Happy New Year, Snowshoe Flies And Mono Rigs

"It wouldn't matter what fly you used as long as it presented the right attitude, especially that half sunk posture in the surface film. The situation required a highly visible fly of roughly the right size and distinct body profile, fished half submerged in the surface film like an emerging mayfly." Bob Wyatt in What The Trout Said"

First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you. Overall, it was a pretty good year without Springtime floods and Summertime droughts. It would be nice to finish 2017 with some milder weather but I will not complain. I'd like to thank everyone who availed themselves to my guide services this year AND to thank everyone who bothered to post comments throughout the year. This blog is the best source for information on fly fishing
for trout in Massachusetts!!!

Maybe it's these single digit days but I can't get rising trout off my brain. That means that it's time to tie some dry flies and not tiny flies either. I'm thinking of May and June evenings with hatching mayflies and caddis getting the trout active. And I'm also not thinking of placid glides but choppy riffles with trout poking their noses through the surface. It is my favorite dry fly water but it takes a fly that can stay visible through that rough ride. That's why I'm a convert to snowshoe hare wings. Above you see a size 14 emerger with parachute hackle. This critter is big and gives the impression of life (read trigger). Built on a curved hook it will require no tail but will float down riffles with it's ass-end sunk below the surface just like the real thing.

I've told the old story about how I was on the Deerfield around Pelham Brook when I encountered this guy wading downstream with a lightweight spinning rod and a bobber. I asked him how he was doing and what was he using. He said he caught and released two trout and was using a big, gnarly MONTANA NYMPH. "It's the only way I know how to fly fish" he said. I wished him luck and thought Buddy, you're not fly fishing. That was 1988.

It is amazing how this sport has changed over the years. What we would never consider "fly fishing" is now accepted as such. "Bounce Nymphing " became a west coast rage 10 or so years ago. It's formula is two or more flies tied to mono a few inches above a split shot. The rig is bounced along the bottom. Articles on this rig state that one can use a fly rod or, even better, a spinning rod and reel!!!! Again, I repeat,Buddy, you're not flyfishing.


People who toss 30 feet of mono with heavy nymph rigs are doing the same thing as my friend did on the Deerfield 30 years ago. You may call it fly fishing but it can only be considered a crude form of the sport. Yes, you can catch trout but you can do that with power bait too. BTW, there are "fly fishers" who argue for and use, scented flies!!!! Again,Buddy, you're not fly fishing!

Ken

A Product Endorsement

Above all, observe the fish. Better yet, observe the trout  as if you were a predator that needs to catch it, not just a participant in a game. Edited-for-action fly fishing videos, especially ones with hard-rock soundtracks and rambunctious high fives, won't really prepare you for approaching big, spooky trout.  Watching your pet cat will give you a better idea of how a predator moves when stalking it prey" - Bob Wyatt, What Trout Want: The Educated Trout And Other Myths

                                                                          

I don't like to do product endorsements because it fuels the "buying instinct" of a lot of anglers which is "the more that I own the better I will become". An $800 fly rod will not make you a better caster than a $300 fly rod but a $300 fly rod with two hours of casting lessons with an instructor will!
Having every tool imaginable dangling from your neck may be impressive in the parking lot but how often do you REALLY use or need them? There are things that we really need and when purchasing we should always go for VALUE and not marketing hype. That is why I give a "hats off" award to Fly Shack and their line of Saber barbless hooks!

Most of the trout flies that I tie are on these hooks. They have that dark, no glare finish, are super sharp and extremely strong. Currently they seem to stop at size 20 but that still covers 90%b of my fly fishing. (their barbed hooks are available down to 26). Now, here's the kicker- THEY COST $6.99 p/hundred!!!! How does that compare with, let's say, the company that offers $80 leader clippers and $250 fly fishing pliers? Their barbless hooks sell at $8.95 p/25!!!! That's 35 cents per hook vs 7 cents per hook and you cannot tell them apart. These guys will be at the Marlborough in January. Check them out and check out the hooks!

As usual, I get NO discounts, merchandise or favors for passing this info on to you.

