Posted on May 29 2024
It's 9:55pm, my Perfect Manhattan is sitting beside me along with chips and dip and I'm ready to write. Had to take care of the wet stuff first. Raincoat is hanging by the wood stove, vest is hanging over the back of a chair next to the baseboard heater, fly boxes are opened up on the table to dry, and my waders are hanging up on the porch. The waders sprung a leak in the right foot today and I need to get them dried out before they can be patched.
Left the fishing camp at about 12:30 and basically just drove around until almost 4:00. Went up to Deposit where David at the Troutfitter was enjoying a quiet day. He said that the weekend was the busiest three days ever for the shop. He was waiting anxiously for the big brown truck as he was out of everything. When the UPS guy arrived, Dave went out to help the driver with the boxes and I took off for a tour of the river system.
There was no one on the river. I suppose some people have to work, and some need to do the wash after the long weekend, but just five trailers at Shehawken, seven at Balls Eddy and zero at Buckingham, didn't tell but a small part of the story. After seeing only one rise on a tour of the entire WB, I drove over to the UEB, thinking maybe the drakes are on, and maybe they are. There was one car at powerline and one car at Long flat at about 2:30, which really doesn't prove much. Shinhopple was as far as I went upstream, (the drakes don't hatch that far up river), never saw a rise, or a bug with the binoculars for that matter.
At 3:30 I was knocking on a door to ask permission to fish now posted water on the WB that I've fished for thirty years. Met a very nice young couple who let me park in their yard and showed me the way to get down to the road from their house.
The fishing - It was surprisingly very good. Why? I haven't a clue. The fish have been pounded unmercifully for the past three days. There were very few bugs, and even fewer risers, but, the fish that rose were apparently very hungry because they ate.
The bugs - Caught the only Green Drake I saw with my bare hands, counted the Isos I saw without having to take off my socks and shoes, never saw one single olive. Did see a few dark brown caddis, and a few sulfurs and cahills.
The outlook - If you can have as good a day as I did, without any significant hatching, what's not to like. Check water flows before leaving home, when on the river, watch carefully for risers, and make careful, accurate casts to the rising fish. If and when it stops raining the eastern half of the system should be looked at. Between the high water temps and yesterday's rain, I just don't know what bugs will be hatching there. Some times you got to go before you know.
The guy who taught me to tie flies 50 years ago promised he would be able to help me solve most problems regarding catching trout on a fly, but that leaky waders were something that would happen no matter what.
He was wrong about solving all the problems associated with catching trout, I’m still learning, but he was dead on about leaky waders.
Angler119- I was slow to rise, but thanks for the Bob Dylan reference. Ed
Drifted from the ball field above bard Parker on the east to buckingham a few days ago. My family fished rapala like lures of various colors with very limited effect probably cause it was sunny and they were using spinning rods and not 8’6 or 9’ 4 or 5# fly rods. Caught a nice brown and sucker on the rapalas and I caught a sucker on a brown caddis parachute fly. Saw fish rising mostly in early afternoon and then after 6 all the way to the boat exit. Big flies- drakes, march browns-on the water. Lots of other flies too. Kinda wished we did the float on one of the more rainy days though maybe not if it was too windy.
I’ve set up my new garden with 3 feet of wire fence to keep the bunnies and woodchucks out and 50# spinning line (mono) about 4.5’ up to confuse the deer and anyone else who thinks they can get into my garden
Had some success with 14 cahills during the day this weekend, (brighter than I hoped) and cahills and spinners at dusk (west branch near hale eddy)
I fished the UWB yesterday and did ok!! There were almost no bugs but I landed 4 fish, pulled the hook out of 3 and lost one as the fly was swinging. Also has 5 refusals. There were caddis and I witnessed a small Hendrickson hatch. I caught the fish on caddis emergers and one on a Hendrickson Dunn.
I also had the river to myself. At 6:30 I changed locations and went to Nordic and it was dead. I left the riverat7:45. I know I should have stayed longer!!!!!!!!