Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report
Brian asked about spinners.
Posted on June 12 2019
My camp is near the river and I find it helpful to leave the porch light on and check the screens in the morning to see what is hatching. Often the duns molt on the screen and I get an opportunity to preview the coming spinner falls. As a general rule, rusty spinners in a variety of sizes will serve you well. If, however, you know what spinners are likely to be on the water it is helpful to match...
High pressure be damned!
Posted on June 11 2019
Woke up this morning to find the BK was blown out and muddy. The EB and BR were rising rapidly and would both be too high and muddy to fish. Was I upset? Not in the least. After fishing two "split days" I was tired. The forecast called for bright sun, high pressure and a 15 to 25 MPH wind. I've seen that mix all to often this season and it hasn't been kind.
Decided to do yard work, tie flies and...
Decided to do yard work, tie flies and...
How many Zee's can you find hidden in my report?
Posted on June 10 2019
It's June 10th. The last two days of bright sunshine and 80ish temps put the water in the freestone portions of the river system close to the 70 degree "do not fish" mark. My log books tell me that the fish will in all likelihood be heading to thermal refuges within the next two weeks.
With the weather person calling for a cloudy day with morning drizzle turning to a steady rain there was no doubt...
With the weather person calling for a cloudy day with morning drizzle turning to a steady rain there was no doubt...
Spinner falls on the freestones.
Posted on June 09 2019
After two days home taking care of chores. I Drove down early and was on the river by 9:30. It looked like a good plan when I hooked my third rainbow in the first 45 minutes. Then things came to a screeching halt. With no bugs or rising fish to be seen, I called it quits about 11:00 and returned to camp.
The next fish I saw was at 4:30, when an unlucky 9 inch brown ate my fly. He was then, in...
The next fish I saw was at 4:30, when an unlucky 9 inch brown ate my fly. He was then, in...
Now is the time.
Posted on June 06 2019
Expecting sunshine to warm the water and provide us with a hatch of bugs or a spinner fall, we parked at the upper gamelands (two cars there before us) and walked down the path to the river. If you're wearing felts, it's like trying to walk on a teflon coated
slope covered with six inches of chocolate pudding.
Arrived streamside covered with mud only to find that the sun had once again failed to...
slope covered with six inches of chocolate pudding.
Arrived streamside covered with mud only to find that the sun had once again failed to...
Rookie hangs three on dries.
Posted on June 06 2019
Did a split day with the morning spent fishing the big river. There were sulfurs early and a modest assortment of bugs the rest of the morning (which ended at 3:00 pm) that kept the fish looking up. My guest proved to be a quick learner and hooked and landed two 'bows (largest was just short of 18). He also cooled of with a brief dip in the BR's 60ish water.
Ate lunch and took a leisurely tour of...
Ate lunch and took a leisurely tour of...
A "winter friend" stops by.
Posted on June 04 2019
Am entertaining a friend from the Florida Keys this week. We took a tour of the area which included a stop on the BK where golden stone flies hatched last night and Isos hatched late this afternoon. The river where we stopped has been cleaned out by "they bite they die" fisherman. Out catch was two fall fish and one 13 inch hatchery brown.
Next we drove up the UE. There were cars at most of the...
Next we drove up the UE. There were cars at most of the...
This isn't about the bear that rearranged everything in my car.
Posted on June 03 2019
To be honest, I was in no big hurry to go fishing today. Why? For at least the fourth time this year a frontal system has ushered in a new week, bringing with it a rising barometer, bright sun and strong, gusty winds. A deadly combo for all dry fly fishermen.
I didn't even fish when one front came through and was skunked the other two times. So, I went to my tooth cleaning appointment, got the car...
I didn't even fish when one front came through and was skunked the other two times. So, I went to my tooth cleaning appointment, got the car...
On improving your success on the Delaware.
Posted on June 01 2019
Those who read my ramblings regularly know that occasionally I come up with a suggestion that helps them be a better fisherman. Sometimes I point them to a part of the river system that I think will be hot and it actually is. But sadly, most of you who read this blog start your car at your house knowing where you are going to park and where you are going to fish. You remind me of a broken clock...
If you've got a pass this weekend.
Posted on May 31 2019
With the sun shining for a change this morning, I stayed at camp and mowed the lawn. This eliminated any opportunity for me to again fish the Hendrickson spinner fall. I'm heading home for the weekend so it'll probably 2020 before I fish Hendricksons again.
May - Mostly because of the high water, this May was, as of the 24th, on course to be my poorest since I bought the camp. Then NYC lowered the...
