Super week. I could write a long story but I'll keep it short and sweet. Went up Friday after my sons junior prom pics and met up with guide Charlie "Bunky" Limbert who was with our four clients at the Dream Catcher Estates on the West Branch of the Delaware. Bunky put the trip together which included lodging, food- breakfast, lunch and dinner, float trips, shuttles and beverages for the guys. We had a nice intro dinner and cocktail session Friday night which included chewing on some smoked and rubbed venision steak Digger brought that was out of this world.
Saturday we were up and at it and floated the upper Main and the boys worked hard, had a great shore lunch, and ended back up on the West to fish the evening. A few smallmouths to the net and a few misses but several targets kept everyone happy.
On Sunday the boys were ready to go- well ready to watch and wait- so we put in a little up river and re-floated some familiar water. We had sulfurs pop up and Digger caught the nicest fish of the weekend when he dropped and drifted perfectly a size 14 sulfer emerger right down the pipe. Another small brown and a few targets kept us interested on a slow day into a slow evening.
It was guides day off Monday so Charlie and I enjoyed a hot, but beautiful day on the river. Yes we caught browns, but it was a chub, or fallfish, kind of day. We had a blast with them, and we didn't care.
We left the trouty water for the working guides and targeted fallfish most of the day.
We caught browns in the riffles but didn't find a rainbow. We didn't see many bugs but we did see some Green Drakes that are here and there throughout the system.
On Tuesday I had a trip re-schedule so it was off to the races again for me and Charlie. We spent most of the day at the Border Water Outfitter shop in Hancock before jumping into the Junction Pool in the late afternoon. We had nice steady bugs for a while and brought a few nice browns to the net. But the best part was the setting and having it almost all to ourselves. That night guide/chef Brandon Alexander cooked up a great curry chicken dinner for the guides over at the "guide house".
I did see the below set up on my way past the Capra Motel- one way to beat the cost of a shuttle!
On Wednesday I had Brian and Vic come up from Hoboken. We put in, found a few targets, and shortly after, the heavens opened up, and up, and lighting, and up and so on. At one point I think I had 10 inches of water in my boat. After a good hours soaking we peeled off the rain gear (and my plastic hefty bag). pumped out the boat, and went to work. We looked and waited for bugs and fish that really never showed. The boys nymphed and blind casted almost all day. I had to apologize for hooking a rainbow while doing a demo on nymph fishing with an indicator. I just hate when that happens.
We rowed on and set up and hoped for an evening something that never materialized. It was a good day with good guys, and we had a great lunch. Hope to see them again.
I got a call at midnight that my Thursday clients were canceling out so in the morning I hit Hancock and washed the boat before heading back to Jersey and jump into the salt on Friday.
