Posted on September 09 2023
The fireworks display that pushed through yesterday dropped the air temp from 90 to70 but it didn't change the humidity. It got to the mid eighties today and I got soaked taking 24 shots with the bow. Watched the one o'clock volleyball game (3 -0) for the good guys and then got in the car and took a tour.
The east side got hit hardest by yesterday's rain so I went to Deposit and drove along the WB from Stilesville down to the Men's Club. At 5:30 there were no bugs and I saw but one rise. Got on 97 and made the short drive over to East Branch. The BK was far too high to fish and with the second volleyball game scheduled to start at 8:00, I didn't want to drive all the way over to the Willow. Headed up rte.30, stopped at a pull-off, walked along the river and heard rises before I saw 'em. Unfortunately there was a fisherman who had seen them before me and was wading up to them.
Next stop was at one of the better trico spots on the UEB. There were no cars parked so I stopped and took the walk down to the river where there were olives hatching and fish feeding. Unfortunately most of the fish were yearlings and they were all feeding sub-surface. Got a few unenthusiastic refusals before hooking a half dozen fish, all between 9 and eleven inches except for the 14 inch rainbow that ate the wrong olive just as I was about to head back to the car.
This week has been difficult for me. I'm not good at just sitting around until the last hour of daylight to fish. The unseasonably high air temps and bright sun have made fishing during the day a waste of time. The prediction for the coming week is promising IF we don't get hit with thunderstorms that put the streams back up too high to wade. It's supposed to cool down and be rainy. If we get that all day misty rain with stream levels low enough to wade - be here.
UPDATE - The WB got hit with a gulley washer last night, is up around 1.600 cfs and it's sure to be muddy below Oquaga. The east side was spared and both the UEB and the Willow are fishable pending the next batch of storms. Check the gages before you go and bring your raincoat.
Well I did fish the EB. There were olives and isos and not many people. I fished long flat for the first time. I fished way up stream. There were rising fish but I couldn’t catch one. My Butt cheeks are permanently set on the bench.
I’ll try again on Monday.
Angler119- Crazy weather conditions. It seems more like July than September. Glad you got into some fish and also hope conditions settle down for the coming week.Dennis- Thanks , sometimes I just get lucky. Stay safe everyone, the weather here in north Jersey is really ugly with severe t-storms. Ed
👍🏻💯
Weather dependent I am going to try the EB for the first time this year. Hopefully I’ll stumble on the right spot. Looking forward to a change of scenery.
Great job Ed sounds like you had a decent day catching fish.