It was a non hurried start this past Saturday morning. First a haircut and then breakfast at my favorite spot in Northampton and then off to the Swift.
The 2 inch snowstorm never materialized and neither did the mob that usually fills this river up. The fear of snow may have scared them off because at no time did this parking lot for the upper section have more than 8 - 10 cars.
The fishing - I started out swinging a #12 partridge and orange and took one salmon and lost another. I like swinging flies for these fish instead of deep drifting because it reminds me of REAL salmon fishing (sea run Atlantics). They will rise through the water column and take that fly just below the surface, breaking the surface as they strike. It's fun!!
Now for the rainbows (remember them??). One can expect at this time of year a mid day hatch of midges. Many consider any tiny fly a "midge" but I'm talking Chironomidae. I believe that is what the few dozen trout were rising to at the overflow arm of the Y Pool. I took two rainbows and lost two others fishing a #24 dark grey midge pattern with a dark grey cdc wing ON THE SURFACE!!!!!
The days are getting longer. It's mid February and the bulk of Winter is behind us.
I'm ready for Spring and fishing the Millers!!
Ken
5 comments:
I'M DYING to get out on the Millers! The other day, when it was ni the 50s there was a small hatch in my back yard, it appeared to be some form of brown caddis, maybe an early (early, early) March Brown, and I'm only a few hundred yards from the Charles River as a bug flys...so you know good hatches were gracing waters across this state.
I just got out for the first time since Nov. Can't say I went all out, but it was great to get in the water and see some fish. Hit the Swift today in the PM. Got snowed and rained on, but all in al it was bearable. People were catching some fish, but they were pretty dormant. I went exclusively to chuck streamers to Salmon. Got a yank from an unknown suitor above rte 9, but blanked otherwise. Small midge pupa seemed to be catching the bows and I came up on one guy who just released a 24 inch LLS the same bug. Exciting. Water was wadeable in most spots
The Millers is running slower and slower...saw a truck parked at Wendell Depot this morning and another down by the rt.2 overpass with a couple guys suiting up.
Looks like it might be worth a few hours early tomorrow morning chasing all of the browns that were dumped in last fall.
Tom from Orange
I fished the Swift on the 16th and took two LLS on small streamers, but I agree with Falsecast on the fish being pretty dormant overall. I casted to a lot of rainbows and came up empty.
Fished the Swift yesterday and took a number of willing bows on a #14 olive bodied soft hackle. Gotta love it. Beautiful day to get out.
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