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. 

 

Frustration Flats

If any of you have ever fished the Delaware River especially the sulpher hatch you know how damn challenging it can be.  Went down the other day to fish for the first time in way too long, mostly due to the high water we have been having.  There were not that many insects hatching at least when compared to other years when I've hit the sulpher hatch.   Despite the random risers and low concentration of insects we fished out tails off and found a few willing participants early in the day.  Then in the evening there was  a good hatch of sulphers and we were fishing some flats that will forever be known as frustration flats.  One could barely get within 50' of a fish without putting them down.  And when the light faded and you could get closer we got nothing.  Yes we used every sulpher pattern that we had as well as some other flies just because they weren't even looking at what we were offering.  Despite the frustration at the end of the day I have no complaints as we had targets to cast to and no one else in sight. 

Dreaming of the D

The magic of the Delaware River seeps into my consciousness every once in a while, alright more often than that, but the reason for that has legs to stand on.  We are truly blessed to have such a fishery within a few hours drive.  Yes, there are other great rivers in the area, but to go to that water, the birthplace of American fly fishing, to witness the prolific hatches and to chase the noses of wild trout that demand your A game is a treasure worth dreaming of.  

            I am a relative newcomer to this fishery, but the more time I get to spend on it the more I appreciate it.  Yeah I know the fish are easier to catch nymphing, but that is not the challenge that draws me there nor the reason it steals my thoughts.  It is stalking big noses, rising fish, with dry flies that draws me to these waters.   I have been blessed to have fished some great rivers in my life time and seen rivers boil with rising fish, but that typically isn’t what one sees on the “D”. Yet it draws me slowly deeper and deeper into its waters. 

The Delaware’s trout rarely get into a steady feeding rhythm.  They rise a few times then shift position and rise again.  Sometimes as many as five minutes can lapse between rises.  It can be maddening, but that is the luxury of fish that live in rivers with such a biomass of insect life and the curse of us fisherman who try to catch them.  The other thing that seems to happen on the Delaware is that when you figure out what stage, size and type of insect one fish is feeding on you generally have to start the whole process over on the next fish.  On most other rivers once you crack the code it is game on for every subsequent fish, but this is not on the “D”. 

            This past week my dreams turned into reality as I was able to spend two delicous days plying its waters and matching my skills against its inhabitants.  The first day found me on the West Branch with strong wind and flotillas of Hendricksons riding down the river plus an almost equal amount of Blue Quills, assorted caddis species and stoneflies.  Given the amount of insects on the waters surface the fish weren’t too happy to feed on top, likely the result of there being to much wind.  Nonetheless the day proved to be a banner day on two counts.  First, I got my first Delaware slam, a brookie (my first), a pig of a brown and two bows including a large bow.  I’m not one to count fish usually, but when the numbers are so low it’s easy to keep count. 

Well now we come to what I most appreciate about the “D”, you have to earn these fish.  Rarely do they come easily.  On this day I had targets most of the day, not easy ones, as they were mostly sporadic except a handful of noses eagerly sucking down duns tight to the far bank.  Given the wind direction and strength plus the depth of the spot just getting a cast far enough with slack was a challenge.  Long story short finally one of them sucked my emerger down and it was game on.  The big brown was my best fish on this river to date and I knew that it was a well earned fish. Later that day two bows were fooled by my flies, but it was that big fish under such tough conditions that made me feel like I’d earned that fish.