JimNovo
Well-known member
So did you get one today?
You are on some extremely challenging waters!
Very tough fish to fool.
You are on some extremely challenging waters!
Very tough fish to fool.
West Branch Delaware @ Deposit
- Thread starter hooker-of-men
- Start date
At this flow and clarity, all you can eat rejections 🤣. If you can handle a 2 fly dry rig, put on a BIG ISO and then a small olive or caddis behind it. You'll figure out in a hour what they seem to be keying in on and make the adjustments. Should be a good amount of #16 tan caddis, sparse leftover stenos and strong olives. Be happy you aren't there when it's 5-6 strong hatches going at once. While it's amazing to see, can suck to fish
hooker-of-men
Well-known member
Took the skunk, but not for lack of fish!
After my solo mission at 191, we had 3 fishing at our access in Deposit. Dries, nymphs, and streamers. What the hell kind of emerger is worth an 18" brown jumping nipple high?!
Will keep going hard tomorrow. Might throw some big stuff at night tomorrow when half our party is watching the Phils.
It's fun enough just knowing the big fish are in front of me. Thank you both again for all your insights!
falcon
Well-known member
I had the same issue with EVERY fish jumping completely out of the water for 2 hours on the Lower Beaverkill about 3 weeks ago. Flies looked like a Cahill about a size 16. Some fish were 20 inches. Just crazy but fascinating. No caddis about and a few Iso spinners flying low over the water. Did not even look at the spinner.
Next day did well with Hebes. There was no jumping just normal rises.
Looking back on that night.
The fly was obviously hatching underneath and getting off the water with no delay.
I kept thinking in the back of mind E. Vitreous but always thought that hatch ended in early Sept
I kept looking at hatch info and found that according to one bug guru Vitreous does have a second brood in autumn just one size smaller ... so 16. I beleive that's what was hatching that evening. Also Epeorous Vitreous is the same family as the Quill Gordon another Vitreous that fully develops underwater and is a fully formed dun at the surface. This fly behaved the same way. Fly fishing is really interesting at times. That's why it so cool.
Next day did well with Hebes. There was no jumping just normal rises.
Looking back on that night.
The fly was obviously hatching underneath and getting off the water with no delay.
I kept thinking in the back of mind E. Vitreous but always thought that hatch ended in early Sept
I kept looking at hatch info and found that according to one bug guru Vitreous does have a second brood in autumn just one size smaller ... so 16. I beleive that's what was hatching that evening. Also Epeorous Vitreous is the same family as the Quill Gordon another Vitreous that fully develops underwater and is a fully formed dun at the surface. This fly behaved the same way. Fly fishing is really interesting at times. That's why it so cool.
JimNovo
Well-known member
So I fished up there several times in the past month (it is my favorite place to fish), and I have seen everything you have described.
Now I only fish dries when up there (my challenge to myself), so if you want to fish dry flies I would recommend that you downsize your tippet to 6x, and cycle through your flies. Start big with 12 ISOs, down through 14-18 caddis, and finish with 18-22 olives. If you know that you made a good cast with a drag free drift over the rising fish, then switch fly.
I’m not kidding that these are very educated fish. They have been targeted for 7 months now. The cast, mend, drift and fly need to be perfect to get a real bite. Anything less will result in a refusal, which is a positive, but means you need to change fly.
Fish hard and if you catch 1, then celebrate. Toughest fishery in the East!!
Now I only fish dries when up there (my challenge to myself), so if you want to fish dry flies I would recommend that you downsize your tippet to 6x, and cycle through your flies. Start big with 12 ISOs, down through 14-18 caddis, and finish with 18-22 olives. If you know that you made a good cast with a drag free drift over the rising fish, then switch fly.
I’m not kidding that these are very educated fish. They have been targeted for 7 months now. The cast, mend, drift and fly need to be perfect to get a real bite. Anything less will result in a refusal, which is a positive, but means you need to change fly.
Fish hard and if you catch 1, then celebrate. Toughest fishery in the East!!
JimNovo
Well-known member
And be lucky you are not staying at Troutfitter. You would be confined to the Bench of Reflection….a great tradition!
