Posted on July 05 2026
The Lordville 4th of July Parade threw a monkey wrench into my plans to fish yet another Dorothea hatch. Got drenched in sweat trying to do a little yard work then came in, got cleaned up, and decided to tie a few new sulfurs, lost track of the time and when I tried to head out it was too late, the road was filled with paraders.
Made my escape at 1:00 and drove up to Deposit only to find wall to wall fishermen from Stilesville to Barking Dog. Drove to several places where I watched a modest Dorotheas hatch with very few fish rising. Yes there was a riser here and there but I never saw the serious feeding I witnessed yesterday. Was in no hurry to get in the water in the places that were available but when people started to leave I put on the waders and gave it a try. It wasn't yesterday.
The flies - Dominant fly in the No Kill was the Dorothea, there were but a few Invaria. When I drove up to Stilesville at 5:00 the fishermen were still there but I saw only a few bugs and even fewer risers, although the mist on the water made it hard to see.
The fishing - Never got a fish to even look at either a Dorothea or an Invaria. Did my best on caddis and a large olive that might well have passed for an iso. Yesterday my smallest fish was a 13 inch rainbow, today fishing from about 2:00 until almost 5:00, my biggest were two rainbows each 14 inches. Some days are like that.
With thunderstorms on either side of us, I went back to the fishing camp, watched the radar, and gave the evening fishing a pass.
Curious about what you use for a rod set up, what weight rod you use, line and leader length.
First time long time. I have listened and learned from your postings. Thank You! More people read than you think. I would ask Dave if he could get you stats on the amount of hits per page. Might or might not be helpful.
On the 4th I took an early drive by Stilesville and have never seen people double stacked at the Red Barn, it was a sight to see. Also thank you people of the course line as it push me to find other places to fish…. I settled in the NoKill section and probably had my best day ever on the WB.
Even with enough sunscreen to paint a house I still managed to get some sun burn.
A119 congrats on hanging in there. The fishing has got to be getting really hard. Way to go!!!!! I am going to give it a try on Monday. Have to mow today !!
Angler119’- Boy oh boy, sounds like a very tough day. On the bright side , you did avoid the bench, which I have occupied on numerous occasions this year. Hope the fishing is better today. We are in a flood watch. Crazy. A 100 degrees and now torrential rain. Take care. Ed