Autumn On The EB

Autumn On The EB

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

A Summer Evning On The Swift - Cut Short



All day long we had blue skies but at 5pm I was flying down RT 9 to beat the T-storms that seemed to be hovering in all directions. My three hours of planned fishing ended in an hour of fishing BUT it was a good hour!

The Y Pool lot was FULL but nobody was at the Pipe lot. I've heard that there's lot of fish above Rt 9 but that means lots of fisherman. I had the Pipe and beyond to myself and that was great.

First, I caught a bunch of those 8 inch escapees on my Swift Serendipity. Thunder rattled close by as I moved downstream to the "tree pool". Another four 'bows, in the 16 inch club, smacked that Serendipity. But then the skies opened up, the lightning flashed and I was out of there.

I saw something last night that I have seen on occasion on the Swift. A trout will make a beeline of over five feet to take a fly. We have been taught that trout really need to have that subsurface offering bounced off of their nose but that is not the case. The bow TRAVELED to take the tiny serendipity. It was great to see it in that skinny water!

High Summer will slowly drift into Late Summer and then into Early Fall. Swift Serendipities and Pinheads will will get the job done as the seasons slowly change on the Swift. It will be a great time!!

Ken

7 comments:

GeeBee said...

I have seen the same thing a few times, the bows seem to need to have the small fly in their 'lane' for them to have a good look at it, then they race forward to take it or on occasion they turn and take it after it's past them.

I do think they need dries right on the nose though

Anonymous said...

You know, the last few years on the chances I have to get to the swift, i've had a lot of luck on a #6 chernobyl ant or that fly with a #14 mcphail bug dropper. But, in both cases I've seen the bow's in there travel several feet for the fly's as well.

Some times they are just in the mood I guess!

tony said...

Its good to hear someone else Fishing and Tying Mcphail bugs! Davie McPhail is an amazing artist. If you haven't had a chance check out one of his many videos on youtube!

Anonymous said...

Agree'd Tony. Davie is great. I have found many of his creations to be excellent flies here - or slight modifications of his flies. His Maribou bug with a little wing and flash poof is a great swift fly as well.

Just watching the guy is an education every time!

Millers River Flyfisher said...

McPhail is much like John Betts - innovative and unique.

Bob O said...

It's a testimony to the sight of the trout that they can pick out a #30 dry or nymph. With the clarity of the Swift, for a fish to move 5 feet to a target seems simple from a visual point of view. Why it would expend the energy to swim so far is another question. Might it be a mood? Possibly, instinct and need seem more reasonable. Whatever the logic, it's always fascinating to see it move to the fly, regardless of distance.

I too am looking forward to good fishing through the rest of the summer and into the fall. The Swift has been well populated and outings will be rewarded.

Bob

Mike F. said...

Tony, thank you for the recommendation to check out Davie McPhail's posts on youtube. He's got some wonderful techniques I can't wait to try.