Catching Up With Friends on the West Branch of the Delaware River
Two friends from North Carolina drove up to spend a week fishing the Delaware River System. Both are semi-retired and enjoy superb Appalachian Trout and Tennessee Tailwater fishing. One just returned from Chile and it seems like they enjoy exotic angling trips annually. It wasn't a coincidence that they journeyed to the Empire State to take advantage of unparalleled dry fly fishing with hendricksons on the West Branch of the Delaware. They intend to fish the Delaware River System for over a week, with no departure date established. Im envious of their semi-retirement state, as my schedule is less flexible and it was a challenge to manage one day off to join them.
Driving to the WBD is a three hour trip and I enjoy company. It's also nice to share gas expenses. I feel less guilty about burning fuel during a long day trip. In less than three hours we were on the river. We started nymphing mid-morning at a lower riffle, well known for eager rainbows and their proclivity to swipe at a soft hackle. Riffles can be great ice breakers for novice fisherman. Three of us nymphed or swung soft hackles and it was slow! I managed two average rainbows, but we weren't impressed. This was the second time this season that this familiar riffle failed to produce decent fish.
After lunch, we drove upstream of Hale Eddy Bridge and decided to join our NC friends at a large pool. Walking in, it was fun to recognize a familiar face in the middle of the water, lifting his rod sharply and fighting a 19" brown. We thought it a fitting welcoming gift for our Southern brethren. From noon to 6 pm, in between lightning/rain/hail/gusts and sunshine, we enjoyed fine, technical dry fly fishing. There were three caddis species on the water, with apple caddis predominant. We also saw a lesser hatch of hendricksons and some blue winged olives.
Several aspects stood out from this trip. First, I've never witnessed as much angling pressure in this stretch. While our party numbered five, there were another seven fly fisherman plying this long stretch of water mid-afternoon. Kayaks, pontoon boats, canoes and drift boats also passed through. While hendricksons are winding down, word must be out that fishing has been solid. Some of those passing vessels put down spooky, large bank feeders that were just getting comfortable. I felt like I was scouting, hunting and waiting more than usual to target a decent snout. River traffic and angling pressure reduced windows of angling opportunity. Second, we were forced to take shelter on the banks several times during the afternoon. Thunder, lightning, driving rain, gusty winds drove us off the river. There's something special about hunkering underneath a large tree, collectively waiting out a storm. Sky may crackle above and sheets of rain fall, but there is angling solidarity in waiting out the passing storm. Third, my usually reliable rusty spinner pattern failed to produce any fish. My friends did ok w/ spinners, but I struck out. The hendrickson emergence is waning and wind/rain likely played a factor for the lack of spinners. Just after a violent storm, things calmed down and I landed two nice browns (18" and 19.75") on a rabbit's foot hendrickson emerger. These two post storm fish, were my only success with hendricksons. At the same time, apple caddis were abundant. My best fish of the day, a 21.5" brown came on a tan antron cripple caddis pattern. It was a treat to observe the abundant caddis and fish feeding on emergers, cripples and spent caddis during the day. That said, I sure need a better sunken, spent caddis pattern. None of us were able to fool a fish after 8 pm and we still think they were taking spent caddis. Fourth, we're glad we didn't pay attention to the breezy forecast. We would have missed some fine fishing if we stayed home. It didn't blow a steady 10 to 20 mph and there was a good mixture of sun during the day. All in all, it was a wonderful one day escape to the WBD. Between the five of us, we landed multiple fish between 17" and 22". Good fishing, great company and beautiful scenery around us. It was a treat to share the trip w/ fellow ROC anglers and a blessing to catch up w/ old friends from North Carolina. I sure hope they enjoy some great fishing the next week or so!
