I returned from Rhode Island striper fishing with Jeremy, Nate, Dave, Mike, and Louie, and instantly caught the bug once again. I really needed to see a trout river, and soon. I was talking with Dave in Syracuse, and he mentioned something about the Delaware River. 5 minutes later I had a plane ticket and 2 days later I was in the air. A late arrival followed by 2 days of fishing was the order. Nate (kranefly) met Dave (waterwhippa) and I in Syracuse, and off we went to a nearby trout river, a fairly solitude streach of water without another angler for miles. There were fish sipping Hendrickson’s from the surface, but even with all of the surface activity I managed to see a few browns flashing and feeding near the bottom. We hiked around looking for activity and passed a small run that Nate pointed out to me. “There is always a fish there,” he said “why don’t you strip a bugger through it and see what happens.” I flipped my bugger into the small pool, and let it sit while I pulled some line off of my reel. As I retrieved my fly to put my first “cast” into it and WHAM!….POP! 0 for 1. 6x tippet is a lot lighter than the 40lb that I usually use down here in SW Florida. There were many opportunities at fish on our way upriver, but Nate had the magic wet fly that was most productive that afternoon when he fooled a nice 20in brown. Oh yeah on our way back to the car I decided to throw another bugger into the little pool that always held a fish, WHAM! POP!, I swear there was an alligator in there. The second day’s plan was to drive south to Hancock, NY, where we fished the West Branch of the Delaware River. Smart, angry, and hungry trout were on the rise, most just out of casting range, and Hendrickson wet and dry flies were on the menu. We settled into a stretch of river 40 yards long and about 50 feet wide. I swear I was out West, gravel, rock, and sandstone that sloped gently away from us to a far bank that was nearly 4 feet deep and surrounded by lush mountain greenery. The day brought consistently rising fish and steady feeding activity. I would scout out some active fish, stealthily position myself for a perfect drift, and waited for aggressive feeding patterns. When I felt the time was right I presented the fly. This strategy seemed to be working on these wary fish, as they never saw it coming. I didn’t beat them up before the time was right to fool them into the take. A sip or even a brutal attack was usually followed by a strong wild fish flying out of the water. The hatch progressed into a blizzard like spinner fall and the fishing lit up like a smoker in an airport for the last hour of the day. All in all a dozen fish or so were landed by us all, and equally as many missed or lost. Fishing the birthplace of American fly fishing is something I will never forget, and hope to repeat before the season is over.I want to thank my new friends for the hospitality, and the fishing lessons, and I am looking forward to your upcoming fly fishing adventures down here into tarpon country.
You guys are great and I always enjoy your posts. So far this year I’ve caught 8 brookies, 1 17″ Brown a smaller Brown and nothing since. I’m going nuts and am ready to drive West until the sun is out.
greg drive west, it won’t regret it…he he
I really enjoyed having you up to New York. I have never seen anyone adapt to the Delaware their first outing as well as you did. This is arguably one of the most difficult dry fly rivers in the country and you totally rocked it! Looking forward to the upcoming Tarpon, Bonefish extravaganza down in the Keys!!!! I’ll be in touch soon!
Your past couple weeks of fishing is making everyone envious. Stripers by the hundreds, followed up by trout fishing on the Delaware! I have had the opportunity to fish with Jeremy, Dave, and Nate they are great people and great teachers. Enjoy your memories of these exciting fishing experiences, afterall thats why we do it….
For me, here is the coolest thing about your guys trip. (outside of the fact that you guys had great success fly fishing for wild trout on America’s First Fly Fishing River)
– I think it is amazing that all of us have met through Flies and Fins. I would not know headrush, waterwhippa or kranefly if not for fliesandfins.com – then to see the relationships compound is even more cool. now headrush goes to salmon river country and fly fishes with waterhippa and kranefly….and they are now great friends and fly fishing commrads.
Digital pictures – digital video – websites…blah blah blah…all that stuff is garbage really if they are not used as tools to further our HUMAN relationships.
Technology does little to impress me these days….its the way technology can be used as a tool to build friendships amongst people with common interests.
So – for me – the human dynamics behind this post – makes this post THE coolest thing I have ever seen on fliesandfins.com and on the internet for that matter.
You really are right Jer. Things have really just snowballed since i was Turned on to your site. I have and will be fly fishing in places I would never of had the chance to see. Every single person I have met through your site shares the common interest and passion of fish on the fly. This site has the potential to put a lot of guides out of business. Why pay $600 bucks for a day when I can Fly fish with people all over the country that have met each other on the site and know their homewaters better than any guide ever could. Thanks for the catalyst man!
