West Branch Delaware River, NY, 7/30 & 7/31

[sight_nymph_17109]

Fished Saturday with Alpabuck and Esopus Guy between Balls Eddy and Shehawken. Flow around 350 cfs at Stilesville. The weather was mostly sunny with a light breeze. Typical clarity and plenty cold. Light trico hatch in the morning with no response from the fish. We also saw a few (very few) caddis. I didn't see a rise the between 8 am & 4 pm. Alpa did manage to take 2 on top. Everyone hooked a fair amout of fish. I'm not a big nympher but didn't throw a dry all day.

For the evening fishing, we headed to Deposit. Lots of 'slime' in the water so we ended up going to the upper East Branch. Clear water, 64 degrees. We hit a light sulphur hatch and the only fish we saw rising were 5" browns. They didn't believe that the river held fish or that it would be possible to catch them due to the flat water conditions. I told them that we wouldn't see bigger fish begin to feed until the last 15-30 minutes of daylight. As the light faded, we did start to have some pretty big fish begin to feed. Alpa saw one in the 4 lb class jump out of the water. 3 fisherman.... 0 fish.

I floated by myself Saturday. Same float but they had bumped the flow to 850 cfs. There was a bit more debris in the flow due to the increased flow. Hooked and lost a fish in the first 50 yds. I hooked and lost 7 more in between DRC and 191 bridge. In the XXXXX pool, I hooked up with what I believe would have been my biggest trout ever. He headed into my backing and I grabbed the spool to stop him. The fish proceeded to drag me and my pontoon from one side of the river to the other. He even pulled me up river against the current. Eventually, he wrapped me around a boulder in the middle of the river and broke me off. BTW Brandon, that fish was where I told you to run your nymphs through (2 round boulders on the bank). I also caught that same fish I'd lost on Saturday. The fish in the real skinny water above the bridge. 🙂

We didn't land anything big but hooked a bunch and broke some better fish off. Just enough to keep us coming back.

 

[afishinado]

That big fish story sounds familiar, been there, done that, but as you said, it keeps you coming back for more...Nice report.

BTW, if you floated yourself on Sat. did you hire a shuttle to get you back from Shehawken to Balls?

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

Gene from the motel came up to Balls Eddy and watched me get the boat ready. He'd seen them on the trailer but never one in use. He was thinking of getting a pair for him and the wife to float around on the river and relax. Shuttle for $20 which is pretty good.

The big fish I'm talking about was really big. I've landed a fish of 25" before on a 3 wt and this fish was on 4x and a 6wt. I had little to no chance. I couln't turn him. He knew where he wanted to go and I wasn't going to keep him from getting there. Changing directions and palming the spool did nothing to slow him. It felt like I had a 20 lb cattie on the other end. The section I hooked him in has give up 2-3 fish in the mid 30" range over the last 15 yrs. I may have had a chance of landing him if I didn't have a toy anchor. Dropped anchor and the boat never even slowed down. Guess who's getting a 12-15 lb mushroom anchor on Monday.

 

[vcregular]

Nice report, though the algea plague is getting a bit old. No doubt more of a pain to us, then the fish though.

Those big fish are something else in that river. I mean you can fish a stretch many times, and it will seem void of fish - - almost like you are fishing in a sewer. Then all of a sudden one will eat whatever it is you are throwing, and it will flat out school ya!

Happened to me last year with the high flows in August, when I hooked into something very close to the boat. It jumped, and it looked like a salmon! Flat out pig, and I've seen 25" trout come out of the WB before. This fish dwarfed those fish.

These high flows have got me really jonesin. Hope to make it up there in a couple of weeks. And if they are dumping, the boat will be in tow.

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

I don't know how long they will keep the flow around 900. The increase in cfs should blow out a bunch of the slime. I'll be back last week of August. Hope they don't drain the lake on me llike they did last year. Good luck to ya.

 

[littlelehigh]

Glad you had another good trip up there hooked and lost, I mean sight nymph. Hope the big D is in my future in a few weeks.

 

[jerseygeorge]

Thanks for the report. I was heading up in the AM, but have to get a water heater replaced first. Was watching the flows, and they have been dumping a lot of water. With the rain this week they may shut it down. I have seen pics of some of those monsters, but not had one on the line yet. Maybe this trip....

 

[mcwillja]

Nice Report Sight. Too bad on losing the "Pig". Those are the fish that keep you going back. Did you guys make it up to Stilesville at all? Based on your report it didn't seem like you guys made it up that far.

I've found on that river when they release that much water and the water is on an uptrend it puts the fish down for a day or two. It seems to shock the bugs and fish. I've always had my good luck on a steady holding flow or a down trend in flow. Just my $.02.

