This Dry Summer - The Swift And The EB

It feels like 2010 all over again!! Days and then weeks without rain and smothering heat on top of that. The browns on the Millers survived that 2010 Summer and should survive this one but the shrunken flow is not much fun for fishing. With limited time to fish the fly angler will look for other waters. That's where the Swift comes in. The Swift is a sport saver. The last two weeks have seen a 120 cfs flow of ice water and this is the ticket when the air temperature is in the mid 90's. So is the evening surface action that I've had the pleasure of experiencing. I've avoided the crowds above RT9 and spent my evenings around the PIPE where I've seen plenty of fish working the emerging sulphurs and cream cahills. What I really like is the surface fishing for those little native brookies that hid in the weeds around the hatchery intake. A six inch fish is a good fish on this stretch. An eight incher is a monster!!!! Where else in New England can I cast a dry fly for native brookies during this Summer??? Not many places!!! The EB - For the first time during the life of this blog I will not tell you where all the TROUT are on this bony, trickle of a river. You'll have to find out for yourself. For those who thought that they were all dead from the heat I can say that you're all wrong. Pray for RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ken

Early July - An Update

Wow, two weeks without posting is a record for me even in the Winter let alone early Summer. Fishing and guiding and a vacation week have taken up the time in a very good way. Now, what's been happening? The freestone rivers - Anyone who has read this blog over the years knows that the Millers and the EB are in Summer mode as are most freestone rivers. Fishing at mid day (unless it's cloudy and raining - maybe) is a waste of time as far as trout are concerned. Very early morning and evenings (late evenings into the night) will work on the Millers and hopefully on those EB browns. Overall, June was a good month on the Millers. The Swift - This cold water gem will welcome you on a 95 degree day. It will also welcome the flotsum that insist on cruising the C&R section below RT 9. Why they don't take their act down to the boat launch and go DOWNSTREAM instead of putting our fish down will remain a mystery. The last two weeks have been great at the PIPE section especially in the evening. Those Cream Cahills have have made their appearance every time and a dark tan emerger has fooled the rainbows. One thing of note - the best surface action has been when the flows are in the 40-50 cfs range. A few days of 100 cfs seemed to kill the surface action in this area. It would be nice to see some rain during July!!! Ken