Wind Knots And Tailing Loops
First, a thank you to Andy G. for taking the time and trouble to drop off Ed Van Put's "The Myth of Dan Cahill" which I read with interest. By far the most common story about the origin of the rainbows in the Delaware is that they were dumped from a train when it broke down, (or crashed) on it's journey from California to Long Island. Back in the 1800's live rainbows made the journey often enough that the story has a ring of truth to it. I'm sure Mr. Van Put was diligent in his research and that there was no news of a train wreck. If you read my single sentence on the subject it says only that rainbows have been in the river since the eighteen hundreds. If anybody knows from whence they came, they're clearly not telling. I also will readily admit that stocked fish could occasionally find their way into the trout water above Callicoon. Since I've been fishing here, however, I have not heard of any intentional rainbow stockings above Callicoon. Delaware River rainbows are a special fish, and breed successfully in almost every tributary in the system, long may they survive.
Jim N. - Bugless evenings may be the result of early morning spinner falls.
George - "Barking Dog" is the Indian Country launch on the NY side, (both sides are NY there, but you know what I mean), in the lower portion of the No Kill. Thankfully the dog is long gone!
Dennis 2 - You answered your own question. I often tell people I'm trying to find a stupid one.
Gregg T. - I agree that some fish look like they are taste testers in a ground glass factory, (could they be the stupid ones?). The good news is that they seem to heal up quickly. When fishing is concentrated in the sulfur zone, I find fish with clean mouths on my evening excursions into the lower WB. I wish, however, that all anglers would take greater care removing hooks, (especially from the more delicate mouths of rainbows), as there is little excuse for ripping off body parts when removing hooks.
Jack Mc. - In my younger days I threatened to turn a Canadian fisherman's three piece rod into a six piece one when, with no one else in sight in either direction, he walked in forty feet above me and repeatedly let his fly swing down past me and then whipped it past my waders to make his next cast. I've mellowed since then. I later heard that he spent time in jail for something related to his camping in the area while fishing. The guy had no business doing what he did to you. Two questions asked by a newcomer solve the problem. Do you mind if I join you? and Where can I fish without bothering you? Some ask the first, not many the second.
dave - I write the blog primarily to help people catch fish. I've reported encounters with most every animal, reptile and bird I've met. I've written about life in Lordville and the people who live in the area. I've devoted entire pages to my thoughts on how to catch more fish, but fly-fishing is a sport and the measure of success is how many and how big. Some readers say they fish vicariously through the blog pages, others say they do or don't make the decision to drive based on the reports, a few have even said it has helped them be better fishermen. I have no way of knowing what the majority of people think, Dave at the Troutfitter says the number of people who read the blog has increased every year, that's all I know.
Dennis - More fish feed in the riffs than in flat water pools because that's where most of the bugs hatch.
Butch - Asked how pulse releases affect the fishing. Some pulse releases, on other rivers, are designed to, or result in, an increase in both bug and fish activity. On the Delaware, releases are to designed to keep from exceeding a maximum temperature of seventy-five at Lordville. They have little effect on the fishing as they are made after dark and are reduced early in the morning. The releases insure that there is a large thermal refuge in the BR which protects a fish population that is many times larger than it was when I started fishing here back in the late eighties. If the River Master calls for a release to meet minimum flow requirements downstream, it's a different story. If the release occurs during the daytime, the cold water surge may well shut down the bug hatching for the rest of the day.
As if I haven't said enough already, thanks to all those who have given reports on their fishing, it lets people know what they can reasonably expect on their trip to the river.
Sir ,
ReplyDeleteJust want to thank you for reports. I'm your age and began fishing the Delaware in the early 1970"s. At that time I was with a group of fishermen who camped each May and September on the BR behind the Long Eddy cemetery on property owned by John Stasser. John operated the eel weir at the bend in the river just below Long Eddy. It was this gang that introduced me to fly fishing and they were dyed in the wool wet fly specialists. a few years in, one of the heretics in the bunch spotted a rising trout in the 1943 riffle and did something i'd never seen, he tied on a dry. The fish was hooked and so was I. In 2000, work and a California born and bred wife resulted in my exile to La La land but I return faithfully to the river for several weeks each Spring and Fall, there is no place like it. Your writing keeps me on the water in between for which I am extremely grateful.
By the way, Im sure your observation about the increase in trout population since the 1980's is accurate for the upper river, but I think you'd be shocked by the number of trout my Long Eddy campers took each trip between the '43 riffle and Tower Road ('Purina' in 1970's parlance).
Please keep up the good work and good fishing.