Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Back when the world was young, the trout season closed everywhere on September 30th. Today if you put the proper additives in your bloodstream you can trout fish year 'round. It was, however, the last day for the UE above Shinhopple and the WB above Monument. The intent of the closures is to protect the spawning browns. Not sure what is going on with the River Master but the minimum flow requirement at Montague has been pretty much ignored this week.  The Cannonsville release has been cut back to 300 CFS in anticipation of the 2.11 inch rain that was forecast just this morning. As of tonight it has been cut back to under two. We badly need the rain.  It's spawning time for the browns and there is no way they can get up the tribs at current levels. Let it rain! The fishing -  Stopped my camp closedown program at 12;30, had lunch and set out to fish. The WB at 300 CFS is tempting but it is still a silt laden mess.  Drove to the UE intending to fish above Shinhopple...

The camp close down is underway. Storms up, grill in the garage and one load of accumulated trash taken to the dump. Fly tying room was scheduled to be put in mothballs (literally) today but I got into cleaning the closet and things slowed down. Will attempt to finish the job tomorrow. In the confusion I forgot to check the USGS  water flows before leaving camp. Drove all the way up to Corbett before realising that the Pepacton release had been bumped up and  there would probably be no pseudo hatch.  Drove from 1:15 until 3:15 (using over a quarter of a tank of gas) without seeing a rising fish anywhere.  The rivers were not crowded but there were people fishing in seven of the pools I looked at.  Was thwarted in my attempts to fish the eighth pool by a road closure.  Black cats crossed my path in Lordville, Hancock and Fishs Eddy.  Probably just a coincidence. Finally found an open pool on the BE.  Have fished it a couple times this year with...

At 7:00 this morning it had still not wet the ground under the trees in Lordville. By 8:00 it was raining and it has rained most of the day.  If the browns are going to get up the tribs we need much more of the same but at least it's a start. Couldn't mow the lawn, so I left early hoping to find some olives hatching (I didn't).  Caught a nice rainbow on a blind cast in the BE and lost a another nice one in the BK.  At 2:30 I drove up the UE, found one of the better pools in the lower half  empty, parked and waded in. There were pseudos and what looked (in my hand) like "pink ladies" that appeared enormous compared to the pseudos but were somewhere around a 16/18, all over the water. The fish?  They were rising EVERYWHERE. A blind man would have covered three fish on every cast.  Did they eat? You betcha!  Was into really nice sized fish (both browns and rainbows) for four solid hours.  In the very low water you had to let things settle down be...

The weather forecast calling for two rainy days in a row got me packing the car and heading back down to the camp. It was a little chilly inside the camp and I had to turn on the heat to get things warmed up.  Left camp at about 1:30 hoping for pseudos and rising fish. Drove up the PA side and saw nothing but muddy water. The river was just starting to come down from the cut back in the release from Cannonsville. Six boat trailers at Buckingham but nary a bug or riser to be seen there.  Stockport had a couple of trailers but only one car.  Don't like to wade in the muddy water when you can't see bottom unless there are bugs and risers.  I headed up the BE and UE looking for bugs. First rise I saw was at Harvard. There were fishermen in most of the pools in the lower half of the UE and when I saw a couple of rises in a pool with no fishermen I didn't need to be told to get fishing. There were enough fish up to keep me interested and enough fish that ate my fly to ...

With the last day of my "regular season" at hand I had planned on fishing the Lordville riff.  It is the "home pool" after all. When I arrived on the scene someone else was already there. Got back in the car and drove up river on the  PA side.  It wasn't nearly as crowded as last Friday but there were still both drift boats and fishermen at all the usual places. Decided to drive on up the WB and say goodbye to a friend that gives me river access at his place. He wasn't home. Sat down by the muddy river for twenty minutes to see if he returned. Never saw a bug or a rise. Drove from there up to the Troutfitter Shop in Deposit where Dave was getting ready to close the door. He said the shop had had a busy day after a slow week and that the rooms had been filled last night and tonight. They will be open through the 15th of October. Never did don my waders. This week has been  the poorest fishing for me since back in April. There are still rising fish but I d...

It was an overcast drizzly day and yes there were olives from two to four on the UE. Saw a few caddis on the two Bk pools that I tried and no bugs on the BE pool I fished. Took a drive down the BR as far as Hankins, water was off color  even down there. Stopped at Basket Brook and Kellums  Bridge looking for risers - nothing.  Cut cross lots over to Fishs Eddy (kind of a neat drive) with the intention of trying McCarter's pool again without people standing across the river throwing lures at me. Alas I arrived in a downpour and continued on up to the BK where I managed to hook a couple of nice bows. Went up Rte 30 about 2:00 and found pseudos and rising fish in a pool that was vacant for the first time in the last ten days. The heavy pressure showed as the few fish feeding would stop rising soon as my first cast floated over them. Saw several come up under the fly for a look and go down never to be seen again. Did manage to hook five and land four.  Another angler...

With my time on the river drawing to a close I thought it would be helpful to those of you who are planning on fishing this fall  to give you a current status report on the rivers making up the Delaware River System.  Keep in mind that a good rainstorm could change everything. Beaverkill - The river is crystal clear with a current flow of under 75 CFS.  There is no flow to the water in the pools. With the cooler temperatures the fish have repopulated the pools. The streamside rocks show evidence of continued iso hatches.  The water is still too warn to expect meaningful pseudo activity. There are better opportunities elsewhere. The Upper East - (above it's junction with the Beaverkill) is flowing at about 135 CFS  at Harvard with a release at Downsville of 114 CFS. The flow is low and slow but the water is ice cold, pseudos are hatching in the afternoon and the trout are feeding on them. The fishing has attracted quite a few fishermen.  The fish have al...