Upper Delaware, Delaware/Wayne Counties, 8/19-8/21

[fisherboy3]

Got up to Hancock on Wednesday around 430ish. Stopped at Bard Parker to meet with my buddy, and found fish rising right away. Crossed at the tail of junction and waded up the pa side. Couldnt see many bugs on the water so I started with a 20 cdc sulphur emerger. Second cast got an 18 inch briwn. Nice way to start the trip. The rest of the night was kind of ruined, had a family of beavers swimming around us the entire time, putting every fish down.

Thursday we did a float trip on the west. Balls eddy to shehawken. Got a few fish in the big long riffle below balls eddy on nymphs, and a nice brown tossing a big iso in a seam. Got a few more fish nymphing the rest of the day, and it came to an end when it started to downpour.

Friday the west was a little off color. Started nymphing below balls eddy again and picked up a few on nymphs, went up to the lower gamelands. Got a few more on nymphs, and 4 in the foam on the far bank, on 20 olive emergers. At around 5ish after dinner went below shehawken to find fish rising. Must have tried every psuedo,cahill,flying ant, sulphur and iso pattern in my box. They wouldnt touch anything. Finally started to see some cahill spinners and right at dark got a nice 18 inch bow on a cahill spinner. Not too shabby of a trip.

 

[LetortAngler]

That brown is a beaut

 

[fisherboy3]

Thanks a lot man. I thought the same thing. Sparse spotting for the D is a first for me.

 

[krayfish2]

Nice work Kev. Sounds like a pretty decent trip. My eyes are getting so bad, I'd be casting stuff I can see / stuff they'd never eat. LOL

 

[fisherboy3]

And thats why you need a young buck in your boat....to tie on your flies

 

[krayfish2]

If you mean to row, I couldn't agree more.

 

[McSneek]

Love that first pic.

 

[vcregular]

Nice report. Looking forward to the mainstem cooling off below the immediate upstream area. Have a feeling there are a lot of fish that never moved out of the main stem and once it gets more comfortable again they will begin to show.

 

[jkilroy]

Good detailed report, thanks! I was up there a few weeks and had a hard time. It was my first trip. In the eneving 5 of us cast in the junction pool for 3 hours and couldn't get one.

 

[krayfish2]

Jkilroy,

I wouldn't feel too bad. I'll bet it's pretty accurate to say that 65%-75% of fisherman get the skunk every day on that system.

 

[camdogrs]

Jkilroy,

I feel you on that. My buddies have a house up there when I have watch my friends catch fish after fish and I get the skunk. I've been getting better but you just have to keep plugging away.

 

[boychick]

I was up there last week Monday - Thursday. Fished hard, I had several hook ups, only landed three fish. I got one to eat an iso dry in the rifles, it was an awesome eat! The fish came up in a beautiful porpoise rise, head out of the water, mouth open, ate the fly, went down and with tail out of the water, and then all hell breaks loose. That fish came unbuttoned after a short fight. I got a great look at it, it was a beautiful and large fish. That was the best eat of the trip for me. That one will stick with me every time I think of that trip.

I hooked several others swinging wet flies and nymphing, one of which I landed. The two other fish I landed were on dry flies. A brown on an 18 or 20 sulphur emerger. The other was a rainbow on a parachute Adams. The rainbow was caught after dark, which was really awesome!

I'll post a few pics when I have time to get them off my camera.

Thanks to Krayfish and the rest of you guys that were kind enough to provide leader advice before the trip.

 

[krayfish2]

boychick,
As you got to see, big wild fish in big water are nothing like what is typically caught in PA. Hooking one is only half the battle. It's very possible for a 15" fish to spool you on 5x.... in the blink of an eye.

jkilroy & camdogers,
The only tips I can give you is look at your patterns. If they are heavily hackled, they might be hurting your success. 90% of the stuff I fish is flush floating, CDC, emerger pattern or very lightly hackled. Secondly, leader length.... not just to keep from spooking fish but to aide in getting a drag free drift. Reach cast, fishing down to a fish and mending are critical to success. Lastly, OBSERVE. You see bugs in the air, see bugs on the water but reading the rise will help you figure out what the fish is actually eating. It's easier to spot the wings of a dun than it is to see a spinner riding flush on the water. Really look to see what the fish is eating.

