There are times when I have to remind myself that sometimes there are pools that, upon initial observation, are actually better than they appear. That is exactly what happened when we moved our camper from Peaceful Valley upriver to a new location. 

The East Branch of the Delaware, in this reach, flows behind the camper. It is here where the river splits, with one branch flowing around the opposite side of an island, while the other branch flows within 75 feet of the camper, next to a nice meadow. I named that pool the Home Pool, because it was close to the camper, even though we never fished there.

The first year or so that we fished the river at our new location, we dedicated our fishing activity to the section of river where the two branches joined, well downstream from the Camp Pool. We fished there because a very nice, large pool formed at the junction; it held a lot of trout and I had fished the pool before. So there was some familiarity with that water.

In the meantime, I continued to walk by the Home Pool, never giving it a thought, until one evening while I went for water, I found a very good sulphur mayfly hatch in progress. There were a lot of trout rising, taking the hapless duns, as they struggled to leave the surface due to the very cold water. 

I watched for a few minutes, shaking my head, trying not to become too aggravated over the fishing I might have missed just a few feet from the camper. So I quickly filled the water bucket and hastily returned to the camper, donned my waders, grabbed my chest pack and fly rod and returned to the meadow to watch for a while before wading in. 

Access to the Home Pool is not easy because there is a drop-off in the meadow. There is just one opening that allows anglers to get in the river. And even at that location, there is mud and the bank is slippery. 

After watching the trout feed for a few more minutes, I marked where I needed to be in order to cast without spooking the fish. Then I made my way down the bank, half sliding, half crouching, and into the river. It was about 6 p.m. when I began fishing.

Looking back, I don’t remember if I rose or landed any trout that evening, because in the annals of time it was quite a while ago—likely over 20 years! I’m guessing that I did, because I rarely fished the pool at the junction of the two branches anymore, preferring the Home Pool instead.

On any given afternoon, I would have a sandwich, a few chips and a cold drink and wait while my friends headed downriver.

Once the sun began its westward journey, and the east bank of the Home Pool became shaded, the flies would start, usually around 7 p.m. Depending on the species and the number of flies on the water, trout would begin to rise, or hold off until the light faded and night approached. That’s when I had the most success on the Home Pool. 

I learned over years of fly fishing that large brown trout are very wary, sun-shy and feed mostly at dusk and into the night, depending on the flies. This short window is when mayfly spinners complete their egg laying and fall to the river as spent insects, a brief life over. It is during the last half hour of low light, when large browns feed in earnest, taking just about anything that enters their cone of vision if it looks like an insect. 

These trout are as easy to catch during this short period of time as bluegills, but difficult to land. Under these conditions, it would not be uncommon to hook and land one, perhaps two, trout because of the low light and the time necessary to land trout that ranged in size from 16 to over 20 inches in length. Fish of this size range do not tire easily with rod-bending, reel-screaming runs, where the struggle can last up to 15 minutes, depending on the size. 

There are other reasons why these fish take so long to land. First, East Branch browns are in excellent, well fed condition, and are strong. Second, because the upper river, close to the dam, is so cold, it holds a lot of oxygen, which helps keep these trout from tiring quickly.

So after misjudging the Home Pool for several years, it is the only section of the East Branch where I fish when at the campground. Sadly, it took a while for me to figure out the opportunity the Home Pool provided to fish for large browns at twilight. It took a while, but was a lesson well learned.