May - Mostly because of the high water, this May was, as of the 24th, on course to be my poorest since I bought the camp. Then NYC lowered the...
It can't get any better!
Posted on May 30 2019
If you ever are going to catch fish in the Delaware, now is the time. The water levels (as of 9:00 pm) are great and will, absent serious rain tonight, be even better tomorrow. The big river has yet to reflect today's cut backs in the releases from both reservoirs and should be wadeable tomorrow..
The fishing? In my over 30 years on the river I have never put together a better week of fishing, both...
The fishing? In my over 30 years on the river I have never put together a better week of fishing, both...
Even well intended advice isn't always right.
Posted on May 29 2019
As if to spite me after yesterday's posting, mother nature served up one of those cloudy, rainy, "great days to be fishing", and you know what? It was! We're down to the last three days of May and the Hendricksons and apple caddis are still on both branches in good numbers and the BK, EB and BR have yet to come out of the doldrums.
Was on the UE today about 11:00 hoping for morning spinners. It...
Was on the UE today about 11:00 hoping for morning spinners. It...
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy.
Posted on May 28 2019
Without stirring up controversy I'd like to share my personal observations on how sunshine or lack thereof affects fishing. Specifically, sunshiney days vs cloudy days. Far to often lately I've read about how it's going to be a good fishing day because the weatherman is predicting clouds and rain instead of those awful sunny days. It's just not that simple.
Let's take it by seasons:
Springtime -...
Let's take it by seasons:
Springtime -...
You can leave your bobbers, nymphs and streamers at home!
Posted on May 27 2019
The high water had kept me and all other wade fishermen confined to the Beaverkill and even that was often unwadeable due to the high water. And then - NYC cut the flows on both branches. Understand, that we are just one good rainstorm away from high water levels again, (the WB is still spilling and the EB is brim full), but the difference in the fishing has been hard to believe. Combine my two...
The show is in Deposit today!
Posted on May 27 2019
Spent Sunday touring the river system with my wife. After a week of fishing the "day off" wasn't a bad thing. Drove west along Cannonsville reservoir and came out at Stilesville. For the first time this year the wade fishermen clearly outnumbered the drift boaters on the WB. At the current level of 700 CFS the upper river can be waded and/or floated.
The bugs were phenomenal with both...
The bugs were phenomenal with both...
I'm back tying flies!
Posted on May 25 2019
I was like a kid on Christmas morning, I didn't know which present to open first. After ten months of nearly uninterrupted maximum releases from both reservoirs, wade fishermen finally had choices. In fact they could wade almost anywhere they wanted.
What did I do? Tried a little of this and a little of that, kept away from the WB (too many boats) and the BK (too many waders). Endured a Kayak...
What did I do? Tried a little of this and a little of that, kept away from the WB (too many boats) and the BK (too many waders). Endured a Kayak...
Waders REJOICE
Posted on May 25 2019
Starting at about noon yesterday NYC began stepping down releases on their reservoirs. As of 8:00 am this morning all rivers in the system are wadeable. The big river is still quite high but should continue dropping during the day.
There is no telling the effect the drop in water will have on the fish but it will give wade fishermen access to the entire river system for the first time in the last...
There is no telling the effect the drop in water will have on the fish but it will give wade fishermen access to the entire river system for the first time in the last...
Even a pile of rocks generates an IQ if it's in the warm sun.
Posted on May 24 2019
With the confidence bestowed on me by my last two days of fishing, coupled with the knowledge that the release from Pepacton had been cut back by 100 CFS, I set off determined to match wits with the fish in a couple of pools on the Upper East Branch that I had not been able to wade in the high water.
The hatch started at 3:30 (a tad late) and ended at 4:30 (a tad early). During that hour, I fished...
The hatch started at 3:30 (a tad late) and ended at 4:30 (a tad early). During that hour, I fished...
If you like to double-haul - -
Posted on May 23 2019
With my fly boxes and camera layed out to dry on the kitchen table, one thing is clear. If you are a wade fisherman on the Delaware this year and you want to catch fish - you better be able to cast. Found bugs and rising fish, got wet fly boxes, threw tailing loops, hooked knotweed on the back cast, froze my tail and every once in a while hooked a fish (a couple of which were good ones).
The...
The...
The water's droppin', the bugs are poppin' and the fish are nobody's fool.
Posted on May 22 2019
It was an eventful day. Woke up a 5:30 only to find that I changed bird feeders too soon. Start the year with an old beat up wooden one that the bears can take down and empty without doing damage to the feeder. When the squirrels start eating all the seed (and no bears have come) I switch to a squirrel proof feeder given to me by a departed friend. The feeder was expensive and comes with a...
