East and West Delaware

[Nocktavius]

I got back from my trip there for 3 days. Not much action. We managed to catch a couple a day. Nothing of size. Blue Sedges were out in the evening as well as some Sulfurs, but not as many as I expected. Saw some coffin flies, but no duns hatching that I saw.

I have a question and I'm wondering what the people with more knowledge than me thinks. What do you all think of the Balls Eddy access area? We wade downstream from the access. I have gone upstream a few times and have done better than downstream. That nice long hole downstream never seems to produce for us. We were there Friday night and only a handful of flies and rises. That seems to be the story all of the time.

My buddy likes that access because way back in 2013 he caught a nice rainbow there. Me on the other hand refer to it as SucksBalls Eddy. What do you all think?

Like any spot in that river, if you can hit it when there’s not 50 guys in drift boats putting in simultaneously there are fish to be caught but bc it’s a launch access you’re gonna be dealing with a lot of BS. The river is low and clear, I’m much more a fan of broken water in those conditions.

 

[Troy]

Like any spot in that river, if you can hit it when there’s not 50 guys in drift boats putting in simultaneously there are fish to be caught but bc it’s a launch access you’re gonna be dealing with a lot of BS. The river is low and clear, I’m much more a fan of broken water in those conditions.

I'm not talking about that flat calm water right at the launch. I'm talking about the nice long run below that. It is a beautiful run. I just never have much luck there. It always amazes me. Not that I am a great fisherman. I can catch fish here and there. Just not at Balls Eddy.

 

[krayfish2]

The riff below balls eddy is good....all the way into dead mans pool. If I had to guess, you are standing where you should be fishing, size down this time of year and get deep quick in that speed of water. The fish are within a foot of the NY bank or the inside seam on the PA side and I'll bet you are standing on top of them. At these flows / this time of year.....first hour and last hour of light.

Small sulphur nymph, little PT, even a rusty spinner nymphs should get you in business. Had a couple of buddies up over the weekend and they struggled to get fish. Though conditions

 

[hooker-of-men]

The riff below balls eddy is good....all the way into dead mans pool. If I had to guess, you are standing where you should be fishing, size down this time of year and get deep quick in that speed of water. The fish are within a foot of the NY bank or the inside seam on the PA side and I'll bet you are standing on top of them. At these flows / this time of year.....first hour and last hour of light.

Small sulphur nymph, little PT, even a rusty spinner nymphs should get you in business. Had a couple of buddies up over the weekend and they struggled to get fish. Though conditions

Any insight into what things are looking like on the upper East?

 

[wbranch]

Balls Eddy is one of the best, if not the best launch sites on the WB. Regarding wade fishing it is always better to head down river than up river. Up river is deeper than the top of your waders. Then if you are able to get to the top there is that huge lake area most people call the Mud Flats. That can be very good if you are in a boat but it is very hard to wade because much of it is just filled with mud and silt.

There used to be a path on river right near the water going down river. I don't know if it is overgrown. But the river right side is easy to wade and not deep at all. Fish often rise on river left but it may be too deep to get into casting position. Continue wading down river until you see heavy white water. That bend pool gets very deep and is great to nymph with BB's. Continue down (When I was in my late 20's I used to wade all the way down to the next pool called "The Ledges" and spend the day there) through some swift riffle water until the river makes a slight push to river right. There will be a very steep slope on the PA side. Lots of depth on the PA side. Lots of rising trout if bugs are emerging.

There is a side channel about 300' below the ramp on river right. It is just a little shorter distance to get to the Ledges but it may be a lot faster as it has far less flow than the main channel.

If you go to Google Earth and do a search for Balls Eddy you will be able to see the side channel. I'd bet at flows under 500 cfs you could pretty much find it almost dry.

 

[wbranch]

Any insight into what things are looking like on the upper East?

Stay away from the upper EB. There is virtually no water. Lasst time I l.ooked Downsville was 120 cfs and Harvard about 150 cfs. It may be cold water but there is virtually no flow and there wili be very little activity until just before dark.

 

[krayfish2]

What Matt calls the ledges is what we call dead mans pool because of the body found there years ago. 😳

Upper east would be a test of patience, wading stealth and all around brutal. The first 30 minutes of daylight and the last 30 minutes of daylight are your best chance because those fish are so difficult.

