Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

 It's October 6th and I feel like a minister preaching to empty pews during the pandemic.  Why?  The salmon run is on up on the Salmon River and with both the WB and the EB far too low to float and even the BR a challenge to get down, all the guides have followed the money.  They gone.  The fishermen, they gone too.  

Had a popular riff/run to myself all afternoon. There were the usual bugs, little...

Stayed in this morning and tied flies. A couple of innovative iso patterns that I hoped would work, a very small spinner, four brown fall caddis and half a dozen pseudos. Before going out I checked the release at Stilesville and found out that they are shutting off the water to make a repair to the pipe. The dewatering of the upper WB will probably do serious damage to the caddis population that...

After seven trips out to my tree stands I'd had enough. Saw more golden crowned kinglets (2) than deer(1). With the full moon, the deer are moving at night and have been nowhere to be seen during daylight hours. Was on the road by 10:00 this morning and in Deposit by 11:30 where the pool below the town bridge was full of both fishermen and rising fish. You needed a magnifying glass to see the bugs...

I've been "blind casting" for more than 65 years. When I started out in my Dad's hip boots cut off at the knees no one told me to just cast at rising fish. The only advice I ever remember getting was from a friend of my father,Roy Ryan who stood on the bank watching me and hollered "Never saw anyone yet catching a fish while he was waving the G-- D--- fly around in the air". The advice sank in,...

With the freestones blown out and both tailwaters colored, a 15 to 20 mph wind blowing and bow season opening tomorrow I went home. 

The good news - when things settle down again the fish should be back where they belong, except for the big browns who will be busy doing their best to insure that there is good fishing two to three years from now. The days are much shorter now and the fish will be...

Hats off to Jim N., Keith and Dennis for sticking with me while other fair weather anglers are golfing, raking leaves, watching football games or perhaps wearing out the bull's eye on their archery target.  Would like to tell the quitters that they are missing the best fishing of the year but Dennis blew my cover.  The last two days have been dreadful. 

Today I fished a pool in the lower EB that I...

It you are wondering, it's been much better weather for sunfish fishing than it has been for trout fishing. Up until yesterday our attempts to restore a breeding population of sunfish in the bass pont had been a dismal failure. We (Jean and I) caught 'em, brought 'em back to the pond and they were promptly eaten by the bass. Finally this Saturday I saw two survivors from last weeks batch swimming...

If you've been reading the reports this week you know that I talked with two fishermen on Monday (one of whom wasn't even fishing). Did not see a single fisherman on Tuesday and had one boat come by yesterday. Today I had to go into Hancock to get my archery license so I decided to see if I could find unoccupied water further upstream. First stop was a pool on the BE. The river is too low to float...

Today I ventured downstream on the BR, the water has been in the 50s and reports I've heard, say there are fish throughout the river from junction pool to Callicoon. Got in the water about 2:45, just in time for a drift boat to appear up river from me. The guide had to walk the boat down through the riff due to the shallow water. Asked him how they were doing and he said they had already caught...

 If you want to talk about perfect days for a wade fisherman to be on the river this was one of them.  The water temps were ideal.  The flow levels make wading easy (not so for the floater/draggers).  The wind was negligible. The iso's hatched more or less on schedule.  There were fish in the pools and they ate.

The forecast doesn't include clouds or rain for the next few days and that will...

It's the fall solstice, things are changing at a rapid pace. Lordville has had four straight mornings with heavy frosts. Days are getting shorter by about three minutes a day which doesn't sound like much until you realize you are losing half an hour of daylight every ten days. I'm reeling it in at seven, just when the fishing was starting to get good about two months ago. It's a time of...

 You've all probably heard someone say, "He was bleeding so I kept him.  What's the sense in letting him go when he's gonna die anyway."  Well, I've had three occasions where a trout turned the river red with blood and I think it would be good if you learned the outcome.  The facts in all three cases are remarkably similar so I'll just tell you about the one that happened today.

After suffering...

