopped...

 It's been an interesting couple of days. Two serious storms skirted downtown Lordville, (pavement under the trees was dry), one went to the north and one to the south. River out back was muddy all day today from the Beaverkill which shot up from 200 cfs to 800 cfs. It's now back to 475 cfs, clearing and fishable. Did the rise in water move fish? You'll have to find out for yourself, 'cause I'm heading home, return to be delayed by a doctors appointment to take care of a trigger fingers problem, (two of them are locking up). The bugs - Hopefully I'm just trying to rush the season, fall bugs need cold water temps and we just don't have them. Ants? You have to be lucky. Last year I got in on what was a massive ant flight and had a great day. I haven't seen an ant on the water yet this year. Just so you know, many of the ant flights are local, if you find ants on the water stay and fish them. Several times in the past I've left ants on the water to go t...

 With a strong thunderstorm watch posted for the area from 6:00 until 9:00 tonight it's doubtful that I'll even wet a line. It's 3:45 now and a good time to answer some questions. James - wants to know about algae, is it good or bad? I've written about it many times. It comes from the reservoir. The WB drainage area includes many dairy farms, cows and fertilizer both enrich the water that flows into the reservoir and sunshine does the rest. Growing algae gives off oxygen, dying algae CO2, from a fishing standpoint it's at best annoying to all fishermen. Nymphing and streamer fishing is virtually impossible above say Hale Eddy when the algae is at it's worst. The fish probably love it. James -Danaghers, (a long time Delaware fisherman who passed away a few years ago), owned the log cabin overlooking the WB on the bend below the Mens Club. Brian - Asked about blind casting. Have written several pages on this. Hopefully Dave at the Troutfitter or one of the Assoc. ...

 Encouraged by both the bugs on the water and the fish in the net last night, I woke up this morning with the thought of seeing if I could find some fish eating tricos. It was chilly and I had plenty of time before the spinner fall but I ended up working in the yard and it was noon before I came in for lunch. Drove off at two with no clear idea of what I was going to do. Drove up to Deposit, not to fish, but to consult with Lloyd Hornbeck about the stripers. We ended up talking for an hour. Left Hornbeck's and drove over to the Troutfitter to say hi to Dave and there were three cars in the lot. Detoured up route 8 and came down river road. Saw a couple bugs on the water, no rises and a lone fisherman standing in the Red Barn pool. Came back to the shop and it was closed. The bugs - - - - - - - . The fishing - Was almost as bad. Fished another spot on the BR, from 5:00 until 7:30 saw two rises out where I couldn't reach them and one, two, or three fish quietly taking something I...

 Can't help but notice that the length of the days are shrinking like a cheap cotton tee that got put in the dryer. Close to three minutes a day. Was back in the car tonight at 8:12, in June it was 9:45. Spent idle time weeding my "flower garden", others would call it a weed patch, to which I have no defense. It has an array of blooming plants that deer won't touch, Daffodils, Iris, (three colors), lilies, columbine, foxglove, (two colors), Cardinal Flower, (the Hummingbirds favorite), and a new red one that Jean gave me that I haven't learned the name of yet. There are flowers blooming among the weeds all season long. Didn't head out to fish until 2:00 and once again headed east to the BK. Water was in the mid sixties, I'd seen iso husks on the rocks and, and, and - - - it was a bust. In a good rainbow run, not far from a thermal refuge, there were no flies hatching, no husks on the rocks and most likely no fish in the river where I was fishing. If you...

 Spent Sunday at Saratoga watching the races with a neighborhood friend from back in 4th grade. His horse did not do well but we had a delightful day, toured the barn where his group of owners has a half dozen horses stabled. Scratched a few muzzles just in case they go on to be famous, toured the museum, and won the last two races to cut my gambling loss for the day to $3.00.  Was on the road this morning by 8:30 and mowing by 11:30. Had to prop limbs on the fruit trees,  pick a few of the ripe peaches, water the reseeded areas of the lawn and it was 2:00. Ate lunch, sat back and let the world go by until 4:00 when I got in the car and made a lackluster attempt at fishing. There were almost no fishermen on the river. Either they're at the State Fair or they agree with my assessment of the fishing. Stopped at two places on the BK, two on the WB, and one on the BR. Here's what I saw. The bugs - There were tiny olives hatching in good numbers on both the WB and the BR, ther...

