Where are the trout?

“The only certain theory to hold about fly fishing for trout is that there are no certain theories about fly fishing for trout.”

—Hart Stilwell

Some weeks ago, Barb and I found ourselves fishing in terribly thin water, far up in the headwaters of a local stream. At least way up towards its origins, the water’s temperature was a cool 66 degrees. Our success was meager and my excuse was we needed better flows along with the cooler temperatures in order to be successful.

A handful of days later, we fished the same stream, somewhat lower downriver, and found both the flow and the water temperature to be perfect thanks to recent rainfall. It appeared to be a day where success was assured. However, there was no hatch of insects and not a single trout responded to our dry-fly presentations. A long-held theory of fly fishing for trout holds that once summer water temperatures drop and rain improves the stream flows, fishing improves markedly. There is nothing more disappointing than to find a well-known belief destroyed by a hard fact.

Yesterday, September 7, we tried our luck again. Well, at least this time, the Tangler caught a fish. A brown trout of about nine inches. Whooee! I was fishing a tango of a dry fly known as “The Little Brown Thing,” trailing an Isonychia nymph imitation behind it. I had tied this nymph with a body of Kreinik’s metallic polyester braid, which gave it a subtle bit of flash. The little fellow took the nymph solidly, causing the dry fly to sink, indicating a hit. In fact, it was so deep in his gullet, I had to use my forceps to gently back the barbless hook from his mouth. With a pat on the tail, I put him back in the brook. By next season he will be a more worthy adversary. The “Little Brown Thing” is a dry-fly pattern originated by that son of Scotland, Eddie McQuat. Some years back, Eddie not only showed me the pattern but gave me the various materials needed in order to tie it properly. I think he was rightly dubious about my fly-tying ability.

During a telephone conversation, Mr. Van Put jokingly claimed the title of being the Champion Walleye Fisherman on the East Branch of the Delaware. Prior to the evening of September 7, a walleye was one of the few freshwater fish Ed had never caught on a fly. That evening, in half an hour, he caught two of them. He was using a nondescript streamer fly given to him some time ago by a fellow fisher. Ed has no idea what the pattern is called, describing it as being tied matuka style, olive shaded with a gold conehead for weight. Barb and I are aware that walleyes are present in the Delaware drainage, but have never seen one. Since Ed took two in one evening, I guess he is entitled to claim the diamond-studded championship belt. I believe that other than Ed, the only fly fisher I have heard mention taking a Walleye on a fly was Jack Mynarski of Paupack, PA.

Some very confused people have been spreading a rumor to the effect that Trout Unlimited (TU) is suing the Towns of Hancock and Youngsville over the improper bulldozing of various tributaries in the Catskills. This is an absolute falsehood. Unfortunately, an organization known as the Friends of the Upper Delaware (FUDR) are making noise about suing the Town of Hancock regarding bulldozing done in that area. Trout Unlimited is not involved in that action and considers such shenanigans to be counterproductive. In the future, TU will be working with the towns to reduce the effects of flooding. To this end, TU and the Nature Conservancy have both donated large sums of money to hire a hydrologic consultant who will work with the towns.