It's ZERO as I write this. Winter sucks!!

Ken

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you!!!

Ken

The All Around Rod And Your Comments

It still amazes me that some "experts" make blanket statements regarding trout behavior. This is, well, kind of dumb! Trout in tailwaters behave differently than freestone trout. They don't have to deal with the environmental stresses of high water, low water, COLD water or warm water. Life is stable for them. A stable environment allows a stable food supply to exist. The biggest bonehead truism that I hear is that trout like to put on the feed bag in the Fall to prepare for Winter. The trouts' need to eat is controlled by the water temperature, period. Trout will feed more at 48 degrees than at 38 degrees. In the low 30's they are shutting down and you have bounce the fly off their noses. Did You Know: Trout consume more calories in May and June than in the Fall and that's not because there's more food then. Kenny Cahill

What Rod?
I get asked this question all of the time. "What's the best all around fly rod"? The answer is simple - it's the one that feels the best during most fishing conditions. Now, that answer is not a cop out but the truth. One rod may feel like a dream under one condition and totally suck under another. You want a rod that feels good and fishes well under as many different conditions as possible. You don't want to be like the newbies in this sport who seem hell bent on turning fly fishing into golf with a bag full of rods for EVERY Condition. Here's what I look for in a rod for trout fishing:

First, We will leave material out of this and focus on the most popular rod building material: graphite. I love bamboo because it is beautiful and if well made fishes well too. Some of the old "factory rods" were best used as tomato stacks. Fiberglass has it's following and I would never give up my old Fenwick which was as good as fiberglass got 40 years ago (a great dry fly rod) but I have my doubts about the newer fiberglass rods which seem too "progressive" (read "slow"). They don't have the zip of my Fenwick.

One does not need a dry fly rod, a nymph rod, a streamer rod and so on. Just a rod that does most things well.

A Small Stream Rod - 7.5 feet to 9 feet in a 3wt. The Swift, the Mill and the North are small stream and you can cover all sections of these river with those lengths. Mine is an 8.5 foot 3 wt., of a moderately fast action, matched to a 3 wt double tapered line. I can nymph with this (don't need a nymph rod) and then use this crisp rod to launch dries. Now, I seldom use weight on the on these rivers under normal conditions. A weighted fly cast with this setup leaves something to be desired. (Double tapered lines don't throw weight very well). If the flow is high and I have to use weight I'll bring along a 3wt WF line to solve the problem.

Big River Rod - When I know that I'll be fishing larger water like the Millers, Ware and the EB I'm bringing my 9ft 5wt  with a weight forward line to the show. It is a moderately fast rod that handles heavy stuff really well yet can blast a size 16 BWO out there quickly and into the wind to boot. (big rivers are windy). I can fish EVERYTHING with this rod, period!!!!

A few notes:
1.You don't have to go ultra light with a dry fly rod. I had a client catch a brown on a size 30 fly using his 6wt!!!

2. As I said before, I guide hundreds of fly fishers and very few show up with a nymph rod or even own one. These rods are not, generally speaking, good casting tools. I own one, given to me as a present, and it is the worst dry fly rod I've ever cast.

Your Comments


As I've said many times, the Comments section of this blog is a blog-within-a-blog and no other New Englad fly fishing blog shows this king of engagement by its readers. Case in point: my last 10 blog posts before this one had 132 comments. All blog formats cannot distinguish between a readers comment and the authors comment. Comments by me totaled 45 or 34% of the total. Your comments totaled 87 or 66% of the total. Some blogs have author comment totals that are 50% of the total or even more!!! You have given us reader engagement and that's what I want. There are no drive bye page views here. You guys are readers!!!

Ken

P.S. The Swift is still producing as client Ray shows us above.  First trout on a Partridge and Orange and not at the Pipe or the Y Pool!