 Things are looking up and some of them are fish. Did more yard work this morning. Quit at noon and wasn't soaking wet for a change. The night time temps have been going down into the fifties, there is fog in the morning and the sun's rays just aren't as powerful as they were in July. Even with today's bright sun the water in the BK and BR stayed below 70, the EB at Hancock, (the warmest water in the system), got above 70 for an hour or so but that was it. Had lunch and decided to take a drive. Headed east and checked out a couple of thermal refuges on the BK. With the water temp in the high 60's there was not a fish to be seen. I'm sure most of the fish are still near the cold water but until the temp tops 70 they are free to swim in the main current. As soon as it gets above 70 they are back with their noses facing the cold water. Walked some shore line where isos usually hatch and didn't see a single nymph husk. About 5:30 I drove up route 30 along the UE...

 You know things are slow when 7 out of the 10 blog comments were about the blog title. It's 6:30, have had my first sip of the Perfect Manhattan and a couple handfuls of Act II's extra butter popcorn, (have paper towels in my lap to wipe the butter off my fingers before typing). With an all day rain in the forecast, I thought it was a good time to spread a wheelbarrow full of topsoil on some of the bare spots from last years grub invasion and get them seeded. Finished up at 11:30, packed a lunch, and headed over to the BK. With last night's temp in the 50's and a cloudy rainy day in the forecast, the the water temp was not an issue. The fishing -  Got a surprise when I walked out of the knotweed at my first stop on the BK, (a place where I rarely see anyone fishing), and there was a fisherman on the other side of the river. We exchanged waves and I left. Fished two pools without seeing a bug of any kind. Hooked two fish in the first pool and lost them both. The first f...

 Hopefully today will turn out to be the nadir of this years fly fishing season. Was amazed at how much work I could get done by just not driving around hoping to find rising fish. Worked in the yard, paid some bills, made an appointment to get my trigger finger a shot of prednisone, had a couple nice chats with fishermen who live in the greater Lordville metropolitan area, (if your in the front yard working everyone stops), watched the deer coming and going to check for fallen apples and peaches, did today's crosswords and sudoku, and presto it was 5:30.  Having gotten word that there was a good evening hatch of sulfurs up in Deposit, headed up with a plan to fish an "A" spot that has been occupied by boats and or wade fishermen for the past few weeks. Needn't have worried. From the Town Bridge down to the bend at Danagher's there was not a fisherman in sight. Put on the waders, tucked the raincoat in the back of my vest and at 6:00 went fishing. While walking to...

 Making a conscious effort this week to take care of things that have been on the to do list since April, and to fish places I haven't visited this year. Didn't mow until the sun dried the dew off the lawn but was able to prune the apple and peach branches that the deer have jumped up and pulled down, while the grass was still wet. Love having the deer around but for such gentle creatures they sure can do a lot of damage to the fruit trees and a garden. Didn't finish the yard work until almost two then had lunch and worked on a crossword puzzle. Left at a little before 4:00 and stopped at the town office to get a dump sticker for the new car. The sticker is free for seniors but they want you to get a new one each year. The one on the car I traded in was from 2019. From the town office I drove up to Deposit, sometimes everyone does stupid things. Yesterday it was ok to get there at 4:30, it was overcast and there were bugs and fish. Today it was sunny and both the bugs and f...

