Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Spent a minute or to before writing tonight reading fishing reports from DRC, WBA, and AI. All gild the lily to varying degrees. I don't blame DRC and WBA one bit they are trying to rent rooms/cabins and keep the boats floating. AI, however, should be able to see through the bs and tell it like it is. DRC has had 3 pictures of fish in the month of August. AI says there are sulfurs, olives. isos and Cahills providing steady dry fly action. I say bull shit! The sulfurs - God bless 'em have been on the water for more than six weeks and they still are hatching. The hatch is waning and the best hatches are up above Deposit. The sulfurs can be seen from about noon until dark. The fish seem to be ignoring them most of the time but will feed heavily in short concentrated spurts. It's still the best chance to fish to rising fish before 8:oopm. The olives - Need to get get in the game. Traditionally as the sulfurs start to wane the olives start to hatch. Yes, there have been olives m...

 After yesterday's lackluster, rain shortened effort, I resolved to do better today. Got to Deposit at 1:30 and drove up to the Red Barn where two cars and two fisherman told the story. Stilesville had five cars and unless I missed someone, an equal number of fishermen. Glassed the water in both places and yes there were sulfurs, but not many, didn't see a single rise. The cedar wax wings, (about a dozen of them), were picking off every sulfur that got airborne. Saw Troutfitter regulars, JF, Mike the Cop, and The Tenant all driving around looking for a reason to fish. I went back to the Lordville Estate and pulled up crabgrass in the backyard. The good - With the recent high water event, and the relatively normal August temps there may well have been movement of fish from their thermal refuge haunts back to their home pools. Most water temps have peaked at about 70 degrees for the last couple of weeks and that for only an hour or two a day.  The bad - With over seven inches of...

 After yesterday's woeful fishing performance, my usual reaction would have been to spend more time fishing and less time doing crosswords. Today it was 6:45 before I pulled the suspenders up over my shoulders, put on the fishing vest and headed for the river. Why? I'm tired of fishing the Sulfur Zone, had yard work to do, and wanted to try to fix the front door, it works fine in April and May, but refuses to close, and this year latch, in June, July, and August. Got a jack post and raised up the door frame on the latch side. It no longer binds but I still have to push down on the door handle to lock the door.  Everyone who regularly reads the reports is familiar with the choice that has to be made with the raincoat, (under the vest or over the vest), well there are two more choices, (leave it in the car or put it in the back of your vest). I left it in the car, with but two hours of fishing and thinly clouded skies to the west, it was a no brainer. Fifteen minutes later, a qu...

 Mowed the lawn this morning as soon as the sun dried the dew off the back yard grass. Felt no need to hurry up to Deposit as I had rising fish from two until almost five yesterday. There are bugs on the water from at least noon until dark, but the fish seem to decide when they want to eat. There are fish feeding everywhere, you stop to change flies, (don't bother, they're not looking at them anyway), look up, and there isn't a fish feeding, the bugs are still on the water but the fish are done. There seems to be an hour and a half to two hours when the fish are up during the afternoon and another feeding spell sometime between six and dark. I've been weaning myself away from the Sulfur Zone, making evening forays down to the lower WB where I've found a dearth of bugs, but fish more willing to eat what's put before them, until today.  The fishing - For me, wasn't worth a damn. Tried up in Stilesville for the first time since the Invarias departed and I proba...

  #29 got  his new crown at 8:00 this morning. Went from the Dentist to the car wash, and then filled the car up with gas. Arrived at the liquor store at 8:52 and had to wait until 9:00 to replenish my whiskey and vermouth. Stopped at home to pick up the food and was on my way.  Arrived in Deposit a little after 11:00, chatted with Dave who said it was a slow weekend fishing wise, then drove along the river down to the Men's Club. Saw a few sulfurs in the air and not a single fish rising. Headed for the Lordville Estate. Put everything away, and at 1:45 returned to Deposit. At 2:00 there were bugs and a few rising fish. Went up to the Red Barn and found but two cars and the two fishermen that drove them. Saw bugs and some rising fish and decided to join the fray. Paid my $5:00 and walked through the open gate, (Heffers are apparently elsewhere at present). Stewart, (aka "the tenant"), hooked and landed a nice fish as I walked downstream behind him. Went below the second a...