I've always enjoyed fall fishing. With the entire system opened up again you can usually find a pool to fish all by yourself. There may not be as many fish in it as some of the more popular spots but you and the fish that live there don't care. It's just you and them. Most times there are bugs and some fish that will eat but it's not really that important. Fall trout fishing is a time to reflect,...

 It's Wednesday, all of the storms are painted, some with just primer, some with two coats, others with just one.  Jean has again blessed me with a visit. She had lunch with a Florida friend in Honesdale and was to return in time to drop me off at a spot where I have river access but I currently have nowhere to park.  Left her the back yard to mow just to keep her from getting bored.

Went out about...

 What a difference a week makes.  Last week the temps were in the 80s and I had to check the water temp before fishing the BR.  This week with frost warnings, the orchids are spending their nights on the porch, the isos are hatching in the afternoon, there are pseudos on the UE and everything shut down an hour before dark.

Said goodbye to the last Hummingbird this morning. She was filling up at the...

 Don't know if I've gotten smarter in my senior years or if I've just turned into a wuss.  Arrived at camp at 12:30 and had no urge to go out into the wind and fish.  Got things put away, watered the orchids (with a frost warning I brought them inside tonight),  sat down and fell asleep doing a crossword.  By 3:30, with the wind still capable of blowing my hat off, I headed out.

Went to the BK...

Watched the SU game yesterday and think it might be a blessing if the season ends up being cancelled - quick. Shot the old bow enough to know that if a deer is within 15 yards he is in trouble.  Twenty five yards - not so much.  New bow is arriving Tuesday along with a lesson from a former Olympic archer! Hopefully he can turn back the clock on my archery skills.

Max - The piece on my short hand...

The front finally pushed through this morning, no precipitation just cooler drier air along with a 10/15 mph breeze out of the north and a rising barometer. Was delighted to finally get the temps back down to what is now normal for this time of year (71/49). The down side was the cloudless sky, bright sun, stiff breeze and rising barometer. None of those things are good for dry fly fishing so I...

With the weatherman calling for an all day rain I dutifully set up shop in the garage and painted storms all morning.  When I emerged from the garage at noon it had stopped raining and the sun was out.  The weatherman and I are not currently speaking.

Left camp at 12:30 with the prediction still calling for afternoon showers and evening t-boomers. Spent the afternoon pool hopping on the BK and UE....

Went to bed last night with good intentions.  Woke up this morning to the coolest air and water temps there would be all day and went fishing.  It didn't take long to confirm that the BE, at least where I was, is still fishless.  The water is crystal clear and at a beautiful level for wading, if only - - -

Stopped at a pool on the BR where there were a good number of both ants and olive spinners on...

Mowing the lawn, painting the storms and tying flies will keep me occupied 'til about seven tomorrow.

If I were to go on a rant again it would be about the weather. Most people wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about. Eighty degree days with bright sunshine in September are a beautiful thing, unless you are a trout fisherman. Last weeks fall fishing, fueled by an all day rain, cloudy days and...

In answer to Jim N's question. No, when I reread it in the morning all I felt was foolish. Had to turn on Bob Seger's Old Time Rock and Roll to get the job done. Then I read the comments and Dennis caught some fish and the rest of you guys said it was helping and I felt it hasn't been a complete waste of time after all. Started this because my senior year high school english teacher Mrs. Haskins...

It's been a quiet week blog wise, thankfully no kerfuffles, (hats off to a new reader Keith who used kerfuffle in his introductory comment, haven't heard it or  seen it used for years).  Thanks also to the others who shared their fishing experiences on trips this week.

With no questions asked, no answers have to be given which gives me time for a rant.

Regular readers, I'm sure are aware that it has...

After yesterday I was afraid to go out today and find that it had all been a dream. Didn't want to go back to the tough days of the past two weeks. So I found things that I needed to do. Finished painting the garage and razor bladed the paint off the last two windows. The only things left to paint are the storm windows. It rained enough that the grass needed cutting so I mowed again and before I...

As I sat down to write this, a size 30, winged black ant lit on the rim of my perfect manhattan glass and - - - fell in. He didn't drink much.  Will get back to ants later.

