Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

  Didn't leave Lordville until 3:00 this afternoon and there was no doubt in my mind about where I was going. Drove up route191 to Hancock and then headed east on route 17. Got off at East Branch and took route 30 up along the UEB. It's a mess, still muddy and there appears to be lots of silt covering the bottom everywhere but in the riffs. The creek at Shinhopple now flows in an upstream direction under the bridge. The creek at Corbett pushed tons of rocks into the UEB. Saw two cars at power line and one at buck horn. Never saw a bug or a rising trout. Returned to 17 and drove up to Horton. The Beaverkill seems to have recovered nicely, is running at 500cfs and is clear.  The fishing -With the water temp at 66 degrees I decided to fish my way back down to East Branch. Stopped at four pools, rose seven fish, landing two, (both of which had multiple hook marks in their mouths). Never saw a bug or a rise except to my casts, all of the fish were rainbows except for a 14 inch brown

  When the highlight of the day is not finding your name in the obituaries, you obviously have little to talk about. Spent a good part of the day driving around looking for bug hatches, rising fish and mermaids. Found none of the above. What I did see while talking with a currently unemployed guide, were two adult eagles dive bombing and actually tangling with what appeared to be a young eagle. The adults have a nest in the area and have raised at least one young bird. Don't know if the attacked bird was an intruder on their turf or if junior got in serious trouble for not cleaning the nest. The first attack was just upstream of us, the immature eagle headed downstream after the encounter. We were watching him when a second adult eagle that was flying upstream quite high in the air, went into a dive and again struck the young eagle who seemed more than happy to get out of Dodge.  The second noteworthy wildlife encounter was with two fawns in the middle of PA rte. 191 by Smokin'

  I was unable to find a fishable hatch in the Sulfur Zone. A drive by of the red barn at 1:30 and a later stop at 4:00 both failed to show plentiful bugs or rising fish, (anyone who was there feel free to fill in the missing hours). The Sulfur Zone hatch below Oquaga appears to be over, never saw a bug or a rise. Encouraged by the water levels this morning I once again made a mid-day stop at the gamelands and saw neither bugs nor fish. With all but the BR now at fishable levels, I took a drive over to the BK and EB, a fools errand if ever there was one. The water levels are OK, but the water clarity is suitable for streamer fishing only. Never saw a bug or a rise. Returned to the WB about 4:00 and fished the Sulfur Zone until 6:00. There were very few fishermen, bugs, or risers, but enough fish ate my flies to make it a worthwhile stop.  At 6:30 I  reeled it in and drove down to the lower WB. Be careful - the Hale Eddy river flow is misleading, because all of the tribs are still pouri

  Back in Lordville after a very nice three day stay in Lafayette. Jean was so glad to get rid of me that she packed enough food for me to stay in Lordville for two weeks. Drive down was uneventful and by the time I got things unpacked and stowed away it was time for lunch. With the colder air temperature and mostly cloudy skies I was in no rush to head back up to Deposit.  Left the fishing camp about 1:30 and stopped at the gamelands for a look see. The water has receded enough to fish there, but I saw no bugs or risers in the fifteen minutes I sat and watched the water. The water below Oquaga is still colored with visibility of about two feet. Saw neither bugs nor rising fish from the 17 bridge down to the Men's Club in Deposit. Above Oquaga the water was quite clear and very manageable. There were both bugs, (some olives, but mostly sulfurs), and rising fish to throw to in the two places I fished. If the fish got any easier to catch in the three day of flood reprieve, you couldn