Autumn On The EB

Autumn On The EB

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Spring Fever, Trout Camping,Dries and a lost rod/reel

On Making Camp Coffee: "And then there were the aesthetics of the situation. My gear, with some notable exceptions at both ends of the scale, is largely of moderate quality - serviceable, but not extravagant - and my camps are cozy but far from posh. Expresso seemed out of the question. Not long ago I spent hundreds of dollars on a fly rod but an extra seventy-five cents for a pound of coffee still rubs me the wrong way. Once established, priorities must be maintained." - John Gierach from Trout Bum




It was 73 degrees yesterday and I've had a trip to the Swift on Tuesday during this balmy weather with limited success and limited space to fish in. I'll be there tomorrow (Thursday) in the snow, hopefully, and under less packed conditions. My favorite haunts are flowing high, cloudy, and cold with snow melt and the Deerfield is of no interest. Actually I'm thinking of Spring and Summer and have just made camping reservations for the Farmie for early August.

I love trout camping! Whether it's on the Farmington or on Maine's Moose River or somewhere in the White Mountains there's something about wood smoke, camp cooking, getting up at dawn, camp coffee, breakfasts that are politically incorrect: eggs, bacon, sausage, homefries and english muffins (and no fruit salad), fishing till noon, tying flies, napping in the shade and then hitting the evening rise. This is the Gierach School of Fly fishing. If this offends you find a B&B!! One of my favorite memories is fishing northern Maine at the end of the season after Landlocked Salmon. Me and my friend Myron slept on the side of the road, got up at 5 am, had a cup of coffee, two slices of Sarah Lee coffee cake, sausage and eggs and then fished till sundown. Dinner was Yakitori Chicken (Myron is a renowned chef), two shots of Jim Beam and we were off again the next day. The final day, on the way home, we found a Maine roadside establishment and had our fill of civilized junk food. It was a great trip!!!!!


The Farmington and it's dry fly fishing is seared into my brain and some of my best experiences have been at the Campground Pool, Greenwoods and at Spare Tire. Campground is my favorite because few go there, it's loaded with BIG trout and my experience is that one does not need to get too tiny with fly selection with a size 20 being about the smallest. Greenwoods is great but it suffers from the same malady as the Church Pool upstream - too many people. For some flyfishing is a social occasion with chatting about equipment and technique taking up as much energy as fishing. When I fish I'm usually alone (but never lonely). One fly shop owner told me that he doesn't like the Swift, not because of the trout but for the TALKERS who can't stop.  We're there to fish, REMEMBER?

The EB has been on my mind as of late and that's even after the poor Fall fishing on that river (thank you, DFW). This is another great dry fly river. In 1999 I fished ONLY drys from Memorial Day through October and 90% of the time during the Summer and Fall it's drys and soft hackles. During the Summer I like to work big bushy flies from late afternoon until the first trout begin to sample the evening hatch and that's when the comparaduns come on in sizes 14 and 16. The fly above is a good example of a bushy fly with a deer hair wing and palmered body. I'll think I'll call it the EB Adams since it has the grizzly hackle. My go-to-rod is a 4 or sometimes 5 weight and it will handle every occasion even when I'm down to #18 which is rare and it will give me the opportunity to throw some weight which lighter lines have a problem with.

Today On The Swift

I pulled into the parking lot at 7:15 to find Bill's car there trying to beat the weather.  Gary came in right behind me. I waited for him and we walked up to the Y together. Bill, Gary and I were the only ones there for 3 hours. Bill caught 2, I caught one on a size 8 rubber legs (tired of throwing small flies) and I'm sure Gary nailed one after because he usually does. It was a slow day with sleet. It seemed like the  winter of 2015.

Things will get better!
Lost Rod and Reel

I have a notice that someone lost a rod and reel probably by the main Y Pool parking area. Let me know if you have it and I'll send it home.

Ken











12 comments:

Dan T said...

I'm taking my 9 year old grandson to the Farmington on his first camping and fishing trip this summer.I wish that "few go there"was true.Last August it was a zoo.Bait fisherman and all.It seems to be a favorite spot for poachers.I got so disgusted with the crowd that I moved to less trafficed areas downstream. I've fished the river quite heavily over the past few years and the traffic has definately increased in spots that used to some what quiet.Maybe I'll run into while you there.Dan

Sam said...

Ken,

I am in SE Pennsylvania as I read your latest blog entry pushing a new product our company came out with. During my activities a customer promised he would show me a part of the Yellow Breeches in the spring that is unpopular. Unpopular means that place is right up my alley!

Dry fly season is not far away now. The creeks in this region are mighty full, but will settle down by May I trust.