July, helped by a very good Dorothea hatch, was a surprisingly good month for me. I have never, in the 36 years I have owned the Lordville Estate, caught as high a percentage of big fish. While statistics are often misleading I think this months are interesting enough for you to take a look at. Since 1991 I have kept track of the percentage of brown trout in my catch that are over 17 inches each month. July usually shows a decline in the percentage of large browns as they switch from eating bugs to eating fish. Here is a list of both the number of browns browns caught and the percentage of the total catch in July since 2020. Year        # of Browns over 17"       % of browns caught, over 17" 2020 -      24                                          7.8% 2021 -      17              ...

 When I picked on Double Haul's shortcomings back on July 6th, I said I would talk further about eliminating drag which I consider to be one of the two biggest causes of refusals. Drag exists when the fly is moving at a different rate of speed than the water it is floating on. Everyone's flies drag on almost every cast. The goal is to have your fly moving in harmony with the current the entire time the fish you are casting at sees it. If you are blind casting you should pick up your fly whenever you detect drag.   How do you know if your fly is dragging? That is the easy part. Watch the bubbles, (foam), next to it. The bubbles are not dragging. If your fly is not moving exactly in concert with the nearest bubble, you've got drag. I've actually made what I thought were good casts only to watch the fly do a little wiggle, dart a short distance upstream and then race downstream trying to catch the bubble it started out next to.  What causes drag? Variations in the curre...

 With an MRI scheduled for tomorrow morning, I put the trash bag and dirty clothes in the car and headed out to fish at 12:30, uncertain if I would stay for the evening fishing or head home when the afternoon sulfurs abated. Skipped the trip up to Stilesville as the Red Barn/Stilesville congregation has more than enough fishermen. Drove down to the Men's Club lot which has been redone in crushed stone with the potholes at least temporarily filled in. There were a good number of sulfurs hatching and a few fish rising. The lot had four cars and the fishermen were well spaced in the river. Clearly the place to be is the Red Barn. Found one of the better places free of boats and fishermen and waded in with bugs on the water and fish up. Was joined shortly after my arrival by Mike the Cop. We have shared many pools over the years and it's always a pleasure to fish with him. We are both what might be described as hearing challenged so the conversation is limited to mostly sign langua...

Couldn't get excited about the Sulfur Zone today. There were sulfurs on the water in limited numbers while I was there but, few fish seemed to be interested. Yesterday I fished a good enough hatch to get fish up but it was well off the peak hatches I've seen this year. Talked with some of the anglers who said the hatch in the Red Barn pool started about 1:30 Tuesday and it was a good one. My drive-bys were at noon and four and there was nothing doing either time. Today the population of fishermen at the Red Barn swelled to numbers that on a trout stream are incomprehensible to me. Ran into, (no serious damage done), a guide later in the day that I saw anchored well below the melee at 12:30. He said a very good hatch of sulfurs started at about 1:30, which confirmed the report on Tuesday's hatch.  Me? I drove around in disbelief at the number of anglers. Stopped at one of the Dollar stores to buy sponges and popcorn, (they were both on my list last Monday, but I didn't n...

 After three days at home in Lafayette, mowing the pond area grass, seeing the ENT Dr., meeting with the excavator to discuss restoration of the bass pond, and a delightful dinner at the Blue Canoe with Jean and Susan, the surviving spouse of one of the original "couples" who participated in the first, First English Lutheran couples club canoe trip almost fifty years ago, I had things to do in Lordville. Mow the grass for one, hair cut at Vicky's unisex salon for two, and catch some fish before my hands started shaking  from withdrawal.  Scheduled a haircut for 4:00 with Vicky on the ride down, jumped on the mower and did the lawn as soon as I got everything put away in the Lordville Estate, made two sandwiches, packed them in the  little soft sided cooler along with two of Jean's chocolate chip cookies, and a bottle of Gatorade and headed for Deposit. Arrived at 1:00, did the River Road drive from Stilesville down to the Men's Club, 5 cars in the Stilesville lot,...

