Gear was gathered.  The cooler was filled.  The grill is on top of my car.  In a few hours I should be working my way downstream on the West Branch of the Delaware, plundering and pillaging with my streamer rod during what will probably be an epic BWO hatch.

Life is good.

I think my passion for throwing streamers can be linked back to my days of fishing with spinning gear.  Ya see, one of the toughest things to master in fly fishing is that whole dry fly delicacy thing.  Anyone can get a streamer tight against the bank and strip it in like a mad man; but it takes practice to defy the dynamics of fluid flow.  I sort of stumbled upon this epiphany the morning I clipped off a Light Cahill in favor of a yellow Zoo Cougar a few miles downstream of the Mio  on the Au Sable River.

Hours earlier, I caught my first trout on a fly during the early stages of a Sulpher hatch.  To this day, it’s still probably one of the most epic Sulpher hatches I’ve ever experienced.  The bugs just wouldn’t stop popping.  I waded into a side channel on the back side of a small island and for reasons I didn’t understand at the time, there were no bugs.  On a whim, I tied the Zoo Cougar on and found out the hard way that my casting skills weren’t what they needed to be to cast it.  So to compensate for my shortcomings, I stood at the top of the channel and stripped every inch of my fly line out.  Once the current pulled the entire length of line and the fly tight, I started stripping line back in.  On the first pass up the channel, I saw three fish charge the fly before backing out at the last second.  Again, I let the full length of fly line straighten out from the top of the channel, then after stripping in about 40′ of line, everything tightened up and I had adrenaline shooting out my ears.

I can still picture my left hand struggling to cradle the fish while my right held my fly rod up to it to guesstimate how big it was. My dry fly fishing days were over only hours after they began. Don’t get me wrong, I still fish dry flies.  I’d even go so far as to say I have fun matching hatches.  But for me, catching trout through finesse pales in comparison to pissing them off.

This mindset applies to all of the other fish I pursue- except steelhead.  For some reason I still prefer to catch them under a bobber than on the swing.  I often laugh about this with Shaq over at The Anglers Net.  He’s just the opposite.  For him, when it comes to chasing migratory fish, the tug is the drug.  Yet for the most part when trout fishing, he’ll only toss a streamer when there are no bugs coming off.

So since the streamer bite is on fire right now on rivers all across the country, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites.

The Zoo Cougar

Hook: 4XL or 3XL Streamer Hook
Tail: Marabou
Body: Sparkle Braid
Underwing: Calf Tail
Wing: Mallard Flank
Collar/Head: Deer Body Hair

EP Fiber Baitfish

Hook: Streamer Hook
Body: EP Fibers
Colors: Grab some markers and go!
Eyes: Doll Eyes

Butt Monkey

Tail: Marabou
Body: Sparkle Braid
Rib: Medium Wire
Wing: Rabbit Strip
Collar: Duck Flank
Head: Wool or Glo Bug Yarn clipped to shaped

Muddler Minnow

Hook: 3XL Streamer Hook
Tail: Turkey
Body: Tinsel
Wing: Turkey
Collar/Head: Deer Body Hair

Conrad’s Sculpin

Hooks: 2 Streamer hooks
Body: Palmered Marabou
Joint: Mono- use a few beads to help prevent fouling and also give the fly some sound
Head: Deer Body Hair
Eyes: Dumbell Eyes

Fly Type: Dry
Target Species: Trout
Imitation: Mayflies
Material List:

Hook: Dry Fly Hook
Nymph Body/Shuck: Kinky Z-lon
Nymph Gills/Legs: Ostrich Herl
Stillborn Abdomen: D Rib
Stillborn Thorax: Superfine Dubbing
Hackle: Dry Fly Hackle
Trapped Wing: 2 CDC Feathers

Tying Instructions:

• Tie in trailing shuck
• Bring thread forward to rear of thorax
• Tie in D Rib so that tag end is forward, working end is hanging from the rear of what will be your thorax.
• Tie in CDC by tips near rear of thorax, take several thread wraps forward until you’re right behind the eye, securing tag end of D Rib and CDC.
• Tie in hackle
• Dub thread
• Wrap hackle around dubbed thread
• Wrap hackled/dubbed thread backward, until you’re at the rear of the thorax.
• Tie off at rear of thorax
• Wrap D Rib to the tip of the abdomen.
• Fold CDC rearward, tying off at the tip of the abdomen
• Tie in Ostrich Herl
• Make 2-3 tight wraps, tie off, and whip finish

Presentation Tips:

Fish as a wet, an emerger, or a dry.

This hellgrammite imitation was created and tied by my good friend, Brent Drew.  Yeah, yeah, yeah- woolley buggers work great for a hellgrammite imitation- but how can you not want to add a few of this pattern to your fly box this year?

A big thanks to Brent for sharing!

Material List:

Hook- Mustad 80050BR Size 4.
Tails and Antennas- Brown Goose biots.
Underbody- .030 lead
Dubbing- Mr. Peacock Brown.
Ribbing- Copper wire.
Gills- Small brown round rubber.
Top of thorax and abdomen- Medallion sheeting Brown.