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hooker-of-men
Well-known member
JimNovo
Well-known member
Amen!!
hooker-of-men
Well-known member
Mods, please delete this thread. It's too painful to return to...
LoL. Welcome to the Delaware! You can brag 'have not been skunked in 40 years '. How was your trip to the Delaware? 'fished 12 hours a day for 4 days without touching a fish '. Lady Delaware can humble the best of them. Hope the rest of the trip was good.
hooker-of-men
Well-known member
Just kidding. It was a spanking, though.
My trips like this often devolve into a mess of debauchery, but I can say honestly that I've never tried so hard and come up with nothing. Many hours on the water at all times of day... Dry droppers... Bobber rigs with so much crap tied on they looked like costume jewelry... Multi dry rigs... Multi streamer rigs... Poly leaders and intermediate lines... One of the party even busted out spinning gear. If we had it with us, it got taken out for a spin. The fish laughed at us from the sewage plant down to 191 bridge.
Streamer fishing well after dark on Saturday night, I finally hooked up. The fish ripped upstream, sharking out of the water like it was a steam engine. I couldn't believe the strength of it. It came off before I even really got to fight it.
It's certainly an impressive and very, very challenging river.
My trips like this often devolve into a mess of debauchery, but I can say honestly that I've never tried so hard and come up with nothing. Many hours on the water at all times of day... Dry droppers... Bobber rigs with so much crap tied on they looked like costume jewelry... Multi dry rigs... Multi streamer rigs... Poly leaders and intermediate lines... One of the party even busted out spinning gear. If we had it with us, it got taken out for a spin. The fish laughed at us from the sewage plant down to 191 bridge.
Streamer fishing well after dark on Saturday night, I finally hooked up. The fish ripped upstream, sharking out of the water like it was a steam engine. I couldn't believe the strength of it. It came off before I even really got to fight it.
It's certainly an impressive and very, very challenging river.
The fish in the system are freakishly strong. Refer to rainbows as crackheads 😂. Every now and then you'll get one that's been caught so many times that knows the program.... they'll just swim to your net so you can let them loose again.
dryflyguy
Well-known member
Did you see anything rising?
This time of year, I would have expected to see BWO's and midges hatching.
JimNovo
Well-known member
Welcome to the Big Leagues!
From the first day I ever fished there I was instructed by my mentor that catching even 1 fish is a big accomplishment. It is that challenge that makes me return every few weeks, pushing myself to fish 12-14 hours a day in the depths of summer, freezing my butt off in 40-50 degree water, and personally challenging myself to only fish dry flies. The fish are there, often taunting you for hours as they rise within rod length. The river changes every time you visit so it is never the same.
I have had some great experiences up there and my fondest fishing stories come from that system. Humbling and rewarding.
Again….welcome to the club….now go sit on the bench!
From the first day I ever fished there I was instructed by my mentor that catching even 1 fish is a big accomplishment. It is that challenge that makes me return every few weeks, pushing myself to fish 12-14 hours a day in the depths of summer, freezing my butt off in 40-50 degree water, and personally challenging myself to only fish dry flies. The fish are there, often taunting you for hours as they rise within rod length. The river changes every time you visit so it is never the same.
I have had some great experiences up there and my fondest fishing stories come from that system. Humbling and rewarding.
Again….welcome to the club….now go sit on the bench!
hooker-of-men
Well-known member
BWOs in waves on and off Friday and Saturday when there wasn't gusting 15 mph wind. I saw some caddis at sunset as well.
I noted very few normal dry-sipping rises compared to the berserk splashy jumps. Like 20:1 in favor of berzerker fish, maybe more. I'm pretty sure I saw only 2 fish that sipped more than once or twice in a given feeding lane over the 3 days.
acesedgley
Member
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2015
- Messages
- 446
Having never fished the Delaware system, I have a question.
Is the above experience typical of the system in general or only the west branch?
Is the above experience typical of the system in general or only the west branch?
dryflyguy
Well-known member
Delaware trout are tough enough to catch even when they're rising consistently.
Throw in the low flow rate right now - last I saw it was around 200 CFS - and it can be very challenging for sure.