 Woke early, got the chores out of the way and was in Deposit by 11:45. There were already bugs and fishermen. Found an empty pool in which I've seen little and done little this year and decided to give it another try. Bugs got going by 12:15 and the fish shortly thereafter. Much to my surprise there were a good number of rainbows on display eating nymphs in the water column. Fished for three and a half hours with every cast aimed at a boil, never saw a bug eaten off the surface. Mostly my flies were ignored, hooked four fish each on a different fly, had a few refusals and two fish that I felt but didn't hook up. None of the fish ate my sulfurs or sulfur emergers for that matter. It was a genuine beatdown. Drove back to the fishing camp to lick my wounds and rest up. At 6:30 I walked out of the door and came to an abrupt halt. Laying on the pavement between me and the car, soaking up the warmth was a three and a half foot thick bodied rattlesnake. He was apparently quite comfor...

 Hopefully everyone understands that basically I enjoy writing the reports, but that the summer sulfur season is a challenge. There are only three miles of stream in play, one bug hatching, lots of fishermen, tough fish, (thankfully they are HUGE this year), and a writer trying to make it sound interesting for six to eight weeks. Fortunately Jim Dygert and Dave Garlock bailed me out today. STOP right now and go back to yesterday's report and read their comments, we'll wait.  - - - -Everyone back? I do remember the RR service road. Had a van back then and Jean and I drove the service road from above Hale Eddy down through the gamelands. We also drove the service road from Stockport all the way to Lordville. We were a bit younger then and had been camping out in the van up in the Adirondacks for years. There were pulloffs along the tracks, one of which was below Buckingham next to what I called the River House pool. The pulloff was on a bend in the tracks, we fished the River Ho...

 With a large stationary low front using Albany as it's axis and rotating it's rain clouds over the entire north east there was no way to fish without a raincoat. Yesterday the heavy rain hit the Willow and Bk and sent the water level at Cook's Falls to about 15,000 cfs which is well above flood stage. The BR peaked back of the fishing camp at about 21,000 which is also above flood stage, (I will not be fishing the BR tonight). Thankfully Cannonsville reservoir got some water but the WB was spared. The level briefly bumped up over 700 cfs but by the time I went fishing it was down to 650 cfs and was running clear. The radar still shows rain in the area but the flood watches have expired. The fishing - Most sane people stayed home. Those here for an extended stay and those within an easy drive were on the WB. The bugs showed up, the fish fed, and there were lots of places to fish. The Red Barn had bugs, rising fish and half a dozen anglers. Stilesville was thinly populated w...

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 ...

 The Dorotheas have been here for three weeks, most all of the fish have been fooled at least once, they are as difficult a challenge to take on a dry as you would ever want. If you are up for the challenge, here's what you need to know. 1-We are in the midst of a very good Dorothea hatch. The hatch begins each day when the water temp nears 52 degrees. There are two peaks in each days hatch, one in the early afternoon and one in the evening. So far there have been sulfurs on the water from the start until it finally shuts down near dark. Some days fish will be feeding all day long, while on other days the feeding is limited to the two peak periods which seem to last about 2 hours each. 2- Usually most of the big browns change their diet to fish as soon as the Drake spinner fall is finished in early June and your opportunities to catch them on dries is greatly reduced. This year the percentage of big browns in my catch total has actually increased as the season has lengthened. Why? ...

 In Saturday's Wind Knots and Tailing loops page, I wrote at length about the situation here in the Delaware River System regarding the fish population. Brian, unless he's being factious, said I was correct, and went to the trouble of looking up and posting a statement from the "fish and game commission", (NY, PA or ????). The statement is laced with errors, is generic in nature, does not take into consideration the changes wrought by catch and release fishing, it has no relevance to a tailwater fishery such as the Delaware. John asked what caused the discrepancies in trout sizes, and what did I mean by paying the piper? Here goes - In the days before catch and release became popular almost no trout lived past two years. An 11 or 12 inch fish was fish of the day and a 14 incher was fish of the year. Brown trout in my trout pond can and have lived ten years. The NY DEC has killed some big trout in the Delaware so that they could determine their age and I'm quite su...