Fly Type: Wet,
Target Species: Trout
Imitation: Mayflies
Material List:

Hook: Wet Fly Hook
Tail: Kinky Z-lon
Body: Turkey Biot
Legs: Kinky Z-lon
Wing: Medallion Sheeting
Head: Dubbing

Tying Instructions:

-Tie in Tails
-Tie in Biot, wrap forward
-Tie in Legs
-Tie in Wing
-Dub thread, form thorax
-Form head, whip finish

Presentation Tips: dead drift or swing

Out of all the common names, Sulpher seems to be the one which get’s the highest number of aquatic insect species lumped into it. At first, it seemed that any small, creamy or yellow bodied mayfly got referred to as a Sulpher.  After more experience, I’ve talked to guys who lump just about anything that isn’t a BWO, Hex, Green Drake, March Brown, or Hendrickson into the Sulpher pile.  Hopefully you’ve at least tied for your early season  mayfly hatches(BWOs, Hendricksons, and March Browns)by now.  So let’s take a look at the vastness of the sulpher before we start thinking about tying drakes.

We’ll start with one of the oddball “sulphers.”  I’m pretty sure this is actually from the epourus genus, but don’t quote me on it. (To the sulpher heap it goes!)

Next we’ll look at what I consider a “true” sulpher(spinner).

Some guys will even throw in the Light Cahill pictured below as a sulpher

Here’s the same bug(Light Cahill) from below.  I actually watched this one climb out of it’s shuck while floating down the West branch of the Delaware River, and took this pic seconds after.  Take note of the pink hue on the underside of the abdomen.

Now, here is the same bug about a minute after emerging.  That pink hue is gone-baby-gone.  Giving you a legitimate reason to tie two color variations for Light Cahill Duns.

Back to those “true” sulphers.  Just for comparison, here is a sulpher dun from the Catskills pictured from the side, and from below.

And here is it’s cousin from the Au Sable in northern MI.

And to really throw some confusion to the mix, some people will throw this stonefly species in as a sulpher(WTF?  Really, WTF?)

If you think you’ve got your bases covered by tying each of the color variations pictured above, you don’t.  In fact, you’re not even close. If you were me, you’d attempt to tie every color variation you’ve come across.  But if I were you, I’d look for ways to minimize the confusion.

And most importantly!  Do not skip out on tying some wet fly or emerger versions of the color variations you prefer.  Swinging wets during a sulpher hatch can be about as productive as it gets, even on the most highly pressured rivers.

While resevoir levels, and water release rates have been the main threats to the Delaware River we’ve been focusing on lately, a new threat has emerged. This just in-

From The Forecast

“The Threat
New York Regional Interconnect, Inc. (NYRI) is proposing an electric transmission corridor in the Upper Delaware River Valley. The proposed 1,200 megawatt high-voltage power line would begin in New York near Utica and extend 190 miles to Rock Tavern in Orange County, following the Upper Delaware River for 73.4 miles. The transmission corridor would require clear-cutting all trees and vegetation and regular spraying of herbicides within a 100-foot wide swath along the river, harming fish and eliminating significant amounts of wildlife habitat and beneficial vegetation along the river’s edge. The proposed power line would also cross numerous streams, creeks and other wetlands along the river. Moreover, the power line construction would also require buying out local landowners and taking property by eminent domain.

Construction of this power line would do irreparable harm not only to the Upper Delaware, but would set a bad precedent for the management of all rivers in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Indeed, the 1986 Wild and Scenic River management plan for the Upper Delaware specifically rejects major electric transmission lines within the river corridor as an “incompatible use.” Ignoring that clear direction and doing permanent damage to the unique values that led to the Upper Delaware’s inclusion in the System in 1978 would threaten the ability of river managers around the country to protect our unique Wild and Scenic Rivers.

What’s At Stake
Congress originally included the Upper Delaware River in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System for its scenic, recreational, historic, environmental and cultural assets. The intent was to protect this corridor for the enjoyment and benefit of present and future generations. The power line would diminish recreational opportunities and the revenue they generate for local communities,nd would decrease property values. It would cause harm to the river and the wildlife it supports, and it would undermine the spirit of the National Wild and Scenic designation for rivers across America.

New York state does need to address the reliability of its electric transmission system, but it needs to be done in an environmentally responsible manner that respects the rights of local communities and property owners and serves the public interest. The NYRI proposal does not meet that standard. Alternatives including locating the power line along other pre-existing transmission corridors would be significantly less damaging to the local economy and wildlife.

What Must Be Done
The DOE is considering an application to designate the Upper Delaware River Valley as part of a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC), which would allow NYRI to circumvent New York state’s review and permitting process. The DOE should reject this application. The proposed project would lie almost entirely within New York state, and the New York State Public Service Commission permitting process should not be trumped by a NIETC designation that would be squarely at odds with the river’s National Wild and Scenic designation.

Furthermore, to ensure the reliability of New York state’s electricity system, the DOE should look at the recommendations from New York state’s regional transmission planning organization, the Independent System Operator
(NYISO). All alternatives that do not endanger a valuable public resource should be fully evaluated and considered.

Take Action
www.americanrivers.org/endangeredrivers

Contact
Peter Raabe, American Rivers, (202) 347-7550 Ext. 3006, Praabe@Americanrivers.Org

Marcia Nehemiah, Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition, (570) 685-8774, Marcia@Mailhosts.Net

Sue Currier, Delaware Highlands Conservancy, (570) 226-3164, Info@Delawarehighlands.Org”

I’ve never heard anything good come out of combining a river with stuff like clear-cutting and herbicides. I don’t know about you, but I’d like wild & scenic rivers, whether they’ve been officially designated or not, to stay wild & scenic.