Besides the hundred or so tires pried from the bottom of the Upper Delaware during last month’s annual “Get Trashed” river clean-up, something else emerged from the depths that day: reports of stripers – lots of them, and big ones, too. Guides in driftboats, tires piled four-deep in their bows, saw them holding in deeper pools, readily visible in the midday sun. So did volunteers in kayaks lugging garbage bags filled with plastic bottles, mismatched flip-flops, and other river jetsam.

“World-class” is one of those monikers that gets thrown around in the fly fishing world, much like the terms “epic,” “legendary,” and the profanely ubiquitous “trophy.” Those charged with marketing angling destinations are an unimaginitive bunch and even for those that are somewhat literarily inclined, there are only so many ways to say “big fish and lots of them.” In truth, there are few destinations that are genuinely unique amongst their counterparts on the globe. There is no shortage of good fisheries and even plenty of great ones. But world-class?