Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report
I Get Around.
Posted on June 13 2025
Drove up the PA side the last two days and it's plain to see that the big bug season is over. The takeouts hold a more modest number of trailers, haven't seen a drift boat go by the fishing camp in over a week, nomadic guides are departing for rivers...
Ice Boxes, Windmills And Herter's, "Tenacious For Quality".
Posted on June 12 2025
It's 10:00 pm on the dot, and with a PM on the table I will attempt to relate the day's happenings without once again making them disappear. Brian, you were supposed to smile, my wife says, "Not everyone gets your sense of humor", you did. I'm always open to learning...
Everyone Deserves A Second Chance.
Posted on June 11 2025
Its been a rough few days for A-119, what with being accused of disseminating ridiculous propaganda, calling wind turbines windmills, and suffering through the disappearance of not one but two blog pages. After Monday's last hour fish hooking extravaganza I decided to take it easy and get some things done...
n Is All That is Left.
Posted on June 11 2025
n Yesterday I lost all but the first paragraph of the report and typed it over. Today I was typing the last sentence and the GD thing disappeared again. I'm just not trying to type it over again at 11:00 pm. Sorry but it's just ridiculous propaganda from someone who...
Today Turned Out Much Better Than I thought It Would.
Posted on June 10 2025
Drove down to the fishing camp this morning in another misty drizzle. The blades on the windmills between Windsor and Deposit disappeared at the top of each rotation in the low hanging clouds. Stopped at Jim Serio's real estate office, (he is my source for all information pertaining to the...
There's Not Much Else For Us To Talk About - - - The WB Fishing We Had Once Is Gone.
Posted on June 09 2025
With the flow at Walton, (above Cannonsville), peaking at 4,500 cfs, the WB and BR will again be off limits to wade fishermen for the foreseeable future. So far the storms have left the east side untouched. The big bug season is over, but as long as the water temps...
Save The Last Dance For Me.
Posted on June 08 2025
Back home after watching my granddaughter's lacrosse team win their quarterfinal game in the state tournament. There next game is against the team that is ranked number one in the state and number three in the nation. Out of habit I checked the water flows only to find that the...
Is The Glass Half Full Or Half Empty?
Posted on June 07 2025
It's noon on Friday and with a flood watch on the menu for this afternoon. It gives me time to attempt to quell the kerfuffle caused by Ed Jones first post. It could have been read as a somewhat sarcastic remark agreeing with my blog post title, or it could...
It Was A Skunking No Matter How I Try To Spin It.
Posted on June 06 2025
Did yard work early to avoid the heat, I didn't, came in soaked, put my clothes out on the porch to dry and took a shower, had lunch, tied flies, waited until after three, and took a drive up to Deposit. Started yesterday at 5:30 and both the bugs and...
If You Enjoy A challenge, Come, The Fish Are Huge.
Posted on June 05 2025
All I had to do was say I hadn't seen any wildlife and presto, a doe walked her wobbly legged fawn across Lordville Roar in front of me, a fox stuck his head out of the grass along the dirt road downstream from monument, and an eagle sat on a...
Born To Fish Again, I'm A Brand New Man.
Posted on June 04 2025
Promised to finish answering the questions so here goes. Dennis 2 - Anyone who has ever watched me fish, knows, that I keep the fly in the water. Often I pick the fly up and put it back down on the forward cast, almost never do I take more than...
Wind Knots And Tailing Loops
Posted on June 03 2025
Jim N. & Steve -Lordville rattlesnakes - They are endangered and protected. By nature they are not aggressive would rather retreat than fight. Biggest danger is stepping on one or falling on one going down the bank from the railroad tracks to the river. Have seen numerous ones on Lordville...
Thanks For All The Questions, I'll Give You Some Answers In The Morning.
Posted on June 02 2025
With two months, including most of the "big bug season" in the books, I thought it might be helpful to lend some perspective to the fishing season to date. My log books, which span 34 years offer a pretty realistic picture of the variations in the fish population numbers and...
Homeward Bound.
Posted on June 01 2025
We had about twenty four hours of "no spill" and now it will start all over again. Because it's the first of June instead of the first of May, this spill has the potential to be far more harmful to the fishery. Why? In May the surface water spill made...
A Tough Few Days For The Lordville Rattlers.
Posted on May 31 2025
After fishing nine straight days it was time to go home, see Jean, watch our granddaughter's lacrosse team advance in the sectional championship, wash my clothes, mow the grass, pay the bills, have lunch with an old friend, and just catch my breath. Wednesday, the last day I fished, the...
Why Is Gasoline $3.35 in Hancock, $3.19 in Roscoe And $2.79 In Syracuse?
Posted on May 28 2025
It was an eventful day, Mark departed for Greensboro at 7:30 this morning. I devoted the day to catching up on yard work. Since the rains came, I have mowed three times and done nothing else. Pruned around the trees and bushes, dug up a deceased apricot tree, turned over...
You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine, Please Take My Sunshine Away.
