Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report
Rainy Days And Mondays Seldom Turn Out Bad.
Posted on July 23 2024
It had to happen, and today it did, drove through Hancock, got on route 97 and was halfway up the big hill outside of town before I remembered that the bridge on Lordville Road was being repaired. Turned around, drove back into town and drove down route 191 in PA ...
Wind Knots And Tailing Loops.
Posted on July 21 2024
Drove home today with the cling peaches that the deer were good enough to leave me. Beat Jean home by no more than half an hour and she started from Ft Myers, Florida. Put in a load of wash and then walked down the hill to feed the trout and...
Trust Me, It's Not Boring.
Posted on July 20 2024
After experiencing 90 degree heat, tornado warnings, severe thunderstorms, gale force winds, pop up thunderstorms, and a frontal system with high pressure and a brisk NW wind, all in one week, today was finally a perfect day to be on the river, as the DRC blog likes to tell us....
Has Anyone Recognized An "Indignant Refusal"?
Posted on July 19 2024
Have gotten into the habit of checking the wind direction by looking at the windmills on the hills NW of Deposit. After facing us the first three days this week, (SW wind), they turned their backs to us today, ( NW wind). It also is helpful to check the smokestack...
Rained On, Low Holed, Flooded Out, And Fogged In.
Posted on July 18 2024
It was a tad cooler this morning when I got up at 6:00am, and I opened all the windows that had screens to get in some fresh air and to help the window AC out. Got wringing wet again doing yard work, came in, and took a shower, then sat...
And In February You Think The Snow Will Never Melt.
Posted on July 17 2024
Couldn't get out of my own way this morning. Tied three caddis flies, did no yard work, solved two easy crosswords and one sudoku, made two sandwiches, (which eliminated 50 miles of driving), and at 11:30 left for the sulfur zone. The windmills up past Deposit were pointed SW and...
Hopefully I'm Entitled To A Rant Once In A While.
Posted on July 16 2024
It's 8:55, wet clothes are draped over the kitchen chairs, the fishing vest is hanging up over the wood burning stove, and I'm in dry clothes sipping on my Perfect Manhattan. No, I didn't fall in again. I was concentrating on getting some subsurface feeders to eat my duns when...
Wind Knots And Tailing Loops
Posted on July 14 2024
A word of thanks to everyone who commented this past week. As I've said before, it makes the reports more interesting for me, knowing how you are doing. Dennis 2 - Asked about water temps at Stockport. The island below junction pool keeps a substantial portion of the warm EB...
Had To Get Out The Neosporin For The Tooth Cuts On My Index Finger.
Posted on July 13 2024
To say the Delaware is a hard river to figure is an understatement. Yesterday was an overcast day that had fishermen thinking olives. Turned out the water was probably too warm for olives and too cold for sulfurs, in short, a dud. Today the air temp was a little cooler,...
Just An Any Old Kind A Day.
Posted on July 12 2024
Worked in the yard this morning and got just as wet as I did yesterday. The twin fawns that show up most days in the yard without a mom, were back again today. Yesterday mom was with them, which I was glad to see as I was beginning to think...
And The Thunder Rolled.
Posted on July 11 2024
It was a day of ups and downs with tornado warnings, (still in effect), south winds up to 30mph, hot sun, water temps at Lordville again exceeding the mandated 75 degrees, an ass kicking during the mid-day sulfurs, a nice conversation with river friend Stuart, which kept me in Deposit...
Do What Ya Do.
Posted on July 10 2024
One of the bridges on Lordville Road is being rebuilt, which necessitates driving up and back the PA side of the river until the bridge work is done. Forgot about the detour and was late for my hair cut appointment at Vicky's this morning. It's a little over 11 miles...
I Wanna Know Right Now, Before We Go Any Further - - -
Posted on July 09 2024
Are "Dennis 2" and "The Other Dennis" one or two persons? Why the DEC is having so much trouble this year keeping the water temperature under 75 at Lordville? They have run surges seven times this year, and three of them failed to keep the temperature below 75. They did...
Wind Knots And Tailing Loops
Posted on July 07 2024
Left Lordville yesterday intending to fish the afternoon sulfurs in Deposit and then drive back to Lafayette. Started raining on my arrival at the Troutfitter and after almost two hours of conversation with Troutfitter regulars, all waiting out the rain, I decided to head for home. Drove over the town...
Oh, Say Can You See?
Posted on July 05 2024
With sulfurs hatching with regularity and the fish eating them at both lunch and dinner, I've settled into a routine. Tie new sulfurs and repair salvageable ones each morning, drive up to Deposit in time for the mid- day hatch, return to Lordville for R & R, and then head...
Someone Tell Me, Where Or When?
Posted on July 04 2024
In the "Cold Blow From Out Of The North" page, I said that when Jean and I drove by the red barn there were hordes of anglers, and I assumed they were fishing to a hatch of sulfurs like I was, down at barking dog. When Ed Smith said he...
Do They Really Eat Those Little Yellow Flies?
Posted on July 03 2024
Don't know what I did this morning but it wasn't very productive. Forgot to tie more sulfurs until the last minute and when I took the time to tie three of them, it made me late for the mid-day sulfur hatch. Actually the sun and the warm water were the...