Sometimes you just meet your match.
Posted on May 21 2019
After two days of 80ish temps, I left camp about 9:00 looking for a warm weather morning spinner fall. Silly me, temp was 50 with a brisk wind. Fished for about half an hour and headed back to camp to attend to the second dead peach tree.
At 12:30 with the temp in the low 60's but the wind still blowing, I again set out in hopes of finding some rising fish. Concentrated on the UE, BE and BK, all...
At 12:30 with the temp in the low 60's but the wind still blowing, I again set out in hopes of finding some rising fish. Concentrated on the UE, BE and BK, all...
Mowing grass is like watching - - -
Posted on May 20 2019
The storms were sorta hit and miss. Deposit and Walton sure got hit while Lordville and Harvard were barely touched. The Beaverkill spiked but without further precipitation, will be back to where it was by late Tuesday.
Global warming, El Nino or just a long entrenched wet period? Whatever is the cause, we wade fishermen have had enough. The DRC fish of the day pictures of drift boat anglers...
Global warming, El Nino or just a long entrenched wet period? Whatever is the cause, we wade fishermen have had enough. The DRC fish of the day pictures of drift boat anglers...
Has NYC cut back on the release from Cannonsville?
Posted on May 18 2019
Most years in May there is consistently good fishing, with lots of bugs and big fish up feeding on them. This year I'm having trouble putting two good days together.
Thursday, much to my surprise, was a good day, Friday was not. It's often the little things that turn a good day into a poor one. If you read Thursdays report you know about the good one. Friday was poor by comparison. Why? Far too...
Thursday, much to my surprise, was a good day, Friday was not. It's often the little things that turn a good day into a poor one. If you read Thursdays report you know about the good one. Friday was poor by comparison. Why? Far too...
I didn't go home afterall.
Posted on May 17 2019
With both reservoirs spilling and the BK at 1200 CFS my plan was to catch up with camp chores and drive back home.
The Hendricksons and apple caddis are hatching in the upper reaches of both branches BUT the UE above Shinhopple is narrow and at present levels is impossible to wade (never gave it a thought). The WB release and spill combo was at 2000 CFS above Oquaga. At Hale Eddy, with a robust...
It's not a pretty picture.
Posted on May 15 2019
After three days of steady rain it was a relief to see some sunshine today. However, it also managed to rain on two different occasions. I'm still in Syracuse watching the water flows (both reservoirs are spilling again) but will be heading down to the river tomorrow, not to fish but to try to mow the lawn.
The rivers are again too high to wade fish. The best bet for waders this weekend will be...
Killin' time is killin' me.
Posted on May 13 2019
Yesterday's rain and cold temps were not what we needed, nor is the "more of the same" forecast for today. I'm home in Syracuse and probably will remain here 'til temps moderate and the rivers subside. If, and it's a big if, the reservoirs don't spill, the system may be wadeable by mid week. If there is spill water all bets are off. If you are a wade fisherman, stay home and wait for better days....
TGIF
Posted on May 10 2019
It was a tough week. There were fewer bugs, more boats, more wade fishermen and fewer rising fish than the previous week..
Why? I'm not sure but here are several factors that probably contributed.
1- The number of boats on the river system is certainly a big factor.
2- Wednesday was a sunny, high pressure day (never a good thing) that followed a run of cloudy low pressure days.
3- Thursday had...
Why? I'm not sure but here are several factors that probably contributed.
1- The number of boats on the river system is certainly a big factor.
2- Wednesday was a sunny, high pressure day (never a good thing) that followed a run of cloudy low pressure days.
3- Thursday had...
Ask not for whom the bell tolls.
Posted on May 09 2019
Today I didn't fish. I'm not sure why, but I spent the day trying to figure it out.
The water levels are too high to wade. The weather forecast called for 10 to 20 mph winds. There was yard work to be done. The grass was finally dry and I could mow. Two peach trees died this winter and needed to be cut down. The two porches needed cleaning ( the upstairs too). All true and good reasons, but not...
The water levels are too high to wade. The weather forecast called for 10 to 20 mph winds. There was yard work to be done. The grass was finally dry and I could mow. Two peach trees died this winter and needed to be cut down. The two porches needed cleaning ( the upstairs too). All true and good reasons, but not...
Glad you asked.
Posted on May 09 2019
Marty from Syracuse wants to know why I don't fish hr Upper East Branch more. Simple answer - too much water. The UE has been flowing at or above 1000 CFE all year. At that level there are only a few places where you can wade (Iwas in two of them yesterday)'
Last year the UE was also very high early and was unwadable again from late July right through October. I'm there most of the summer when we...