There's a group heading up 9-19-15 for a Catskill Jam. It's under the 'events and meet up' section of the forum. I'm guessing that you'd have to do a little looking for a room as we've booked up a good portion of the motel. It's an opportunity to get some knowledge on the river system, meet other forum members, swap ideas / techniques. Some of the guys coming have extensive fishing experience and don't mind sharing with others.

 

[camdogrs]

Krayfish,

I hear you on the emerger patterns and spinners. I need to start lengthing out my leader more. I used cutthroat furled and usually step down from 3x->4x->5x. Leader is 76" plus like 5-6' of tippets. I always have a place to stay up there. Really wanted to come to the CJ but just had a little one on 7/29 so my wife has got me locked down at the moment.

 

[fisherboy3]

I mean obviously this will start something, but look at your flies you are using. Is the dubbing you use on the fly really the right color? What color is the cdc or hackle? These all depend whether your fly will catch fish there or not. After your presentation with 0 drag. The DRC sells a really good spectrumized dubbing, created by the two guys who know that river the best out of everyone. Id give it a looksy.

 

[fisherboy3]

Jkilroy,

I wouldnt feel too bad either. The junction pool are easily the most heavily fished over fish in the system. Waders and drift boats will almost always be present there when fish are up. Those are some of the hardest fish to catch.

 

[wbranch]

I first fished the main stem around 1968 at Kellam's Bridge. That first year (summer actually) was very difficult for me and I think it took 3 - 4 trips to catch my first rainbow. Over the last forty-seven years I have fished the main often from Calicoon up to Bard-Parker and pretty much everywhere in between.

My advice to anyone who wants to catch a couple of fish is very straight forward; Stick with at least a 11' leader with 3' of tippet. If your casting is solid then go to a 12' - 15' heavy butt leader. Always use at least 3' of tippet. Don't be afraid to use 6X. On heavily fished pools like BP or Stockport those fish are pounded by experts and you need to go to a light tippet with your 16 - #20 flies and 7X with the really small stuff. Keep the drag light and just lift the rod to set the hook. The 7X being made today is 3 - 4 times as strong as the Gladding 7X I was using in the 1970's. 6X break strength was 1.2#, 7X was ,6#. Have fun.

Don't fish dry flies blind unless you want to practice casting and you don't get bored easily. Locate rising fish and figure out the best approach so you can get above the fish. I don't remember the last time I tried to throw a dry directly upstream to a rising fish. I prefer to get above a rising fish and angle the cast down so the fly will drift into the lane and into the viewing cone of the fish.

If you can't get that fly to land within 2" - 3" left or right of the rise form start practicing on the lawn with a target so you can consistently be on the mark.

Oh BTW if you hear guys talking about all the 21" - 23" rainbows they are catching they either never really measure a fish or are having delusions of grandeur. Do really big 21" - 23" rainbows exist? Yes, but in such small numbers you might spend a lifetime and not catch one. In all the years I've fished the D I've caught one 21" and one 22" rainbow. Both measured fish. Sure back in the late 1960's to early 1980's there were lots of 18" - 19" rainbows and pretty good chances of catching a couple 20" every season.

 

[Bosshog]

That first picture is $$$.

Like some others i too caught the skunk my first and only trip to the upper D.

 

[jkilroy]

I did actually a few both days I fished it. It was still humbling. Nymphing is hard on that river. Also because it was my first time I was more checking things out. I did get the skunk on the junction pool, as did everyone else around me. Next time I'll get one. I'll have some size 22 with just cdc or bunny for the wing. I didn't have all the flies I needed either, I was unprepared.

Thanks for the tips! Learning is what it's about.

 

[camdogrs]

The worst part about the Upper D is how damn addicting it is. Pretty much ruins fishing anywhere else for me.