Check the photo above. This is why we had such great fly fishing on this river. The "overflow" started in November and with it came hundreds of LL salmon and Lakers which gave us great sport throughout the Winter. Rainbows, Salmon and Lakers!! Name another river that could provide that!
This week (including today) found 'bows hitting winter caddis (like in Ames book) and another fly, much smaller, that I couldn't identify. Today I had 8 takes but only landed one. I was without the flies needed and that was the problem.
It is still March after a mild Winter but dozens of rising trout in March are the norm for this river. Where else will you find them? The Farmington of course but this river is in Massachusetts.
I like surface fishing more than anything else. The Swift provides that!!
14 comments:
I saw you there today at the top of the Y pool, but was too far away to greet you. I was using a variety of small subsurface varieties. Best was about a #24 brown thread w brass rib to a greyish fuzzy dubbed head area. No idea what it may be called. Lots of surface activity. Other colors, green, and grey worked too - had to be small. All on 6x fluoro tippet. Rumor is there was a nominal stocking. Kind of a lick and a promise - there'll be more to come.
Is the pipe section worth a try these days or is it all fished out?
Mike
Agree with you Ken on surface fishing. Last few days on the Quinnie/Stillwater have yielded 6 fish days all on dries. I toggled between an Elk Hair caddis and a Parachute Adams. Didn't need anything else. They're not rising like crazy, but sight casting to selective risers in the glides almost always ended up in a hook up, or some exciting misses. Especially last week on those unusually hot days.
Fished the pipe Saturday morning, there were fish surface feeding.There were less fishermen on the river saturday than in Feburary. Great website Ken
Bob O,
I think that was you that I saw. It was a great day with all of that surface opportunity.
Mike,
The PIPE is fishing well. Check Peter A and his response. I did well on my first trip there but got crowded out by the bait boys on the second trip. Another friend also did well.
Falsecast
Who would of thought that we would be casting to rising trout in March. Watch April be more like March this year. Too weird!!
Ken
Peter A,
Thanks for the report and the comment on the site. Much appreciated!!
Ken
Agree on the dry fly fishing; there's nothing better.
Checked out the bears den section on saturday. Didn't see anything and didn't catch anything. Was amazed at how low the water was in late March. Dare I say we need some rain?? Otherwise the season may be quite short.
The surface fishing has been fun.. I had a good day last weekend on the quinni on bombers - not a fly I fished a lot historically, but certainly a fly the fish liked - and Elk hair and CDC caddis (grey cdc body with natural elk hair wing). FUN!
Will
I might have seen you, Will, and didn't know it. Been up and down that water for a week. I've never used Bombers, period. What are they immitating? I took a bunch on adams when they'd refuse the caddis. There was some sporadic mayfly activity.
A couple of days ago I lost what would have been a record Brown for me in that river the other day. It looked like a holdover or somehow got up from the resevoir, very bright colors and FAT. Ran me into a beaver dam. This fish was nowhere near any of the bridges if you know what I mean.
I am surprised at how much action there has been there. It's been jammed with people at the easy access points, but unlike the Swift, as posted above, you can lose the people fairly easily and still get into fish.
False cast, I have a hunch, that from the bottom Bombers look like a caddis emerging or dropping eggs. From the bottom, they look a lot like an elk hair caddis to me. Google Ausable Bomber and you will get a bunch of hits.
You have to figure a few fish get up the fish ladder from the res... but honestly, there are some pools off the beaten path that look like they could hold fish all year long.
I live near the quinne but have not fished it a lot over the years. This year I hope to hit it more... And like you noted, it feels like a lot of areas away from easy access - even near the rail trail - the fishing crowd peters out.
I have only seen one other fly guy so far?? I sling a chest pack diagonally like a "sling" pack for my gear and have olive waders. Admittedly this may be the same as a million other guys... but if you see someone who looks like that, say hello :)
Anyone hit the Millers these past few days? Flows look outstanding, lowest since last summer. I'm sure they dunked plenty of fish in over the past few weeks, and holdovers gotta be itching for that hook in thier mouth kinda feeling!
Let me know!
Tony,
Don't get too enthused about the low flows on the Millers. The big local event " The Millers River Rat Canoe Race" is is scheduled for April 14 I believe. They hold back water at the Birch Hill dam in Roylston starting a few days before the race (the reasons for the low flow) and then release the flood in the morning of the race. In the past they did this on the weekends prior to the race for practice runs. We had low flows on Thursday and Friday and then a flood on Saturday through Monday.
Check the flows Saturday afternoon to see if they are doing it again.
Ken
Fished the Swift yesterday. Not much action downriver from the bridge. I did pretty well at the Y
pool however.
Mike
What about the EB? It's been stocked, how is the water level? I would imagine it should be picking up?
Falsecast,
Don't go nuts when you see the Westfield (Knightsville) gauge. The HEAVY release probably has to do with some canoe/kayak race. That reading is BELOW the Chesterfield Gorge on the EB. It doesn't effect the Gorge section.
The EB has been stocked but the Gorge probably hasn't and will not, if recent history is any indication, until the 3rd week of May. Some 'bows may wonder downstream into that section, may be not.
Wait a while if you want to catch trout there.
Ken
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