Fishing A Cold Blow From Out Of The North.
Posted on July 02 2024
Jean came down and we spent the weekend watching wildlife in the backyard, driving around the area and enjoying two "nights out", one with David and Mary Anne, (the apprentice Troutfitter Inn cleaning lady). A shout out of thanks to her for spending four hours on the road to have...
If you want to catch fish, you have to learn to be better at the game than they are!
Posted on June 29 2024
Woke this morning to temps in the 60's, inside the fishing camp. Out on the porch it was 46. It got the BR down in the low 60's and I decided to give it a try. There were two guys fishing the Lordville riff when I drove over the bridge...
The Sulfurs Are Back In the Zone !!!
Posted on June 28 2024
Biggest accomplishment this morning was the finishing of both the sulfur and steno fly box renovation projects. Tied some new pink ladies as well as a few olives, put water shed on them, then took them out to the car in a little plastic box and set them on the...
Listen To The Rhythm Of The Rain.
Posted on June 27 2024
Woke to the sound of the phone ringing. An early morning emergency? No. It was eight o'clock, two full hours after my normal wake up time, and Jean was making her regular morning call. I've been fishing 'til about 9:30 most nights and by the time I drive home, have...
The Beat Goes On.
Posted on June 26 2024
Was slow to get going this morning, didn't get up until 7:30. Had breakfast, did the sudoku and crossword puzzles, watered the garden, came back in and tried to lend order to the sulfur duns. The spring sulfurs are all but dun and the summer sulfurs have just begun. Both...
Blow you Ole' Blue Norther -
Posted on June 25 2024
It's been a long day. We had a gulley washer in Lafayette yesterday and I had to shovel the gravel off the inlet pipes of both the trout and bass ponds this morning. Fed the trout, who acted like it was the first day of summer vacation. After a week...
Wind Knots And Tailing Loops
Posted on June 23 2024
First, a thank you to Andy G. for taking the time and trouble to drop off Ed Van Put's "The Myth of Dan Cahill" which I read with interest. By far the most common story about the origin of the rainbows in the Delaware is that they were dumped from...
It's A Great Day To Be Alive !!!
Posted on June 22 2024
After yesterdays dearth of rising fish, I felt it was time to go find the Dorothea's. They were hatching below the 191 bridge late last week and earlier this week there were Dorothea spinners below Balls Eddy. Shortly after one today, I found the little rascals being blown around in...
Let Me tell You Where The Action Is.
Posted on June 21 2024
Started the fishing day at twelve thirty, drove up Lordville road and encountered two hen turkeys crossing the road with their combined broods. The kids were mostly off the road when I first saw them, stopped where they went off the road and couldn't begin to count them all. Two...
It's Not Over 'Til It's Over.
Posted on June 20 2024
It's 6:30 and once again I'm back at the Lordville Estate writing the days blog while eating dinner. It was hot again today but when you spend three or four hours waist deep in cold release water, you don't mind the heat one bit. Arrived in Deposit at about one...
So How Did You Spend Day Two Of The Heat Wave?
Posted on June 19 2024
It's seven-thirty, and I'm back at the Lordville Estate dutifully rehydrating after spending five hours on the stream. Actually I was a bit chilly for a while when a popup shower passed just south of where I was fishing and the clouds and cold moist air brought the temp down....
No One Needed A Second Shirt To Fish The Evening Hatch.
Posted on June 18 2024
It's 8:00am Tuesday morning, an attempt, yesterday, to "clean up" A-119's computer did not go as smoothly as anticipated. The blog, (among many other things) disappeared, it was too late to call the grandkids, so I had to await regular business hours for our techie to resolve the matter. Yesterday...
Come Fish The Longest Days Of The Year.
Posted on June 16 2024
Bright sunshine and low water levels, even with the windmills all facing north, is not a good thing if you are a week away from the longest day of the year. While the air temp remained in the low seventies, the sun raised the freestone temps into the no-fish zone...
It's Nice To Be Important, But It's More Important To Be Nice
Posted on June 15 2024
The combination of yesterday's bug bonanza and the expected 70ish water temps on the EB and BK made the decision to head back up to Deposit a no brainer. Was there by 1:00 just in case, but the cloudy skies delayed both water warming and the hatch. Was surprised by...
1:30 to 5:30 Was Good enough For Me.
Posted on June 14 2024
With clear skies, bright sun, and the temp rocketing up into the eighties, I headed for Deposit. Had a haircut appointment at Vicki's at 12:30 and rather than drive back to Lordville afterwords, I pestered Dave at the Troutfitter until about 1:30, and then set out to find a place...
Aren't You Glad I Didn't Say "Don't Come" Yesterday.
Posted on June 13 2024
Before I even get started I want to give a big shout out to DENNIS 2, and I'm going to tell you why. Started the day by bringing in my olive box from the car. Pulled all of the flies out of their little slots, sorted them into three piles.The...
Too Many Peaches, Plenty Of Bugs, Paucity Of Rising Fish.
