Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.

It's been a week since Jean and I took in what we both felt were the best colors we have seen in the Catskills. The hills covered with maples were a blaze with red and orange. On the drive down today from Lafayette to Binghamton the leaves were well past peak. As I headed east into the Catskill foothills things got better. Yes, the hills that were bright orange and red last week are now mostly gray, but the hills covered with oaks are just coming into their peak colors. They are bright yellow, dark red and a rusty orange with the green of pine and hemlock sprinkled in. If we hadn't had such a beautiful trip last week, I'd call Jean and ask her to come down again, (maybe she could even help close up the camp).

Spent an hour and a half cutting/raking the lawn, and before I knew it, it was time to check out the fishing. Drove up the PA side starting at 2:30, made my usual stops and never saw a bug on the water or a fish rise, (did see what I was sure were three trout off the 97 bridge). It wasn't until I got up to the BK that I saw my first rise, waited a couple minutes but he didn't come again. Farther upstream I found a pod of fish rising with enough enthusiasm that I suited up and had at 'em. Hooked a nice rainbow on my second cast, it jumped, and ran upstream catching the line on a rock and was gone with a fly and my 6x tippet. The pool went dead, seemingly forever, (probably no more than 15 minutes), and then a fish rose within 45 feet. Hooked him on the very first cast, he went upstream not 20 feet before the line again caught on a rock, he too got a fly and some six tippet as a souvenir. That ended the rising. Headed back towards the car and hooked a third rainbow that I had apparently walked past on the way downstream, (it took a couple minutes for this one to just come unstuck). (Also lost a precocious 10 incher that ate the fly after it had drifted by me. Felt the tug, hooked, the fish jumped and gave me back my fly.) Zero for four and it was some of the best fishing I've had in weeks. 

Headed back towards Lordville stopping on the BK and BE without seeing a rise. Found a spot on the WB where the sun was still on the water and so were olives. The fish were rising just about 10 feet farther away than I can make a decent cast. Hooked and landed two yearlings and was refused by some bigger fish that know a poor cast when they see one. 

Was on the road by 5:48, and had time before dark to see seven deer meander through Lordville, (none of them bucks).