By Clem Fullerton

At the April 29 meeting of the Upper Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Mike Padua of Sweetwater Guide Service reported that fishing on the West Branch of the Delaware has been excellent. Alewives have been washing over the top of the Cannonsville dam and the trout have been feasting on them. Mike says that any white streamer fly or gold spinning lure will take fish. "These fish are fat as footballs," he says.

Trout fishing in the Lordville to Hankins area has been slow despite massive Caddis fly hatches. Driving along Route 97 at dusk you'll find the Caddis are thick as raindrops. Some really large stone flies have been hatching in the Kellams Bridge area. We had the windows open at the cabin, no screens up as yet, and Barb found a stone fly two-and-one-half-inches long on one of the beds in the loft. This fellow had a bright orange collar around the neck area-a very handsome bug. I gently scooped him off the bed and walked him down to the river.

For fly fishers this is the sweetest time of year. By May 11 we should be observing hatches of March Browns, Sulphur Duns and Grey Foxes. These hatches are sure to cause trout to feed on the surface and bring joy to the hearts of fly fishers. Then by about May 21 the Brown Drakes and Green Drakes will be making their appearance. These are the largest May flies to hatch in great quantity on the Delaware and surrounding streams. This is the time of year to spend as much time on the water as possible.

Do you have a fly pattern of your own design that is effective during these hatches? If so, drop me a line describing the materials used and the method of tying the fly and I will publish it in the column. Here is your chance to be locally famous.

There are three very active chapters of Trout Unlimited in the Delaware drainage area. Allow me to bring you up to date on some of their recent activities. The Beamoc Chapter based in Roscoe has planted 1,800 small trees on the banks of the Beaverkill and Willowemoc. They are working with the Town of Livingston Manor to upgrade that sewage treatment plant. Dr. Alan Fried is the point man for the chapter on this project. He feels the first step will be to rebuild the clarifying equipment. The Trout Unlimited-NYSDEC partnership to improve fishing in the Catskills is moving into high gear. The DEC will place 70 thermographs in the Beaverkill and Willowemoc in order to monitor water temperatures. In addition, the DEC will electroshock 35 streams in the watershed to determine the trout populations of small tributaries. This should also give us some idea of which tribs the trout are using. Manny Zanger, president of the Beamoc Chapter, reminds us that if you catch a trout in the Beaverkill or Willowemoc with the adipose fin clipped (that's the little fatty fin between the dorsal fin and the tail), it will be a trout stocked by the DEC this year. If the adipose fin is not clipped, then the fish is either a holdover stocker or a wild fish. The Rockland-Roscoe Chamber of Commerce and the Beamoc Chapter are cooperating in placing a stream information booth on Main Street in Roscoe. Hopefully the booth will be operational this season.

The Upper Delaware Chapter has planted the first of 2,000 willows along the banks of Hankins Brook and the North Branch of Callicoon Creek. They will plant the remainder the morning of Saturday, May 20. Anyone interested in helping with this work can call the "Complete Tangler" at 570/224-6172.

At the Upper Delaware meeting on April 29, Matt Wishneski, president of the Pike-Wayne Chapter of Trout Unlimited, gave a briefing on the FERC re-licensing negotiations going on with PP&L regarding more environmentally friendly water releases for the Lackawanna River. Matt is hopeful that a large enough daily release can be obtained so that the Lackawaxen will be a productive trout fishery right through the summer months. Matt and several of the Pike-Wayne members have attended all of the meetings regarding additional stream flows.

There are lots of good people spending time and money to protect and enhance our cold water fisheries. We would be delighted to have you join us.