 My ploy to get the fishermen off the river with the, "Let me tell you where it's at", offering on Friday worked like a charm. At 4:30 when I drove up to Deposit, there were but two cars in the Men's Club lot, neither JF or Mike-the-Cop were parked at the Lee Conklin Plaque tree, and not a fisherman was in sight. There were no fishermen below the town bridge and but one above. Drove up river to the Red Barn/ Stilesville area and was perplexed by what I saw. Three fishermen in the Red Barn pool and five cars parked at the Red Barn, even more perplexing was that there was but one fisherman in the water at Stilesville with six cars in the parking area, (there was one fisherman standing in the road talking with what appeared to be a non-fisherman). Me? I had things yet to do both at home and at the Lordville Estate before I could don the waders. At 2:30 I was finally ready to go. With a cloudy overcast sky, I decided to see if the lack of sun got some isos or even olives ...

 Home in Lafayette resting up after some yard work and figured it was a good time to answer questions.  James gets the Dennis Molter award for most questions asked. I measure the trout by holding it up against my rod where the nice people at Winston put little white lines every two inches. If the fish is 20 inches or above and I'm near shore I lay the fish on my landing net which has an inlaid tape measure to get a more accurate measurement. The drift boats coming and going on 191, (and 97), are almost certainly on smallmouth bass trips down river. I've not done it, but have heard that the bass fishing is very good. Cold nights help cool the water down so fish return to their home pools which opens up the entire river system. Rainy days should help bring on the olives. Fish are not happy rising on bright sunny days. John H - October usually offers pseudos, isos and hebes, the colder the weather the better. A 15 year old, (really any trout over say 6 or 7 years), is as big as t...

Spent a minute or to before writing tonight reading fishing reports from DRC, WBA, and AI. All gild the lily to varying degrees. I don't blame DRC and WBA one bit they are trying to rent rooms/cabins and keep the boats floating. AI, however, should be able to see through the bs and tell it like it is. DRC has had 3 pictures of fish in the month of August. AI says there are sulfurs, olives. isos and Cahills providing steady dry fly action. I say bull shit! The sulfurs - God bless 'em have been on the water for more than six weeks and they still are hatching. The hatch is waning and the best hatches are up above Deposit. The sulfurs can be seen from about noon until dark. The fish seem to be ignoring them most of the time but will feed heavily in short concentrated spurts. It's still the best chance to fish to rising fish before 8:oopm. The olives - Need to get get in the game. Traditionally as the sulfurs start to wane the olives start to hatch. Yes, there have been olives m...

 After yesterday's lackluster, rain shortened effort, I resolved to do better today. Got to Deposit at 1:30 and drove up to the Red Barn where two cars and two fisherman told the story. Stilesville had five cars and unless I missed someone, an equal number of fishermen. Glassed the water in both places and yes there were sulfurs, but not many, didn't see a single rise. The cedar wax wings, (about a dozen of them), were picking off every sulfur that got airborne. Saw Troutfitter regulars, JF, Mike the Cop, and The Tenant all driving around looking for a reason to fish. I went back to the Lordville Estate and pulled up crabgrass in the backyard. The good - With the recent high water event, and the relatively normal August temps there may well have been movement of fish from their thermal refuge haunts back to their home pools. Most water temps have peaked at about 70 degrees for the last couple of weeks and that for only an hour or two a day.  The bad - With over seven inches of...

 After yesterday's woeful fishing performance, my usual reaction would have been to spend more time fishing and less time doing crosswords. Today it was 6:45 before I pulled the suspenders up over my shoulders, put on the fishing vest and headed for the river. Why? I'm tired of fishing the Sulfur Zone, had yard work to do, and wanted to try to fix the front door, it works fine in April and May, but refuses to close, and this year latch, in June, July, and August. Got a jack post and raised up the door frame on the latch side. It no longer binds but I still have to push down on the door handle to lock the door.  Everyone who regularly reads the reports is familiar with the choice that has to be made with the raincoat, (under the vest or over the vest), well there are two more choices, (leave it in the car or put it in the back of your vest). I left it in the car, with but two hours of fishing and thinly clouded skies to the west, it was a no brainer. Fifteen minutes later, a qu...