 

[englishprof]

Planning a trip up there the week of August 16th. Where can I get information about the releases? Thanks.

 

[Alpabuck]

Google search?

 

[vcregular]

Hahaha...information in advance about releases. Now that is funny. If it were only out there in advance, but it is not. Best you can do is track what is being released leading up to your trip, and compare with how the downstream Montague target is trending. Montague for the most part has to stay above 1750cfs...though it does dip below that from time to time.

Then you can also look and see what Wallenpaupack is generating. This info is online....so if Wallenpaupack is generating, that means water from the Lackawaxen can satisfy the Montague target. If they are not generating, and we continue dry, then water from the WEst Branch is usually needed to meet the target.

The whole operation is far from transparent, but generally speaking when we are in a dry pattern like we've been in the WEst Branch will pump and dump water to meet Montague.

And yes, like someone else mentioned a sudden icy releases like we say this past weekend can put the fish off for a day or two.

If I can, I will dig up some links - - especially the PPL Wallenpaupack info.

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

VC,
Even with the "formula" you never know what you'll get. Last year when they were working on that tunnel, it was raging muddy water for months.

mcwillja,
The guys wanted to nymph so we stayed lower on the river trying to avoid weeds and slime. On Saturday, I think that I was down far enough that the release didn't hurt the fishing too bad. In fact, there was a sulphur hatch mid-day and that wasn't the case on Fri.

 

[Alpabuck]

sight_nymph_17109 wrote:
VC,
Even with the "formula" you never know what you'll get. Last year when they were working on that tunnel, it was raging muddy water for months.

mcwillja,
The guys wanted to nymph so we stayed lower on the river trying to avoid weeds and slime. On Saturday, I think that I was down far enough that the release didn't hurt the fishing too bad. In fact, there was a sulphur hatch mid-day and that wasn't the case on Fri.

No, you guys wanted to nymph! I would have rather watched MSNBC with JackM, nymphing is for guys that have to catch fish to have fun. I enjoy a nice boat ride every now and then when fish arent looking up.

 

[mcwillja]

Alpabuck wrote:

I would have rather watched MSNBC with JackM, nymphing is for guys that have to catch fish to have fun.

Now that is funny right there...well played!!

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

I pretty much can't stand nymphing but I'm trying to force myself to learn to like it.

For some reason, I'm not buying the "watch MSNBC with JackM" thing.

 

[trowpa]

sight_nymph_17109 wrote:
I pretty much can't stand nymphing but I'm trying to force myself to learn to like it.

For some reason, I'm not buying the "watch MSNBC with JackM" thing.

I'm the exact opposite. I LOVE to nymph...but am trying to force myself to like dry flies. (not working yet).

 

[jayL]

I'm with trowpa. Nymphing is more enjoyable.

 

[bam]

Good report sight.

I agree with Trow and Jay. If I'm nymphing, at least I'm active. Sunday we floated past a half dozen people sitting on chairs or the bank waiting for risers. Not exactly my style.

Ended up doing a last minute day trip on Sunday... well, if you consider waking up at 2AM a day trip. Fishing was slow, but I landed four, the nicest went 17 or 18 inches. Had a 20+ incher come unbuttoned on a streamer even though I got a solid hookset. There were very few risers and hardly a bug coming off, though the birds seemed interested in chasing something around all day.

The one time we did stop for a few risers, a group of a dozen kids, i'm guessing from 10 to 14 years old came down on a blow up mattress and cheap inner-tubes putting down the fish. We couldn't get away from them for a good three hours till they took out. We'd paddle and they'd catch up. We'd wait half an hour and they'd be in an eddy. Not that I didn't do that kind of stuff as a kid, but letting 10 year olds float down a river with no adult supervision and only sticks to steer a plastic tube made for a pool???

 

[troutslammer]

lets not try to be purists here guys ....lol

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

bam,

ma and pa may have been looking to thin the herd! LMAO I know what you mean about not being able to get away from other floaters. I was fishing the bend right above the campground and there were some real hill-jacks there. Sleeveless t-shirts and I think they had the 8 yr old son dipping. NICE. I was on the opposite bank, sitting in my toon and tossing a nymph rig. The kept yelling "Hey Mike, what did you take that last on on? Oh, it was a nymph bug? Cool." etc. I think they were tossing castmaster spoons and salmon eggs. I was able to stay a couple of hundred yds ahead but could hear them the entire time. At least they were having fun and they did catch / kept a few big trout. Unfortunately!

I'm not a purist, it's just that nymph fisherman suck. 🙂 Kidding. When nothing is rising, it is nice to have a chance to catch the bottom or work on undoing some god awful knot with your nymph rig. I can promise you that I never would have seen myself nymphing for 7 hrs straight. I was typically good for 7 hrs during one season!