Saturday, July 26 - back at the Swift

Unbelievable!! Every freestone river is totally blown out by this series of late July gullywashers. As I write this my Millers River is over 2000cfs!!!! The whitewater kyak season is back. I think it will be safe to say that our fears of low water conditions have been washed away for the next few weeks. All of this led me to the Swift this past Saturday morning. My plan was simple. The lw flowing Swift would be a magnet for fly anglers in search of fishable water and an early arrival would be necessary. So, out of bed at 4:30am and on the river by 5:45am. I did it! Did I need to do it? Well, not exactly. I saw only one other fly fisher in the next five hours. It was fun anyway. Oh yes, I was at the "Pipe" section.

The fishing - I took around 12 'bows with a orange scud taking most of them. Most were 12 inch+ fish. The other fly fisher took about twice as many and was fishing a 3 fly rig.

I have a feeling that this weather that has sent most rivers to near flood stage will have a delayed effect on the Swift. That's usually the case. Quabbin will be slow to fill but in a few weeks may crest the spillway and raise the Swift to 400+ cfs like late this winter.

I hope not.

Ken

July 22 - High Water means a Swift River Trip

Thank God for the Swift River. With every river and stream now approaching 10 to 15 times their average flow the deminutive Swift stays low and clear and COLD! I went the Tuesday night for a few hours. The fishing was slow but the trout that I caught were all large and hard fighters.

The location was the "Pipe" area. The rainbows were all caught on different flies but they were all either size 18 or 20 and mostly a dark color. The "hotspot" worked well.

The Millers will be more of a kyak course than a trout stream for most of the next week. See you on the Swift!!

Ken

Saturday, July 12th

I've been told that the parking area for the Kempfield section had been full during mid-morning today. Too bad because daytime trout fishing on the Millers has entered the summer doldrums. It's a VERY early morning and evening fishery until late August right now but you wouldn't believe it from this report. Saturday night was slow. I spent two hours (7-9pm) casting dries to every likely spot on the great section. My take was one rainbow. I saw no surface activety until the very end when I saw a rise in the large pool at the tail of this section. I made my way down there and was greeted by only the occasional soft rise right up until dark. There were only the occasional caddis and dark mayfly in the air so I used a size 16 olive comparadun (a favorite) to see if I could get a rise. In the "almost dark" conditions I had a brown leave the water and lunge at my offering. A slight tug was all that I felt. I called it quits at that encounter.

It was a good night, conditions wise. Not too warm, no breeze to speak of, the water level was perfect. The browns SHOULD of been active but they wern't. Sometimes that happens. This is what occurs on the best of rivers and it was the Millers turn that evening.

20 years on this river makes me believe that this was the exception and not the rule.

I'll be back!!

Ken

Fourth of July

The Kempfield Pool was devoid of fly fishers as I began to look for rising trout. An odd fly, tied with no body with just a bronze mallard wing and a tight collar of light blue hen hackle was the fly of choice. My friend Kim, a local fish hawk, gave it to me. He knows his "stuff" and that was good enough for me. First, this fly is designed to sink but the first ten casts and the first two trout (browns) liked it on the surface. Both of these fish were between 14 and 16 inches. Then a rainbow made its appearance. (see photo) It's late for rainbows on this river but the water is still high and that's helping them.

Soon I saw a rise or should I say an "explosion"! It occured between two rocks that were just beginning to break the surface. This fish, most likely a large brown, would rise only every ten minutes or so. I threw everything at it from every angle. No runs, no hits, no errors but no fish. One more brown was caught a few yards above this fish but that was the evening.

Some advice when fishing the Kempfield Pool. Fish the areas above any rocks that break the surface.

Ken