Upper Delaware trout on the fly 10/1/16

[Lard Almighty]

I've been meaning to try my hand at fly fishing for trout for a while, and finally worked up the courage to make a total ass of myself! Assisting me was my ace Delaware guide Mike, and providing moral support (i.e. making fun of me) was my brother Kris, a far more experienced fly angler.

First the warm-up act, the East Branch in Hancock on Friday. No fly rod this time; I was after a walleye or two for the table. I worked over the whole pool for about 4 hours with swimbaits, catching a few smallies and a jumbo rock bass, before I finally came tight on my walleye. It was 17-7/8 inches! Heartbroken, I let her go. Even more heartbreaking, I learned the following day that the size limit for walleyes on the East Branch is 15", and not 18" like the West Branch and main stem. So, I let a perfectly good walleye dinner swim off. Oh well, she'll only be bigger next year.

After Kris arrived in town later that night, it was off to meet Mike in the morning. We put in at Shehawken and got set up with our flies. It took a while, but I finally hooked up with my first "real" fly rod trout, a beautiful 16" rainbow! During the course of the day, I landed another rainbow and a brown of similar size, and my brother only managed a 10" rainbow on the fly. All of them fell for a large rubber-legged stonefly larva pattern.

Beyond those fish, we also threw our spinning gear a little bit. I managed a JUMBO chub on a swimbait, and at the very last hole before the take-out point in Buckingham, Kris scored the fish of the day: a fat 19" brown trout on a rapala. After we pulled the boat out, Kris and I both headed for home with sore casting arms.

Below are some photos of the day's catch.