Posted on June 12 2024
Was in no hurry to do yard work this morning. It was both cool and wet. Fixed my malfunctioning garage door, finished the novel I was reading, and had lunch before climbing the step ladder to continue my assault on the over abundant peaches. The peaches are only about the...
The Fish Have Upped Their Game!
Posted on June 11 2024
Old Business - Before moving on to today's fishing, we have some items from last weeks Wind Knots page to clear up. A tip of the cap to Jim Dygert who not only thought the title "Gone, Gone ---" was a song, but dug out the original by the Ripchords....
Wind Knots And Tailing Loops.
Posted on June 09 2024
It's been almost two weeks since the last Wind Knots post and to my surprise there have been several questions. Kirk S. - If you read my June first post, you will probably realize that you also encountered the "Hatch from Hell", (tiny little black caddis). Ed S. Reported lots...
I Lost My Magic Wand.
Posted on June 08 2024
There was no plan to fish this morning, had to stake the tomatoes, refence the blueberry bush, and mow the lawn. While mowing, I saw that the peach tree boughs had bent over far enough for the deer to jump up and grab the limbs. I've never seen so many...
Gone, Gone, Gone The Bugs Are Gone, Gone, Gone.
Posted on June 07 2024
With the possible exception of the UEB, and I'm not going over there to check, the Big Bug season is in the rear view mirror. It's been ten days since I've seen a green drake on the river, although I did see a brown drake on my porch screens Monday....
Love Fishing For Side Channel Browns.
Posted on June 06 2024
Spent Tuesday crossing long neglected items off the to-do list, cleaned the camp, made a trip to the dump, (a cathartic experience), and drove home in time to pick up Jean at the airport. Her plane arrived at 5:30 so we stopped on the way home for what turned out...
So You Wanna Chase 'Bows.
Posted on June 04 2024
If you want the thrills that come with hooking into a 16 inch long rocket ship, (aka a Delaware River Rainbow), you have to be prepared for the heartbreaks and disappointments that come with it. Rainbows come unstuck and break off much more often than their stodgy relatives, the Browns....
It Really Doesn't Matter - -
Posted on June 03 2024
After yesterday's split day and the 2:00am leg cramps that came with it, I decided to take it easy today. Did a little minor yard work, tackled some of my crossword backlog, drank lots of fluids, and tied flies. About 3:30 I drove up to Deposit, stopping on the way...
Difficult Wading And The Hatch From Hell.
Posted on June 02 2024
Got a late start this morning but it didn't hurt my fishing one bit. There were olive spinners over the riff and fish rising everywhere when I arrived at 10:30. An hour later when both the spinner fall and the rising were over, I had landed one 11 inch rainbow....
Walk Away Joe.
Posted on June 01 2024
Once again my efforts this morning resulted in the netting of but one fish, however, things were a lot different from my previous efforts. For one thing, there were bugs hatching, not a good hatch of anything, but caddis, cornuta, isos and gray foxes enough to get fish up and...
Thank The Lord For The Nighttime, Forget The Day - - -
Posted on May 31 2024
Went home yesterday to say goodbye to Jean. She flew out this morning on a six am flight to Ft. Meyers to visit our daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law. We left the house at 4:00am and I gave consideration to heading down to Lordvile from the airport. Aborted that plan (it's...
The Answer Is Blowin" In The Wind.
Posted on May 29 2024
It's 9:55pm, my Perfect Manhattan is sitting beside me along with chips and dip and I'm ready to write. Had to take care of the wet stuff first. Raincoat is hanging by the wood stove, vest is hanging over the back of a chair next to the baseboard heater, fly...
How High's The Water Momma?
Posted on May 28 2024
Yesterday the fishing was limited to the UEB and the WB due to highwater temps in the freestones. Today the freestones were a go, opening up the entire system. Until, the thunderstorms hit early in the afternoon. They didn't disturb my nap one bit, but I knew there might be...
Here's What I Know (Next To Nothing).
Posted on May 27 2024
Left Lafayette about 9:30 in what looked to be a foggy, rainy day. By Binghamton I had clear skies and bright sunshine. Called Jean and she still couldn't see the tops of the trees. She had my olive kinda day and I had her walk with Pam day. Stopped at...
Wind Knots And Tailing Loops
Posted on May 26 2024
There have been a dearth of questions this year which cuts down on the need for my weekend Wind Knots pages. Some commentors have also been good enough to jump in with answers so that the question is promptly answered. Thanks to those who have helped out in this manner....
So Where Should I Fish The Green Drake Hatch?
Posted on May 25 2024
This is the climax of the "Big Bug Season". It starts for most fishermen with the Hendricksons which are followed by March Browns, Gray Foxes, Spring Sulfurs, Isos, Yellow Stones, Green Drakes and Brown Drakes. The river system is huge and is made up of both freestones and tailwater rivers....
The Big Bug Bonanza Has Started!
Posted on May 24 2024
The day dawned dark and foggy with a light rain. There was thunder and lightning across the river to the south where the major portion of the rain storm passed. By late morning the sun poked through the clouds and hopes of an olive day disappeared. Left the fishing camp...