Week of August 17th 2025: Reports

Not a whole lot changed this week; we need rain in a bad way.   I spent some mornings on the limestones in PA.  They are low and quiet and the remaining fish are very selective, taking tiny flies. I actually bit and bought the second and third smallest flies at South Branch Outfitters - a size 30 is available, but I chose #26 and #28 to use on a final summer trip to the West Branch this coming week.  I basically tied a WD40 plus as best I could and also wound up some dry BWOs in #20.  They are not pristine, but I hope they’ll work.

Even the interwebs were pretty quiet, meaning people I know or follow on social media, were not posting much in the way of fish in NJ.  

I will offer two other sources, among many,  I check on a very regular basis - reports from other shops in the Upper Delaware.

The first comes from a small shop and hotel in Deposit: Angler 119’s Fishing Report.  The writer is witty and has a certain sense of humor I appreciate.  The reports are conversational and include jokes and anecdotes from years on the rivers I wish I could visit more than a handful a year.  After some tough trips up there, with fish on nymphs but only a few ten inch-ers taking my dries, I felt better after learning this was a rough year up there in general.  The reports are likely to bring a smile to my face while I consider what to do differently next time.

The second report I look forward to is from Cross Current Outfitters just outside of Hancock NY, in Starlight Pa.  Joe D., sits down with his camera and talks about recent conditions, flies to use, and how their guides have been doing. This is a great report to go alone with their guide’s photographs on social media.  It is kind of like being very, very hungry and watching BBQ Masters on the Food Network.    I check more than a few shop reports including, Dette’s and Beaverkill Angler, and TFO out in Pennsylvania, for reliable information even when I won’t be taking trips anytime soon.  Even some shops out in Ohio and further West come up from time to time and it's fun to see how other anglers and shops are doing - what they are fishing and catching in other parts of our country.

I guess when I cannot fish in New Jersey the next best thing is to live vicariously through others’  experiences from the comfort of my cell phone or computer. It is second only to reading a book about fishing.

See you out there, Roy B.