With the BK up over 1,000 CFS from the rain, the eastern half of the system, the BK, BE and BR were out of play. The BR was fishable at today's levels but I don't try to cross it at 2,500 anymore and with the limited number of...

Woke this morning to a nice steady rain. Not the kind that blows out the rivers in less than an hour but the kind that soaks in and replaces what the sun removed from the soil during the scorching days of July and August. An olive day if I ever saw one. Unable to work outside I spent the morning tying iso emergers and flomps (floating nymps). Also tied up some white flies. Have a box of them from...

Today was freestone day. The water temps have cooled in the last week and today all could be fished without endangering the trout. Started with the Beaverkill. Fished three pools between the downstream no kill and jaws. All had fish cautiously willing to eat a fly. More important was the fact that the rocks along the shore were covered with iso husks left in the last few days as the water dropped....

Spending most of my time in the bustling metropolis of downtown Lordville it's easy to find myself "out of the loop". Needed a couple of little parts for my bow so I stopped at Walmart and Dick's, only to find that neither carry archery equipment or guns any more. Not to worry, the archery pro shop in Tully is only a short bit out of the way on my return trip to the river. Turned out when I got...

It's Saturday night and I can't say I'm sad to see the week end.  It was by far the worst week of the year for me on the river.  We need a good cold rain that raises the rivers and a return to seasonal temps to get the fishing jump started again.

Jack McD - BK is Beaverkill, BE is the East Branch below Jaws (the confluence of the BK and the UE), BR is the Big River a/k/a the Main Stem or The...

If you've been paying attention you already know, my heart wasn't really in it this week.  Fished only the evening hatch on Monday and Tuesday, gave it the full shot on Wednesday, then took a personal day on Thursday and found better things to do until about 4:30 today.  

Why? Pretend we are in the locker room after the second period of a hockey game. The first period was the big bugs, the second...

 Today didn't turn out exactly as planned, it rarely does.  With rain overnight, a forecast for afternoon thunderstorms and a further threat of severe weather the porch fascia board didn't get painted.  The temp was again back up into the 80's with high humidity and a strong south wind.  

With the painting on hold I tied up some spinners and then took a drive up to the WB. The nighttime temperature...

After getting my tail kicked on both Monday and Tuesday evening, I went out firmly committed to righting the listing ship. With the morning temp at 43 there were options. Decided to fish the WB water in the BR. Waited until 9:00 for it to warm up a bit and then suited up. Rose three fish within the first fifteen minutes, one refused my offering, the other two ate and were landed. As the temp rose...

While I encourage comments from followers of my (non alcohol related) ramblings, I was nevertheless somewhat confused, puzzled, even wounded - take your pick - by Dr Manhattan's most recent comment. He/she has commented favorably in the past and if memory serves me well even issued a warning of the consequences of giving out too much information. Perhaps the most recent comment is yet another...

With all of the freestones sporting temps that resembled respectable rounds of golf (Bk 77, BE 77, BR 74), and the UE unplayable due to lack bugs and no rising fish, I had no choice but to take my game to the upper reaches of the WB. At 11:30 there was no waiting time on the first tee.. Nor were there any bugs or risers to be seen. Decided to forego the afternoon fishing and get the lawn mowed.

Rid...

First of all I'd like to thank ED S. Dennis, Maxwell, Dick, Jim and Jim V. for their reports from the river and/or their kind words. 

Marty - The entire procedure took twenty minuted with little to no soreness or swelling.  Truly amazing.

The head of Buckhorn already had three cars too many when I drove by. There were tricos no doubt but you won't find me fishing tricos in that kind of a crowd.

Denni...

There's no other way to say it, the fishing has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse in one short week. Yes, by the end of last week the fish in the sulfur zone were getting pretty hard to fool but this week was another level of tough. The only fish that would even look at your fly were the yearlings and most of them refused it. If the big fish fed at all they did so after 8:30. The two year...

