Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

It doesn't really matter much what the weather forecast says, if the rivers get anywhere near a safe and potentially productive wading level, you just know it's gonna rain. Woke up this morning and stepped outside to see if I could hear Humphries Brook roaring. If it's making noise you know you're done. It wasn't too bad. Looked up the BK flow and it was in the 800s and the rain had stopped....

With the water levels dropping and the grass growing I got up early Saturday and drove down to the fishing camp. Knew that I wouldn't be fishing as I had to mow the lawn and then wanted to watch Syracuse play Florida State in football and North Florida (our grandaughter's team) play FGCU in women's volleyball. The games were streamed back to back from 3:30 until almost 10:00. Both exciting,...

No, I haven't closed the Lordville Estate or even taken my gear out of the car but deer season opens Friday and it's pretty much time to move on. If I'm down at the camp fishing, I'll write, but reports are likely to be both sporadic and intermittent.

The eastern side of the system remains very high and even without any additional precipitation it will probably be a week or more before you can...

Headed for home about 2:00 this afternoon when it had become clear that the the rivers would be blown out once again. It's 10:00 pm and all of the USGS flow charts are still going straight up. The rivers will be high and muddy for several days and there is a strong probability that NYDEP will again max out the releases from both reservoirs in an attempt to create a flood mitigation void behind the...

If there was a bug hatch on the river system, one thing was for sure, A-119 didn't see it. It was windy but that wasn't even a good excuse. The wind was from the south at ten to twenty. The rivers run basically east and west so there are plenty of places where the hills let you get out of the wind - and I did. It was 78 degrees on the car thermometer and that is way too warm for fall bugs. They...

Spent the afternoon and evening (3:00 to 7:30) fishing the BK with my gray haired old friend. No, we didn't stand shoulder to shoulder sharing a pool, that's not our way. We both set out with a plan to go east and to have dinner and perhaps a libation at the Riverside in Horton. Plans changed late when we drove into the parking lot at the Riverside and found it was closed. Adjourned to the Hancock...

With the Beaverkill dipping below 500 cfs today and the nighttime temps back down in the 50's, I decided to come down and try to get in a couple of days fishing before the next rain is predicted to fall (Wed., Thur. and Fri.). Bought a BJ's roasted chicken, filled the car up with gas and took a leisurely drive down, arriving at 12:00 on the dot. Had lunch, got stuff put away and headed out about...

If it were Hendrickson time I'd be on the river system fishing. The current water levels offer limited wading opportunities if, you are familiar with the area you want to fish and are comfortable wading at the current USGS gage levels. 

But it's not Hendrickson time. Yes, there are still a few iso's, cahills, and white flies but the bread and butter fall flies are the pseudos. These tiny olives...

As you've probably guessed, I'm back in Lafayette.  For dry fly fishing this time of year the outlook is bleak. The pseudos' like cold water and the trout like to eat them in slow moving  (low water) pools. We have high water and some of it is too warm.

The outlook - the NYDEP has the release valves almost wide open with (I assume) the intent to create a void in both reservoirs to reduce flood...

Today, like yesterday, promised to be a hot one. As soon as the grass was dry, I mowed the lawn and then practiced with the stick and string. There is no doubt I'm better for the archery lesson I got last year but I still have my bad days and this was one of them. It was 80 on the porch when I quit and I was in no hurry to head out to fish. The weather forecast was for severe thunderstorms once...

It was an interesting day. There is one lone hummingbird still using the feeder. She sits in the apple tree and tanks up on the sugar water all day long. Every morning I look out expecting her to be gone and she's still there. There are so many apples this year that the deer can't keep up with the drops. The ground is covered with them. Usually the deer lay out in the back yard and come over to...

Got up early this morning and took care of remaining items on my at home to do list. Drove into town, got the car washed and filled with gas, picked up supplies for the weeks stay at camp and made it to the barber shop fifteen minutes early for my 10:30 appointment. It was good that I did because my name isn't Dan. I botched my attempt at scheduling the hair cut appointment and Dan was scheduled...

