Delaware River Report
Tuesday, May 25, 1998

Quick Report: Good hatches and spinner falls of Green and Brown Drakes, supplemented by a few trailing Gray Fox and March Browns, have provided some great top-water fishing over the past week. Sporadic hatches of olives and caddis also helped to keep things active. A welcome heavy rain on Sunday and Monday raised water levels throughout the Delaware River fishery, and brought the Cannonsville and Pepacton reservoirs close to capacity. Conditions look good for June and the summer.

Dear Flyfisher:

If you’re willing to work at it, 1999 has proved to be an outstanding year for the Delaware flyfisher. And, last week offered even more convincing proof, with big browns and rainbows rising to an ever changing smorgasbord of mayflies.

The top action of the week came last evening when I was fishing with Joel English of Milwaukee, Wis., and Mike Doll, a long-time client from Binghamton, NY. Both Joel and Mike picked up some awesome fish during an evening spinner fall of Coffin flies and Brown Drakes on the Big Delaware. (Check out our site over the next couple of weeks, and we’ll be posting some pictures of their catch.)

Like all good fishermen, Joel and Mike paid their dues for their evening action. During our morning float on the Big D, they endured a five-hour downpour and an arm wearying stretch of unproductive bead-head nymphing. During the afternoon, they picked up five or six trout on the West Branch, sandwiched between a series of sudden thunderstorms and driving winds.

But, things calmed down for a return trip to the Big D for the evening spinner fall. The river was covered with green and brown drakes – both spinners and duns -- and big trout were on the rise. The downpours we endured during the early part of the day provided a nice payback for the evening fishing, leaving the water discolored and filled with flotsam. The water color made our leaders invisible, and the usually wary trout rose quickly to our mayflies.

Within his first three casts, Joel picked up a beautiful 20 inch rainbow. And within his first five casts, Mike rolled a big fish and then nailed a heavy brown of 20 inches. We spent another 45 minutes in the midst of rising pigs, before things slowed down at dark. It was a great night, and is proof of why the Delaware is regarded as the best trout fishery in the East.

The rain provided another bonus for our water-starved fishery. It raised the reservoirs at Cannonsville and Pepacton to near capacity, ensuring us the water we need to maintain the river levels and temperatures throughout the long, hot days of summer. Prior to the rain – which stretched over Sunday and Monday – we were worried about what could lie ahead.

Now, we think the challenge will be the one we’re used to: Enticing big fish to rise to our dry flies. As we showed Monday night (and throuhgout the previous week), we think we’re up to the task. There’s still some dates for Delaware floats, so give me a call or drop me an e-mail and we’ll set up an outing on a river that can give you all the flyfishing excitement you need. Just ask Joel or Mike.

– Adrian