Posted on May 09 2019
Today I didn't fish. I'm not sure why, but I spent the day trying to figure it out.
The water levels are too high to wade. The weather forecast called for 10 to 20 mph winds. There was yard work to be done. The grass was finally dry and I could mow. Two peach trees died this winter and needed to be cut down. The two porches needed cleaning ( the upstairs too). All true and good reasons, but not really why I didn't fish.
For the past two weeks there have been places to fish without the need to face reality. The Beaverkill and the Neversink have wade fishermen yes, but because of historically low flows, they do not have drift boats (yet). I have fished the Delaware when and where I could, but being able to fish without constantly looking over your shoulder for the next boat is a feeling only wade fishermen appreciate.
With the Hendrickson hatch for 2019 winding down on the BK and the Neversink , I was faced with the prospect of fishing the UE and WB along with a flotilla of drift boats the likes of which I've never before seen. I opted out.
Why? That's the question. It's not an easy one to answer. I can still wade, see rises, make the cast and yes, even catch fish. Most of the guides go out of their way to not disturb your fishing, BUT the sport has changed. No longer do you have to wade close enough to a fish to make a cast and then test your casting ability by making a presentation good enough to fool a feeding trout. Today your guide ties on a nymph rig with a bobber, tells you to cast it and watch the bobber. No wading skills or casting skills are required. You don't have to read the water or look for rises, you don't even have to tie on your own flies. With drift boats, no fish in the river gets a free pass, they all are in casting range. Many of today's fishermen don't have the time or inclination to develop the skills to catch trout on their own. They opt for immediate gratification and spend their money for a guide who is supposed to insure their success regardless of their ability. If they catch fish they go home and tell everyone who'll listen how easy it is to fly fish.
Someone in the New York DEC needs to wake up (as many in other states have) and realize what has happened to fly fishing. There is a desperate need to set aside portions of the Delaware River for those who choose to pursue a sport which pits an individuals skills against some of the most difficult trout mother nature has ever put on this earth. The proliferation of drift boats has, sadly, made that an all but impossible option on the Delaware River today.
The water levels are too high to wade. The weather forecast called for 10 to 20 mph winds. There was yard work to be done. The grass was finally dry and I could mow. Two peach trees died this winter and needed to be cut down. The two porches needed cleaning ( the upstairs too). All true and good reasons, but not really why I didn't fish.
For the past two weeks there have been places to fish without the need to face reality. The Beaverkill and the Neversink have wade fishermen yes, but because of historically low flows, they do not have drift boats (yet). I have fished the Delaware when and where I could, but being able to fish without constantly looking over your shoulder for the next boat is a feeling only wade fishermen appreciate.
With the Hendrickson hatch for 2019 winding down on the BK and the Neversink , I was faced with the prospect of fishing the UE and WB along with a flotilla of drift boats the likes of which I've never before seen. I opted out.
Why? That's the question. It's not an easy one to answer. I can still wade, see rises, make the cast and yes, even catch fish. Most of the guides go out of their way to not disturb your fishing, BUT the sport has changed. No longer do you have to wade close enough to a fish to make a cast and then test your casting ability by making a presentation good enough to fool a feeding trout. Today your guide ties on a nymph rig with a bobber, tells you to cast it and watch the bobber. No wading skills or casting skills are required. You don't have to read the water or look for rises, you don't even have to tie on your own flies. With drift boats, no fish in the river gets a free pass, they all are in casting range. Many of today's fishermen don't have the time or inclination to develop the skills to catch trout on their own. They opt for immediate gratification and spend their money for a guide who is supposed to insure their success regardless of their ability. If they catch fish they go home and tell everyone who'll listen how easy it is to fly fish.
Someone in the New York DEC needs to wake up (as many in other states have) and realize what has happened to fly fishing. There is a desperate need to set aside portions of the Delaware River for those who choose to pursue a sport which pits an individuals skills against some of the most difficult trout mother nature has ever put on this earth. The proliferation of drift boats has, sadly, made that an all but impossible option on the Delaware River today.
Thank you for your well-thought out comments and the effort you put into your column and your fishing. The same thing is happening everywhere. I fish the Salmon River and other Tributaries from Lake Ontario (as well as the WB) and I see the same things happening there. Guides can set up a float rod at the proper depth and gear, put on a pink worm and voila, we have a trophy trout fisherman with pictures to prove it! On the Farmington River in CT, the parade of boats, tubes, kayaks etc. don’t even bother the fish anymore. It’s rare when you can fish alone for quality fish. I guess we are both getting old and miss “The Good Old Days”, but it does make it a little sweeter when then the mystical plans of the Fisherman’s luck works and you get that day of being alone with a bunch of rising fish. I wish you many more days like this!
The boats, and their inconsiderate behavior I have experienced the west branch at times, rowing in front of you right over fish your casting to followed by an empty “sorry man” when there was plenty of room and time to go behind is why I like the beaver kill a lot of days. Of course in a lot of spots and times I wish I had a sign the read " You don’t HAVE to keep fish, let alone eveyone of them"!!
It is certainly the only blue ribbon water we have. I agree that the dec is dropping the ball hard, and i dont think they really care.
I think its time for someone to propose rules like they have in the upper fly during summer months. No weight, no sinking leaders, etc.
Results! Everyone wants and expects maximum results. With little to no effort applied. I’m young both in age and to the sport, but I try to get into the water wherever I can and hopefully where some can’t or haven’t. I’m almost just as annoyed with the boats as I am the guys “fly-fishing” with their hand on their hip and the 13 foot rods. A wade section would be an awesome addition to the river. Or rather than limiting anyone’s access provide more access either there in the Delaware or rehabilitate some of the other once blue ribbon streams. It seems abandon mill structures and private ownership impede the opportunity at good isolated fishing just as much as a team of three whirling fluorescent bobbers and mono. The soul of learning practicing and understanding is fleeting. Phenology, entomology, casting, reading water. A replaced by people lining 4 fish to put a mop fly on a splashy riser.
Well said. And thanks for your reports. Alas NY is not a state that truly values fishing (beyond the annual press release announcing free fishing days!). Elected officials here don’t consider fishing a priority so the bureaucrats who work for them won’t rock the boat, pardon the pun. The DEC will keep punching the clock. A resort on the Delaware said last year 90 percent of their business was from wade anglers. Maybe the politicians should hear that.