The Fly Fisher In Winter - How To Maximize Success

"Sight Fishing", as it was coined, is the New Zealand art of a guide scanning the stream ahead of the client for that half hidden monster trout. The guide directs the cast and the client may never even see the fish until it rises. It is not casting for dozens of visible trout in a tail water. Just because you can see a bunch of fish doesn't mean you are sight fishing." -Me

A quick drive to the Pipe parking lot revealed one car. The Y Pool revealed "0". Why was that? Was it 3:00 am in the morning? Were we in the grip of a massive Nor'easter? The answer was NO all around. What should of been a day enjoyed by a number of anglers on the Swift turned out to be a day on an empty river and that was because of this bone numbing cold. It kept people at home OR should it have? There are ways to ways to make the most of this.

1. A few years ago someone wrote a blog piece on winter fishing. I expected a piece on flies, lines and technique. What we got was a winter clothing shopping list right down to the PFD (personal flotation device). I don't believe the author even mentioned fishing!! I know that buying things is a big part of this sport for some people but I refuse to insult the rest. You already know how to dress - light and layered. You don't need me regurgitating any manufacturers Kool-Aide over the merits of one pair of fingerless gloves over another. You know what to do.

2. Stick to Tailwaters if you can. Tail waters are actually as important in the winter as in the summer. Their water temperature will be 5 to 10 degrees warmer than your average freestone which are down to the 32 degree range by now. Freestone fish are stressed fish and many will succumb if we have a bad winter. I leave them alone until the ice is off the rivers.

3. When to fish - I used to hit the river at sun up to be greeted with single digit temperatures, iced guides and lethargic trout. Yesterday I was in the water at NOON. The air temperature rose from around 12 degrees at 8am to the mid 20's by early afternoon. It was actually pleasant as I walked to my spot.

4. Where is the best water to fish? - The best water is the warmest (relatively speaking) water. Remember, in the summer the "top" of the river is the coolest and it will begin to warm up as one goes downstream. In the winter the opposite happens. That will give you a hint about where I was on the Swift yesterday!!

5. What technique to use? - Fish low, fish slow and fish small. You have to bounce small flies right off their snouts to get any action. I imagine a grid over the river surface and my goal is to fish that entire grid before moving on. No rocket science here, just keep your line short and cover the water. I find that bouncing your offering on the bottom is more effective than suspending it in the water column at this time of year. And don't go light with the tippets either. You don't want to play these fish to exhaustion. 5X is fine right down to size 24. I know some fish hawks who use it right down to size 30!!!!!

6. How did I do? - 4 bows and two brookies in about an hour. I had dinner plans latter that evening and I really wanted to be home by 3pm but I also wanted to go fly fishing so.....

Ken

Thinking Spring Already - The Quill Gordon

"That is night fishing, the essence of angling, the emperor of sports. It is the gorgeous gambling game in which one stakes the certainty of long hours of faceless fumbling, nerve-racking starts, frights, falls and fishless nights against the off-chance of hooking into - not landing necessarily or even hooking into - a fish as long and as heavy as a railroad tie and as unmanageable as a runaway submarin - My favorite Sparse Grey Hackle guote repeated again. Question - Does anyone fish past dusk anymore? I know that some of the Millers Gang does because I'm one of them. The Tailwater Crowd??? Not so much - Sparse and Me
Photo By Thomas Ames, Jr.

It was late April when a client and I crossed over Church Street to fish the Ware on that cool Spring day. We met another angler who had just gotten out of the water and was complaining about the amount of ticks that he had on his waders. "Better be careful" he said. "Ticks on waders" was not what he had and I didn't have the heart to tell him. His "ticks" were Quill Gordon nymphs which will begin to move around and cling to any structure, even you, before they start to hatch.

This fly, along with the Hendricksons, are my favorite springtime flies.They both hatch at mid day and their life cycle is always spent during bankers hours. But the Quill Gordon is different. First, It's short and squat as most clinger nymphs are. The nymphs are smaller than the hendrickson species even though the adult mayflies are about the same size. (most mistake the Q.G. adult for the hendrickson. The Q.G. has 2 tails, the hendrickson has three) The BIG difference with the Gordon is that this nymph doesn't rise to the surface to shed its nymphal shell or even crawl to a rock to hatch and fly away. This guy sheds its shell ON THE STREAM BOTTOM and rises through the water column as a fully formed adult with its wings trailing behind.