With bright sun, high water and a stiff breeze it wasn't hard for me to pack up my dirty laundry, the last of the peaches and my bow and arrows and head for Lafayette at 1:00 this afternoon. The peaches don't keep well and by 4:15 we had them all canned. One of my grandsons has a volley ball game tomorrow morning and Syracuse plays Rutgers at 2:00pm. Will probably dine out with Jean after the...

Has it occurred to you that we are living in a strange world? Politics aside, Covid-19 has been a huge disruption. It's been over 20 months since the onset of the pandemic and the supply line is still in disarray. Manufacturers can't hire enough workers or even get the necessary parts to make their products. It is certainty symbolic of the problem rather being an important factor in anyone else's...

Left camp about 2:00 and decided to spend the day over on the BK. Why? It has been too high to fish since Ida, it has the best iso hatches in the entire river system, it has good fall olives, it was almost down to the level at which I like to fish it (300 to 450 cfs) and todays predicted rain would probably put it back up into the unfishable category.

Found the rocks along the shoreline covered...

Had three items to cross off the list before I could go fishing today. The first was to get the leak in my right rear tire fixed. Warning light came on Friday night of Labor Day weekend. Fortunately it was a slow leak and I had no trouble keeping enough air in it. Drove over to the Equinunk garage about 8:30 and was back on the road in about twenty minutes with the hole plugged. Next stop was the...

Yesterday the stars aligned. Heavy overcast with an on and off again drizzle, olives on the water with fish eating them. Fishermen had targets all over the river. Todays weather forecast promised clouds with a chance of a shower and maybe some sun. Well, there were clouds this morning, no shower and just when I started to wade out in the river, bright sunshine in a cloudless sky with a wind strong...

If you were ever going to hire a guide to float the Big River today was the day to do it. Why? Well we just had the fall "redistribution rise" in water courtesy of Ida. The flow is now back down to around 2,500 cfs which can be safely waded if you are familiar with the place you are wading but is not a good level at which to learn the river. The BR fish have been lightly fished since the drake...

It's been so long since I've been to the LVE that I had to punch the address into the GPS just to find it. Was delayed yet another day by an unscheduled social obligation that arose last night. This morning Jean and I drove down in separate cars (her's has the trailer hitch), unloaded a trailer full of junk metal, unhitched the trailer at camp, exchanged cars, Jean headed back to Lafayette and...

It's Thursday night and I'm not at the Lordville Estate. The pond restoration project took an extra day and I had lots of cleanup work to do after the excavator departed. He did a fantastic job working with some of the wettest material (pond dredging's) you could ever imagine. Don't want to jinx the project but the inlets and outlets should be able to withstand whatever mother nature can throw at...

Was out picking peaches early this morning when I got a call from the guy who is repairing the damage done to our ponds by the three flood events of the past month. He was there working and wondered where the hell I was. Got in the car and headed home. Work will last at least two days. Jean returns about noon on Wednesday and we will be canning peaches in the afternoon. If everything goes well I...

 Finished up some yardwork about 11:30 and gave consideration to driving home to pick up another load of  basement trash. Decided to wait until tomorrow as the transfer station will be open and I can go there directly. That momentous decision out of the way, I ate lunch and fell asleep trying (unsuccessfully) to do the Friday NYT crossword puzzle.

With current water levels and temps unfavorable for...

Finally a day where one shower was enough. Overcast skies kept the temp in the low 70's which lets you work outside without having to ring out your tee shirt when you're done. Was in no hurry to go fishing as I had work to do and the olives have not been coming until late. Left camp about four and put more than enough miles on the car trying to find the missing olives and rising fish. By six...

Knowing full well that my raincoat is hanging up in the cellar back home, I checked the hourly weather forecast for Hancock. "No rain until after midnight", it said. Left for Deposit at 5:30 hoping to again find fish feeding on olives. By the time I got to the Troutfitter it was raining so hard I didn't even get out of the car. When it let up a little I ducked into the shop to see if I could...

Yesterday had it's plusses and minuses. We have been battling flood water, mildew/mold and the need to clean out forty years of accumulated "treasures" from our basement. Jean's girl cave suffered the most damage as the new carpeting had to be cut up and taken to the dump yesterday. On the positive side her new recliner couch appears to be ok. With the temp and humidity both going into the 90's...

