Posted on June 21 2023
Skipped the morning fishing as I had an appointment for a haircut at Vicky's Unisex Hair Salon up in Deposit. It's right across the bridge from the Troutfitter Fly Shop. If you're new in town and need your hair cut, give her a call, tell her I sent you and you'll get it for the Angler-119 special price of $8.50, (just be sure to leave a generous tip). After the hair cut, I stopped at the Troutfitter and got to talk with Dave and two long time Troutfitter Regulars from back in Syracuse (actually one of them was born and raised right in Deposit).
Skipping the morning fishing because I had a hair cut appointment, brought back memories of my work days. Would call to set up an appointment for a will signing, (we went to elderly peoples homes back then), and the client would often say, "Oh, you can't come this week, I'm getting my hair done".
By now you're convinced that, three paragraphs in, the fishing wasn't worth talking about, and this time you're right. Left the Troutfitter about 1:30 and incurred the wrath of numerous motorists by parking on the wrong side of the road (facing the oncoming traffic), at every place where I had a view of the river. From the iron bridge in Deposit to Monument, I never saw a bug or a rise. At the upper gamelands I saw my first sulfurs and first rises. In the hour and a half I was there I rose four fish on my model perfect 2023 sulfurs, tied just this morning. Three were unimpressed and refused (one indignantly). The fourth (actually the very first) ate it, jumped two times and took off on a run during which he came unstuck. To call what I saw at the gamelands a "hatch" would require me to have more than one Perfect Manhattan. Repeated the drive at 6:30 and ran into rain and fog up in Deposit all without seeing a bug or a rise.
Last stop of the day, (there wasn't even a place to park at junction pool) was at one of the pools on the lower portion of the EB. Water temp 69.6 and falling, (don't give me any s--t). And, the fish were rising, adozens of them actually, but on what? Stared at the water and saw three spinners and put on several different spinners (various sizes and colors). Didn't matter, got refusals on all of them. Never saw a bug on the water or in the air, but there were fish up with body parts exposed above the surface. Long story short, hooked and landed an 11 incher on a spinner and two big fish on a tiny emerger. The brown came off at the net and I landed the 17 inch rainbow. Just never had a clue what they were eating. Actually quit early (before 9:00) as they shut down, (as fish are wont to do)all at once.
Wishing you well, Sir. I was on the WB on Tuesday. Had pods of fish all around me at gamelands eating sulpher duns and emergers for a few hours. (Nothing much else was happening higher up.) They could not have cared less about me, or about my upstream positioning to get as good a drift as possible. I had to make at least 200 casts without even a sniff from any of them. But it was fun to watch them eat like pigs and to have targets — great afternoon. My sulphers were perhaps too small, being left overs from fishing in the zone last year. Only thing I could come up with…
Solstice today!
Ditto no rises on the WB. The upper WB and lower were dead. Caught a few bait fish sized trout on BWOs that were randomly rising. My one buddy who stayed till dark on the lower WB connected with a 16 inch rainbow on an iso near darkness. That was it for the day.
Ah the Delaware, it again teaches us to be humble.
Angler119- Sounds like a really tough day . No bugs equals no rising fish. Better luck today. Achllies update- Orthopedist said the Achilles seems to be healing well on its own so no surgery Just be careful . . Lookout red barn , here I come. Going to the Willow tomorrow morning and then probably to the UEB. I’ll let you know how I make out. Ed