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Today, The Fragile Magic Was Gone.

 Frustrated by the trout's behavior during the Hendrickson hatch yesterday, I decided to spend the time more productively today. Jean reported, that it was raining in Lafayette while we were talking this morning. Told her, I had sunshine and 78 degrees. Knew the rain was coming so as soon as the sun got the grass reasonably dry, I fired up the mower. Managed to finish the job, put the mower away and get in the house before the first drops of rain hit.  My neighbor RJ is having a new roof put on his house. They got the old roof off and some of the support beams up yesterday. Today they finished the support beams, and got the plywood and what use to be called tar paper on before the rain. When I got back tonight I could see the bundles of shingles on the top of the roof. If you ever need a new roof these are the guys to call. They just never stopped working. Left the fishing camp at 3:30 to pick up a couple items at the grocery store. Noticed on the way to the car that the air w...
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Spinner Falls Are Oftentimes Well Worth Waiting For.

 My plan today was simple, fish the Hendricksons above Hale Eddy on the WB this afternoon, and try to find a spinner fall of some kind on the WB this evening. So what did I do this morning? Tied some March Brown emergers that I had success with the past week, (until I tried them on fish that had already eaten one with a hook in it). With the weatherman changing the forecast  pictures of cloudy rainy days to bright sunny, (but cooler), ones, I left the grass cutting for another day and went fishing. Arrived in  Deposit about 1:00 to pick up my new fly line, only to find that someone???? must have sold it. Chatted with river friend Bill, (his dog was in the truck), who offered me one of his Cortland DT4 weights. Was on the river by 1:30, (didn't know that the hot water spill had ceased this morning, thus postponing the hatch until 3:00). First Hendrickson blew by me just five minutes before Mike the Cop arrived. It was a modest hatch the flies popped quickly off the water, ...
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Just Wishin' And Hopin' - - -

Got a late start this morning what with having to drive into town to pick up provisions for the week and to continue the process, (started Saturday), of attempting to buy a new car. Was on 81 heading south a little after 10:00, arriving at the Lordville Estate just after noon. Would have stopped to check out the Hendricksons in the Deposit area but for the row of anchored boats stretching from the 17 bridge down to the Men's Club and the new bag of Hershey's Kisses in the back of the car that needed protection from the heat. Had no intention of fishing the WB today, as I'd had two weeks of good fishing, mostly in the middle section, and had no desire to battle both drift boats and waders. Was two- thirty when I headed up Lordville Road. Car said it was 90 degrees and I thought the temp would drop when I got moving. It was up to 93 before I got to Hancock. I decided to drive back to Deposit and at least wade in cold water. After looking at the number of boats, fishermen, bug...
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A Special Place To Be.

 I almost never post twice on a weekend when I'm not fishing, but I was so moved by both the number and quality of the comments today that I just had to say thank you to everyone who takes time to share their thoughts and experiences while on the river.  It's tough to catch fish on the Delaware River system. Many, many expert anglers are on the water here every day. By sharing your experiences you help everyone who comes here, understand what a challenge  it is to even hook a hot rainbow or big brown, let alone land them.  To those who dare take the challenge, I say, it's ok to come with great expectations, but never leave feeling defeated. Look at it as a learning experience, these are some of the most educated fish on the planet. If you hooked and landed one fish on a dry fly, it's cause for celebration.  While you're here, don't forget to take time to smell the sweet aroma of heifers in the pasture pool, watch an eagle try to steal a fish from either an Ospre...
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May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your - - - -

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...
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There's Lots of Fish In The River, Give'em All A Chance To Eat Your Flies

 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...
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You Never Know Until You Go.

 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...
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