Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Will be starting my eighth decade on the planet before the "traditional" April 1st trout season opening day. Looked at pictures from my high school classes' last reunion along with the obit notices posted on the class web page and came away feeling lucky. As I've no doubt mentioned before, it's been a goal of mine to be able to wade trout streams at 80. Down in Florida I took my five mile bike ride and did my mile and a quarter walk almost every day. The arthritis in my hands and wrists has hampered what little upper body weight work I do as the increased pain in the hands was more than offsetting any gains in the upper body muscles. Gave the fifteen pound dumbbells to my sixty- five year old fishing partner. Unless something unforeseen happens, I'll be ready to go when the flies start hatching. Based on the fact that only a few of you recognize excerpts taken from songs that were popular during my school years, I assume that most of you are a good bit younger...

 Picked one of the most beautiful November days imaginable to drive down to Lordville and shut down the estate. Bright sun, early morning fog, with flocks of geese on their way out to cut cornfields to feed. Temps varied from 45 to 35 depending on the fog density. The trees are bare, save for a few oaks  and larch with color but the hills are basically gray.  I've been busy in Lafayette. Spend an hour or two each morning and evening up in a tree hoping for a buck to come by. So far the only buck I've seen in real life has been what is now a unicorn. A week ago when he walked around not 20 yards in front of me he sported two slightly curved six inch spikes. Last night when he walked right under my other stand he was missing one of his horns.  In addition to the hunting we had loggers come and fell almost 100 dead and dying ash trees that had fallen victim to the Emerald ash borer. While they were at it they also took down a dying maple that leaned over the house and a...

 Home in Lafayette watching a logging company take down some enormous dead and dying ash trees along with some other trees that pose a hazard to the house, driveway and power line. Will not be back down to the "Lordville Estate" until at least Tuesday but thought it worth mentioning that as delightful as the past couple of days may have been, they were probably not good pseudo days. Why? Check the water temps that went from the high 40's to the high 50's. Pseudos like cold snotty weather. When I headed home Tuesday I stopped where the bugs were hatching the day before (at the same time) and there was not a bug to be seen. Also stopped in Deposit to check on the fish rising below the town bridge. There were a few rises but nothing like when the bugs were hatching the day before. If you want to go out on a positive note try to pick a cold windless day with water temps around 50. You may not catch anything but you should see both bugs and rising fish. If you've alrea...

 Continued work on the camp shutdown, am at the stage where everything can be finished with one overnight stay. Am not anxious to shut things down as the fishing has been good and the bucks have not  made an appearance in Lafayette since mid September.  Am heading home either tomorrow night or early Monday to be present when the dead ash trees are cut down around our house. Future fishing will depend on weather and deer activity. Left camp at noon today and returned to where my fishing was interrupted yesterday. Yesterday seven fish hooked in one hour, today three fish hooked in two hours. The bugs were going and the fish were rising, they just didn't eat flies with hooks in 'em. There's a lesson there for everyone (myself included, I should know better). With little bug activity when I arrived at my second stop, I took a long walk upstream. At about 2:30 both the bugs (just pseudos) and the fish got going. Unfortunately I was not invited to the table as my flies were pre...

 Learned a long time ago that you earn every fish you catch in the Delaware.  Don't know if I earned todays two hours of fishing during my two days in purgatory last week or if I'm going to be paying for them later this week but it was grand. Drove down this morning arriving at noon, did a mow grass/ rake leaves combo, ate a sandwich and at 2:00 I headed for the river. Was amazed at the number of fishermen until I realized it was Sunday and a nice one at that.  Sixty-five degrees, no wind, bugs and feeding fish. Who could ask for anything more? The fishing was great, while it lasted.  Hooked seven rainbows the first hour (the last one a big 'bow by the tail that came unhooked as I was pulling it up to shore. Watched a pontoon boat fisherman come down the river, row over to the far side and walk the boat down to me. Was about to thank him for being courteous when he stopped right across the river from me, not 35 feet away, got out his nymph rig and started casting rig...

 Today was just not a pleasant day to be on the water.  It was overcast, cold and windy, a deadly combo for the hapless fly fishermen. Got in the water about noon and saw but two other anglers all day. The car thermometer never got above 47 and it spent most of the day around 44. Looked at the water temps before leaving camp and all but Stilesville were in the forty's and destined to remain there. The release water from Cannonsville had the water temp at Stilesville at 53 and that's where I went. Looked off the town bridge around noon and saw at at least a couple dozen fish rising steadily, went back to the car, put on everything I owned and went fishing.. The fishing - Walked back to the town bridge and things had changed. In place of the rising fish were wind blown waves. Got back in the car and drove around looking for a place that was at least somewhat out of the wind. The first place I found  was in the midst of a good pseudo hatch. There were rising fish, wind and b...

Much to my surprise the air conditioning instillation crew that came to correct a D- instillation job done last August was finished by noon. A look at the job left me just shaking my head, the finished job is a C- at best.  I paid the crew the balance I owed them and will finish the job myself. The installers were very nice young men who have not been taught what good workmanship is and what a finished job should look like. But, they were done in time for me to pack the car and head down (without my cell phone) for a bonus two days of fishing. Tried to call Jean to let here know I was going and discovered the phone wasn't in the car. The U-turn only cost me ten minutes and I was in the water before the bugs even thought about hatching. The bugs - They just don't make'm like they use to.  Have seen pseudos hatch in a snow storm and they usually aren't smiling if the wind isn't blowing fifteen or twenty. Today with a gentle breeze (ask Jim N.) and temps in the upper f...