Just hit what was possibly the last key on a five paragraph blog page - - and - - for at least the fourth time this year it vaporized. Don't have the desire, energy or creative genius to even try to do it again. You are spared and I have to take my blood pressure medicine.

Drove down to Lordville today. Traffic along 81 was moving along at somewhere between 80 and 85 mph. As cars sped by I kept checking my cruse to see if I had set it wrong. State fair traffic? Perhaps some, but the light didn't come on until I got near Binghamton and saw the signs directing drivers to the university. Students were returning to college and traffic resembled I-95 on the last weekend...

If you are looking for a fishing report, you've gone to the wrong site. Got a call at 5:00 AM this morning that we now have a swimming pool in what was the basement. The house is almost 40 years old and we never had a water problem - until a month ago. In the past month we have been hit with three torrential rainstorms, Tuesday night we got four inches of rain and water came in. Last night I don't...

With the sun poking through the clouds there was little point in rushing out to fish the lower section of the WB. Left camp at 3:30 and when I saw no bugs on the water at Shehawken (one of my look/see places) I went over to 17 and drove up to Hale Eddy. Stood on the bridge for a good ten minutes without seeing a bug or a rise. Drove down the "PA" side thinking I'd fish the game lands. Two cars in...

 It was an olive kind of day right from the get go, dark overcast sky and a steady rain almost all morning. Was in no hurry to get on the river as olives are notoriously late sleepers. Set out at one thirty with the knowledge that I didn't need to go back to the UEB and that I had no desire to fish the "Sulfur Zone. That left the  BR and the lower WB.  

Drove up the PA side of the BR and stopped at...

 Finished up Monday morning to do's by 9:00 and was on my way to the fishing camp.  Didn't stop in Deposit on the way down and had no urge to drive back up to the SZ after lunch. The sulfurs are waning, the fish are paranoid about eating dry flies and I'm sick of fishing the same pools day after day. 

Worked around camp until about 4:00 then headed east. Haven't been over that way since the high...

Dennis wants to compare advantages and disadvantages of studded boots and felt soles. Studded boots are much better on banks with mud or wet grass, they are noisy in the water and can put fish on alert, they are good on slippery rocks. Felts are a hazard on wet muddy banks, wet grass and leaves. They are much quieter in the water and are quite good on slippery rocks. I wear felts, my only...

With another bright, sunny scorcher on tap I took a personal day. Got in the water to see if I'd finally fixed the leak in my waders. I did! Fourth try was successful. The leak was in a seam where the leg met the upper part of the waders. Ran Aquaseal along the seam for about two inches and presto dry pants. If you haven't tried to buy them, you probably don't know, but Simms waders (along with a...

It was a delightful day. Why? Because I spent from 1:30 until 7:30 standing in 50 degree water. Even had the heater on in the car heading back to the Lordville Estate. Several showers went around us, one even sent me scrambling back to the car for my raincoat. Tomorrow is predicted to be another scorcher with some relief coming over the weekend. (Do I sound like the DRC blog?)

Shared a pool with...

 An interesting day to be sure. Was greeted this morning by a bat that hopefully entered during the night through the wide open porch slider. Spent the day in the house and was looking for a way out when I got home tonight. It is 85 in here right now (a camp record) and the sliding door is going to be open again tonight. The porch is screened in but there are gaps between the roof and the beams. 

D...

 Even Jean who loves the heat said it's too hot. For me the last three weeks were just the way I like it, cool enough during the day to do a little yard work without being drenched in sweat and with nighttime temps in the low 50's, it's been great for sleeping. Tonight it's 80 again inside the LVE and 77 on the thermometer out on the porch. Gonna be a hot night.

Was in no rush to leave camp this...

It's 10:00 pm, and I've just finished mixing my perfect Manhattan. It's over 80 in the Lordville Estate but I don't dare open the sliding door to let in cooler air until the lights are off. Sometimes at night I'll turn on the outside flood lights and sit on the porch watching the insects circle the lights. Last Friday there was the most incredible swarm of midges around the lights I've ever seen,...

 Dennis had the only question this week and it comes in three parts. 

