Posted on October 15 2022
Today I'm a day tripper. Drove down this morning and arrived in Deposit at 12:00, far too early for the pseudo hatch but like most day trippers I suited up and fished. There was nothing on the water and of course nothing rising. Fished an October (a/k/a pumpkin) caddis for a while (I've never caught a fish on one) and then switched to a caddis (not because I thought it would be any good, but I could at least see it). Got a big boil refusal from the "brush pile behemoth" but didn't hook a fish until the first pseudos appeared.
It was a beautiful, sunny day but the gusty 5/10 mph wind out of the wnw was troublesome as it put the fish down and made casting to risers difficult if you weren't patient enough to wait for the lulls. My patience doesn't rate virtue level but I was able to hook and land four 12 inch fish by 2:30, at which time I reeled it in and headed downstream to fish the pseudo hatch bonanza.
Reentered the water a little before three and there was just nothing going on. By three thirty there were pseudos on the water everywhere and fish gulping down the duns with seemingly not a care in the world, except for the fact that I was throwing my very best 2022 "model perfect" pseudo duns at a pod of fish not fifteen feet away from me ( try that with your nine foot, stiffer than a honeymoon dick, rod) and got not so much as a refusal.
The results - No matter how you cut the cake all I got were the crumbs. Yes, I caught three fish, but one was nine inches long. The second fish was a nice 18 inch 'bow, that because of my inability to get anything to eat, I was sure was foul hooked (it wasn't). The third fish (another 18 inch 'bow) ate a Cahill long after the pseudo feeding orgy was over. Threw at rising fish for three hours, may have gotten half a dozen refusals and three takes, (yes I landed two big rainbows) but it was a butt kicking that on a scale of 1/10 was at least a nine. Throw in a run on sentence or two and Mrs. Haskins would not hesitate to give me the ten.
Sounds like a"typical" day on the Delaware-frustration with success
Just an addendum — I have caught fish on a # 12 October caddis on the Willow and BK over the years. Not this year , however. Don’t know why it wouldn’t work on the Delaware. I also did well on a Cahill emerger on Wednesday. Not sure why. Oh the mysteries of Flyfishing
Clearly the problem is that all the pseudocloeon family members have been renamed, the fish knew that and so of course they did not even look at your out-of -date flies. ;>)
Pseudocloeon anoka = Iswaeon anoka
Pseudocloeon carolina = Acentrella turbida
Pseudocloeon dubium = Plauditus dubius
Pseudocloeon edmundsi = Iswaeon anoka
Pseudocloeon futile = Apobaetis futilis
Pseudocloeon Propinquum = Labiobaetis propinquus
Pseudocloeon punctiventris = Plauditus punctiventris
Pseudocloeon turbidum = Acentrella turbida
OTOH: Out west, the guides generally don’t use tiny flies and instead through a bigger fly at them when they are eating small stuff and being picky. It sounds like that is what actually worked for you in the end.
It is great to hear that I am not the only one who has struggled with small flies when it seems like every fish in the river is gorging on them.
Angler119. Yesterday shows that A butt kicking can happen to anyone. But you still managed to catch two really nice tainbows. Congratulations Ed
Mrs. Haskins might give you detention for the 9 ft rod comment too!
Is there a pseudo hatch up near Deposit or is it a downstream event only?