Posted on August 08 2020
Freestone - Thanks for your very generous offer. This makes three times I've gotten in trouble "adding staff". I'm retired, spend an unconscionable amount of time fishing and enjoy writing the blog. It's my way of giving back to the sport I love. Hopefully the blog is more helpful and entertaining than it is misleading and confusing. The past week, unfortunately more the latter than the former.
Dennis - You answered your own question. Less people, less boats and more water to fish. As the flows increase and the water cools the fish move back to their home pools. Many of the fish out of the Sulfur Zone have been lightly fished since the last green drake spinner fell. If the hatches come off it can be very good. Tricos and Ephron's (the white flies) are warm water bugs and should be around in good numbers, isos hatch in the daytime when the water is colder, hebes hatch about five in the PM - they apparently don't taste good as I've never seen a fish eat one nor have I ever caught a fish on one. Steno's are anybody's guess as to when and where, brown caddis can be seen nightly in Sept. and Oct. flying upstream on their way to only God knows where, they never seem to fall anywhere on the Delaware River, the pseudos get going when the water cools significantly and to my knowledge are the last meaningful hatch of the year, fish love 'em but by the time they hatch the feeding window each day is short.
Ed S., Jeff H. and Jim - Thanks again, good humor, forgiveness of blunders, and kind words make the journey rewarding. Maybe someone could file a report of a nice catch or a picture of a big fish caught, just to show the DRC we catch fish once in a while too.
Cause for concern - Did some seemingly worthwhile research on the sulfur hatch many years ago for a former head of the fisheries dept. in Region 4. NYC was, at the time, letting warm water spill from a full reservoir during June without the release of cold water. Years when that happened the sulfur hatch would blow out and we would spend a bugless July and August. With some arm twisting of his friend who controlled the releases, he was able to get enough cold water released during spills to keep the sulfurs hatching - until he went on vacation and we got a big rain event and the reservoir spilled the entire week. As predicted the sulfurs were gone at the end of the week. I was upset, he was more philosophical. He said at least I know what to ask for to preserve the summer fishing. They haven't let warm water off the top this year, BUT - these last two storms have put a lot of warm rain water in the river, will be interesting to see if the sulfurs continue to hatch, especially below Oquaga.
Hope to be back on the river tomorrow.
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