Part one - Do fish refuse a fly because of taste? It's possible, but extremely unlikely. Bonefish guides often squeeze a shrimp on their sports fly to increase chances of a take. Bonefishermen are careful to wash their hands after applying sun tan lotion. I've seen bonefish turn from over 100 yards away and swim up tide to a chum...

Things got into a routine this week. The afternoon sulfurs have become quite regular, with the hatch starting right around noon. They have hatched in good enough numbers in the upper few miles of the WB to get most of the fish up and feeding. If you go, know that it will be crowded. There are rising fish everywhere so you don't need to be in one of the "A spots" to cast at feeding trout. Catching...

The grass needed mowing, more peaches needed to be taken off the freestone trees (to avoid further breakage), tied new and repaired old flies, shot my bow, cleaned the toilet and vacuum the rugs (Jean will be here tonight). With all the delays it was a minor miracle to be riverside about 2:30. Please note that riverside is not fishing. It's counting the number of anglers (9) in the Red Barn (aka...

Finished up my tasks back in Syracuse, had a bite to eat and was on the road at 12:45. Arrived in Deposit shortly after two and it looked like a different river from Monday. There was a solid line of wade anglers from Stilesville to at least the corn field pool (do they still call it that?) and probably all the way to barking dog. Boats were everywhere most were anchored (some with sports and...

Back in Lafayette this evening so that I can take care of a few obligations tomorrow morning.  If all goes well I'll be on the river tomorrow.

Did I fish today? You betcha! After yesterdays fish catching bonanza there was no way I wouldn't be on the stream today. My arrival home time was listed as TBD (to be determined). If I fished late and was tired, I'd sleep at the LVE and head home early in...

Got up at 4:00 to watch the USWNST lose to Canada 1- 0 on a penalty kick, won't do that again. Had breakfast and drove down to the fishing camp. Despite the early arrival I didn't head out to fish until 1:30. Went east with the intention of checking rocks along the shore of pools for iso husks. If the isos are there so are the fish. Unfortunately it had rained, the water came up and the iso husks...

It's been two weeks since the last question and answer session. Didn't write one last week as I answered  Dennis and Paul's questions about the BK and water levels as the week went on. 

Dennis also asked, Why no risers when the sulfurs are hatching? Wish I knew. I do know high pressure inhibits rising. There is probably also an energy expenditure vs nutritional return ratio that the trout work out....

With high pressure and a piping wind out of the north it was a great day to do yard work. Spent the early morning hours watching the WNST play the Netherlands. Soccer is the only sport I know that has not yielded to the TV ad men. They play two 45 minute halves and stop the clock for nothing. The US won a thriller in a shootout after ending two overtime periods tied 2 -2. Spent the rest of the...

Today didn't quite go as planned. Weatherman said showers beginning at two, decided I could wait for the dew to dry on the grass before mowing. Got out the ladder and cut down some low hanging branches from my neighbors Norway maple tree and then preformed an amputation on a limb of one of the freestone peach trees. We got a big wind storm two nights ago (when four of the TFR's kept Dave in the...

Said I wasn't going to the Sulfur Zone today, well, I lied. Left the LVE about 2:30, surveyed the river on both sides from Hale Eddy to Stilesville. There were sulfurs hatching and some fish rising most everywhere. There were also multiple drifters and waders in almost every pool. About 3:15 I finally found an empty spot that had both bugs and fish. Decided to set a 15 refusal limit. When the 15th...

It's four am in the morning.  Was just awakened by a tractor trailer backing down the road outside the bedroom window.  Warren Road is a dead end and there is no place on it for a big rig to turn around. Went to bed early as once again the power was out here in Lordville when I returned from fishing.  Thankfully there was still ice for the Perfect Manhattan!

Got busy with chores around the camp...

Today was a busy day. Had a short business meeting at 8:00, by 9:00 Jean and I were in the kitchen (she was there at 8:00 peeling peaches) doing three batches of peach jam. At 10:00 we were doing final cleanup to the sound of popping lids. If you are a canner, you love the sound of popping lids. Was in the car headed for Lordville shortly after the cleanup. Stopped at the Troutfitter in Deposit to...