July 28, 1999

Quick Report: Sulphurs, blue-wing olives, caddis and the occasional Isonychia continue to bring trout to the service during the day-light hours, while dusk offers good opportunities for spinner falls and sipping trout. Tricos are offering some good action in the morning, especially on long pools. Water is high and cool. Conditions excellent.

 Dear Flyfisher:

If your looking for deep, cool water and rising trout, the West Branch and Main Stem of the Delaware are the place to be. While the rest of the Northeast is afflicted by low water conditions and high water temperatures, this great tailwater fishery continues to offer the avid flyfisher opportunities for catching big, wild trout. And, we’re scoring every day.

The early morning trico hatch and spinner fall is coming on strong, and we’ve tagged a good number of big fish in the flat water. This is where soft presentations and drag-free drifts are essential to success, along with 15' leaders and 7x tippet. It’s fishing that challenges the experts, but there are plenty of targets and even the beginner can get lucky.

While all trout take advantage of this hatch of tiny black and white flies, we find that we are consistently able to take trout in the 16" to 20" range. And, with the cool waters, they will give you all you can handle and more. Hooking them is tough. But, landing a fish on this super-fine tippet can be even tougher.

The other morning, we had three hook-ups with big trout, and managed to bring only one to the net and quick release. The two others broke off, one with a strong head-wag right after the take; the other after a long, sizzling run that ended with a six-foot leap and a broken tippet. That’s trico fishing, and I think it’s as exciting as flyfishing can be.

During mid-day, we’re still getting a good hatch of sulphurs, while on hazy, cloudy days the blue-wing olives are out. On the Main Stem, we’ve also been able to tag some fish on Isos, which are starting to emerge with more regularity. For the Isos, though, we tend to be blind-fishing in the riffles, and using the pattern as a stimulator.

The folks at the Cannonsville Reservoir are opening the control valve for a release that has averaged well above 1,000 cfs for the past couple of weeks. This opens up the entire length of the West Branch, and provides enough water to cool the Main Stem all the way to Calicoon. The water temperature on the West Branch is in the 50s, while the Main Stem warms up to the mid-60s by mid-day. These are great fishing temperatures on this river, and trout are active in them.

The evening fishing has also been productive, again with long leaders and fine tippet when the skies are still bright. When dark comes, we cut back our leaders and use heavier tippet. A few nights ago, I was guiding a long-time client who has fished all over the country. He picked up several good rainbows and browns on the Main Stem. "These are the fish you’d be happy to catch on the Western rivers," he said, admiring a 19" rainbow before releasing it. "Except these fish are classier. They fight harder and stronger."

I still have a few dates open in August, and conditions should remain the same. So, give me a call or drop me an e-mail and we’ll plan a date.

By the way, in September I’ll be spending most of my time on the Salmon River flyfishing for king salmon that can go up and over the 30-pound mark. While my calendar is almost filled, I still have a few dates open for this early-season run. In October and November, steelhead will be moving into Salmon River, too. (The Salmon holds the world-record for Steelhead, and when the run is on, the fishing is awesome.) Let me know if you want to give it a try.

– Adrian