Boxed In and Bugless

Yep, it's true, the minute you write about how good the hatches and the fishing are you get smacked right in the face with a humble pie!

I hit the river last evening, and when I got to the water, I was the only one in sight.  It was about 7:30 by the time I stepped into the drink, and the air was calm, warm and humid.  The water was cool, clear and somewhat on the low side, but definitely very fishable.  As I tied on one of my soft hackled sulphur emergers, I thought to myself how lucky I was to be alone given all the fisherman I saw upriver on my way to this spot.

No sooner did I think the thought than I hear someone in waders stomping through the field behind me to the water.  I turned, he stopped at the water's edge and said hi.  I said hi out loud, and muttered something else under my breath, sort of like, "Crap, not only is someone else here, but he had to do a bee-line straight to where I was."  As far as I could see up and down river, I did not see another soul, yet there he stood on the bank behind me.  What are you going to do?  We exchanged pleasantries; he asked if I was going to wade up or down stream, and although I had intended to work my way upstream I told he was welcome to slide in above me.  As surprised as I was when the angler showed up, he was gracious enough to stop and ask me what my intentions were before he stepped in the river.

He walked up a ways and soon we were both casting to trout rising sporadically near each of us.  I had plenty of water below me to fish, so I was fine........or was I?  No sooner had I thought this, than another angler came in below me to fish.  He gave me plenty of room, so no problem there, but I was boxed in. 

If I had more time, I would have left the river and gone somewhere else if only to have the opportunity to cover water as I fished.  Since there was only maybe 45 minutes of daylight left, I stayed and fished the water around me, frustrated that I was limited to where I could move.  There were fish rising around me, and I caught some, but I continually had to rest them as they would go down after missed strikes or when I managed to catch a fish because of the commotion.  I made the most of it, but generally I like to cover water and move.  Welcome to New Jersey fly fishing.......

Then there were the bugs, or more accurately, the lack of bug activity.  Unlike most other recent evenings, there were only a smattering of sulphurs coming off the water, a few midges and a random caddis for laughs.  At least that was the case while there was light.  Shortly after dark I could see in the headlights of cars going by, that the air was filled with sulphur and cahill spinners as well as various caddis and other flying insects. 

So there you have it. We caught some fish, and who the heck knows what will happen next time we get in the water.......maybe Anonymous knows, but I sure don't.