Home watching t-boomers pass by while awaiting my dentist appointment on Monday, (possible new crown or root canal then new crown). Not many questions in the past month but found a few things to comment on. Rich T. - Jean and I winter on the original Zane Grey Creek on Long Key down in the Florida Keys where both ZG, and I have tangled with many bonefish. FWIW there is a Zane Grey museum on the Delaware in Lackawaxen Pa where he practiced dentistry in his spare time. Small world. Steve L. -Haven't seen but a single rattle snake so far this year. The surges/pulses are well worth putting up with as they maintain a huge thermal refuge for trout, ( perhaps as far down the BR as Buckingham). The two problems they create are both in the sulfur zone. They usually shut down the evening hatch and if you are not paying attention they can make crossing the stream to get back to your car a challenge. The trout just hunker down and enjoy the cold water. James - Invaria, (aka Spring Sulfurs) are...

 The worst of the smoke seemed to have gone elsewhere today, blue sky, white clouds and sunshine. The bugs started a little after one and went until three with fish up and feeding the entire time. The bugs actually continued hatching in more modest numbers but the fish were full and stopped rising. I wasn't in the best location as the boats had to row right through where I was fishing, (my fault not theirs). After fishing I took the time to drive up River Road. The Red Barn lot and the Stilesville lot had six cars each. Red Barn was the usual circus but even with the binoculars I failed to see risers or many bugs. Upriver towards Cold Springs Brook the absence of both bugs and rising fish was even more noticeable. Drove back to Lordville and rested up for the evening fishing. At six I headed out again as the hatch has seemed to reignite about that time on sunny days. The river had a picket fence of anglers down its middle from the town  bridge all the way to Barking Dog and pe...

 With the smoke again blocking the sun and turning the Catskills into the "Blue" Ridge Mountains, there was no need to hurry to Deposit. Without the sun's rays, the water took much longer to heat up and there was little to no bug activity before 1:30. Spent a pleasant hour streamside talking with a local guide and three other senior citizen fishermen. By a little after 2:00 both the bugs and fish were going and I left to try and catch one. There were lots of bugs on the water and lots of fish all eating sulfur nymphs subsurface. I hooked but one fish during the apex of the hatch, as most of my casts were totally ignored. It wasn't until the hatch had slowed down that some fish started to look up. When they did I could suddenly fish again. Cast at five fish I saw feeding on the surface, hooked four and was refused by the fifth. After the hatch I circled back up to the Red Barn, three fishermen in the water, with a few Dorotheas in the air, didn't see a rise. At Sti...

Headed out at noon today with a fresh batch of sulfurs  that I had put on the car dash to cure the water shed I put on them. Usually an hour in the hot car and they are dry as a bone, not today, with a heavy cover of Canadian smoke the sun couldn't do it's job, shrugged and headed for the WB.  Arrived streamside at about 12:30 with sulfurs all over the water and the fish up. Suited up, left the new sulfurs on the dash to finish drying and went fishing. Picked a pool that I hadn't fished yet this year and for about an hour I wondered why I hadn't. Hooked six fish, landing four when I noticed things slowing down, fewer bugs and fewer rising trout. At 2:00 I was walking back to the car past another angler who said "the waters too cold, no sun", and the light came on in my head. Without sunshine the water often stays below the 52 degree temp the sulfurs love to hatch from. Drove both up and down stream and saw neither bugs nor rising fish. There was not a single w...

 On a day like today with air temp in the 90's, the best place to be was in the water, and I that's where I was. Started at noon with Sulfurs already on the water and fish on them. Hooked a couple of fish early, then went through a couple of frustrating hours with fish boiling all around me but taking nothing on the surface. I'm sure the bright sunlight in a nearly cloudless sky didn't help things, the fish just don't like the bright sun. Moved from where the bugs were hatching to where they were just floating along on a quiet pool. Managed to hook a couple more. At 3:00 I used one of my timeouts and retreated to the Troutfitter where I rehydrated and talked with Dave and Matt, (the guide who works out of the shop).   Left about 4:30, and could have fished wherever I wanted to, (most people are smarter than me). There were sulfurs, (from now on, know that it's Dorotheas I'm talking about), in the air and on the water, but the fish had had enough of the brigh...

