2010 - A Drought Year

You may notice that I haven't written any updates since January. Fact is, I didn't do much fishing this year.

Spring
Other priorities prevented many spring trips. Did manage a couple day trips to the Beaverkill, where a Hendrickson or two were spotted and imitated. Two nice evenings and memories from Barnhardt's Pool, where a somewhat unorthodox approach paid off. Fishing from the wrong bank, blasphemy! There was a footpath over there, so I wasn't the first...

Late Spring - Fall
Any readers in this part of the country may recall that it pretty much did not rain at all from June 1 till late September. The poor Housatonic whithered to a tepid trickle. I didn't have the heart to go and confirm with my own eyes the rumours of 90% fish kills. Charlie and I did take my old red plastic Coleman canoe down the West Branch of the Delaware on a sweltering July day. That was fun and we caught some nice wild browns at spots I'd never been able to get too by parking and wading. Also got a nice sunburn and got reminded that I ain't no spring chicken no more. Was very tired by the end of the float.

A couple early morning runs over to the Farmington with Joe and Dave for Iso and Caddis dry fly bank stalking were fun. An evening above Riverton on the Farmy when Steve took his annual dunking. On that trip the sulphurs were popping into a dense fog. The fog helped carry the voice of a non-stop chattering angler at least 100 yards upstream. A CT trooper called us ashore to ask if our truck was locked. Strange outing.

So, maybe five outings between June and September.

Fall
A work assignment from April to October with no room for time off didn't contribute any to my fishing time during the drought. The assignment and drought ended simultaneously.

Remnants of a hurricane that pounded the Carolinas brought feet of rainfall to the Northeast at the exact time I had a week off and a vagabond fishing trip planned. I was to stay in Roscoe for a couple days on the Beaverkill and Willowemoc, and then down to Coburn for some Slate Drake dry fly fishing at Ingleby and such on Penns Creek. The tropical showers forced me to postpone a week. The USGS provided enough info about stream flows for me to cancel the New York portion of my accomodations and head straight to The Feathered Hook.

I arrived at Coburn and walked out onto the bridge to see that Penns was still muddy and high. I spent the week nymphing, didn't see a bug on the water or aloft. The water cleared through the week. I caught some nice wild fish underneath. Spent most of the week entirely by myself. For a couple days, rod builder JD Wagoner was staying at the 'Hook, so got to know him a bit. Hung out in the rod shop with Jim Downes and his peeps for a couple hours. Ate at the Elk Creek Cafe, made dinner with stuff bought at Burkholder's Market (not the General from Hogan's Heroes). Other than those interactions, was out on Penns Creek from morning till late afternoon and most days saw NO ONE. It was great. I highly recommend a solo mission for quality time with one's own thoughts.

Mid Fall
Now that the water is back in the Housatonic, have gone out a couple times solo and on Black Friday with Connecticut angler's Jon and Steve. Both are great sports, puffing quality cigars whilst musing about the environs. Noticed that the fish in the Hous all appear to have been recently planed by the CT DEP.

We can only hope that those stockies will make it through the summer of 2011 and that a few might produce some offspring in the tribs.

No doubt my next update will involve encounters with floating ice....