Last year the UE was also very high early and was unwadable again from late July right through October. I'm there most of the summer when we...
Not all days are diamonds.
Posted on May 08 2019
A beautiful spring day, bright sunshine, cloudless skies, warm temps and a nice breeze, what's not to like? If you were a fisherman on the Delaware River system, you also had an abundance of bugs (Paraleps, Hendricksons and caddis) hatching all over the river system. What could be better?
RISING FISH FOR ONE !!! At least where I was (UE, BK, and WB) the fish weren't having anything to do with the...
RISING FISH FOR ONE !!! At least where I was (UE, BK, and WB) the fish weren't having anything to do with the...
The way things are today.
Posted on May 07 2019
The BR, BE and the lower portion of the BK are all entering into the Doldrums, (the dead period between Hendricksons and March Browns). The peak of the Monday night caddis upriver migration centered around the 17 rest area just downstream from East Branch. My windshield that was covered with green caddis eggs Monday night was untouched tonight.
The concentration of boats on the WB today was...
The concentration of boats on the WB today was...
Of bugs and boats.
Posted on May 06 2019
Follow the bugs and avoid the boats. That's been my mantra for many years. When Paul Weamer (many, many years ago) worked in the log cabin fly shop where Rte 191 crosses the WB, I would come in and look at the shuttle slips. Paul thought I was trying to find out where the guides were fishing so that I could go where they were. Had a hard time convincing him that it was so I could go where they...
The gloom of Mordor returns.
Posted on May 03 2019
It morphed back into another overcast, drizzly kind of day where the temp struggles to get out of the mid fifties. The sun loving caddis slept in and never made an appearance. The hendricksons didn't both showing up until the appointed hour of three.
The fishing was condensed into the 3:00 - 5:00 Hendrickson hatch period and with neither morning caddis nor evening spinners it made for a short...
The fishing was condensed into the 3:00 - 5:00 Hendrickson hatch period and with neither morning caddis nor evening spinners it made for a short...
Some days the fish just like your fly.
Posted on May 02 2019
Left camp early with a list of things to do before the mid afternoon Hendrickson hatch. Made a dump run. Then stopped to see an old friend to confirm that I could still access the stream from his land. It was about 11:00 and I still had plenty of time to pick up gas for the lawn mower. Stopped for a look at the river and there were risers - gas can wait - went fishing!
It wasn't my original...
It wasn't my original...
If you think Hendrickson's won't hatch in 45 degree water - Think again!
Posted on May 01 2019
If you obsess about water temps and flows you can go nuts and (more importantly) end up in the wrong place (although for the right reason). Today was one of those days. Last year, I had a couple of good days on the Neversink. There are no boats, the water has been warmer than the Delaware and it was at a marginally wadeable level. All the right reasons to be in the wrong place.
By 4:00 I was...
By 4:00 I was...
It just wasn't as good as yesterday.
Posted on April 30 2019
If you didn't give it serious thought, today and yesterday were pretty much the same. Yes, the air and water temps started out a bit colder yesterday but the sun poked through the clouds enough to get the air temp up around 56 and the water temp to 48. Today the air and water temps started out quite a bit warmer but peaked at 52 and 45. I saw the sun through the clouds a few times but it never...
She said "Just go".
Posted on April 29 2019
After last Wednesday's fiasco ( in my 6 hour drive, never saw a rising trout or a bug) I was reluctant to head for the camp. It was 29 degrees in Hancock this morning. The water temps were all about 41 (much colder than last Wednesday) and the water flows were at almost the exact same level. The car was half packed but there was a big green/yellow blob of rain on the radar headed right for...
Aren't you glad you stayed home this weekend?
Posted on April 27 2019
It wasn't pretty today. Rain/snow showers with gusty winds and rising water. Water temps that have plunged below Hendrickson hatching levels and more of the same to come tomorrow.
Since '91 I have gone "O" for April exactly once. This year seems a sure bet for number two.
It's "One Bug" weekend (I think) and you couldn't pay me enough to be out on the water in a drift boat in this weather. Hats...
Since '91 I have gone "O" for April exactly once. This year seems a sure bet for number two.
It's "One Bug" weekend (I think) and you couldn't pay me enough to be out on the water in a drift boat in this weather. Hats...
Alewives and washovers abound
Posted on April 25 2019
With the Beaverkill flow about to go below 1000 cfs and the spill from both branches of the Delaware continuing to decline, wade fishermen would seem to have a chance of getting a toe in the water by this weekend - - were it not for the fact that weather forecasters are predicting almost two inches of rain to hit the watershed starting tonight.