 Last week I carried a magic wand wherever I went. I walked into good hatches, had lots of big rising fish and they were happy to eat my flies. Today, not so much. Fished a pool where I have probably caught more fish than any other pool in the WB. Last year I caught but three fish there, this year, in two trips, none. Hooked two fish and lost them both, neither fish was over 13 inches. Pricked five other fish when they refused the fly and had numerous other fish turn up their noses and refuse whatever I offered. Never saw an adult fish, most were yearlings or two year olds. They are probably there because there aren't any big fish there to eat them. Don't expect to visit the pool again this year. There have been 100cfs surges the past three nights. The cold water usually slows or stops the hatch. With the temp expected to reach the mid to high 90's tomorrow I felt sure the surge would be increased to a point where wading would be difficult and the evening  hatch would proba...

 Left for home about eleven this morning, stopped at the Troutfitter to put my small bag of trash in the dumpster and to talk with Dave, then decided to swing down along the river "just for a look". Stopped to chat with two river friends and wouldn't you know it the bugs started up, and the fish began to rise. It wasn't a hard decision, put on the waders and vest, grabbed my rod and headed for the river, which is when it started to rain. Went back to the car, put my raincoat on over the vest and waded in.  The fish were up feeding and I saw a nice one not 20 feet away in a quiet seam, busy eating sulfur duns. He ate half a dozen more real ones before he ate mine and then the fun began. My landing net was on the back of my vest with the raincoat over it. I detach it when landing a fish by reaching back over my shoulder and pressing on a small lever with my thumb. Couldn't get to the lever under the raincoat without using both hands, put my rod between my knees unde...

 With Dorotheas on the water from before noon until dark, (yes there was a lull from 4:30 until 6:30, but there were always a few on the water), no one should have had trouble finding rising fish to cast to. Hookups for most anglers are a challenge. If you are getting fish to come up to your fly but refuse it, (no you didn't miss them), you are close, but something just isn't right. Drag is probably the number one cause, but the fish are looking at the fly from no more than an inch or two away when they make their final decision. Do your flies look like the flies floating down the river? Are they too big, (Invarias no longer cut the mustard where the Dorothea hatch is in full bloom), size down and you should do better. Pick up a Dorothea off the water and actually compare it to the flies you are using, most are far too bulky. Trim them down with a scissors or clippers and see if it makes a difference. The Fishing - For me very good. Have had lots of refusals the last two days b...

There are still Invaria up at Stilesville being attended to by unprecedented hoards of anglers. Just a historical note and suggestion. When the little Stilesville lot was purchased the farmer complained when cars were parked along the road, and no parking signs were put up, which was fair, (the State could have come up with more money for a bigger lot). This year anglers are again filling the Stilesville lot and parking down the road, some almost half way to the Red barn pool. Many are walking down the road and entering the Red Barn pool through the open gate and of course fishing without paying. If you are fishing above the riff, fine. If you are parking on the road and walking down to save five dollars please consider paying the five dollars and parking at the barn. No parking signs would eliminate access for a lot of fishermen. Just a thought. Based on what I've seen so far the Dorothea hatch looks to be a good one. There are bugs hatching both afternoon and evening from the 17 ...

Our own Dennis Molter brought home the gold in the Greater Stilesville Freefall Invitational today. It was a stunning upset over pre-event co- favorites, A-119 and Associate Editor Ed Smith. Smith, well known for his consistency has won numerous times on his home river, the Willow, and last year won the Red Barn Open in front of a packed house. A-119 is an experienced freefaller who has competed all over the country and in Canada. Most recently A-119 took gold in the Tar Hollow Classic with his freefall on the rocks. Molter, (also an Associate Editor), is an accomplished athlete who has competed in swimming, basketball, golf, and to a lesser degree fly-fishing. He has had no known prior experience as a freefaller, (that is being investigated). The freefall - With no cameras running,  it's hard to describe the fall in it's entirety, but after talking with those present, here's what we were able to put together: It started with a backwards one leg hop, leading quickly to a ba...

