Delaware River West Branch Trout Survey

[afishinado]

Good info from trout survey on the WB from 2017.

West Branch
Trout 1

West Branch Trout 2

 

[cms829]

Where is "laurel bank"? I've never heard anyone refer to it.

Edit: Disregard. Figured it out. Thanks for posting these!

 

[moon1284]

Lauer bank is in deposit.

No 20-inch rainbows. Not surprising

 

[afishinado]

moon1284 wrote:
Lauer bank is in deposit.

No 20-inch rainbows. Not surprising

^Yup. Anglers that have fished the D for a long time will tell you the original strain of bows top out at less than 20".

There are many stocked streams that dump into the Delaware and I surmise that any of the bigger bows reportedly caught from the D River likely originated from there.

 

[Dave_W]

Interesting stuff. I'm going to look through it more carefully soon.

Since the PFBC redesigned their website, I find it much less user friendly and don't visit as often. Since Biologists' Reports was my favorite part of the site, I often miss new reports. Anyway, thanks for the link.

 

[afishinado]

Dave_W wrote:
Interesting stuff. I'm going to look through it more carefully soon.

Since the PFBC redesigned their website, I find it much less user friendly and don't visit as often. Since Biologists' Reports was my favorite part of the site, I often miss new reports. Anyway, thanks for the link.

^Tell me about it. If you hope to get any info at all from the PFBC site, you have to check out the Tweets in Twitter (maybe ask your students to help you figure out Twitter... )

 

[cms829]

I was lucky enough to swing up a 20" rainbow this spring on the East on the spey rod. One heck of a fish. Fish of the year so far for me.

 

[RivDiv521]

I measured all of the larger rainbows caught in the main river over a three year period from 2012 to 2014. 5.4% were 18", 8.4% were 19" and 1.5% were 20". Total number of rainbows caught was 203.

 

[krayfish2]

Most bows I've caught this year have been 14" - 18". Don't think I've had any other the rare 20" + rainbows this year. In fact, I haven't had very many bigger sized fish up there this year.

 

[RivDiv521]

krayfish2 wrote:
Most bows I've caught this year have been 14" - 18". Don't think I've had any other the rare 20" + rainbows this year. In fact, I haven't had very many bigger sized fish up there this year.

My best rainbows this year have been in the same size range. However, the year isn't over just yet.

 

[wbranch]

afishinado wrote;

^Yup. Anglers that have fished the D for a long time will tell you the original strain of bows top out at less than 20".

Having fished the main stem Delaware for fifty years I can pretty much affirm that comment. I have caught hundreds of rainbows in the 11" - 16" class, and dozens and dozens 16"+ to 18". But the true number over 18", that were actually measured with a tape, are more likely around a couple of dozen over fifty years isn't a lot. I have landed a couple 20", one 21" way back around 1970, and another large rainbow just under 22" in Cemetery Pool around 2005 on a #16 Rusty Spinner.

Guys that are consistently catching 19" - 21" rainbows are awesome fly fishermen and I wish I was that good.

 

[falcon]

I have fished the Upper Delaware for over 30 years with both conventional (early on) and fly tackle. Most of my large bows come from the lower river. In the last 5 years I have caught numerous bows up to 16 inches, 20 or so 18 inches and one that was a 1/2 in shy of 20 inches. Every week I hear of 20 inch plus fish caught ... I just don't buy it. Joe McFadden claims he caught a bow in the mid 20's range maybe larger in the 60's up in Basket Creek. If true its a real anomaly.

 

[Dave_W]

wbranch wrote:
I have landed a couple 20", one 21" way back around 1970, and another large rainbow just under 22" in Cemetery Pool around 2005 on a #16 Rusty Spinner.

Now that's a cool pic - old school!
int:

 

[wbranch]

falcon wrote;

Every week I hear of 20 inch plus fish caught

Magic tape measures.

 

[wbranch]

Dave_W,

That pic is my first 21" rainbow, I caught it in late April, in Dark Eddy, on a #14 Adams. I was a kid, just 24 years old. Back then I hardly knew very much about this mayfly or that mayfly and you know what? Back then it didn't really matter. The Adams in size #12 - #16 and a #14 mottled turkey wing caddis were about the only dry flies we used. We caught plenty of trout. Back then the rainbow to brown ratio was about 6:1. We fished Dark Eddy only on weekends and for about ten years we never saw another fisherman.

 

[ryansheehan]

I caught a 22 inch bow on the main stem when I was a teenager, the guide measured the fish and well, let's just say it wasn't 22. That's when I heard that the wild strain of bows rarely reached 20 and mostly topped out around 18. I will say a 16 inch bow from there will battle better than a 20 inch trout from anywhere else I've fished.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

I will say a 16 inch bow from there will battle better than a 20 inch trout from anywhere else I've fished.

Oh, yeah! That's especially true when caught in faster water and they run downstream. That statement's true of any fish, but those 'bows, and the browns, fight with great strength and stamina up there.

 

[moon1284]

A few weeks ago at balls eddy I had a rainbow take me under the boat then into my backing then break me off. It jumped a couple times, it was a nice fish but less than 20 inches.

 

[afishinado]

moon1284 wrote:
A few weeks ago at balls eddy I had a rainbow take me under the boat then into my backing then break me off. It jumped a couple times, it was a nice fish but less than 20 inches.

The D river bows are really crazy jumpers and fighters.

I've fished for them since I was a kid growing up in NE PA.

They fight like smallies.

Good stuff.

 

[wbranch]

Afishinado wrote;

Anglers that have fished the D for a long time will tell you the original strain of bows top out at less than 20".

I used to be good friends with a fellow named Ed Van Put who lives in Livingston Manor and used to work for New York DEC. He fished the Delaware almost every night in the mid 1960's through the early 1980's and kept very accurate records of the lengths of the rainbows and browns.

It is his opinion, based on is extensive data, that where was, and still is, a ton of aquatic insects and minnows for the trout to feed on, the rainbows just didn't live long enough to get many fish to 20" and it was even rarer to see an honest 21". He showed me his records and there was no rainbow longer than 21". This was when the river was truly in it's infancy of being fished. If there was ever a time to be catching the monster rainbows it was then.

Now though I must say he never, to my knowledge, ever fished a streamer. Only nymphs and dry flies. He was very good and often was landing half a dozen 16" - 19" rainbows night after night. He thought the potential to catch bigger browns was there because they lived longer.

My father landed a 23" brown on a dry fly in the middle of the summer. I know a guy who fishes full sinking lines with 4" - 6" long streamers and catches browns so big than if I told you how big they were you wouldn't believe me. Let's just say a 24" ruler isn't long enough.