Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report
Wasn't it just a beautiful day?
Posted on July 19 2016
One of the most beautiful days of the summer, sun with white puffy clouds, fresh air with low humidity, moderately warm temp and a delightful breeze. Ask a fisherman what he thought of it. "Wind came up in the morning before spinner fall and blew the Tricos away, high pressure stopped fish from rising and bugs from hatching all day. Give me a calm wind, an overcast sky with a light drizzle and...
Lost in the fog!
Posted on July 18 2016
It was a strange day. Arrived in Deposit at three after driving through on and off showers most of the way from Syracuse. Got off 17 at the second Deposit exit with the intent to fish sulfurs in or around town. On several occasions this season I have shared a pool with Mike, a retired resident of Deposit that I have known and fished with for over twenty years. Seldom have I seen anyone else...
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-16
Posted on July 15 2016
Fish and Angler 119 split a doubleheader.
With the predicted heat and sun I decided to do a split day. Probably would have gone better if I had remembered to put Tricos in my vest. Found some nice fish going on Trico spinners and all I got from them were four open mouthed refusals. The rest of the AM fishing went better as I saw a half dozen fish rise and got them all to at least look at my flies.
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-15
Posted on July 14 2016
Verizon pulls the plug on the morning fishing.
Strange day. It started with me without internet again. Spent the morning trying to talk to and understand Verizon's "offshore" customer service people who can't understand me and can't begin to get me reconnected. Finally called "Mike" Verizon's "man on the ground" for the greater Lordville metropolitan area.. Mike drove up, checked out my equipment...
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-14
Posted on July 14 2016
Going for the Gold!
After a poor and abbreviated day of fishing Tuesday I decided to put in a full day Wednesday. Started out in the morning fishing the upper regions of the big river. Rose eight fish to attractor patterns. Four ate the fly and ended up in the net. The other four decided at the last minute that they weren't really all that hungry and refused the fly.
From three thirty until...
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-13
Posted on July 12 2016
Musings on March Browns and Isonychia's - (the times they are a changing).
Back 15 years ago, before everyone needed a drift boat to trout fish there were two attractor flies that you needed to fish the Delaware River system. Early season it was the March Brown and from June first on it was the Isonychia. March Brown takes on the water were marked by explosions spraying water a foot into the air....
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-12
Posted on July 11 2016
Fish of the day.
As I usually do on Mondays, I fished my way back to camp. Stopped in Deposit and found fish feeding on a meager hatch of summer sulfurs. Being a true believer of the mantra "Never leave rising fish," I donned my waders and had at 'em. There turned out to be quite a few two year olds ranging in size from 11 to 14 inches. Many were willing to eat my flies. Lost three of the first...
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-09
Posted on July 08 2016
For perhaps someday I'll catch a mermaid!
With flies to tie for my western trip, I stayed at the camp and gave the upper East Branch sulfur eaters a rest. Left camp at about 3:30 and drove up to Deposit where I looked over the mist covered river and took a pass. Drove down stream, chatted with a friend and watched a river sans bugs, risers and fishermen flow by. Undaunted, at about five I put on...
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-08
Posted on July 07 2016
Maybe now I'll stop whining about Montana.
Yesterday I might have been a tad down. Even with no one fishing I couldn't find bugs and feeding fish enough to get excited or enthused about. Today it started out worse. Didn't head for the river until mid-afternoon and when I did - the river (WB ) was shrouded in fog, even in the fog I could count six boats anchored within the Deposit city limits....
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-07
Posted on July 07 2016
Montana looks good right now.
With the hot sunny weather the cold water loving summer sulfurs have moved into their upstream summer quarters. Fished early yesterday morning on a stretch of water in the lower regions of the WB. Saw no bugs but raised seven fish on attractor patterns. Three of them ate and stayed stuck all the way into the net.
After Tuesday's poor showing on the upriver sulfurs I...
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-06
Posted on July 05 2016
TGFSS
It was a tough afternoon on the river. Partly cloudy with a hot sun beating down more and more as the afternoon wore on. There were sulfurs but very few fish were impressed. Walked over a quarter mile of the WB and saw but one head. It turned out to be a fat sassy 18.5 inch brown who ate my fly and let me know how he felt about it. The rest of the after noon sulfur hatch was spent just...
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-05
Posted on July 04 2016
It's July now and - - - - -
There is no doubt about it the fishing has changed. The iso hatch has been meager at best and the summer sulfurs (at least up river ) have failed to hatch in numbers sufficient to get the "big boys" feeding. I fished three places between Deposit and Hancock and never saw a drift boat. Parking lots are almost empty and in many places there isn't an angler in sight.
Why?...
By Angler 119 on 2016-07-02
Posted on July 02 2016
Weekend musings on the season to date.
Took the time to tally my fish counts for May and June. It was the eighth best May in the twenty five years of records. June finished as the 11th best. There are many factors which influence the overall results. When I first came to the river system there was a learning curve that showed slow but steady progress in my ability to catch Delaware River fish. I...
A return to the West Branch.
Posted on July 01 2016
of algae.
Arrived about two-forty five to find a mix of bugs...
It was still a good month!
Posted on July 01 2016
A guy could get lonesome fishing the upper East Branch
Posted on June 30 2016
the seventeen rest area. When I turned up route thirty at the Sunoco...
We needed the rain - bad!
Posted on June 29 2016
Quiet night on the Big River.
Posted on June 28 2016
Took a look at Buckingham, as is my custom, and saw no bugs, birds , ris...
Eat early - Fish late.
Posted on June 25 2016
I fished an ares above Hale Eddy that I hadn't been in...