The best imitation for this emerging fly is the (you guessed it) soft hackle style, brown/olive in color in a size 12. I developed my own emerger which I will work out this Spring:

Hook - size 14 to 16 wet or dry style

Body - 3 pheasant tail fibers using the tips as the tail (cut one tip off since the insect only has 2 tails).

Rib - fine cooper wire

Trailing Wing - Grey midge zelon or grey CDC.

Head/Thorax - peacock

The strike to the emerging adult is vicious since they must be rising through the water quickly.

The Ware has a great hatch as does the EB surprisingly. The Millers has hendricksons but no Quill Gordons. The Swift has both but not many.

The Quill Gordons are the official start of my dry fly season. Only 4 months to go.

Ken

New Rivers for 2018 And End Of Year Guiding

• "Do you need a 50-fish day dredging the depths with three jig-head nymphs drifting under an indicator? Or will half a dozen trout rising to dry flies prove equally fulfilling? - John Shewey, Editor In Chief of Fly Fishing Magazine, September/October 2016 edition

I'm adding two new rivers to my list of rivers that I guide on. First is the North River on the Shelbourne/Colrain line. This is a beautiful stream flowing out of Vermont and into the Deerfield River. It is small,cold and clean with native brook trout plus enough stockers to keep it interesting. It is a series of riffles, runs and pools that will lend itself to all techniques. I'm thinking May and June evenings near it's confluence with the Deerfield        Mill River Williamsburg

for some good dry fly fishing.

The Mill river has been my April to June playground because: It's a cold stream and holds its trout well through the above months AND still has trout in August although a drought will make it too bony to fish well. (If the flow is up we will catch trout). It is seldom fished and has some deep runs and holes that keep their trout. It is a great stream to dry fly fish (think a size 14 Adams, picking the riffles and pools with a short line) and working a nymph suspended in mid current can be deadly!

The North River Shelbourne/Colrain

These are small watersheds and a 3 hour excursion should do it. You'll also know where to go when you do a solo trip. So make a note for early Spring and we will get on these great little rivers!

End of Year Trips

Hey, you still have some unused hours on that 2017 license. Lets go to the Swift where we can ply some of the lesser known and fished sections. I did well there just this week.  If the temperatures are 30 or above you will be very comfortable in water that is warmer. We can even start later in the morning on a colder day when it's more pleasant. It's all up to you!!!

Ken

December On The EB And Calling Him Out

"No fly fisher wakes up in the early morning not knowing where they are going to fish. We know the night before or the day before or if time is at a premium the week before where the first cast will be. We fall asleep thinking of that river and on that drive in the prenatal darkness of that early morning we hope it's a section of river that we can call our own. If you don't "think that" you are not "Fly Fishing" yet." - Kenny Cahill

I had to give it one more try before Winter set in and watching Harvey land a slab bow on the EB last week sealed the deal. I made plans for the EB.

As readers of this blog know for sure the EB was a disappointment this Fall. The DFW failed to stock due to "low flow and high temperatures". My discussion with the regional manager for the area included my observations of shin to knee deep pocket water that was in the mid 50's in early October. Evidently he doesn't fly fish and doesn't recognize GOOD conditions. Anyway, I failed to convince him and he didn't have any luck with me either. The "Have a good Winter" stocking may be back next Fall.

The trout on the EB are a remnant of the May stockings of this year. They hunkered down in deep pools and near spring holes to get through the Summer. Some did and I managed one in the two hours that I was there in the cold, December drizzle. The 14 inch bright bow took my version of a Bread Crust just below the surface. Now, in 38 degree water I would be fishing slow and deep but this fish actually rose to the surface for something so I quickly changed flies and tactics. I said "bright bow" because EB rainbows just don't seem to color up in that river like in other rivers. He still had that hatchery look about him.   Bread Crust Emerger

I decided to spend some time having a stream side lunch (no P & J sandwich for me, that's for kids. Thickly sliced chicken breast over mayo, chipotle relish, tomato slices, Swiss cheese and oatmeal bread filled the bill) and just taking in this early Winter view. Soon the Gorge Road will be covered with snow and this place will be owned by snowmobilers and dogsled teams. (one actually went down the road pulling a 4 wheeler on a training run). Our time will return in late April and hopefully we will have a summer that's not too wet and not too dry.

