Thunder, Lightning and a beautiful brown

This was my second trip out today. The first, starting around 6:30am, found me down on the lower river at the Bridge Street Pool below Farley Flats in Erving. I was chasing a rumor of some diehard rainbows caught recently in this great holding pool. No rainbows came to the net but a brown of around 14 inches did. Around 8:00 I headed upstream to the center of Orange and found my friend Kim who had just released his 6th fish - all 'bows and taken on a muddler. This spot is one of the last strongholds for rainbows in the Millers before the conditions get too hard for them. Two hydro plants provide a good mix of oxygen for the trout and they tend to hang tough there. It's never been a great place for browns.

Things have changed!!

At 5:30pm I headed out to Wendell Depot but was greeted with the sound of thunder. The storm seemed to be heading north of my spot but as I entered the water I saw a flash of lightning. That was it for Wendell Depot. So, without getting out of my waders I headed east and upstream about four miles to where I met my friend this morning. No signs of a storm up there so in I went.

The first hit seemed feisty but light. My first thought was "smallie" but as I brought the fish in it began to look different. It turned out to be a FIVE INCH BROWN!!!! What spots!!! The color looked like butter at the bottom of a sautee pan. It was then that I remembered that I left my camera at home. I began to fumble for my cell phone (pants pocket beneath my waders) when the WILD BROWN slipped out of my hand and threw off the soft hackle fly.

Another brown came to the net soon after. It was around 14 inches and fought like a bulldog. Then two rainbows got into the act. Another word about these 'bows. Before they disappear they begin to take on a dark hue in this river. Almost a copper color. I love brown trout in the Millers because they are survivors but the rainbows now and through the summer (rarely) are truly beautiful.

It was a great night!!

Ken

The Swift - Wednesday June 25

The Millers is blown out. 1400cfs as of this morning. I cancelled an evening guide trip for today and headed for greener pastures (waters) on the Swift River. The "Y" Pool parking lot was full on this late afternoon and I fully expected the lot for the "Pipe" to be crowded also. As it turned out I was the only one there. There may be a reason for this "lonely" fishing. We've had to endure six months of catch and keep regulations and some active poaching in this section. Some poachers have been arrested, thankfully, but many trout have been creeled which has thinned out the population which in turn has thinned out the fly fishermen. It was strange to fish this area for 1 1/2 hours and have it all to myself. I took four - two rainbows and two browns. One brown was a brute of sixteen inches that peeled line from my reel like a striper. It was taken at the head of the deep run below the pipe. He almost made it to the fallen tree that crosses that pool before I turned it around. Everything was taken on a #16 hotspot.

I love this little gem of a tailwater! It is my savior during the winter and is my destination when the Millers is high or when I can only fish during the day during the hot summer.

I'll be hitting the Millers soon.

Ken

Vacation - no more striper fishing

That's it for me. The 8wt is stowed away, the clousers are on the shelf. I had to say that I missed trout fishing. Now the river is rising fast (900cfs in Erving) which will be good for the long run but make things tricky for the rest of the week. I'll keep you posted.

Ken

Millers Report - The Heat Wave

On June 6th the air temperature was 59 degrees in the early evening and I had great dry fly action in the Bears Den. 24 hours later the temperature was 89 and I caught six browns at the tail of Rezendes Pool. Forward cast to last night, June 11th. The heat had broken but my total was one brown in one hour of fishing. Did our first heat wave kill off the trout? No way! They are just "down" like we were during that spell. Tonight the temps will be in the mid 50's which will get them active again but only early in the morning or at dusk. It's the way it's been on this river for the 20+ years that I've been fishing it. Summer is here and the game has changed. If you want "bankers hours" angling then go to the Swift or the Deerfield but hit the Millers on the way home. That's when the browns start playing!!

Off to Plum Island for a week of chasing stripers, eating lobster, drinking wine, beachcombing and generally forgetting that I actually work for a living. Don't forget to carry those olive soft hackles when you hit the Millers. Have some sulphers in sizes 14-16 too.

Later,

Ken

The Gorge Pool, Rezendes and a Secret Fly

The Gorge Pool - This may be one of the most tempting places to drift a fly on the Millers. It also has a legacy that goes back decades. Rodney Flagg of Flagg's Flies remembers fishing its depths 60 years ago and our late friend Bob Rouleau fished it 70 years ago. It was also known as the Gorge Pool "back then" and even though someone has tried to "rename" it with a sign it will always be known by its traditional name to those who love the place.

First, it's actually two pools which we label "upper" and "lower". The upper is about a hundred yards long with the lower being twice that length. Second, you could almost label them "swimming holes" due to their great depth. Last night, with the Bears Den section running at a low 130cfs, I could of easily gone over my waders in either section.

The fishing - I took six browns between the two sections last night. A large, dark nymph (pretty generic) swung through the current did the trick. There was one hit that stole the show. Whatever it was struck the fly, ripped line from my reel, cleared the water and then threw the hook. It looked like a rainbow and fought like one too.

The Gorge Pool is in the Bears Den C&R section and is seldom fished because it requires a 5-10 minute walk to get there. Find out more about it by ordering my "Guide to the Millers". Instructions on how to receive it are mentioned on one of my May posts.

Oh, I almost forgot. As darkness began to fall Rezendes Pool came alive with chasing caddis and my "secret fly" took an additional four browns. I'll post the secret fly and how to tie it in the near future - maybe!!

Ken

Bears Den Evening With Charlie

I had the pleasure last night of fishing the Bears Den section of the Millers with Charlie Shadan, the owner of the great Evening Sun Fly Shop. Charlie is fun to fish with, pure and simple! We started with a walk down to the Gorge Pool. This is great water and although we didn't have any insect activety to speak of we did spot one rising brown which Charlie brought to the net with a nymph in short order. After an hour or two we hop-scotched our way to the First Run where browns began to actively chase a hatch of caddis. I landed two on a Moby Dick tied wet style but was humbled by one brown that was rising along a seam in the current. I handed the chore over to Charlie who, on the second cast, caught and released this fish as darkness fell.

Good weather, good company and willing trout. Who can beat that!!

I have a link to The Evening Sun Fly Shop on this site. Check it out. Better than that, go pay a visit to Charlie's place. It is a fly fishers haven, fully stocked with great gear and materials. If you have questions then just ask Charlie who is a deep well of information about everything that is fly fishing.

Ken