Catching Delaware River fish is as simple as: a, b, c, d, e
Posted on June 24 2016
There were more fishermen on the river today than earlier this week but there were still plenty of places where you could fish alone. The upriver hatches remain meager with the summer sulfurs still absent from the mix. The fish are feeding but very carefully. They seldom eat more than a couple of flies at any one time and often change lies between feeding spells.
Down river the summer sulfurs...
New look flies a hit on West Branch but bomb on the East!
Posted on June 23 2016
tie some new and different flies.
Almost passed up the...
Parking areas tell tale of woe.
Posted on June 22 2016
No one is fishing - because? No one is catching any fish. The "fluff" reports notwithstanding.
Today I fished a run in the middle section of the WB from ten in the morning (I've done very well in the morning...
Humble pie on the menu!
Posted on June 21 2016
Bear with me!
Posted on June 18 2016
most of the wade fishermen. In the evenings I stayed away...
Evening sulfurs get'em feeding!
Posted on June 17 2016
Drove to the upper East Branch which has been deserted by the hoards of anglers who attended the Green Drake hatch....
The Big River
Posted on June 16 2016
With no rain in sight and Mother Nature scheduled to pour on the heat this weekend the fishing on most of the Big River is most likely drawing to a close for the summer. Water temp at Lordville was 68 yesterday...
A different kind of a day.
Posted on June 15 2016
The bugs may have started early without telling me. Got to the river about 3:15 after a nice visit with one of the Troutfitter regulars. The big sulfurs were on the water and there were quite a few splashy risers. Hooked and lost two nice...
Sunshine saves the day!
Posted on June 14 2016
The fish fed but were clearly not in a feeding frenzy. You had tolook for them and wait for them to rise then cast. There...
Fishing is "coming around"
Posted on June 11 2016
Yesterday it got up near seventy and when the wind laid down around six it paved the way for a...
Bright sun, high winds and out of control boats make for a tough day!
Posted on June 10 2016
With the wind blowing tree limbs down along the road I decided to head up to the upper EB where you have a chance to find a spot out of the wind. Found a nice run with no wind and a good hatch of sulfurs - but in the hour I sat there I never saw a fish rise.
Bit the bullet and headed for the WB where boats were careening out of control in a wind that was blowing at over thirty. There were a surpr...
Fishing amidst the Buttercups!
Posted on June 09 2016
The bugs, for some reason were lovin' it. By three the water was yellow with every kind of bug you could name. It wasn't...
Big D back on the menu
Posted on June 08 2016
on top. Hooked a couple on the cornuta and then had to switch to a
sulfur so I could see it. The sulfurs were on the water by then
anyway and the fish were more than happy to eat mine. Over the years
I have noticed that the approval rating of my flies goes up as the
light fades.
Until the summer sulfurs get going in the afternoon...
It remembered how to rain!
Posted on June 07 2016
Counted "only" six cars at Long Flat and three at Power Line. The drakes are done and the upper EB will soon be a quiet place again.
Didn't find...
Green Drakes, Isos and Cornuta
Posted on June 04 2016
Isos normally follow the drakes and appear in numbers around Memorial Day. Often times you can see as many as a dozen nymph husks on stream side rocks. This...
What's cookin at Cooks Falls? The fish?
Posted on June 03 2016
The unfishable high temps have continued on the Big River and the Big East. The Beaverkill? Who knows? There have been no temperature readings at the USGS station there for years.
The three most critical stations (where thermal stress is most likely to...
Memorial Day weekend fishing lays a rotten egg!
Posted on May 31 2016
Surprisingly the algae problem improved slightly the second day after the...
THE MAIN STEM, BIG EAST BRANCH AND THE BEAVERKILL ARE TOO HOT TO FISH AT THIS TIME.
Posted on May 29 2016
West Branch -
Went out early on the lower WB and saw more boats than fish. The flow increase cooled the water and slowed both the bugs and fish. Fished...
You can't say I didn't try
Posted on May 28 2016
Second stop was WB at the gamelands - hooked and landed a nice eighteen inch brown. Proceeded to the no-kill where I again saw no bugs or risers. After a Wendy's #7 (family style chicken sandwich) I was off to the upper East. Saw a pool that had no...
Too hot, too soon
Posted on May 27 2016
With the unseasonably hot weather most all of he Big River, big EB and Beaverkill will have temps above seventy during the day and should not be fished. The upper EB and the WB should be ok temp wise but are
Change of strategy brings better results
Posted on May 26 2016
WOW!
Posted on May 25 2016
With the higher water temps the day time...
Toads in the road.
Posted on May 24 2016
This time the pool was vacant when I arrived at six-thirt...
"Refusals" make for a watery fish chowder
Posted on May 21 2016
I was apparently below the hatch as there wasn't much going on until the sun got off the water. Cast at what risers I did see and did some "bli...
They finally went 'til dark!
Posted on May 20 2016
From the time the wind hit until the sun went behind the hills...
Rainless Rainbows
Posted on May 19 2016
An any old kind of day
Posted on May 18 2016
I had better things to do - -
Posted on May 17 2016
stop at the Troutfitter to pick up some CDC and a new Amadou...
Solitude without Loneliness - -
Posted on May 14 2016
Fished a pool on the big east, two boats went by giving me a wave...
It is what it is.
Posted on May 13 2016
Clearly those words don't apply to the Delaware River as we know it today. The Delaware is the best trout fishery east of the Mississippi River. It is also the most heavily fished....
Spinners save the day
Posted on May 12 2016
And then - The frosty morning turned into a hot sunny day. I never saw a march...