Tips for Fishing the West Branch of the Delaware River

Over the past few decades the West Branch of the Delaware has become the finest wild trout river in the east. The river holds a robust population of Brown and Rainbow Trout as well as the occasional Brook Trout. It also holds an abundant and diverse number of aquatic insects. It is easy to see why fly fishermen flock to this river in pursuit of large wild trout on dry flies. This is a fickle river and the fish can be very difficult to catch. Some of the finest fishermen catch nothing while the trout rise all around them. Leave what you've learned at home because when coming to the West Branch there are some unwritten rules if you want to catch fish here.

Not to say many traditional dry fly fishing methods don't work on the West Branch but there are some things that normally work on other rivers that definitely don't work here. The first and most obvious difference is the direction to which you cast to the fish. The old notion of casting upstream so your fly can drift over the rising fish normally doesn't work on the West Branch. The best way to present your fly to rising fish here is downstream. These are very educated fish and if they see your tippet first forget about catching them. The first thing they must see is your fly. Now, this can be done when casting upstream but it is much easier to accomplish this by casting downstream. Don't worry; the fish normally don't stop rising when they see a person. However, they are very picky on what they eat so cast downstream and make sure your tippet is upstream of your fly.

Drag isn't a good thing on all rivers but it is especially true on the West Branch. Again, you may catch a few fish when your fly is dragging, but to consistently catch big fish here no drag is a must. Often times this is best accomplished by throwing slack in your line up stream of the fly. Since you are making a downstream cast the slack should be thrown upstream to minimize drag. To help accomplish this, after you make a few false casts finish your cast in mid-air and let the fly gently land on the water. This gives the line a little slack, just enough to get a drag free drift for a few seconds. This is all you normally have with downstream casts because it is hard to mend and still accomplish both no drag and having your fly right in front of the fish.

The fish in the West Branch can often mislead fishermen. Many are unaccustomed to determining different rise forms. Fish in this river often are feeding on emergers or just below the surface. Although the fish may be breaking the surface they may not be feeding on flies on the surface. It is very common to see a dorsal fin followed by the top of the tail of a fish. This is a sign they are feeding just below the surface. My suggestion here is a good pair of binoculars. They will help see if the fish is actually eating insects off the surface and sometimes they help you notice fish you didn't see before. The other rise form that is important is the rise to your fly. When fishing one of the long flat pools on the West Branch the fish normally rise in a slow deliberate fashion. Often they only sip in your fly as opposed to rising violently to it. However, in the flat pools you may often witness a splashy rise to your fly and normally you will miss the fish. This is a refusal, your presentation was probably good enough to entice the fish but once it got a good look at your fly it decided not to eat it. The fish often splashes because it is trying to swim away, often times this leads to foul hooking the fish. A foul hooked fish is a good sign that it was refusing your fly.

My final tip is to have a large variety of flies on you when fishing the West Branch. The river has a very diverse insect population and the fish normally feed specifically on one type of insect. Determining the right pattern can take time. Again, this is where binoculars can come in handy along with a good knowledge of insects. There is one secret not shared by many who fish the river regularly. The Isonychia, or Slate Drake, is a very common insect on the West Branch. It hatches in the springtime and again in late summer or fall. It is a large insect, around a size 12, and hatches for almost two months when you combine the two hatching periods. The secret is to tie on an Isonychia for your first cast. Before the fish have become selective because of your repeated casts they will often take an Isonychia. This was a tip shared with me and has proven successful on many occasions.

The West Branch of the Delaware is truly a remarkable place for fly fishermen. There are times when the large insects are hatching and big, wild fish are rising everywhere and are easy to catch. However, there are many more times when the fish are rising everywhere and seem impossible to catch. Don't get down on yourself if you don't catch anything it happens to everyone who regularly fishes the river. Hopefully with your skills and the tips I offered your trip to the West Branch will be a successful one.