Posts

If You Don't Mind An Ass Kicking, Come Join The Fun.

 My long suffering bonefish partner Mark showed up lastnight, mostly because his family was gathering in Syracuse to celebrate his Mom's 90th birthday and the Lordville Estate is right on the way. Coincidentally my GHOF was also on the river fishing with his son Adrian. The good news is that the two vehicles transporting the four anglers both made it safely back to their respective fishing camps without a head on crash. Every river in the system was either fished in or looked at for both rising fish and hatching bugs, almost none of either were found. The bugs -  There were some Hendrickson spinners seen on the UEB, and there were unconfirmed reports of a modest Hendrickson hatch on the WB. The glut of caddis in the BR is waning and the BR up to Buckingham appears to be headed into the doldrums. The BK, for the most part, has been caddis only and in the lower reaches the caddis are waning. The EB also is seeing mostly caddis egg layers at this time. The fishing - If you see He...
Post a Comment
Read more

Without A Hendrickson Hatch, Catching Early Season Trout Becomes Challenge.

 First of all, thanks to everyone who jumped in with their on river experiences, it all helps to form a more accurate picture of what is happening. The past two years have produced very few stories of heavy Hendrickson hatches, which is concerning. I've found fishable Hendrickson's both years on the Neversink but, so far, not on the Delaware. Today, I drove around a lot. Wanted to get a feel for the pressure, the hatches and angler success. There were far fewer boats/trailers/cars, at the launch sites than late last week. Despite the higher water levels there were quite a few wade anglers having at 'em. There were caddis throughout the river system. The freestones had the lions share, but there were caddis on both the UEB and the WB. Saw rising fish in quiet pools that were out of the wind and sun. Saw very few mayflies and nothing resembling a Hendrickson hatch. Other anglers - Talked with an angler taking out at Shehawken who had put in at Balls Eddy and had caught fish, ...
1 comment
Read more

So How'd Everybody Do This Weekend?

 It's 6:10 on Monday morning, I'm at the breakfast table catching up on the fishing reports, and no one has posted a comment on the weekend fishing. In fact only the assoc. editors, Rich T. and Smitty have filed reports so far this year. I will not be found standing shoulder to shoulder with a group of wade fishermen, or in a place where a seemingly unending string of boats floats by 100 yards apart. I do the best I can to keep you appraised of what's happening on over 90 miles of trout water, BUT, I need your help. The past few days the launch sites had trailers parked out on the road, wade fishermen were everywhere and no one took the time to make a comment about the fishing.  If you are happy just reading about what a nice day it is to be on the river or being wished "Lotsa luck.", fine, perhaps I'm wasting my time. If this site is to continue to be the best and most accurate source for what's happening on the river system - it needs input from everyone...
1 comment
Read more

It'll Take More Than Three Shirts to Keep you Warm Tomorrow!

 Left the Lordville Estate at 1:30 today, drove up the PA side of the river. There were four boats in sight below the Lordville bridge and over a dozen between Lordville and Buckingham. Both the Buckingham and Shehawken launch sites were packed with cars and trailers. The One Bug Tournament is this weekend. I don't know where the boats are floating but the river is sure to be crowded.  Had a place in mind to fish but took the time to look for bugs on the BR, WB, EB and the BK. In the hour and a half before I started fishing I saw just caddis on the water. The only fish I saw rising were at the 97 bridge in Hancock where three fishermen were wading out to fish them. The fishing - Spent from 2:30 until 4:00 casting at rising fish. There were but a few mayflies, (quill Gordons ??), and a mix of hatching apple caddis and egg laying caddis. Found a bank with five sippers all of whom ate my offerings, (landed four). When I got to the side of the river that the boats travel, there we...
Post a Comment
Read more

It's Only Just Begun.

 Today was not what I expected. If I'm not mistaken, it's just Thursday, yet both Shehawken and Buckingham were filled with both trailers and cars. Why? Probably because it's been a long cold winter and people just want to get out and do something. Reports of bug hatches can, and often times are, misleading. On line reports might tell of a good olive hatch when an experienced guide covering the same water would say "paraleps". What might be described as a hatch of Hendrickson's by one angler another might recognize as a hatch of stone flies. The magnitude of a hatch is also rated on a sliding scale where three anglers might say light, medium or heavy when asked to describe the same hatch. What have I seen? Two fair/good Hendrickson hatches on the Neversink, and one poor one today on the EB. I also saw a prolific apple caddis hatch today on the EB and BK. There are countless cadis of all types migrating upstream everywhere to lay eggs. The guide boats say the H...
Post a Comment
Read more

It's Got To Be The Goin' Not The Gettin' There That's Good.

 Today the weatherman made choosing where to fish more complicated than it should have been. The predicted high was 60 degrees. All the rivers should have had water temps over 50 degrees today, (Hendrickson hatching water). The day dawned with a heavy overcast and a few drops of rain. When, by 11:00 o'clock, neither the clouds nor the temperature had risen, I took a look at the satellite view of the area. There was a cloud front east of us that was reluctant to move off. The clear skies and sun were between Binghamton and Deposit, and moving slowly eastward. What to do? If the sun came out by noon, it would warm the water and you could fish anywhere. If, however, the clouds didn't clear on time, the water would be too cold for the Hendricksons to hatch. Yesterday the Neversink was the only river to hit 50 degrees, (it was also farther east and unlikely to see any sunshine).  I stopped at the EB at 1:40, saw no bugs and drove straight to the Neversink.  Assoc. Editor Ed S....
Post a Comment
Read more

It Was A Great Day To Be Alive!

 Spent Saturday watching our youngest granddaughter's new lacrosse team (Cortland) demolish another hapless opponent. They have won most of their league games by such a comfortable margin that Alana and the other freshmen have gotten to play most, if not all, of the fourth quarter in almost every game. It was another 80 degree day and I didn't mind missing the fishing one bit. Sunday, however, was another story. A cold front moved in, (we got three inches of wet, heavy snow in Lafayette). Looked at the water temps that were still way above 50, and said to Jean, "If the bugs hatch, they'll be glued to the water and the fish will go nuts". If anyone was crazy enough to be on the river Sunday, please  tell me what I missed.  Monday water temperatures plunged into the low 40's, the wind blew, and it snowed. I had an appointment to get my teeth cleaned and walked out with an appointment for a root canal and a crown,  (no I don't want to be king), and I will get...
1 comment
Read more