 

[wbranch]

What Matt calls the ledges is what we call dead mans pool because of the body found there years ago. 😳

Upper east would be a test of patience, wading stealth and all around brutal. The first 30 minutes of daylight and the last 30 minutes of daylight are your best chance because those fish are so difficult.

I never heard that story before. Do you have any data about the incident? Were you there when the body was found? Maybe a fly fisher got so frustrated he decided to end it all.

Two years ago, in the late spring, my buddy and I were sitting on the bench by the river. All of a sudden we heard a commotion and we looked up river and there was a guy up to his neck floating down the river. As the river got less deep we could see he didn't have a shirt on. As he floated down to Sands Creek, a little tributary opposite my cabin he stood up and he was bare *** naked! He walked up to dry land at the mouth of the creek and then laid down in the water. I called the Hancock police and they called the NY State Police. It was really bizarre. The police finally found him and drove a Deere type vehicle right to the waters edge. They wrapped him in a blanket and took him away.

I tried to get a backstory a week later but was unable to get any details.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Huh. Sounds like my father's day camping trip by Harvard is gonna be interesting...

 

[krayfish2]

Matt,
Coz told me years ago that someone fell or jumped off the bridge in deposit in late winter. The body was found in early April by fishermen on the right hand side under the hemlocks. I think it happened in the 70s or early 80s.

Hooker,
The water should be plenty cold, very clear and not have much flow. There will be tons of fish in there but getting them to cooperate to different story. Just think of a bigger letort. You could almost lounge around and then gear up about 2 hours before sunset. Find your spot, listen for the gulps and blind cast in that direction. Do not be afraid to have a number 10 or number 12 ISO on three and four x tippet. You might be surprised what you pull out of water that looks like it wouldn't hold a minnow

 

[Troy]

The riff below balls eddy is good....all the way into dead mans pool. If I had to guess, you are standing where you should be fishing, size down this time of year and get deep quick in that speed of water. The fish are within a foot of the NY bank or the inside seam on the PA side and I'll bet you are standing on top of them. At these flows / this time of year.....first hour and last hour of light.

Small sulphur nymph, little PT, even a rusty spinner nymphs should get you in business. Had a couple of buddies up over the weekend and they struggled to get fish. Though conditions

Thanks! I definitely wasn't fishing the NY bank in the riffle. I can't really picture where that inside seam is, but I definitely was wading in a bit. I'll keep that in mind next time.

 

[Troy]

Balls Eddy is one of the best, if not the best launch sites on the WB. Regarding wade fishing it is always better to head down river than up river. Up river is deeper than the top of your waders. Then if you are able to get to the top there is that huge lake area most people call the Mud Flats. That can be very good if you are in a boat but it is very hard to wade because much of it is just filled with mud and silt.

There used to be a path on river right near the water going down river. I don't know if it is overgrown. But the river right side is easy to wade and not deep at all. Fish often rise on river left but it may be too deep to get into casting position. Continue wading down river until you see heavy white water. That bend pool gets very deep and is great to nymph with BB's. Continue down (When I was in my late 20's I used to wade all the way down to the next pool called "The Ledges" and spend the day there) through some swift riffle water until the river makes a slight push to river right. There will be a very steep slope on the PA side. Lots of depth on the PA side. Lots of rising trout if bugs are emerging.

There is a side channel about 300' below the ramp on river right. It is just a little shorter distance to get to the Ledges but it may be a lot faster as it has far less flow than the main channel.

If you go to Google Earth and do a search for Balls Eddy you will be able to see the side channel. I'd bet at flows under 500 cfs you could pretty much find it almost dry.

Yep, that path is still there. I know that side channel well too. I've been there a bunch. Just never did well in that stretch. I always was curious about the Deadmans/Ledges hole. I always see boats down there. I waded down there a couple times, but don't remember much about it. Thanks for the info! I will try it down there at some point.

 

[wbranch]

Yep, that path is still there. I know that side channel well too. I've been there a bunch. Just never did well in that stretch. I always was curious about the Deadmans/Ledges hole. I always see boats down there. I waded down there a couple times, but don't remember much about it. Thanks for the info! I will try it down there at some point.

I often set up at the Ledges in the Hyde. Usually I anchor in the middle, there is a very shallow bar in the upper third of the pool. Fish will rise on both sides. I can cover most of the water by anchoring in the middle. The middle third had the deepest water and much of it is easily 6' deep. Lots of cover and ledges. Large trout are a good likelihood with the proper conditions. My best was two summers ago on a swung soft hackle. 22" brown. I forgot my phone back at the cabin so no picture.