 This one is sure to stir up controversy and dissenting opinions, but I believe I'm more right than wrong.  To begin with, trout like an easy meal and what is easier to do than to get in a spot where mayfly duns are floating along in soft current and sip them as they drift by. Trout do this the first few days at the start of every species of mayfly that hatches. If you are lucky enough to be in the water on one of those days and see the noses coming out of the water as they eat duns one after another you can become, for an hour or so, the fisherman you've dreamed of being, but, with the pressure that is put on the Delaware River trout, the "dun sipping" phase of a hatch is over almost before it has begun. As soon as a fish has been hooked on a mayfly dun, (this probably varies from fish to fish, some need to be caught eating duns more than once), he starts to concentrate on eating the nymphs as they swim up from the bottom. It's harder work and requires the expend...

 Home for a Doctors appointment today and to pickup Jean at the airport tomorrow. Hope to be back on the river Wednesday. It's probably a good time to talk about some of the things that are holding people back from catching fish. To begin with, lets be clear, the Delaware River System every year hosts more of the best fly fishermen east of the Mississippi than any other river, (perhaps any other river in America, period). It also hosts many, many anglers who have had success elsewhere or who are relatively new to the game and find the river system more frustrating than challenging, (it is a very difficult place to consistently catch fish). I'm no expert in any one phase of the sport but I've fly fished now for over 70 years, I've got game, you might say a jack of all trades, master of none. Most of what I say will be for the fishermen either new to the river or new to the sport, many of you will be bored, but hopefully, many of you will learn a thing or two that will ...

 With rain predicted for this evening I decided to get to the river on time and give the Dorotheas my best shot. Took a longish walk to a place that looked from the road to be free of fishermen. Apparently other fishermen were taking long walks from different directions because heads started popping out of the bushes everywhere. Last count showed four fishermen in the 200 feet I wanted to fish and another one half way between me and them. Did a 180 and headed back towards the car. At the head of a riff were a couple fish quietly feeding, stopped to watch and discovered several more all taking nymphs subsurface in what was shallow water. Fished for an hour, rose seven fish, with three of them eating my fly. When things quieted down I continued my journey back towards the car. Stopped where I fished a couple days ago, saw a couple risers and gave them a try, both fish took a look but refused to eat. Tried what probably was one of the fish I caught Friday, he was in the same lie sippi...

 The Lordville 4th of July Parade threw a monkey wrench into my plans to fish yet another Dorothea hatch. Got drenched in sweat trying to do a little yard work then came in, got cleaned up, and decided to tie a few new sulfurs, lost track of the time and when I tried to head out it was too late, the road was filled with paraders.  Made my escape at 1:00 and drove up to Deposit only to find wall to wall fishermen from Stilesville to Barking Dog. Drove to several places where I watched a modest Dorotheas hatch with very few fish rising. Yes there was a riser here and there but I never saw the serious feeding I witnessed yesterday. Was in no hurry to get in the water in the places that were available but when people started to leave I put on the waders and gave it a try. It wasn't yesterday.   The flies - Dominant fly in the No Kill was the Dorothea, there were but a few Invaria.  When I drove up to Stilesville at 5:00 the fishermen were still there but I saw only ...

 Jean has left me, again. Dropped her off at the airport at 8:30 this morning, picked up a few items at BJ's and headed for Deposit to spar with the fish eating Dorotheas. Arrived in Deposit and borrowed a shelf in the Troutfitter fridge, (who says this job doesn't have perks?), to keep the perishables out of the hot sun while I was fishing.  Got in the water with the hope of fishing a place I haven't been able to fish, (boats and/or wade fishermen have been ensconced there), since Hendricksons in the first week of May. Walked down the trail, stepped out into the water and a fishermen appeared below me, in my intended spot, and a second one above me, (far enough to give me room to fish). Waded out and saw a riser on the far bank, (isn't that where all fish are?). The Dorotheas were hatching and several fish were in the soft water along the bank eating the duns. Played with those fish for an hour and a half, got a half dozen refusals, twice my fly was floating within an ...