mudbug201
loose loops, sink tips
Got out for a couple hours on the evening of July 3, with my brother-in-law, a decent fly fisher who mostly targets warm water species, and had never fly fished on the Upper Delaware.
We took my venerable 17-foot Old Town canoe down to Bard Parker and paddled upstream, then floated down the bubble line casting toward any rises we saw. It was a beautiful, cool night after a hot, sunny day. You could feel the humidity and the temperature dropping, and already I was regretting my decision not to throw on a long sleeve shirt on under my waders.
Fish were coming up erratically, slapping their tails or slashing. No rhythmic slurping going on, and not many bugs on the water. Saw a couple of slate drake duns sailing down through the current, and decided the fish were on Iso nymphs.
I had my brother-in-law tie on an unweighted prince nymph and swing it through the bubble line. I was throwing a rusty spinner maybe 40 or 50 feet upstream, too lazy to switch flies myself. A few casts later, I saw Jeff come tight on a nice fish at the end of his drift. He had a lot of line out, but got the fish on the reel fast and muscled it to the side of the canoe. (Probably a bit too quick.) It was a good fish, but his 4x was up to it. I waded down and helped him net it.
I missed the beginning w/ my iPhone, but caught the rest. Two days later, Jeff starts texting me real estate listings on the West Branch only partly in jest. He caught the fish, but ended up hooked. Enjoy:
https://youtu.be/56WfrKDRL70
We took my venerable 17-foot Old Town canoe down to Bard Parker and paddled upstream, then floated down the bubble line casting toward any rises we saw. It was a beautiful, cool night after a hot, sunny day. You could feel the humidity and the temperature dropping, and already I was regretting my decision not to throw on a long sleeve shirt on under my waders.
Fish were coming up erratically, slapping their tails or slashing. No rhythmic slurping going on, and not many bugs on the water. Saw a couple of slate drake duns sailing down through the current, and decided the fish were on Iso nymphs.
I had my brother-in-law tie on an unweighted prince nymph and swing it through the bubble line. I was throwing a rusty spinner maybe 40 or 50 feet upstream, too lazy to switch flies myself. A few casts later, I saw Jeff come tight on a nice fish at the end of his drift. He had a lot of line out, but got the fish on the reel fast and muscled it to the side of the canoe. (Probably a bit too quick.) It was a good fish, but his 4x was up to it. I waded down and helped him net it.
I missed the beginning w/ my iPhone, but caught the rest. Two days later, Jeff starts texting me real estate listings on the West Branch only partly in jest. He caught the fish, but ended up hooked. Enjoy:
https://youtu.be/56WfrKDRL70