There's really nothing else to say.
There's really nothing else to say.
It was a nice day for a picnic
Posted on April 24 2019
Despite knowing that there were Hendricksons hatching in good numbers on local streams and that no part of the Delaware River system was even remotely wadeable, I filled my SUV with gas and took a long drive.
In almost six hours of driving I saw eight drift boats (all on the West Branch) and one fisherman in neoprene waders standing on the bank of the Beaverkill.
Were there bugs? My windshield says...
In almost six hours of driving I saw eight drift boats (all on the West Branch) and one fisherman in neoprene waders standing on the bank of the Beaverkill.
Were there bugs? My windshield says...
Did anyone else get into a Hendrickson hatch?
Posted on April 21 2019
Yesterday before writing my report I looked at stream levels, weather reports and the weather radar. The streams were up but not as bad as expected. The storm had split in two. There was heavy rain out west over Lake Erie and rain pounding the coast. New York was escaping the storms wrath. All the forecasts said so. I almost put a cautionary note in the report but the system was unfishable anyway...
Rain drops keep fallin on my - - - - -
Posted on April 20 2019
With the worst of last night's rain missing the Delaware system, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. That said, there is absolutely no wade fishing available in the entire system. Today the rivers are off color and high. Anyone fishing will be in a boat and chucking streamers.
The outlook?
We are right back to where we were late last year with the releases maxed out and both reservoirs...
The outlook?
We are right back to where we were late last year with the releases maxed out and both reservoirs...
So maybe I need to buy a boat.
Posted on April 15 2019
At 4:00 yesterday afternoon I was standing in the tailout of a pool in 1900 cfs of water in the lower West Branch - surrounded by Paraleps. It was a good enough hatch that I expected to see risers - there were none. By 4:30 the hatch was on the wane and it had started to rain.
This morning the river system was blown out. The Big East was over 20,000 cfs with most of the water coming from the...
This morning the river system was blown out. The Big East was over 20,000 cfs with most of the water coming from the...
The first trip down.
Posted on April 12 2019
Never known for my technical wizardry, my first post of the year never found it's way to the Troutfitter web page (it can be viewed by Googling "Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing reports"). David at the Troutfitter has assured me that the way has been cleared for this and future efforts to appear in their usual place on their website.
After an enjoyable week of bonefishing with long time...
That's all she wrote!
Posted on October 15 2018
With the wind howling and the rain coming down too hard too make sitting in a tree the least bit appealing, I found time today to sit down and compare 2018 with the previous 27 years for which I have kept records of my of fishing on the Delaware River system. The results aren't pretty.
The season started off with high water and cold temps which delayed the may fly hatches and made wading...
The season started off with high water and cold temps which delayed the may fly hatches and made wading...
Tired of being teased.
Posted on October 11 2018
Stopped by the Troutfitter yesterday and talked with one of the regulars who gets down to the Delaware more often than most. Lately he has found fish in the UEB rising to olives and cahills. Said it was hard to get around in the high water and that he was the only wade fisherman on the river. Saw four boats go by the last time he was there.
With both reservoirs running at maximum release it...
With both reservoirs running at maximum release it...
Take heart - meadow mushrooms are starting to poke up out of grassy lawns.
Posted on October 08 2018
It's now been a month since I posted the picture of the twenty inch brown that ate a cahill on the Big River. Haven't caught another fish in the big river since. In fact I haven't been able to get into the big river or almost any other part of the Delaware system for the last month. Right now you can wade some of the Bk and a few spots in the BEB.
My plans for tomorrow are to drive down to camp...
My plans for tomorrow are to drive down to camp...
Thinking of a trip to the San Juan???
Posted on October 07 2018
Arrived back home in Syracuse at 9:45 last night from seven days of fishing on the San Juan river in Northern New Mexico. Made the trip with another Troutfitter regular who had been to the San Juan several times. His prior experience on the river was a huge help in the adjustment to what proved to be an entirely new and unique fishing experience. Being with a congenial companion also made the...
Do you know the way to San - - -
Posted on September 27 2018
With the Delaware system having been hit hard again by the frontal system that passed through the area yesterday wade fishing is out of the question. If you want to throw streamers out of a boat into high turbid water be my guest. More rain is forecast for today.
If you are in need of a fishing fix you might give thought to driving north to the Salmon River or one of Lake Ontario's other numerous...
If you are in need of a fishing fix you might give thought to driving north to the Salmon River or one of Lake Ontario's other numerous...