I finished up by taking a trip to the Swift to catch the obligatory bow and brookie by the Gauge. The brookies are thinning out and the bows are calming down.

Now for the Pipe

It has come to my attention and maybe even yours that a certain user of the internet media has labeled the Pipe area of the Swift the "Toilet Bowl". This labeling is crude, course and crass , denigrates this fine river and the people who use it and is not what I and others would expect from someone who fishes that section frequently.  As readers of this blog know the massive surface activity below the pipe is the result of the nutrient load from the hatchery. This, BTW, is a LEGAL discharge and is probably monitored frequently. (It was standard procedure at the trout hatchery that I worked at 30 years ago.). It would be a wild leap of logic/science to even suggest that this discharge is a form of  pollution justifying the "Toilet Bowl" moniker.  This certain media user would probably be heartbroken to realize that there are three WWTP's just above New Hartford on his precious Farmington which, BTW, has had some serious bacterial problems. It too is not a Toilet Bowl!

One is entitled to ones opinion but you better be able to back up your name calling or you will be called out!!!!

Ken

The Parachute Fly - A Brief History

"I hate to admit this, but fishermen (yes,even fly fishermen) are basically lazy. They want huge trout and lots of them, within sight of the car. The tougher the access to a stretch of stream, the less it's fished, and the less it's fished, the better the fishing will be, all things being equal." - John Gierach

One of the most popular styles of dry flies today is the parachute style. This fly, developed in the 1930's, has been in and out of favor for decades and right now is riding a crest of popularity. Let's look at it's beginnings and why it's such a good style of fly.

Credit a young tyer from Scotland named Helen Todd who had become employed as a tyer at a commercial tackle house. In 1932 she became interested in an American theory that if hackles could be tied "spent" one would have a more effective dry fly. She accomplished this by tying in a "mast" (what we call a post) of stiff pig bristles and the style was born. Her company began selling the flies in 1933.
                                                        Photo from Ernest Schwiebert's Trout

Wait, there's more!! Enter William Brush from Detroit Michigan with his patented parachute hook in 1934. This brainchild seems straightforward enough. When forming the hook just leave some extra wire and then bend it up at a 90 degree angle to the hook shank. Now you have a stiff wire post to wrap hackles on. You also have a much heavier hook which will take the DRY out of dry fly. I actually was given some of these back in the early 1970's. I still think that hook would work with todays genetic hackles and fine wire hooks, something that was in short supply years ago.

Why It Works

Parachutes work because they suspend the body of the fly in the surface film instead of on or above the surface like a traditional dry fly. That's where the insects are, in the film!  Follow me here: You're standing in a stream during a good hendrickson, sulphur or BWO hatch, you name it.  Insects are in the air and on the water and trout are breaking the surface. Now, look hard at the rise forms. One would think that you would constantly see the adult mayflies disappearing in those swirls but you see very few. That's because the most insects that are the easiest for the trout to grab are trying to break through the surface tension of the water. Some get through, many don't and it's easy pickings for the trout. This is  the emerger or subimago stage.

A Better Parachute

Conventional Wisdom dies hard. We have been tying dry flies for close to 150 years and most of our mayfly imitations are our attempts to copy the ADULT stage of the mayfly which is not the choice stage for the trout. (Yes, I know that your traditional Adams catches trout but I bet you've witnessed some nerve wracking refusals as your traditional dry drifted over a feeding fish time and time again). It's time to change things up! If the most prevalent stage of a mayfly is the subimago stage then your fly should imitate it. If the Parachute Dry does this find the style of Parachute that does it best. Enter the Best Parachute: The Klinkhammer Style!

