Posted on July 24 2020
It was an interesting day for me. Started out with a plan to fish from the Stilesville fisherman's parking lot down to the town bridge. The lot was full of cars and the river was full of fishermen. Paid to park at the red barn, four cars were there before me and two more came before I left the pool on my journey.
Fished the pool until the hatch got going and then made my way down river. It was my hope to find a few fish along the way between the "hot spots". I didn't. There were lots of bugs but the only rising fish were in the heavily fished and crowded pools. From 11:30 until 2:30 I hooked eight fish and landed four. The last three fish that ate the fly experienced my rapid hook removal procedure which comes from going too long without hooking a fish.
Rested up at the camp before venturing out at 6:30. Headed towards Deposit on 17, crossed the river at Hale Eddy and went up the back side to Deposit. There were 7 cars by the Hale Eddy bridge and when I got a look through the trees at cars in the barking dog parking area I knew the WB was no longer in my plans for tonight. Fishermen and boats were lined up like a picket fence from the 17 pool all the way to Stilesville. Never hesitated, got back on 17 in Deposit and drove east.
At 7:30, after an hour of driving, I was sure I was not going to fish. While the number of fishermen on the UEB was nothing like the WB there were still far too many fishermen in every pool I passed. Finally found a steep banked, empty pool, parked and headed down to the river. In the places you would like to see fish working, there was nothing. In the deep water, under an overhanging willow on the far bank, there were fish feeding. Was able to get five of them to eat my fly, landed four. The last was an 18 inch brown that hadn't been hooked since Hendrickson time. WOW!! What a difference when a fish hasn't been caught repeatedly. He took off like a shot and tore all over the pool. Netting that fish after the fight he gave me made for a perfect ending to the day.
Stopped in Hancock on the way home to watch the fireworks display at Fireman's Field, it was almost as good as the one in our back yard on 4th of July (which was the best I've ever seen).
Fished the pool until the hatch got going and then made my way down river. It was my hope to find a few fish along the way between the "hot spots". I didn't. There were lots of bugs but the only rising fish were in the heavily fished and crowded pools. From 11:30 until 2:30 I hooked eight fish and landed four. The last three fish that ate the fly experienced my rapid hook removal procedure which comes from going too long without hooking a fish.
Rested up at the camp before venturing out at 6:30. Headed towards Deposit on 17, crossed the river at Hale Eddy and went up the back side to Deposit. There were 7 cars by the Hale Eddy bridge and when I got a look through the trees at cars in the barking dog parking area I knew the WB was no longer in my plans for tonight. Fishermen and boats were lined up like a picket fence from the 17 pool all the way to Stilesville. Never hesitated, got back on 17 in Deposit and drove east.
At 7:30, after an hour of driving, I was sure I was not going to fish. While the number of fishermen on the UEB was nothing like the WB there were still far too many fishermen in every pool I passed. Finally found a steep banked, empty pool, parked and headed down to the river. In the places you would like to see fish working, there was nothing. In the deep water, under an overhanging willow on the far bank, there were fish feeding. Was able to get five of them to eat my fly, landed four. The last was an 18 inch brown that hadn't been hooked since Hendrickson time. WOW!! What a difference when a fish hasn't been caught repeatedly. He took off like a shot and tore all over the pool. Netting that fish after the fight he gave me made for a perfect ending to the day.
Stopped in Hancock on the way home to watch the fireworks display at Fireman's Field, it was almost as good as the one in our back yard on 4th of July (which was the best I've ever seen).
Congratulations on yet another good day! One question, again trying to “up my game”. When you say you planned to work from Stilesville to the town bridge, do you mean you waded all that way looking for rises or is there some footpath you can take? That is quite an effort. Do you then need to walk all the way back to Stilesville from the town bridge for your car? If these are “trade secrets”, I understand—no problem. I am just jealous!!
BTW, it is pretty amazing how the WB can be sparsely crowded on one day and then look like a conveyor belt of boats and fishermen on the next. From my brief experience and viewpoint this year, however, nearly everyone seems to really try to give each other enough space.