So I came up with a plan for todays float on the Upper Delaware. I had Jeanette on board for her first visit to these waters. She was up for the Joan Wulff Flyfishers picnic at the Fly Fishing Museum this weekend and decided to hook up with me for a day on the water.
I got up on Saturday and went and scouted. Here's what I found in a nutshell....West Branch just around 600 and the East Branch high and off color, making the Mainstem high and off color. Not terribly bad, but enough that I believed the bugs and fish wouldn't be up. And, I figured the West would have a lot of waders and boats on it and its been pressured pretty good as of late. So.....I ran my plan by Jeanette and she was on board.
We started at 10 and launched and floated the Upper Main. My idea was to throw streamers to fish that haven't had the traffic and pressure that say the West had been getting. As we turned the corner into the big river I was surprised to have heads junk picking in the foam line. We had high bright sun and a strong quartering wind that threw us, and casting, a curve. We stayed on those fish till they went under, or over, or somewhere.
We then went to streamers and moved a nice fish that followed to the boat kinda like a muskie. During one of her many retrieves she felt a tug for a split second and that would be it for the day. We had a nice lunch before taking out and heading up river.
We launched again and this time I rowed and dragged the boat upriver. It was a real fishy spot, although most of the fish we saw rising and targeted where in about a foot of water. We had heads that were quick to spook and minds that were set on something and mouths that were glues shut. We changed flies often, got in and out of the boat, and nearly crawled up on fish in the skinny water to present her fly. I still liked our plan, I hope Jeanette still does, even though that one streamer tug was it for the day.
Funniest line of the day..... Jeanette is an amateur bird watcher. So at one point she had her binoculars out and on and I am standing next to the boat scouting some bank water. I saw a few fish rise and said, " Did you see that." and she answered, " The egret?", I said, 'No, F those birds, the rising trout." We both had a laugh and then got busy fishing.
I wish we could have landed a fish.....we did have fish at points throughout the day, but, that's the Delaware....or a lame guide. We did see a lot of birds.....another line from me...."I hate birds" but did see a beaver, a deer crossing the river, and a clutch or cackle or whatever they are along the river.
It was a great day with pretty much all the water to oursleves. I hope she comes back and gets to experience fly fishing the Upper Delaware when things are a little more consistent.
