I've Got Better Things To Do.

Took a leisurely drive down yesterday morning after my appointment with the ENT Dr., not to fish but to try to get the grass mowed, make a dump run and perhaps paint the fly tying room.

Stopped in Deposit and saw a trout rise down below the town bridge. Got out the binoculars and saw apple caddis, paraleps and Hendricksons floating by. The water was off color and probably around 700cfs.

Drove up to Stilesville and watched a picket fence of anglers casting away in what was relatively clear water. The red barn lot had half a dozen cars in it and the little DEC parking lot in Stilesville which holds no more than five cars was full, as was the roadside in both directions, (probably twenty cars). Did not see a fish hooked. Stopped on the Stilesville bridge and counted a handful of wade anglers and two drift boats above the bridge and three waders below it. 

Returned to Deposit, parked the car and went fishing. You could see bottom in three feet of water and there were bugs, more than enough to entice fish to feed, but they didn't. Probably full of worms flushed in from Cold Springs Brook and Butler Brook. In two hours I saw three fish rise, two rose once and were too far away to fish to. The third fish obligingly rose half a dozen times not forty feet in front of me. Refused my Hendrickson on my first cast, but kept right on rising. He finally ate an apple caddis and came meekly to the net with a big glob of weed covering his head. When I reached out the net he gave a twitch and I ended up netting the weed but not the fish. Yet another skunking.

The rest of the river system, (below Oquaga), is a raging sea of mud. This morning Cannonsville started to spill. Hopefully it will clean out some of the silt deposits but it will delay  the rivers return to safe wading levels. Pepacton is not yet spilling, (it may not), and at 700cfs the UE offers the only opportunity for wade fishing. It is no doubt very muddy and will take a couple days to clear if it stops raining. If Pepacton spills that will also be boats only for a while.

If you are thinking of coming, don't. If you are already here, go home.  

NOTE - Well over 2,000 cfs of water is coming into Cannonsville, the spill will steadily increase throughout the day. Wading above Oquaga in the rapidly rising water is dangerous.