Where would you fish?

[mob201]

Gents - wondering if you can help me out.

I'm headed up to the Callicoon area for a couple of weeks in June. I've fished Callicoon creek before and know it pretty well... but I'd like to try and fish some bigger water.

So here's the question. If you were in Callicoon and it was, say, 6:30am, and you had exactly 45 minutes to drive (each way) and two hours in between to fish before your wife a) wakes up, b) feeds the baby, c) realizes you're gone d) figures you're gone fishing and e) gets pissed off, where would you go?

Would you fish the mainstem upstream from Callicoon? Or would you drive like a bat out of hell and try to make it to a favorite spot near Hancock on the WB or EB?

I obviously don't want anyone to burn anybody else's favorite spot on the forum - but which stretch of which river would you head to? PM me if you've got any suggestions you don't want to share with the world at large, or better yet, PM me if you want to go fishing.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Tons of fish on the main in Calicoon - so why travel????????


(just stay out of sight of the pissed off wife!)

 

[BrownChickenBrownTrout]

HA! Isn't funny what we tell our wive or do to go fishing? I work out of the house but corporate offices are about 45 minutes from me. So I often "Run into the office to drop off expense reports" or such. The problem with new water is you spend a large amount of time getting acquainted.

I have twins in the house. There's no way I could get out of the house before they were up.

 

[beeber]

It depends on the water temp. I would drive upstream until I found fish friendly temperatures and fish there.

 

[Future Fanatic]

HA! Isn't funny what we tell our wive or do to go fishing?

I think that the idea that it is possible to "spot burn" anywhere in the D system is funny.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

HA! Isn't funny what we tell our wive or do to go fishing? I work out of the house but corporate offices are about 45 minutes from me. So I often "Run into the office to drop off expense reports" or such. The problem with new water is you spend a large amount of time getting acquainted.

I have twins in the house. There's no way I could get out of the house before they were up.

So true. I just emailed my wife to tell her I "have to" take a US Senator's aide out fishing on Saturday evening. True story, but she laughs at my reasons anyway.

 

[mob201]

The other night my wife went to see if she had left something in the car and found my waders (still dripping) in the trunk. The fisherman's equivalent of lipstick on the collar - honey, I've met someone... she's 15 inches long and lives under a log in the Catskills and lives mainly off of flies, but has also been known to eat her own young.

Glad to hear it's not possible to "spot burn" on the D system. Makes sense to me but I've encountered a very territorial breed of fisherman out there and just wanted to respect their privacy (paranoia, whatever...)

So, I sort of figured the water temps in the mainstem at Callicoon might be creeping up into the danger zone by mid to late June. Guess the thing to do is just bring my thermometer and head upriver if necessary? I've heard the trout on the mainstem are big and spooky and hard to find and even harder to fool. Is this about right?

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Funny stuff! On the D, yes you should bring a thermometer, but at current flows, the water will stay cool well into June at this rate. Of course the weather can get hot and dry and all that can change in a minute, but you won't have to drive too far upstream to find safe temps to fish. The fish in the entire upper D system are big, wild and spooky. They require long, accurate casts and a strong mend at the end of the cast (reach mend) so you can get a good, long drift. Calicoon has traditionally been considered the lower end of year round trout water, but the truth is there are pockets of fish hovering over spring holes all the way to NJ in the D.

 

[bkill]

As others said, you have some great fishing on the Big D right at Callicoon...You should take temps and check the gauge USGS Real-Time Water Data for USGS 01427510 DELAWARE RIVER AT CALLICOON NY prior to fishing...After fishing I recommend dinner and drinks at Matthews on Main St. (Kitchen stays open late on weekends)...If you like smaller waters, Callicoon Creek and its branches can offer decent fishing and some solitude...Good Luck!

 

[TR]

Water temperatures are fairly uniform throughout system due to reservoir spillover.

See 9:00am USGS chart.

In fact, water temps from freestone tribs which are still flowing nicely in late May (Basket, Callicoon Creek, Equinunk, Ten Mlile River, etc.) are cooler than larger rivers and the further south one goes dilution from those feeder streams into the larger river is keeping water in the upper 50s / low 60s (AM readings).

That and areas which usually are skinny riffles of less than a foot are taking longer to warm as is exposed rock since UDR has been over 5 feet and bank full for over a month due to spill and rainfall in April and May.



Good fishing to you.

TR
Narrowsburg, NY
www.delawareriverfishing.com