 

[wbranch]

Matt,
Coz told me years ago that someone fell or jumped off the bridge in deposit in late winter. The body was found in early April by fishermen on the right hand side under the hemlocks. I think it happened in the 70s or early 80s.

Hooker,
The water should be plenty cold, very clear and not have much flow. There will be tons of fish in there but getting them to cooperate to different story. Just think of a bigger letort. You could almost lounge around and then gear up about 2 hours before sunset. Find your spot, listen for the gulps and blind cast in that direction. Do not be afraid to have a number 10 or number 12 ISO on three and four x tippet. You might be surprised what you pull out of water that looks like it wouldn't hold a minnow

Well that surely is a longtime ago. I started to fish the WB early 1970's primarily along that straight section below Monument and above UGL. My Dad and I fished there for years. I don't know why we never explored other areas. Probably because it was so damn good! Back then virtually no one was fishing the WB. We didn't see our first drift boat for at least another 10 to 12 years. I didn't buy my boat until 1999. I had a pontoon boat in the early 1990's. The fish were much smaller then but very plentiful. We often landed a dozen or more each but seldom were any over 16". Cannonsville had only been finished about half a dozen years earlier and I think the fishery was still maturing. In time there were less fish but many in the 16" - 19" range and occasionally bigger.

 

[McSneek]

I’ll be up next Sunday through Tuesday. Floats on Sunday afternoon/evening and Monday which will be an all day affair. Wade Tuesday assuming conditions permit. Going in with low expectations as always but hoping we get into a few fish each day.

 

[dryflyguy]

Noticed that they're slowly bumping up the WB flow. 100 CFS at a time.
Better than just suddenly letting it rip, as they've done many times in the past

 

[JimNovo]

I wade fished a few spots on the West Branch from Wednesday to Friday. Very interesting conditions, from smoke on Wednesday, to cold water on Thursday, to bumping releases on Friday. The fish did respond differently each day but they were eating Caddis, ISOs and Sulphurs. It was a great 3 days, but you needed to be aware of what was occurring on the water and be carrying a bunch of different flies. The system is alive and well!!

One of my best of the 3 days….

 

[krayfish2]

This will give you an idea of what to expect on the upper east. Very very technical and demanding

 

[JimNovo]

This will give you an idea of what to expect on the upper east. Very very technical and demanding

Still water fly fishing.
The trout have about 5 minutes to inspect your fly!!

 

[krayfish2]

What's great is half of those tiny dimples are 10" chubs and the other half are 16"-23" browns. Good luck sneaking up on them in the crap 😂.
As soon as the sun ducks below the trees.... 💥, It is totally different. Fish feed with much less caution.

Find a pool, day 1. Wade all over during the day spooking fish. Frustration level, 10 out of 10.

Day 2, you're a little more familiar with the pool, change tactics and maybe get close to going tight on a big one...but notice as you pack up for the evening BIG rises in a foot of water that you ignored earlier in the day. Frustration level 8 out of 10.

Day 3, you alter tactics and fishing time to try and match up with the risers you saw when leaving on day 2. You wade into position 90 minutes before the sun drops behind the mountains.... and wait. Standing like a statue as daylight fades. You start to hear fish feeding and spot big rise forms left behind. You spot a pod of 3-5 fish feeding at 150'. They are feeding from the deep center of the pool and are heading towards your location at the head. 15 minutes later, the distance has dropped to 50' but light is fading fast. Do you risk it all and try the cast or wait them out and hope? You quickly scan the water and try to figure out what they might be eating before they feed right on by you. A quick fly change and you look up to see they've closed the distance to 25'. You shoot your shot and cast. It comes up short of the lead fish but too long for the bottom fish in the pod. Do you ride it out re-cast? You decide to ride it so you don't spook the pod you've positioned yourself for. Just then, the lead fish turns and sucks in the rusty spinner you tied on. It's barely light enough to see the take and set the hook. What you thought was a 12" fish turns and darts downstream taking your fly line and 20' of backing with him before he gently places your fly on an old snag in the river bottom. What was it, how big could it have possibly been in water that shallow?

It was the last day of the trip and you've got a 3 hour drive to relive and analyze the heartbreak you just endured.

Welcome to the Delaware System and the East Branch 😁