I would have to agree, obviously, that this use of simple technologies is the coolest thing since the Paris Hilton video, and has gotten me completely obsessed with chasing fish all over the place. I have met people all over the world through many different outlets, but the friendships that I have developed through this site are the kind that will last for a long time.
Good friends…Good times…fliesandfins.com
I have to agree with all on this one. Not only do I love to check in on the adventures of other users on this site, but I love the community that has been created here. Just when Dave (whippa) and I had settled into a comfortable pattern of our own local fishing adventures, he discovers this amazing resource created by Jeremy. Brilliant!!!!!
As Jeremy once mentioned to me when he came up to the Salmon River with pat-m, “I origionaly started this site for my friends in Maine to share their fishing adventures.”. Well, that simple plan has turned into a global community, all with a common appreciation for flyfishing. Quite unbelievable, if you ask me.
Headrush… I am envious of your fishing ability. As whippa mentioned, the Big D is not an easy river to fish. Not only did you do well down there, you excelled!! I had a blast fishing with you. Hope to be able to do it again, on ANY waters.
Thanks again and tight lines!!
Nate
All this motivated by the simple love for catching fish and watching others catch fish. Nothing like sharing the experience of a common passion. Can’t say it enough, Thanks again!!!!!
your RIGHT dave….nothing tops the paris hilton video….
the other best thing for me…is that now i go to fish for steelhead and all i have to do is sit in the car – drink coffee and laugh – i don’t have to be figuring out this and that and trying to find all new spots….guys like krane and waterwhippa take me under their wing…and they know that i would never disclose the locations of their secret honey holes in the great lakes regions —– same is said for headrush….heck if we keep going at this rate…i could have some pretty nice fly fishing adventures in my life time——-
ps == it is the coolest thing to see this little old maine site grow — it changes every day and gets better with every new member…the videos and pics are improving..the writing (by everyone) is unbelievable…no BS just common sense and down to earth content…i love it …. it has added a whole new elment to my fly fishing..i love taking the photos and putting together the videos and writing a story…it turns my fly fishing adventures into the complete package and allows me to excercise creativiy on multiple levels…..then i love to drool over other peoples adventures….keeps me always adding new experiences to my list of places i want to fly fish.
yeah and I get to go along with you and meet new people that teach me new things. hopefully I will have the opportunity to take some of these guys with me and show them where and how I fish. From there it continues to grow and we all have a better life experience. this site has boundless potential for everyone.
Dave, the time of this is perfect!! Joey and I are going that way next week. We will be fishing the delaware thanks
God bless flies and fins!!!!
P.S. I’m in Naples untill tues am if you have time to fish
I work in the IT world also. It drives me nuts to be quite honest. lol But bringing together folks that flyfish like all of us and sharing the experience lets me see things in a different light. We may all have different styles and amounts of experience, but it just all comes together on this forum. I have lurked here since last September. Did a search on Maine Fly Fishing and found the site. I love it though and totally agree it is going way beyond what Jeremy may have invisioned. Glad it did. And thank you Jeremy for creating such a great site.
My god…what is the correlation between IT and fly fishing…so many fly fisherman are web developers, network admins, application developers, system admins…….is it that there is some sort of common mind set??? or is it just that we are all part of the digital generation. i think it is a little combo of both….interesting really…..our forefathers pounded steel, melted iron and built physical things….now, in today’s world, many of us just shift around zero’s and one’s – build things that don’t really exist and move information across the global information highways…..oh the digital age…..what will be next….it’s so great in so many ways…but if the power goes out we’re all screwed!!!!
Seriously though – i love this site and the friends that I have met…your right Chris R – it has grown into something I could have never invisioned….Something much better and undefineable….and I hope it always stays that way. It’s the people that make it…it’s the lack of know it all’s….because…just like in IT —-it’s IMPOSSSIBLE to know it all. There is just toooooo much to know and the same could be said about fly fishing….so it’s kinda cool that we have established a kind of open forum and we have built a community around people who commonly agree that they don’t “Know it all” – God only knows there are plenty of other resources on the web that would lead the users to believe that someone “knows it all” —- with all that being said the most cool thing is that there seems to be so many of us with this common thread of conciousness…..that if anyone came onto the site now with the “know it all” kinda attitude – they would stick out like a sore thumb…..so the real value, for me, as a person and a fly fishermen is not in all the words, pretty pictures and videos….the real value is in the down to earth nature of the people on flies and fins. that kind of value can not be built or replicated over night – it takes time -just like all good friendships or all good things for that matter – they take time to develop……
So – thanks Chris and everyone else for making flies what it is today….we’ll all just keep fly fishing and see where it goes ….. as long as were fly fishing and having fun – i would imagine it will only get better. see you in maine chrisr – we’ll find you some brookies – Somewhere…