Posted on May 27 2025
What more could anyone ask for than bright sunshine and warm temperatures after dealing with seemingly endless days of cold drizzly weather? Well some of the fishermen who spent the day in a drift boat today might well tell you that a few more clouds would have been nice, others...
Sunday Morning Coming Down.
Posted on May 26 2025
Life at the Lordville Estate continued at a hectic pace with Jean checking out after breakfast and Mark checking back in on his way back to N.C. With a brisk NW wind and rising barometer I decided the day would be better spent off the BR, where I have found...
What To Do When Your Perfect Manhattan Isn't Perfect?
Posted on May 25 2025
It's not easy trying to figure out water levels here on the Delaware system. It has rained every day but the rivers go up and down like the stock market when Trump announces or pauses tariffs. Today they were down despite on and off showers all day long. Temperatures got...
Just Cancel The Memorial Day Barbeque And Come.
Posted on May 24 2025
With Mark off to spend the weekend with his parents, I was left with no option but to wade. With the monsoon season showing no signs of coming to an end, and a somewhat irrational desire to fish a pool unpopulated by either drifters or waders, my choices were very...
Rainy Days and Mondays Always Make Me Glad.
Posted on May 23 2025
The day dawned in a drizzle with the red stuff in the porch thermometer hunkered down at the 40 degree mark. The precipitation continued all day, with the air temp climbing as high as 48. The water temps throughout the system struggled to reach 50. We sat in the house,...
To Come Or Not To Come - That Is The Question
Posted on May 22 2025
It was another difficult day to be on the river. High temp of 49 with a light all day drizzle, with a wind from the SE that really was no factor. We left the Lordville Estate about 1:30 in hopes of at least finding some olives. Stopped at every place...
A surf and turf day.
Posted on May 21 2025
Woke to a temp of 41 degrees on the porch so we were in no hurry to get on the water. Left the Lordville Estate at 1:00 pm and again headed east. The pool I had hoped to fish was occupied by three anglers. We stopped at several other pools...
No Sense Calling It A Wind Until Someone Gives It A Name.
Posted on May 20 2025
Drove down this morning to fish with a long time friend from North Carolina who fishes the South Holston, a TVA stream that has an incredible number of wild brown trout. Unfortunately most of the fish are under twelve inches long. It's a fun place to fish but lacks the...
Let Me Tell You Where It's At, (reprise).
Posted on May 19 2025
Since Jim N. wasn't happy with my last effort trying to explain "where it's at", here's a second attempt. The Hendrickson hatch was basically over at the end of April on the freestones and they entered the dreaded doldrums. The rivers were all blown out the first week of May...
Let Me Tell You Where It's At.
Posted on May 18 2025
After yesterday's unsuccessful efforts to find rising fish before 7:00 pm, I found little incentive to continue practicing my casting. At my age, wisdom says, " that I might well be better off saving all those blind casts for a time when there is actually a fish rising within casting...
On Your Mark, Get Set, - - - - -
Posted on May 17 2025
Waited for the T-Boomers to pass through this morning and, when they did, went fishing. Needn't have rushed. Went east again, found a sellout crowd fishing the Willow, and numerous anglers willing to tackle the BK at 800 cfs. In what was midday sun, I never saw a bug or...
Time To Add More Fly Boxes To Your Vest.
Posted on May 16 2025
Having been in dry-dock for the first two weeks of what is supposed to be the apex of the "big bug" season, I was understandably anxious to get back down to the Lordville Estate. There was no illusion, however, that I would be wading into pods of feeding fish. My...
Maybe Tomorrow - - - - -
Posted on May 15 2025
As of today there are limited wade opportunities on both the Willow and the BK. The WB, EB, UEB, and BR are still too high to wade. Will be taking Jean to the airport early tomorrow, (Thursday), morning and then heading down to mow the lawn and perhaps see if...
Be Safe, Not Sorry.
Posted on May 11 2025
It's Mother's Day, May 11th, a third of the way through what is widely regarded as the best month of fishing on the Delaware River System and I've caught a total of three fish, (on May 1st). The river system is currently unfishable for wade fishermen and will continue to...
Who'll Stop The Rain?
Posted on May 09 2025
With Pepacton now spilling there is no where on the river system that wade anglers can even get into the water. There is a flood watch for Delaware County. It is currently raining with over an inch of rain predicted for today. With rising water from the Pepacton spill and...
I'm Not Even Going To Launch The Ark.
Posted on May 07 2025
It's 8:15 and I'm waiting a couple of hours to see if things dry out enough to mow the lawn before leaving for Lafayette. The sun is out right now and it's not predicted to rain again until this afternoon. The good - With Cannonsville spilling most of the silt...
I've Got Better Things To Do.
Posted on May 06 2025
Took a leisurely drive down yesterday morning after my appointment with the ENT Dr., not to fish but to try to get the grass mowed, make a dump run and perhaps paint the fly tying room. Stopped in Deposit and saw a trout rise down below the town bridge. Got...
You Know They Don't Come Easy!
