As anglers, we tend to enjoy all aspects of fly fishing and relish each opportunity to wet a line. I don’t know where I’d be without my annual dose of crashing bluefish, lazy farm bluegills, fresh tributary chrome, salmon madness in the fall, Thousand Island smallmouth, and so on. We are blessed with so many fly fishing possibilities.
At the same time, most of us possess favorite fisheries and prefer specific styles of fly fishing. One of my annual highlights is fishing the sulpher hatch in June on the West Branch of the Delaware River. Drifting yellow mayflies, intercepted by lazy snouts poking through the surface is a perennial favorite. Those white mouths breaking the surface, gulping in sulphers provide angling motivation throughout the season.
I invited two friends (Artie and Greg) to join me for Friday afternoon and planned on meeting another friend from North Carolina on Saturday (Bob). Each of us drove several hours, just to fish the late afternoon and evening hatch. Fellow blogger Artie Loomis-ADK Trout Bum and I started fishing the PA Gamelands, looking for bank feeders. He has a smooth cast and it was nice to watch him work two shallow water fish as they periodically fed. Within minutes he was tight to a 17″ brown that took a sulpher emerger. Next, we hiked upriver and continued to look for feeders. It looked like the sulpher hatch recently ended and we were faced with waiting/slow time. With a bright sun overhead and clear visibility, we managed to spot several shallow water fish on a gravel shelf. Artie hid in the grass, parallel to the fish while I worked it from above. He did a great job of letting me know where the fish was and how it responded. Thirty casts and eight flies later (cripples/spinner/nymphs), another fish pushed it out and they both disappeared. I worked that fish as well as I could and never managed a take! Sulphers picked up again around 6 pm and we managed a few smaller browns, but we didn’t see many quality fish feeding. I lost one large fish that I didn’t finesse on the take. Still, it was a slow night for the three of us. Discussing things at the parking lot, we had more questions than answers regarding our disappointing night and lack of decent fish.
Saturday morning, I hooked my first fish at 5:30 am. It was a chunky 14″ brown that ate a rusty spinner. Not much else rising in my stretch of water, so I enjoyed a several hour breakfast and reading break. After 10 am, I returned to the PA Gamelands and promptly observed risers. Staying on the bank, sneaking up and crouching low, I managed two dozen casts to a steady fish. I didn’t like my position and the brown didn’t like my presentation. So, I dropped back down, crossed the river, walked upstream and gently waded into a better casting position. There were plenty of # 22 olives on the water and fish apparently enjoying these baetis delights. I broke off my first fish on the hook set-total angler error! Minutes later, I relaxed when I saw the white mouth engulf my fly and was soon hooked up to a fiesty 20″ brown. Over the next six hours, I landed another nine fish, most over 15″. The two most memorable included a chunky rainbow that cartwheeled downstream and pulled valiantly. The second was a 21″ measured brown that ate my #20 cdc sulpher emerger within 4″ of a large boulder. That fish was feeding tight to the rock and it was a tricky reach cast w/ plenty of mending to keep the fly in the zone. It was awesome to watch that fish rise up, turn with the fly and chase it down as it was passing.
The WBD provides superb sight, dry fly fishing for selective, trophy trout. It will humble an angler and there are some fish that leave you shaking your head in disbelief. Despite my successes, one larger brown rejected every sulpher and olive imitation that I threw. Cool, yet aggravating to watch a trophy fish feed on naturals within inches of your fly. Still, pay your dues and the fish will reward you. Fishing a 16′ leader, casting to rising fish and wading like a heron improve your odds. Combine these stealth tactics with patience and an arsenal of flies, and you may experience the thrill of dancing trout on the WBD. I can’t wait for my next trip to the WBD.
