Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Drove up to Deposit to try and get in an hour or two of fishing during what is predicted to be a couple very rainy days. Drove down to the Men's Club and saw a giant tree that was growing on the riverbank just back of the club house laying at right angles to the shoreline out in the river. Glad no one was fishing along the wall when it came down. The fishing - What would you pay to be the only fisherman fishing a pool during a blanket hatch of Dorotheas with every fish in the pool up gulping the duns? Without a moments hesitation I put the $5.00 bill in the tin box, donned my gear, (vest inside the raincoat, for once), went through the gate and into the Red Barn pool. Never had to cast more than 30 feet but the competition from live sulfurs was fierce. They were no more than six inches apart on the far side of the stream. The fish seemed unbothered by my casts and kept on gulping. Singled out a fish and made cast after cast until it ate. In the first hour it didn't take long to...

 I don't care if I never fish another "A" spot, I'm not getting in line the night before the tickets go on sale to be sure I get to fish "my spot". That said, I did get to Deposit at 11:45, (early for me), and found the river sparsely populated with fishermen. An "A" spot I was unable to fish last week was open and I didn't dilly dally getting there. There were bugs from the get go, but the fish in the Sulfur Zone know what's coming and are in no rush to get started. Was there about 15 minutes before the first rise but things went from cold to hot almost before I could make a cast. I was careful, cast well, didn't make a lot of mistakes and caught 5 fish, including a 10 inch yearling bow and a 12 inch hatchery brown. Way too soon, the fish just stopped eating. There were still lots of bugs on the water but no fish up. Not only did the fish quit, but so did the anglers. Had the river to myself and decided to fish back to the car. Screwed...

 Jean came down and we spent the better part of Saturday driving around taking in the damaged areas where the tornado touched down. I've seen videos of F-5's sweeping across flat grass land where there is nothing to break them up except towns and trailer parks. The ones we get here don't last long and don't get up a good head of steam because they run into mountain sides covered with trees. One came through my yard here in Lordville back in the 90's. Took down three trees one on each of three sides of the house, each fell in a different direction, none hit the house. The huge Norway Spruce that would have crushed the house like a match box, was on the fourth side in the fifteen foot wide space between the road and the house, it didn't lose a limb. Both the one in Lordville back in the 90's and last Saturday's were rated as F-1's. Each time they touch down they do incredible damage but quickly lose power. When they become airborne they regain power. I...

 With very little new happening, this is probably a good time to list my abbreviations for the rivers in the Delaware System: WB - West Branch Willow  - Willowemac BK - Beaverkill UEB - East Branch Branch from Downsville down to where it meets the BK. EB- East Branch from Junction Pool to Jaws, (confluence of BK and UEB). BR - The Delaware River from Junction Pool to Callicoon, (also called the Main Stem). Don't know when everybody enters the water to stake out their claim in the sulfur zone, but clearly 1:30 is too late. Found a little corner of a riff with half a dozen rising fish. Rose five of them, two refused, three ate, all on different flies, none of them sulfurs of any kind. With nothing else to throw at, I walked back to the car, and drove up to Stilesville, was awed by the number of boats and fishermen on the WB, and left. Took 17 over to East Branch and 30 all the way up past Corbett. At 3:30 there wasn't an angler on the stream. Drove into the yard of an old acquai...

 The sulfurs continue to hatch, the fish continue to feed, the algae continues to flow, and the fishermen continue to line up, curse the algae, marvel at the number of sulfurs, and try, with very limited success, to hook a trout or two. My resistance to the affair with the Dorotheas is growing by the day. Arrived in Deposit at 1:30 and couldn't find a place to fish until 3:00 when the five guys occupying a pool left in unison. Remarkably I had fish to throw at. Under current conditions hooking a fish does not necessarily mean he ate the fly. Refusals, at least for me, outnumber the takes by at least ten to one. If you hook each time a fish rises to your fly you are bound to "foul hook" a few. Foul hooked at least two yesterday and another two today. Did have five fish take, landed three 'bows, a 3lb 15 incher, (algae included), a nice 18 incher and a juvenile of 9 inches, lost a nice 'bow and a brown. Hatch ended and was in the car by 4:15. Tired of driving to and...

 It's 9:45 and I'm beat. Got in the water on the WB at 12:30, which was about an hour too early. There were plenty of bugs on the water but the fish knew what was coming and were in no hurry to get started. It was crazy windy, or to say it better the wind was crazy. There were times when it was dead calm, times when it blew twenty and the crazy part, it came from every direction on the compass. Missed a rising fish by 15 feet. Two fish hooked themselves when I was watching "my fly" so far away from where it really was that I never saw the rise. Had countless refusals, had three fish suck my fly under the surface and not have it in their mouth when I lifted. Hooked 10 fish, (two of which were foul hooked). Landed but three. Frustrating, exasperating, exciting and just plain fun. Drove back to the Lordville Estate, put my feet up and got about a third of a crossword done before I nodded off. Left at seven and decided to get out of Dodge, (Deposit). Since the boats have ...