Well, I've been flyfishing for 50 years, and I still wear polaroids, as much for the ability to see hazards on the bottom as to spot fish.  My Orvis Rod is going to expire the guarantee pretty soon, and my Orvis vest (a gift from my wife) is about 15 years old now, so I am not exactly a fashion plate on the river.  So much Orvis because they had a shop here, and for a while I worked there, although with that job I didn't make enough to afford their products (I guided the Editor of the News and the head of the school on the LO tribs using a Glass St Croix before they became chic and trendy).  We've always seen big crowds around run peak times ( Mid September used to be the bigtime, now it is Columbus Day and around Halloween.) But now it is sustained from September into November.  As to the roll cast to the same spot, once you know what the right water speed looks like, and you pick out a seam, especially in high water, you will connect a lot more by keeping your fly swinging through that same spot, usually on a pretty short line, than you will glory casting all over the river.  However, even at 2000 earlier in the year, a 5 and a couple of 3/0s' was plenty of weight for this fishing, and that is a lot less than a  small marble.  As to competition and numbers, it is all official now, check out a couple of Morgan Lyle's recent articles about Loren Williams (who used to frequent this site) and the competitive trout leagues that are starting up around the country.
 
Early morning blathering, now off to work...
 
L13 

My comments were more in line with how I see some very egotistical folks at time on the rivers or at least that's how they smell.  Meanwhile they are like any other goon just more fashionable and using a fly rod.  I'm not offending the masses believe me I have the St. Croixs, G.Loomis, Orvis, Fishpond gear but nothing makes me more angry than some of the closet snaggers at the end of salmon season. 
 
I have to admit I was really taken back by the number of folks up at the end of October and I think you are spot on...  The run and I don't mean fish.... has become longer and certainly extends into what most my view as the start up of steelhead fishing.  It begs the question of what are they truly targeting chrome or perhaps the individual is ill-informed (with the exception of a late run of salmon this year) and actually targeting mold-ish kings.  BTW I'm with yah I had my polarized tight to my face when I was up on the SR last week.  If I'm not mistaken the flows were around 900 and I've not spent much time up there when its running at that particular height.  I wasn't looking to take a bath.

Lucky13
 
 
 so I am not exactly a fashion plate on the river.  
 
L13 

 
Did you say not exactly a fashion plate.
I've seen less seedy people living under bridges than you and I appear on our annual steelhead pilgrimages.
Everybody we go near checks their pockets to be sure we haven't picked them.
Crap half of them run back to their cars to see if we've smashed our way in.
Why do you think we have so few people around us when we fish?, because we would rather fish second water by ourselves rather than first water in a crowd?
Not hardly.
 
 

I witnessed fly snobbery in the first form around 1990 when my brother I and a friend as children got coughed off the tail of a pool by cucci and nastazi dweebs on the west branch. It was around long ago before the internet... but I do believe the internet is the icing on the cake for fishing popular areas. I'd love to see a crash in steelhead numbers... if if meant people would stop gambling on fishing the tribs... bring it on...

Fish machine. Nice honest report.

Dime, do you know Caucci and Nastase? I thought their books were good reference manuals and they had done some useful research. I stay away from the  Jersey  Alps, but I've heard nothing bad about C&N from a lot of very talented and decent folk.  You use to get crap there for fishing something other than bamboo, and that was in the 70's. I found ways to sneak into some private club pools on the Neversink. Lots of fun and I never got caught........I also fished the Lackawaxen, which was a great fishery that you couldn't get "seen"  on, so few fished it.  I did drift both branches in my 10' Johnboat that I strapped to the roof of my ratty VW bug. I used a junky 20"  bike for a shuttle.  I have the same attitude now as I had then- If you don't like what I'm doing F'off.
I haven't trespassed since I was 20 , so the DSR and Jailhouse Lodge is safe from me.
 

Charlie I was just a boy and we frequented the west branch at that time. We were often kicked off the water as they looked at us as kids... little did they know we matched the hatch and took fish off the surface better than most of their students. So it was always a little snikkering joke when growing up. We bought their multi colored dubbing packages for which proved some success. Still have them laying around somewhere.

Never sink? Rock tavern rod and gun club stocked great fish that I was a part of for a few years. Were you stealing our fish??? Lol

Lacawaxen was one I never fished much. Once I got a little older we mostly concentrated on lake Ontario tribs and the western catskills trout have been nothing but a memory to date. My favorite was calicoon creek as it was stocked well and always stood the chance of breeder rainbows coming up from the mighty Delaware in early season.

Like the attitude Charlie-subscribe to it myself.