Posted on June 04 2026
It was an interesting day. There were no drift boats or wade fishermen above Balls Eddy except for those addicted to the river between Cold Springs Brook and Butler Brook, (AKA the Red Barn area). Stepped into the river above Hale Eddy about 3:00 and was surprised to find bugs and rising fish. Had a place to myself with caddis, Invaria and even a few Hendricksons hatching and rising fish to throw at. There weren't a lot of any of the bugs but the fish were hungry and were more than willing to come up and pass judgement on what you were throwing. Got half a dozen fish to the net with a non counter, a 13 inch brown and four rainbows all between 17 and 18 inches. Surprised the buttons on my shirt didn't pop off I was so full of my self.
And then - At six- thirty, in the bright 84 degree sun, I descended a steep rocky trail into the BE a short ways below Jaws, which is much farther upstream than I was last night. Was hoping to catch up with the Green Drake upstream march, find egg laying blue sedge, coffin flies and Invaria. Started off by hooking and landing a hot 19.5 inch rainbow on a blind cast. Then walked a quarter of a mile up stream and then back to the car, without seeing enough bugs to get a single fish up and feeding, let alone hook one. Went up the wrong, much steeper trail in the dark, grabbing hold of anything I could, (probably poison ivy), to keep from falling back into the river. Won't be popping the buttons off my shirt tonight.
The bug season so far - The Hendricksons turned out to be fantastic, (at least on the tailwaters). The March Browns were fine but are probably done. Never saw a good Gray Fox hatch, (did catch three fish on one, one night last week when I saw a few hatching). Have managed to miss any and all big Invaria hatches so far, but caught fish on them last night. The Iso's seem to be the biggest (concern, mystery, disappointment), take your pick. There is usually a BIG hatch of them the last few days of May. So far they have not appeared in any meaningful numbers. You have to look carefully on the streamside rocks to find a husk or two, haven't seen any splashy iso rises, and haven't hooked more than a fish or two on an iso. The Green Drakes have been hatching for at least a week. I avoid the mad house epicenter of the hatch. Would welcome info from anyone who has fished where the hatch is heavy. Have not personally seen a brown drake either on the water or on my cedar shingles yet this year. Have found Cornutas in the lower WB, but not in any of their other usual haunts.
Regarding mayflies sighted yesterday—not many. Maybe two ISOs, a few Dorothea’s. No spinners of any kind. That’s about it
Hi Ed congrats on a good evening of fishing!!
Angler119’- You had quite adventure yesterday, but it was worth it— you landed some really nice fish . Congratulations. I was on the Willow/BK . Not much happening until around 7:30, then a strong flight of caddis brought some fish up. Got four fish 13”-15” on a spent caddis. It was over by 9:00. Great fun and the most action I’ve had on the Willow this year.
Fished the Main stem last night. Slow…at first. 7:30 we started seeing rising fish. BWO got their attention. And at about 8:30 it was on!! Green drakes everywhere. The feeding on the Coffins started just before dark. It was a short window, but we did get a massive brown to the net to finish the night.
Fished the lower part of the UE in 2 locations last night. The fisherman outnumbered the bugs. Did see a coffin fly though.
Re: bugs, my best fishing has been by far on caddis, I have seen 1 good mayfly hatch in the last 3 weeks (green drakes, mostly shucks after dark) and have seen only a handful of golden stones on the BE where usually we see thousands.
A few sparse spinner falls, a few bugs on the tent, EZ Up, and by the picnic table lantern. I haven’t needed to clean my windshield or front grill of my car even once.
I fish mostly the BK, BE and UE, in the morning and the evening . For me, it’s been a down year for bugs on those rivers to date.
I fished the UWB yesterday and was a bit frustrated!! I fished the stilesville area in the afternoon (2-4) and not much was happening. I had fish rising when I first arrived but only refusals in the net. Rising stopped about 3. After dinner I drove around and saw fish rising around the mens club. There was a good hatch of caddis and sulfurs. Again only refusals. Will try again this weekend