Spent the morning grinding peeling paint off the facia boards on the back porch and the last two garage windows. More than enough trips up and down the ladder. It was 12:30 by the time I cleaned up and had lunch. The last few days the Stilesville temp has struggled to get into the 50's and I thought maybe that was the reason for the subdued hatches. Drove up to the red barn and confirmed Ed S's...

It's not official yet, what with the forecast for the next several days back up in the high eighties but today I took the first step. Quit cold turkey, never set foot in the sulfur zone. Fished four different places in three different rivers and found fish at all but one stop (the Beaverkill). There were not a lot of bugs and very few risers. I didn't catch a lot of fish but the ones I caught were...

Fished the sulfur hatch up in Deposit this afternoon. It didn't start until after 12:30 (they have bumped up the release so it takes longer to warm the water up to the 50's). Bugs got going fairly well but so did the wind. The fish? They seemed tired of eating sulfurs, there were a few brief flurries of feeding but it was mostly quiet. I left to mow the grass just before two. When I left there...

It's Monday night at 9:30 and I'm feeling no pain! "Well into his Perfect Manhattan", you say, which may well be true but that's not it. Had an 8:00am appointment with a periodontist/ implant specialist to consult about old number 14 molar. He took a look at the xray and the tooth and said "The only thing I can do for that tooth is to administer the last rights". Said I'd like to schedule the...

 It's time once again to try to answer questions and this week thank people for sharing their on river experiences.

Jim - I've caught well over 90 percent of my fish during the sulfur hatch on a size 18 sulfur dun tied with either a yellow, orange or yellow/orange body and a CDC upright wing. A lot of fish in the Sulfur Zone now recognize it and are happy to let me know it's not as good as the real...

Things seem to be getting back to normal after the latest flash flood.  The rivers have cleared up quite a bit and have returned to ideal flows.  What we need now is for the air temps to cool down so we can all spread out and enjoy the rest of the river system.

The midday sulfurs were late to the table with the bulk of them hatching, where I was, from about 1:30 to 2:30. There were sulfurs on the...

After yesterday's futile drive around the river system that produced nothing but wet waders and one 9 inch juvenile brown, I was ready to get even. For once my prediction of water conditions was at least close to accurate. The WB above Oquaga was relatively clear and fishable. At 3:00 today the river below Oquaga was still muddy (or "stained" as those with a vested interest in filling rooms and...

As I'm sure you all know, the third major rain event in nine days hit the river system about nine last night. The WB was hardest hit as the water level at Hale Eddy exceeded both of the previous storms. The BK and EB got off lightly and both would be fishable tomorrow if it wasn't so d--- hot. The UE was also spared the worst of the rain and was actually at a fishable level with water clarity...

Well I got it out of my system. Was on the big river fishing the WB cold water side before the fog burned off. Hoped to find enough tricos to get some fish up. Never saw a one. Didn't see any bugs of any kind for that matter. Blind cast a caddis and to my surprise rose a dozen rainbows, hooked eight and landed five. Before anyone gets excited they were all juveniles between eight and nine inches...

We have had six weeks of some of the best sulfur fishing I ever remember. Two hatches a day with lots of rising fish. It's been crowded at times but you can usually find a pool in the "Sulfur Zone" with plenty of both space and rising fish. So what's wrong? I'm tired of it. It's a same old, same old kind of thing. Love the bugs and rising fish but enough is enough. I fish five days a week and am...

 Last week was a tough one if you were a fly fisherman on the Delaware what with hurricane Isaias blowing out the eastern half of the system on Tuesday and then a severe thunderstorm dumping even more water on the WB Friday. 

Drove home on Friday and spend a quiet couple of days with Jean. We tackled another 500 piece puzzle on Saturday evening not expecting to finish it until next weekend. It...

Freestone - Thanks for your very generous offer. This makes three times I've gotten in trouble "adding staff". I'm retired, spend an unconscionable amount of time fishing and enjoy writing the blog. It's my way of giving back to the sport I love. Hopefully the blog is more helpful and entertaining than it is misleading and confusing. The past week, unfortunately more the latter than the former.

 Game called - field was deemed unplayable. Game has tentatively been rescheduled for Sunday.