Why is it the best? It's as close to imitating that Mayfly stage as we are going to get. The "head" of the fly is poking through the water surface while the body is suspended below, just like the natural. That's why it's silly to tie parachutes with TAILS. You don't need or want them. Get that rear end of the fly down below the surface.

When tying Klinkhammer Parachutes don't get too dainty. Besides a post and hackle I use some buggy thorax material to give the impression of life and movement. (remember, the mayfly is busting through its nymphal shell. There's a lot of action going on there!!)

For those who don't want to tie parachutes but want the same effect I would suggest Bob Wyatts' DHE Emerger. The same principle as the Klinkhammer but deer hair is the secret sauce with this pattern. All of this is found in the Wyatt book What Trout Want, The Educated Trout and Other Myths.. Good winter reading!

P.S. Give yourself a break when tying drys by using the genetic pre-sized saddle hackles. Until they breed a rooster to grow one size of feather these saddles are your best bet.

Ken

More Big Swift Browns, A Farmington Question, Brookies

"Finally! Amidst a crowd of 4 rainbows somehow he was the one to eat the soft hackle (P&O of course). Took a leap out of the water and started bulldogging for a log - thank God for trout hunter 4.5x 6.1 test" - Commentator Lenny on ANOTHER big Swift River Brown.

Another big Swift River brown comes to the net. There have always been the occasional monster seen and sometimes caught on the Swift BUT NOT LIKE THIS YEAR!!! Just like the brookie explosion in the earlier part of this decade the browns are expanding in range and in size. Let's examine some reasons for this:

It's a tailwater - In the long run this is the main reason for our browns and brook trout populations on the Swift. You have a steady, cool flow of water that is not ravaged by seasonal floods and droughts which can greatly impact a trouts survival.(winter kill is the major natural cause of death, outside of predators, in a freestone environment)

Brookies on the menu - When the biomass of available food increases so will the creatures who consume it.  Three years ago I saw a 4lb brown grab a 6 inch brookie and then take about two minutes to swallow it. If you've been to Cady Lane in the summer you will know what I mean - Schools of 4 to 6 inch brook trout can be seen everywhere.  The 4 to 10 pound browns see them too and that 17lb monster saw them too when it was a kid. Now it eats adult suckers and 14 inch rainbows!!!!

Catch & Release, Stupid! - Big trout have to run the gauntlet year after year to get to  the "measured in pounds" size and ending up in the freezer will not do it. Also, the browns are the premier piscatorial predators on the Swift and to maintain a health fishery WE NEED THEM! The top of the food pyramid is not as populated as the bottom. The top keeps the bottom in control. A year round C&R policy on the Swift for browns could insure this.

Mother Nature in Control - The brook trout and brown trout explosion appears to have been accomplished without the hand of man involved (yup, we created a tailwater and stocked some browns but that's it). No State agency has taken credit for this. That begs the question about the genetic work being done on the Farmington in Connecticut. The Survivor Trout Program had the mission to "create" a brown trout that could withstand the thermal challenges found in freestone environments, namely the Housatonic River among others. To accomplish this Farmington browns would be "mixed" with other wild browns (Housatonic for example) and the offspring would be a hardier fish. That is great and certainly noble but why are many of the offspring going back to the Farmington?? It's a tailwater, remember, cold water all summer long with steady flows etc, just like the Swift!! I've only been fishing the Farmy for 15 years but I've caught some BIG browns there and seen some scary monsters in that river and that was long before the the survivor program started.  Wouldn't the Housy and other freestones benefit more from the "survivors" than the Farmy????  Hmmm........

Added Note - Notice that the brown in the above photo was caught on a P&O soft hackle. I posted a photo of another monster taken on a #16 scud. I know of another 4lb brown taken on a #20 Griffins Ghat. The lesson here is that you don't have to toss mouse patterns to get these guys!!!

Swift Brookies Don't fall for the conventional wisdom that the brookies are off the Redds for the year. Not so!!! You just have to know where to look. If someone has an underwater camera you could get some great shots in that skinny water!!!

Ken