Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

With a beautiful weekend on tap, a Hendrickson hatch in full bloom in Deposit, the freestones out of the doldrums, (but still a challenge to wade), and a plethora of anglers anxious to get on the river, it's not hard to imagine this being a record breaking weekend for both shuttle operators and number of drift boats on the river. Stopped at the Troutfitter on my way back to Lafayette to chat with a group of long time fishing friends. At 10:00 am people were worried about getting a parking place at both the Red Barn and the game lands. Flies were being purchased by the dozens, boats on trailers were lined up in front of both the motel rooms and the fly shop, Anthony and Andy were spreading mulch under the hedge, and five ***** "Accommodation Specialist" Janet was trying to drive her vehicle through the congestion to prepare rooms for incoming guests. It was so busy and congested that I'm sure no one noticed that I slipped my bag of trash into the dumpster. After six da...

 With a beautiful forecast for the weekend and the Hendricksons finally arriving above Hale Eddy in numbers, I felt there was sure to be more than enough drift boats and wade fishermen on the WB. I decided to try the BK which at 900 cfs is no piece of cake to wade, but I've read reports that there have been March Browns and other assorted flies on the water with fish having actually been seen eating them. Arrived about 1:30, drove a couple miles along the river without seeing an angler in the water, selected an empty pool and waded in. The water in the BK is twice the "normal" level for this time of year. Most of the dead algae has been washed off the rocks so it's not wicked slippery, but if you decide to fish it, do not look at the rising fish on the far side, you just can't safely wade within casting distance, concentrate on what you can reach. Rose two fish blind casting, one refused, and one ate. The fish I landed had a raw wound in the top of his jaw where s...

 Let's be clear about a few things. Hendricksons don't hatch when the water is too cold. I've gone out twice when I hoped the sun would shine enough to get the bugs hatching and caught a total of one fish, and one of those times was yesterday. Today was colder and as cloudy as yesterday. My only plan was to mow the grass, which I did. I had no intention of going fishing, until I had to get some papers scanned, signed and returned. My job was to sign, called David at the Troutfitter and he took care of the rest. Was at the Troutfitter about 1:15 and rather than drive back to the Lordville Estate, I drove down along the river to the Men's Club where "Mike the Cop" was parked beside the Lee Conklin plaque, turned around at the parking area and pulled up next to Mike's car, we both rolled down our windows and shouted at one another, (we are both what might be called hearing challenged, aka deaf). Mike shouted that there were Hendricksons two days ago, (when th...

 Yesterday was a day to remember, a blizzard apple caddis hatch that was so thick you can't help but wonder how all the nymphs could possibly fit on the stream bottom, followed by very good hatches of paraleps and Hendricksons. Every fish in the river was up feeding on the Hendricksons. The wind was no factor and I imagine that up and down the river, a lot of fish got to feel the point of a hook. It didn't last a full two hours but for sure I got my money's worth. Today there was rain hitting the porch roof at 6:00 am with a forecast calling for intermittent showers and a cloudy day with a high temp of 60 degrees, "A great day to be on the river", says the DRC report. Regular readers of this missive know better. With water coming out of Cannonsville at about 44 degrees we need sunshine to get the water up to a temp where Hendricksons will hatch.  Watched the USGS real time temps on the WB creep slowly up under a light overcast sky in the morning, but around noon d...

 If anyone thought the Hendricksons were in trouble, think again. I spent the last 10 days of April looking for them on the freestones and didn't find them. The apple caddis that are supposed to appear about the middle of the Hendrickson hatch, came and went, and still no Hendricksons.  When reports of good Hendrickson hatches on the UEB started to be heard, I was relieved. When I fished a Hendrickson hatch on the lower WB, I was thankful. One morning last week, I walked out on the back porch in Lordville and saw two to three dozen Hendrickson spinners on my screens, a good 10 days after they should have been done hatching.. Talked with a guide, (of questionable character and veracity), who said he's been seeing both Hendricksons and March Browns hatching on the BR below Lordville. Talked with a fisherman on the 97 bridge in Hancock, (a much more reliable source), and he said he caught six fish in a mixed hatch of, (you probably already know the answer), Hendricksons and March...

 Do any of you understand why it's good to have a Joe Btfsplk, (who, beside Ed S. remembers who Joe B. was, or why Li'l Abner was cancelled), contributing to the blog? He's said lots of things that we all know are true, the Delaware system is more crowded than anyone wants, and the fish are beat-up and stressed, unfortunately he also states, as truth, many things that have little basis in fact. His beliefs are no doubt sincere, 2012, the year he referenced for example, was also my best year on the Delaware. Why? The river had one of its biggest populations of trout ever, the bugs came early and in big numbers, there weren't nearly as many boats or people fishing as today, and the river system didn't suffer a single "blow out " from a rainstorm all year. BUT, at the tender age of 81, my second best year on the Delaware was 2024. There were boats galore and wade fishermen everywhere, the fish were beat-up and stressed but, as Hackelhouse said last year, you ...