It's that time of year again. The Dark Season is upon us, all five months of it but there are a few golden days in November where the sun shines and the temperature nudges past 60 degrees. This is the real Indian Summer of New England lore, when the color has left the trees and it gets unseasonably warm. We had a few days of that as the weekend approached and it killed me not to be on a trout stream but Sunday dawned with the promise of a good day as I headed down Rt. 9 towards the Swift.
The flow at the "Pipe" was high, very high, although the gauge that morning read 180cfs. Two weeks before, at 209cfs, one could still see six inches of the pipe. Now it was totally underwater. They fixed the gauge after the snowstorm but it still needs an adjustment. Keep that in mind.
The fly fishing - I first tied on a hot pink SJW 18 inches below a split shot to just wake those guys up. One came to the net, one got away as they have been doing in this high water. I switched to a Swift Serendipity and got another hit but couldn't fool another. Next came a #16 Hot Spot and that's when the game changed. 18 bows took the fly, 10 where landed. I will remember one large bow that hit, jumped and then ran to the top of top of the Tree Pool (I was at the Pipe!!) before jumping again and throwing the hook.
Fall is wonderful on the Swift. One has the opportunity to fish for actively feeding trout, with surface action thrown in, while most of our other rivers are really winding down. Get out there if you can especially if the temperature on these last golden days nudges past 60 degrees!!!!
Ken
18 comments:
I was there that same day...I fished the riffles between Rt9 and the gauge. The fishing was pretty fantastic for a Nov day. I didn't have quite the same numbers you had, but I managed to find the fly that kept my rod bent every 15 minutes or so. It was a red sow bug chasing a big streamer. The streamer got their attention and the sow bug got their bite. Glad to see the stream still has some diversity in fly selection left (before we have to resort to midges on size 64 hooks!).
Ken, what colors work best for you on the hot spots? In late summer, I've often seen an insect floating on the surface that was black with a bright green band around the middle about the same size as a 20 hook. I think its a sweat bee, horse fly, or young cicada, but it seems your hot spots may be simulating that insect (or something close to it).
Kozman,
I saw a guy swinging a streamer on Veterans Day around the pipe and he was catching fish. Smelt will go over the spillway and end up in the intake screens according to a hatchery worker that I talked to.
The Hot Spot is a larval imitation that has an attractor element to it.
Ken
Had the entire section below rt 9 all to myself for 2-3 hours on saturday afternoon. Was a steady hatch going aroound the pipe for most of the time...something in the size 30 range. The fish were in a feeding frenzy below the surface with only afew rises. Worked the pipe area with a small red/black midge. Hooked abunch but netted only 3. Feisty jumps and head shakes ejected my 24 barbless offering more often than not! Loads of fun though, couldnt go 10 minutes without my indicator (I know, sorry ken! hah) zigging or zagging all over creation.
Been enjoying all your comments. They inspire me to expand my horizons. You folks catch fish with flies id never even think to tie on down there! Im still a newbie. Good stuff. Cheers
Wow, I got only one fish on Saturday and worse of all I was using Hot Spot fly for some of the time :-)
Most interesting for me was the fact that above rte 9 there were a ton of Salmon spawning (or trying to). I put my rod down and could watch the Rainbows picking the eggs out of the rocks. I put on an egg pattern, no luck.
Fewer fish in the bubbler runs and I was probably tossing the last hopper of the season. No takes.
I saw a large number of 25+ inch LLS dead on the bottom of the spillway run. Also, I saw the largest fish ever in the Swift, had to be over 30 inches, looked like a lake run Brown, no joke, was probably a Salmon. The only fish I got was with an ant pattern in the foam of a garbage slumming Rainbow. This monster came up for a look and actually startled me.
Glad everyone had good day! I ended up fairly humbled on Sunday. Also, water was definitely higher that 180 cfs.
I was in the area two weeks ago for non fishing related activities, but made a quick 90 minute stop at the lower catch and release section. I also saw what I thought were landlocked salmon and confirmed with two landings and another lost. One was a very nice 22 inch fish. I caught the salmon on a conehead white marabou muddler of all things. I don't get to fish the swift often, but thought salmon were not commonplace. After reading falsecast post I guess I was wrong.
When the water comes over the spillway the salmon will follow. It's been happening for a few years now. Years ago (30 or more) walleyes were taken in the Y Pool. That was in another time.
Ken
Well done on your success guys!
I also was served humble pie.
Fished 20 mins then went back to the truck to take a layer off. The rod rolls off the truck and rod tip breaks. :-(
I did a field duct tape repair, but casting was junk. Disgusted, I left and went to the smaller upper Swift, which was also high. Caught a rainbow and chub. What a nice day it was. Has a backcountry feel.
I have only fished once above Rt 9, but the biggest fish I saw were what looked to me to chubs(suckers). Could be taken to be trout .. some real big ones up in the Y pool. I also saw Salmon ..so I can tell the diff.
Can I get confirmation on the suckers and has anyone hooked into one of those bruts?
-Greg
These clearly came over the spillway as about 5 of them were dead on the bottom. My guess is they died on the fall and just floated down.
Personally, I've seen LLS in the Y pool and spillway, but never below rte 9 and never with so much spawning activity. I wonder if any eggs hatch and live? With all those Rainbows, I'd doubt it.
I have seen Suckers before and runs this time of year in a lot of streams are common.
Also, one reason for my failure on Sunday may have been that I was using 10 lbs of split shots. Ken, were you getting your fish dead drifting on the bottom or suspended swinging? I dropped the Hot Spot right in front of a lot of Bows with no interest? I am sure it must be anger error, as usual :-)
check that "angler" error, not anger, never a more mellow fellow when on the water. :)
Falsecast,
I fish dead drift with weight about 18 inches above the fly. It gets the fly down but not scrapping the bottom.
Ken
Greg - In the waters beyond the lower Bondsville dam there are some suckers of good proportion if you are interested in those.
Did you just call me a Sucker?!
Ha
Thanks for the tip ... I hope to venture downstream more on future trips. It's a lil over an hour away ..and with family and all..it may be a while.
I'm such a killjoy.
Let's agree ..from now on....
They're Brown trout. ;-)
Has anyone hit the Royalston section of the Millers recently? Was thinking of heading out late last week until we got all that rain which sent flows back up towards 1000. Today it is showing in the 600's again so I am again thinking of heading there tomorrow or this weekend to swing some streamers and see whats up.
Greg,
Suckers and Fallfish are known as "Lip Trout.
Anonymous,
Good luck on the Bears Den. I hope that the flows slow down for you.
Ken
Swift at 474 cfs. I wonder if that will flush all the people from the parking lot away too?
Is the Miller's Trestle or Kempfield worth a visit? It's at 952 in Erving? Long drive for me when I can go to Squannakook close to home.
Hit the swift today despite the high flows. The water was very fishable. There were about 8 cars at the route 9 bridge.
The was only my second time fishing this section. I notice most people fish in the same spot (just down stream of the power lines). Funny because the fish were everywhere. I had the area just upstream of the bridge to myself and the bubbler arm all to myself. Just one hookup. It was hard to focus on my drift. I kept getting distracted by all the fish swimming by.
Falsecast,
The Squannacook looks like a safer bet at 150cfs. The Bears Den is dropping into range too. Erving flirts with a 1000cfs due to the Tully River and its reservoir seasonal draw down but even here the flow is dropping. As all these rivers drop the Swift continues to rise!!!
Ken
When fishing a two nymph rig how fat apart do you place the flies? I usually tie one nymph to the hook of the other.
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