Ok, it's a post about the East Branch of the Westfield River or the "EB" as we now seem to call it. I spent the last three days working this beautiful river ending today at mid day. It was very good.
Sunday I guided two flyfishers who landed one fish but missed others. It was a day that seemed perfect but the trout just wouldn't cooperate. Monday I went out alone for three hours to see if things were different. They were different!! I took five bows working the same spots as the day before swinging and drifting soft hackles (grouse and orange). I met two other fly fishers who said that Sunday was so-so but Monday was so much better. Why?? Who knows. Both days were identical with bluebird skies and the water levels were the same.
Then came Tuesday (today) morning. I guided a camera crew from a Boston TV station for some morning fishing on this great river. The trout couldn't wait to get hooked!! I'll fill you in on the station when I find out when their program will air.
Fish the EB!!! It's loaded with trout, it's uncrowded and it is the most beautiful trout stream in this State! We have another month or two before Winter hits this part of the State.
Fish the EB!!
Ken
6 comments:
Hey there Ken, I love the post.
Was it "On the water" tv show? Just curious. They've filmed out here & various New England fisheries before.
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Hi Ken,
Thanks for your great blog and all the reports.
I fished the EB the other day for a brief outing and managed two fish on nymphs and two more on big dries (much to my pleasure and surprise)--all rainbows. The first was very dark in color, so much so that I thought it was a brookie when reeling it in. I have seen rainbows this color in the Millers, which I assumed was due to them adapting to the darker, tanin-stained water there. But the EB runs pretty clear. I was wondering if you had encountered this type of coloration on rainbows in the EB before? It was a broad-shouldered fish of 15 inches, so it could be freshly stocked?
Thanks, and keep up the great work with the blog,
Brian
Fished the EB this afternoon (10-19) from 3:00 until dark. Caught an obscene number of dark rainbows swinging Shakey Bealeys (a fly that I tied for my annual Yellowstone trip that was cancelled when the government shutdown). Looks like the bows have their fall feed bag on. Like Brian, I thought the first one was a large brookie when it first rolled over -- very dark. Oddly, I didn't move any brown trout. Fished from the Bliss pool down to the swimming hole, and only saw one other angler.
Brian,
Good question and here's what I think. Bows darken up as the season goes on in both the EB and the Millers. Bows that survive the summer in the Millers (most don't) are a dark copper color, truly beautiful. EB bows get dark too even though this river is vastly different from the Millers. This week I've caught both light and dark bows on the EB. Light being freshly stocked. In fact, browns that I've caught in the EB in August and September are almost a dark yellow, again very striking.
The EB is loaded with fish!!
Ken
Thanks Ken. I figured it might have something to do with being in the river system for awhile, but hadn't thought so much about it being a seasonal thing.
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