Regards, Sam

Millers River Flyfisher said...

Dan,

I'm sure that I will find good water to fish. My spots were "out of the way" just a few years ago and hopefully it's the same.

Sam,

I hope you get to fish it in April for the hendricksons!!!!! The Breeches is "holy water"!!!

Ken

Gin Clear said...

Nice video, Ken!

tincup said...

knew the swift with high temps would be like taking a ticket at the slice meat counter because of the warm weather. Went north to the maine dinner for a early breakfast, and sunrise on the mousum river in maine for searun brookies browns. Worked hard but zero continued south along the coast to every salter river stream I knew. Not a fish until the rye new Hampshire area where several good 2lb browns were holding but would not take a shrimp or mummycod pattern. As soon as the tide changed fish gone. Did stop at the parker in mass on way home no trout but 3 nice large white sea run white perch. Nice Jack on ice on the deck while the perch baked in the oven with butternut and acorn chunks the white wine and fresh fish was only followed by snow today. Only in new England wouldn't change it for the world tied flies from what I found in the streams yesterday life is good like the t-shirts have printed. Hope to see u on the 4th

Millers River Flyfisher said...

Gin Clear,

Thank you and good to hear from you!

tincup (Bob),

YOU are living THE LIFE, my friend. Never caught sea run white perch before but caught landlocked variety in Wachusett Reservoir years ago. I like that fish! I've seen the sea run browns in the Mousum before but haven't fished for them.

Ken

Hibernation said...

Advertisement:
I do not know Myron... But for decades now I've sucked down more of his 20ga, yakatori and terriaky sauces than I care to admit. Ken Ill pay double for a guided morning if you toss in a case of Yakatori Ha ha ha! That stuff is AMAZING!!!!

The rain on tap the next few days should blow out some streams... maybe it will settle down after that and the blue lines will be ready for action much of March :) Ahhhhhh. normal sized flies, and simple fishing :)

BookTrout said...

Ken, a question for you!

I was fishing the tree pool just below the pipe on the Swift last Tuesday. It was nice and warm! Around 1:30 the fish in that pool started slurping something in the surface film. It only lasted about 15 minutes but the fish were going absolutely crazy. I was swinging a partridge and orange wet fly through there, I tried a Gnat on the surface, and nothing! Any thoughts was to what might have been emerging? My other thought is that there could have been some release from the pipe and they were eating something that wasn't natural to the environment, but would fish food from the pipe be in the surface film like that? I couldn't see whatever it was.

Millers River Flyfisher said...

Will,

I know Myron Becker and anyone who fishes the Millers owes him a lot! He was the one who wrote the petition to the Division of F&W to create the C&R sections of the Millers. He wrote it making him the THOMAS JEFFERSON of the document and I, as president of that chapter, signed it making me a humble JOHN HANCOCK to the process. He was also instrumental in killing the RT 2 realignment plan, which would of put RT 2 on the SOUTH bank of the river wiping out the Kemfield section as we know it. He was, and is, a good cause radical who never fled from a battle. We need more like him!!!

Yakatori - that's what we ate at night on Moose River trips (tons of it!) followed by a shot of Jim Beam to end the day. I still think that his Yakatori sauce was one of the major reasons my girlfriend (now wife) was impressed with me because I introduced her to that sauce.

Ken

Millers River Flyfisher said...

Brook trout,

Welcome to the Swift River "pellet hatch" or so it seems. Activity in the hatchery, screen cleaning where the Pipe outflow comes from, results in a lot of debris including old pellets being washed into the Swift. That gets the trout below the Pipe feeding near the surface almost every day usually between 11am till 2pm. You are right about "something unnatural" happening and it only lasts for 15 minutes or so. The pellet fly is a piece of cork lashed to the hook and it is successful. I hate it!!!! Good luck!

Ken

Hibernation said...

Ken - that right there is some awesome history to learn - thanks for that, and, thanks to Myron. I didnt know he was so involved, or even a fisherman! That would have completely stunk if they slid along the kempfield section with route 2... ooph. Thanks to both of you for literally saving the river!

Agreed. It's all good, but the Yakatori is unreal. I could eat it daily and not get sick of it. We do a lot of fun things with it, and we use it on game and red meat, not just birds... It's also awesome on rice and certainly stir fry's etc.

Hope I dont get in trouble, but, if you read Ken's blog, go to the store and get some of Myron's Yakatori - it's unreal... (My wife and I get it via Amazon now and just buy buy the case!)

Millers River Flyfisher said...

Will,

We'll both plug the Yakatori!!!!!

Ken