Autumn On The EB

Autumn On The EB

Sunday, March 31, 2013

The Swift Comes Alive (That Means Stocked)



As you probably know the Swift got some trout last week and as occasional contributor Kozman said you just had to find them. Yup, they were ganged up in deep runs in the Guage/Pipe section were I fished late Friday afternoon. It was funny but the Pipe run was empty of trout (at least for me) and I waited around until the lone bait guy left the tree pool. He had caught one bow in his time there. I waded in and took 8 the last hour fishing to a pod of trout in the deepest part. A size 18 hotspot 18 inches below a micro shot did the trick.

We hear about bait and lure fishermen cleaning out rivers but over the years the vast majority of trout taken in this section are taken by fly fishers. I've seen two trout taken by other methods this year and that's not because of a lack of non fly fishers. Just an observation....

What I'd like to see is a stocking practice that scatters the fish on the Swift. Some years some sections have plenty of fish, the next year they are scarce. Again, an observation.

I've got the Millers on my Brain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ken

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ken,
I agree with you that stocked fish should be better dispersed in the river besides dumping them from bridges. I've always thought about keeping a few at a time in a bucket and then releasing them to a more remote part of the river (particularly the Quinebaug in Sturbridge which gets cleaned out very quickly).

Cliff

Anonymous said...

Yeah i can remember a few stocking points last year where the fish got dumped off the bridge and 95% of them stayed grouped together under the shade and percieved protection of the bridge right into the heat of summer. They never moved more than 25 feet from where they hit the water originally. Beautiful water upstream and downstream but they never found it. Frustrating but what can you do.

-Dave

flyfisher1000 said...

fogot to mention that when i left the millers yesterday i walked upstream in a little brook to get out of the main-stream and i spooked a long dark flash..
i think it might have been a rainbow..not sure... but i would,ve loved to hook into a nice smallie....still, just a few degrees too cold...

Anonymous said...

there were 10-12 bait guys at the pipe and I think it's clean out now. sad to see they all had a few fish on a stick.

flyfisher1000 said...

To dave....

" Grampa always said"...
if u ever see trout that hold in a school for more than 2 weeks and never move..... walk....i say....walk 'em up and down the line...

A Simple Man said...

If only the state considered float stocking. It might take them a bit more time in the process however the fish would gain a sporting chance and most fishermen would appreciate the challenge.
-ASM
http://newenglandflyfisher.blogspot.com/

Millers River Flyfisher said...

Float stocking is done on some rivers such as the Millers but it's always done with a civilian group that handles the boats/rafts. The DFW just doesn't have the time, money, equipment or personnel to do this on their own.

I always like to see a major rain event after the Millers and the EB get stocked. Mother Nature knows how to move the fish.

Ken

flyfisher1000 said...

at least they dont fly over at 1000 feet and drop them from a plane...like they do in Maine !!!

Millers River Flyfisher said...

Stocking from the air is a very effective method of stocking remote areas with SMALL trout, fingerlings or less, because the alternative method does not exist. NH stocked remote ponds by air over 40 years ago.

Ken