 Mowed the lawn this morning as soon as the sun dried the dew off the back yard grass. Felt no need to hurry up to Deposit as I had rising fish from two until almost five yesterday. There are bugs on the water from at least noon until dark, but the fish seem to decide when they want to eat. There are fish feeding everywhere, you stop to change flies, (don't bother, they're not looking at them anyway), look up, and there isn't a fish feeding, the bugs are still on the water but the fish are done. There seems to be an hour and a half to two hours when the fish are up during the afternoon and another feeding spell sometime between six and dark. I've been weaning myself away from the Sulfur Zone, making evening forays down to the lower WB where I've found a dearth of bugs, but fish more willing to eat what's put before them, until today.  The fishing - For me, wasn't worth a damn. Tried up in Stilesville for the first time since the Invarias departed and I proba...

  #29 got  his new crown at 8:00 this morning. Went from the Dentist to the car wash, and then filled the car up with gas. Arrived at the liquor store at 8:52 and had to wait until 9:00 to replenish my whiskey and vermouth. Stopped at home to pick up the food and was on my way.  Arrived in Deposit a little after 11:00, chatted with Dave who said it was a slow weekend fishing wise, then drove along the river down to the Men's Club. Saw a few sulfurs in the air and not a single fish rising. Headed for the Lordville Estate. Put everything away, and at 1:45 returned to Deposit. At 2:00 there were bugs and a few rising fish. Went up to the Red Barn and found but two cars and the two fishermen that drove them. Saw bugs and some rising fish and decided to join the fray. Paid my $5:00 and walked through the open gate, (Heffers are apparently elsewhere at present). Stewart, (aka "the tenant"), hooked and landed a nice fish as I walked downstream behind him. Went below the second a...

July, helped by a very good Dorothea hatch, was a surprisingly good month for me. I have never, in the 36 years I have owned the Lordville Estate, caught as high a percentage of big fish. While statistics are often misleading I think this months are interesting enough for you to take a look at. Since 1991 I have kept track of the percentage of brown trout in my catch that are over 17 inches each month. July usually shows a decline in the percentage of large browns as they switch from eating bugs to eating fish. Here is a list of both the number of browns browns caught and the percentage of the total catch in July since 2020. Year        # of Browns over 17"       % of browns caught, over 17" 2020 -      24                                          7.8% 2021 -      17              ...

 When I picked on Double Haul's shortcomings back on July 6th, I said I would talk further about eliminating drag which I consider to be one of the two biggest causes of refusals. Drag exists when the fly is moving at a different rate of speed than the water it is floating on. Everyone's flies drag on almost every cast. The goal is to have your fly moving in harmony with the current the entire time the fish you are casting at sees it. If you are blind casting you should pick up your fly whenever you detect drag.   How do you know if your fly is dragging? That is the easy part. Watch the bubbles, (foam), next to it. The bubbles are not dragging. If your fly is not moving exactly in concert with the nearest bubble, you've got drag. I've actually made what I thought were good casts only to watch the fly do a little wiggle, dart a short distance upstream and then race downstream trying to catch the bubble it started out next to.  What causes drag? Variations in the curre...

 With an MRI scheduled for tomorrow morning, I put the trash bag and dirty clothes in the car and headed out to fish at 12:30, uncertain if I would stay for the evening fishing or head home when the afternoon sulfurs abated. Skipped the trip up to Stilesville as the Red Barn/Stilesville congregation has more than enough fishermen. Drove down to the Men's Club lot which has been redone in crushed stone with the potholes at least temporarily filled in. There were a good number of sulfurs hatching and a few fish rising. The lot had four cars and the fishermen were well spaced in the river. Clearly the place to be is the Red Barn. Found one of the better places free of boats and fishermen and waded in with bugs on the water and fish up. Was joined shortly after my arrival by Mike the Cop. We have shared many pools over the years and it's always a pleasure to fish with him. We are both what might be described as hearing challenged so the conversation is limited to mostly sign langua...