Forgot How Much Fun It Is To Have Rising Fish To Cast At.

Just so you know, I read and learn from the comments. I have heard of numerous encounters with stripers this year following the two months of high water. Butch's post about someone catching 5 is still unsettling. Hopefully anyone catching one above Callicoon makes sure that it has eaten it's last trout. Congrats to Ed S. who caught two nice fish on sulfurs after taking a bath in sub 50 degree water. My hands would have been shaking so hard I couldn't have tied on a fly.  Max, was encouraged by your report and enjoyed a nice night because of it. If you are still in Sylvan Beach in mid August, drive up to McConnelsville and check out the Ephron hatch. The West Branch of Fish Creek was one of my old haunts and the hatch is incredible. From McConnelsville to Blossvale is quite remote and has some big fish. (Now everyone knows why I can't comment on comments and congratulate successful anglers.)

Decided to take in the sulfur hatch on the UEB, left at 1:30, drove up route 30 looking for, but not expecting to see, sulfurs and risers, and didn't until I was above Corbett. Hit the trifecta at the Abutment Pool, sulfurs, rising fish, and a fisherman. Waved and took option #2, a long walk through a knee high hay field that was freshly mowed the last time I was there. Did so without knowing if the path through the cane to the river was still open. It was, sorta, made my way through stomping down cane stalks as I went ***, got to the river and fished down a couple hundred yards without seeing a rise. Finally where the run dumps into the pool were a few fish rising, but not eating the sulfurs. Like the WB there were also some tiny olives on the water, I tied one on, and in a very enjoyable half hour, hooked four fish. One came at me a good six inches to eat the fly on what was a short cast. The fly pulled out of his mouth. The other three all were landed, the fourth was an 18 incher that ate three flies, each one closer to me. Made my cast and it drifted six feet past where he last rose before he opened his mouth and inhaled the fly. Walked back to the car not minding one bit that I was stepping on freshly spread manure.  

Drove back to the Lordville Estate, arriving at 4:30, rested up and was in the car at 6:00 ready to again try to find an evening hatch of sulfurs on the WB. Selected a pool above Hale Eddy, sure I was two hours too early, walked in and had rising fish from then 'til dark. 

How'd I do?  All the long suffering WB anglers, take heart, got my ass kicked, hard and often. There was a perfect sulfur hatch, (enough to get fish up, but not so many that they wouldn't see your fly. Got refused over a dozen times by fish sipping duns. The two anglers fishing above me walked by on the way home saying that they were really fussy today, the boat that sat in the honey hole for the last hour rowed by saying that they had had an epic battle with a big fish,(I didn't ask the outcome). It was more than an hour before a fish took mercy on me, ate the sulfur, raced across and up stream, catching the leader under a rock and is now wearing an A119 sulfur with three feet of 6x. Thereafter things got a little easier, hooked and landed three fish before it went quiet while there was still light in the western sky.

Yesterday I said don't come if you have to drive home in the dark. If you would have promised me the action I had today, I would have come, stopped at Wendy's, bought the magnum coffee and driven home in the dark with a big smile on my face.

*** Trails - Last I checked the government doesn't clear trails for fishermen. We have to do it ourselves. If you are from out of town, break off the cane, pick up sticks and small limbs that have fallen on the trail as you walk to and from your car. If you're a resident, bring your pruning shears if you know there is an obstruction in the path you are going to use. The cane can close off access to a pool in less than a week, we need everyone's help to keep trails open.