Posted on July 09 2025
It's 7:00 pm, and it's raining. It's a gentle rain with little or no wind, the kind I enjoy fishing in, and here I am typing a fishing report. Why? The Chiropractor just may have overdone the stretching of my pulled groin muscle yesterday and the groin muscle took it out on me last night. Fell asleep at eleven and was up again at one-thirty. Don't think I slept a wink after that. I'm tired.
The new dehumidifier is hard at work down in the basement where it has lowered the humidity from a somewhat sticky 86 to 60 since nine this morning. The old dehumidifier gave me no trouble going up the stairs and is resting in the car, (told him his next stop was Arizona where he would have little or no work to do and could enjoy retirement. He might well be pissed when I drop him off at the Hancock transfer station.
Left the estate at 1:30, (Jean, I remembered to bring my wallet, and filled the car up with gas in Hancock). Drove my usual circuit including the round trip to Sherman Creek. Never saw a rise until I arrived at the "Barking Dog" ramp. There were some Dorotheas hatching there and a few fish feeding. I'm not fond of crowds so I walked downstream to the 17 pool, (it's always been a great pool, holds a lot of fish, but on foot it's hard to get to). Arrived to find three boats anchored and at least fourteen people in the water. On the way down I encountered one rising fish who kept on rising while I threw at him at least two dozen times. He would eat a fly, then move to a different lie, (one of four), and rise again. I made good drag free casts, some over the wrong lie for sure, but not once did he come close enough to my fly to count it as a refusal. Tipped my cap, (should have done so much sooner), and continued my journey to the 17 pool. Keeping in mind that I have waded at least a quarter of a mile in what, this year, was a fairly decent sulfur hatch, and have seen but one riser, and now encounter enough boats and anglers to catch and deport all the brown trout in the pool, I was MORE THAN ELATED to see three different fish make those tiny little swirls that I did so well on last Friday. Alas, they didn't even give me a sniff. Two hours of fishing and not so much as one refusal.
The Rest of the Story - Regular blog readers know I've been teasing Jim N., who ties really beautiful, artistically designed flies. Last editors meeting he gave everyone there some. I do not fish with someone else's flies, not that mine are so good, it's that everyone else's are better and I don't want to hurt my own feelings. "You'd catch more fish if you learned to tie better flies," said dear departed friend Les Gillette, god rest his soul. Anyway, with the hatch about over I was frantically searching for something else to throw at the SOB's, and out of a seldom used pocket in my vest came a little round box of Jim N's flies. Picked out what is probably intended to look like a sulfur, shrugged my shoulders, and tied it on. THERE IS NOT A WORD OF A LIE IN WHAT HAPPENED NEXT. With no bugs on the water and not one trout rising, I made less that five casts and the GD fly was eaten by a very nice rainbow. The fish came unstuck. Two casts later another fish ate the fly, a 16 inch brown. Within five minutes a 17 inch rainbow inhaled the fly, and before the elderly gentleman, (probably at least 75), who was wading up the shore got by me, another 16 inch brown ate it. Not wanting to be embarrassed further, I cut the fly off and put on one of my isos, (when I was almost back to the car, a very nice 13 inch brown ate it).
Note to Jim N. - My new fly, still in the early development stage, never got a sniff.
Nothing that I tie is THE ANSWER.
It may be the answer from 6PM to 6:30PM on July 8 with a westward wind at 6mph gusting to 15mph, and the sun partially behind the clouds when the flow is 456cfs on a 60ft section of the WB if you are casting right handed to a left to right flow with a solid reach mend, to brown trout that are feeding on a size 18 Sulphur emerger with off yellow wings tilted slightly at a 57 degree angle.
Still want a recipe?
I always remind myself that “it’s the wizard, not the wand”!
Love to see that JIM N pattern/ materials list…sometimes the material density of the fly makes them float or ride the surface film just right…
Was that another Brian Wilson reference..:-) ?
I don’t know, I kinda like not knowing what the double top secret fly is, gives me something to strive towards at the bench.
And better yet, an excuse when I get skunked. Imagine having that fly in a robust hatch and still getting not catching anything . I’m not certain I’d ever recover.
If A119 describes the fly he used (we did share more than one pattern)….I’ll gladly share the recipe.
I’m not in this to be secretive….heck I’ll even tie you a few if you ask.I’m sure we would all like to see that pattern that Jim N tied but deep down I think it’s a secret that won’t be revealed. Thanks 119 for your posts. I read them every day, always looking forward to the next one!
To Jim N… I agree with you wholeheartedly about giving a few flies to fish with that have been successful for me.Tying a pattern you believe will work and sticking a few fish with it is very rewarding. I think it was John Shaner who once told me the best fly to throw at a fish is the one you have the most confidence in…so true.
A119, love these reports! Highly entertaining and very informative. Also, thanks to all of the associate editors who add their two cents…I don’t think there is better info anywhere when it comes to the upper Delaware system.
Hoping to get up to the Troutfitter in the next couple of weeks to try my luck (or more likely, my patience).
I love your fishing reports. I can close my eyes and imagine myself in those same locations where you are fishing. But I can never imagine myself catching all those fish that you do catch, cause I do not have the Zen, the skills, and the magic flies that you do. Keep fishing my friend and take care.
Angler119’-Hope your groin issue calms down soon .Ed
Angler119’- Kudos to JimN for saving your day. And congrats to you on landing some nice fish on Jim’s flies. Very cool. I was at the red barn yesterday and needed Jim’s flies or dynamite to catch some fish . A good hatch of #18 sulphers, a decent amount of fish working. Me -nothing , nada , not a sniff. Tried everything trick in my limited arsenal, subsurface, in the film, on the surface. Not a look. There was some consolation (trying to make myself feel better) only one guy caught a few yearlings. The rest of us struck out . Still enjoyed being on the water. Ed
A119,
I’m glad my fly worked for you. When I cant be fishing, it’s nice to hear that the flies I tied work for others. Thanks for breaking your rule once!
Take care of your injury. I have no idea how you did that wade with a pulled groin.
Our paths may have crossed a couple years ago. It was a profound meeting with a huge dark cloud rain. just above 17 bridge.You were wearing a black mask, just past covid. I would like to share it with you. Do you have a private email I could send it to you. Thanks for your blog, love it
Congrats Jim N!!!!! I feel like the exquisitely tied flies are proving their merits. It must be a nice feeling when the legend of the Delaware uses your flies to save the night!!! Long live exquisitely tied flies!!
Thanks for the report!!
Angler119!!!! You DO NOT carry a dehumidifier up a flight of cellar stairs with a groin pull!!! That could end your season! I’m no doctor ( retired from the photography field) but you gotta take care of that..On another note I would love to see that fly JimN tied..as would everyone else..be safe!