Posted on May 04 2025
Sitting here at home looking out at the fog and rain, it seemed like a good time for a Wind Knots and Tailing Loops segment, except there have been almost no questions. Hopefully Ed S. and I provided more than enough theories about odd hour Hendrickson sightings to satisfy Jim...
Has anyone seen a really good pseudo or Hendrickson hatch?
Posted on May 03 2025
There are three factors worthy of consideration in trying to assess the reasons for what I thought was a very difficult April, fishing wise. The wind, the low water, and the lack of bugs. The wind - As I have previously stated, the "Hendrickson winds", are an understandable event. The...
Michael, Row The Boat Ashore.
Posted on May 02 2025
Decided to take it easy today. Mowed the lawn as soon as it dried out this morning, made some business calls, had lunch and at 1:30 headed out fishing, destination unknown. I seldom stop to fish if there is someone else fishing the pool, (except in the sulfur zone). I...
I Hate Caddis!
Posted on May 01 2025
Spent the day on the river in virtual solitude. Never had a boat float past me and never had a fisherman within two hundred yards of me. Started at the lower game lands, hadn't fished there in a couple of years and with only two cars in the lot, (one...
It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over.
Posted on April 30 2025
Went out in the yard early in the morning when the grass was wet with dew and applied weed and feed with crabgrass inhibitor. Started a little before seven thinking I'd be done before Jean's eight o'clock phone call, but I didn't finish until eight fifteen. Called Jean and then...
It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over.
Posted on April 30 2025
Went out in the yard early in the morning when the grass was wet with dew and applied weed and feed with crabgrass inhibitor. Started a little before seven thinking I'd be done before Jean's eight o'clock phone call, but I didn't finish until eight fifteen. Called Jean and then...
Today, I Never Lost A Fish!
Posted on April 29 2025
If anyone is wondering, I didn't miss not being on the river this past weekend one little bit. Rain, muddy water. cold temps and a sneaky little draft on Sunday. Drove down this morning in bright sunshine, light and variable winds and rapidly rising temps. Left the fishing camp at...
What You Need To Know To Go.
Posted on April 27 2025
Left for home this morning with a steady rain falling, and all graphs heading straight up. As I write this Oquaga is gushing 600cfs of mud, (up from 40cfs yesterday). The WB above Oquaga was muddy half way across at the town bridge at noon today, but the river should...
Maybe, It's Better To Have Hooked And Lost, Than Never Hooked At All?
Posted on April 26 2025
In case you haven't noticed, there have been dandelions in bloom everywhere, and still the Hendricksons have not made a meaningful appearance on most sections of the river system. The only Hendricksons I've seen have been at Lordville the past two nights. I have assumed they were the remnants of...
Don't Bug The One Bugger's.
Posted on April 25 2025
Today was not yesterday. That was evident right from the start. Chose a place a couple miles up river from yesterdays fish catching bonanza. Again, there were egg laying caddis and hatching caddis in good numbers, but the fish just didn't seem to want to play. You had to look...
I'll Be Tying Flies Tomorrow Morning
Posted on April 24 2025
After a day over on the Neversink, I was ready to try to find bugs and catch fish closer to home. The majority of the drift boats have been on the BR for the past week. In part because of the low flows on the other rivers, and in part...
Coming To A Stream Near You Soon.
Posted on April 23 2025
It's 6:54 and I am sitting down at the Lordville Estate with my first celebratory Perfect Manhattan of the season. The last ten days have tested my resolve, but a day like today purges a lot of early season frustration. For those new to the reports, I play a game...
When You Go, Let Us Know.
Posted on April 22 2025
Spent a delightful night in Lafayette with Jean who returned from a trip out to Ohio a few hours before I got back from my journey to the Neversink. Arrived back at the Lordville Estate at noon today, had lunch, put the food and clothes away, and at about 1:30...
Do Easter Bunnies Lay Eggs?
Posted on April 21 2025
Met my neighbors little girl up by the railroad tracks this morning where she was looking for easter eggs. Later in the day I found three goose eggs out on an island in the Neversink that had already hatched. If you could find the goose eggs early enough, just one...
The Guides Just Know, (It's Why They Get The Big Bucks).
Posted on April 20 2025
If you are wondering, most guides are on either the EB or the BR. Why? That's the question. For starters both the WB and the UEB are quite low and difficult to navigate without interfering with wade fishermen and banging the bottom of an expensive drift boat. There is, however,...
A Dandelion Whine.
Posted on April 19 2025
Not wanting to be accused of whining, (or mewling either for that matter), I'll start with the positive. While driving through downtown Hancock around noon today I saw dandelions in full bloom along the south facing banks of the houses on Main Street. Those who regularly read A-119's offerings know...
I Don't Mind A Hendrickson Wind, If There Are Hendricksons.
Posted on April 18 2025
Looked at the forecast on Tuesday morning, worked around the fishing camp until noon in beautiful 65 degree weather, and then packed up and headed back to Lafayette. Temperature dropped to a low of 43 on the way home with winds in 30/40 mph range. Woke to a day long...