Readers of this blog know that I’m quick to point out nice fish caught.  It’s easy, and arguably more fun, to write up a successful fishing trip.  We all like to catch fish.  If I showcase glowing conditions and excellent fishing, I also need to mention lousy conditions and uneventful...

If you have faith in your favorite fishery, good things tend to happen.  Such is the case on the West Branch of the Delaware River.  High water, heavy wind, and cool temperature put a damper on early season wade fishing.  Recently, conditions improved as warm, stable weather coincided nicely with...

Over the past three weeks I’ve closely monitored the USGS Water Flow for the West Branch of the Delaware River.   It’s been plenty high this season.  Wading has been limited and it’s been tricky to catch this superb fishery just right.  This is the first year in many, that I haven’t...

Well the flows finally came down enough to make the Oatka fishable on Friday.  We were hovering around 3.0 ft (3.4 ft is the upper limit).  As I am writing this the creek has made its was up to 5.36 ft over the weekend.  Looks like a complete blow out.  Glad I fished on Friday. Another reason I was...

High water forced me off the West Branch of the Delaware River for all of April and early May.  There were days when water flowed above 4,000 cfs.  During peak flows, it reached over 8,000 cfs.  That’s a lot of water for the WBD!  During all this high water, drift boats ruled the river and...

April  delivered a record 5.8 inches of rain.  So much rain, that larger tributaries were rendered not fishable for days at a time.  Cool springtime air temperatures also held tributary temperatures below 50 degrees.  All this rain, coupled with cooler temperatures, work to keep steelhead in tributaries...

Heavy rain dumped plenty of water into our creeks this week.  Most tributaries are still swollen, discolored and slowly receding.  Last night’s rain merely added more water to already swift and off color rivers.  The sump pump at home has been running for days.  At the same time, plenty of...

Daffodils are blooming in front of the house and birdsong welcomes each day.  It must be springtime!  The soaking rain we enjoyed last night gave a nice boost of water to our tributaries.  Before the rainfall, small tributaries were especially  low and clear.  We’re now into mid-April and...

The sting of Syracuse University Basketball losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament was affecting my psyche.  As an incorrigible SU hoops fan, our premature loss to Marquette left an unsavory taste in my mouth.  Rooting for  Orange Basketball is a wintertime passion, second only to angling. ...

Steelhead fishing has improved the last two weeks.  The betterment of conditions is most evident in small tributaries.  These clear quicker after snow melt or a heavy rain.  They warm sooner than large systems.  Based on our weather conditions, I’ve focused my attention on two tiny Western...