Big Bugs

A recent weekend brought a disparate group of folks together for our annual fishing trip.  Seven years since our first outing and we've moved beyond being virtual friends, having all met on a message board.  For the last 4 years we've set up shop on a cozy little campsite with the river gurgling just beyond the shrubbery and no neighbors to speak of.  By day we disperse all over in search of the gems of the Delaware river system.  By night we partake in the most ancient of human rituals, encircling the campfire. We move to the rhythm of life that suits us and the fish best.   Time ceases to be relevant.  We are surrounded by a hundred shades of green and the never ending song of the river flowing nearby.

Our first day found us plying some familiar water that has been good to us over the years.  The strong wind downstream winds made casting challenging to say the least.  One of the maddening things about the D is that one never knows what to expect bug wise, fish wise or weather wise.  There were not a lot of insects on the water but just enough to get the occasional rise every 5-8 minutes.  Lady luck was on our side this day as we all caught some trout on top.

 One of the gems of the D.

 Making the long cast.

 Everyone setting up shop for the spinner fall that never happened. 

 Never get tired of the scenery.

 Safely in the net.

 Trusty rusty

 The morning had us fishing some new water and dealing with bright sun and no bugs.  When in doubt, swing the riffles which resulted in this large fall fish that at first had me thinking I had a good trout. Later on I lost a good rainbow on a jump.  A small brown also graced me with its presence.  Then nothing.  We headed to a different spot for the evening spinner fall. 

 Amassing over the trees, the most epic large mayfly spinner fall I've ever witnessed.

 The stars of the show.
  A March brown spinner

 
Green Drake Spinner AKA the Coffin Fly



The star with the most star power on this particular evening, the Brown Drake Spinner. The cloud of bugs was mostly Brown Drakes.  They were hard to see in the dim light while the Coffin flies were easy to see.  Glad I noticed because as soon as I put this spinner on it was on.  The masses of insects danced over the water for a long time before dropping en mass.  Then things got loud on the water as every fish was up and greedily eating.  

 A slob of trout that I got at O dark 30.  I was fishing the pool solo and instead of turning the camera setting to auto, I hit the effects icon and got this crappy shot of one of the most stunning bucks I've ever seen on the D. I'll never make that mistake again.  

Dead soldiers found in the am.

That's one way to dry socks.

The fire bellows.

Breaking camp.

A parting shot of the trip.  Tough conditions and my friend got it done. 

 

Alternative Views

Been paying around with some different angles and focus points of the fish I manage to cross paths with.  One learns as much from the mistakes as the successes.  It's amazing to me how a slight change of focus can change the picture's feel and quality.   

While I like this photo,if the fish were in focus and the fly slightly out of focus it would be a much better shot.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Similar situation as above but with this one if the eye were in focus it would be an excellent shot. I love everything else about the picture. 

I like the lines in this shot.

While I love the colors, the net is covering part of the fish above its eye.  It's hard composing pictures of fish when you're by yourself.  While I'm trying to get a few good pics off, I'm also trying to keep the fish in the water and keep them healthy.  That is the fun and the challenge, very much like fishing itself.

I love the colors and pec fin on this brown.

Another sucker for the rusty spinner.  I like colors and position of this fish.  Processed this one through HDR.  While the effect can easily be overdone in this case it's pretty subtle.

The colors and lines on this are pleasing to my eye. 

The halo effect on this fish was very unintentional but I really like how it catches my eye.  

Patterns

At a work related conference that I recently attended, the presenter mentioned that the human brain seeks out patterns everywhere.  Being a slightly obsessed fly fisherman I immediately thought of patterns in fly fishing and no, not the type to tie up, but the seasonal patterns.  Now that I've lived in NY for the better part of thirteen years, I now have some waters that I call home.  Part of what makes these home waters special is that after spending so much time on them I now see and can even anticipate the seasonal patterns of insects, migration, and the places where the fish I seek hang out.  With each season it's like visiting an old friend; oh they're still here etc.  I don't know if I'm alone in this or not, but I find this pattern anticipation extremely satisfying on some kind of level that I can't explain nor do I even what to try to explain.  Case in point I got to visit one of my so called home waters recently in search of the fabled Hendrickson hatch and it did not disappoint.  Well the hatch did, but not the spinner fall.  The fish were in the same predictable spots and rose to a well presented trusty rusty spinner.  Some things I never tire of.