Sunday At Charlie's And Another Fly

Ok, next Sunday, March 3rd 2013, I'll be giving a presentation on the Millers, Swift and if time allows the Westfield River at Charlies Evening Sun Fly Shop. The show starts at 11:30 and will run to about 1 pm or so. It's always a good time so get there early for a good seat!! Questions and Answers are part of the show and are always welcome!!

The Grouse and Flash - don't leave home without some!!! This is a very good soft hackle fly that was highlighted in Tom Ames book "Hatch Guide For New England Streams". Ames says that it represents a caddis or two but it seems to work just as well when the Mayflies are hatching. In fact, it works well when nothing is hatching. It's a "go to" fly for the EB and works well on the Swift in smaller sizes.

Hook - standard dry or wet fly hook sizes 10 through 16. (tied some on scud hooks a year ago - don't bother!)

Body - thin strip of mylar wrapped through thorax area.

Thorax - something olive and very buggy. Olive Australian possum works well.

Hackle - dark grouse

There it is. Easy to tie and very effective.

Ken

Dreaming Of The EB

It's freezing outside, pure and simple. The wind is gusting to 50 mph here in western Ma and eastern Ma is getting hit by another coastal storm. I never even considered hitting the Swift today. Actually my thoughts were about the East Branch of the Westfield and in particular the EB on a June evening!!

If I had one place to fish on a June evening the EB would work for me. First, it's the solitude and this is strange because catch & release areas get crowded quickly. But the EB has miles of water to absorb the fishing pressure if there was any real pressure. The only time I ever saw crowds on the EB was when TU would hold it's annual shindig in May. I believe that event has ended. I have a handful on "secret" stretches that work very well for me and I am usually always alone.

Second, It's the fish!!! Primarily a rainbow river the EB got a good dose of browns last year and they made it through the Summer.
The rainbows will too if we would have a fairly wet Summer like 2008 and 2009. 2009 was the best year that I've had on the EB. It may have been the best year on any river that I've fished!!

So, back to tying some flies and thinking of Spring. Believe it or not - the days are getting longer!!!

Ken

Pinheads - A Fly For The Swift

Let's go back to the Fall of 2008. There were these times when my standard subsurface offerings on the Swift just didn't seem to be getting it done. It was time for some thought. The trout seemed to be active - chasing something that I wasn't offering. I knew that it was something small and it was not on the surface. A session or two at the vise and a session or two on the river resulted with this very generic fly - the Pinhead. Generic is the word. This fly covers the bet for many tiny hatching flies on this river. My first day with this creation resulted in a dozen trout on that mid October evening. It worked.

This is a good fly. When flows are low on the Swift (50-60 cfs) I use it without shot. When flows are above that I put on a micro shot 18 inches or so above the fly. This fly seems to work at mid day during the winter and in the late afternoon/evening (especially the evening) at other times.

As I write this the weather guys are predicting 18 inches of snow starting in 24 hours. This is the best time to tie flies and to think about SPRING!!!!

Ken