It's a weird winter on the Swift. First, the PIPE section is fishing S-L-O-W. The access road was a rutted mess this past weekend and the stretch was deserted except for one young fly fisher. Even the footprints on the way down seemed old. Translation - Wait a month. The fish will be there then which brings up the question where did all the trout go? There's always trout above RT 9 and that's because it's all catch and release. Maybe it's time for a change in regulations!
Above RT 9 - Bring a camera and get some shots of the Y Pool otter(s)!! I just barely missed my shot as the critter slid off the ice at the overflow arm. The otter(s) has changed the fishing at the Y Pool as it seems that the trout have moved downstream and spread out. So have the fly fishers and that's a good thing.
I was asked this question about the style of fly line that I use and afterwards realized that I've never written on the subject. Well, my favorite line for the Swift has been a double taper and it has been for over 15 years. I like the double taper for a small stream like the Swift. First, most casts are rarely over 30 ft. and the line lands on the water gently which is important with Swift Bows. After hours of casting we will have a loud, sloppy cast or two which is magnified with a weight forward, not with a DT. Second, a DT roll casts better than a WT, period! And third, you are buying two lines in one. With a weight forward you will have to replace that line after a season or two. With a double taper you just reverse the line on the reel and you will have a "new" line. It's as simple as that.
My DT line is a 3 weight and I will be going down to a 2 or a 1 someday soon. Granted, my current line will not toss ugly weighted buggers or stoneflies but who needs them. This is the Swift, right?
Now the WWFF or the WESTERN MA. FLYFISHERS. This is a group of dedicated fly fishers based in Ludlow Ma. who have been around for a thousand years. I can honestly say that this group has the greatest concentration of Swift River experts and fly tiers in Massachusetts. Their home river is the Swift River and they are THE source for information on this river. They meet on the third Monday of each month September through May with tying demos for Swift River patterns and other patterns for other rivers. The tying demos are on a big screen so you can see everything. Their club house is the Elks in Ludlow ma and it starts at 7pm. If you can't attend then join. It's cheap ($15.00) and it supports a very good group.
Here's the web address: www.wmflyfishermen.org
Think Hendericksons!!
Ken
11 comments:
Ken,
couldn't agree more about it being time for a change of regulations. How long does "catch&kill" last below the bridge anyway?
Do you think the Hendricksons will be late this year?
Herm
Herm - til the last day of June. C&R July 1st til Dec 31.
Al
Ken, your comment about "where did the trout go?" had me remembering a conversation I had with a guy named Dick Vincent out here in Montana last month. He was the biologist that basically ended stream stockings in Montana back in the 70s. Its an interesting read on what he found about trout behavior, mortality, politics, and public opinion...some of which is old hat for many of us these days. I asked him about implementing the program in other states like PA, VT, and MA as I've always wanted to see them turn into wild trout fisheries again. He was convinced that PA and VT would thrive as strictly wild trout fishery states. He wasn't sure about MA...his concern was not so much whether the environment could sustain wild trout...it was more around the lack of a trout fishing industry significant enough that normal people understood the importance of protection and conversation as a way of life.
Anyway, I digress. Based on the reports I heard about how bad the winter was in New England, I would put my money on late arriving hatches this year.
Good to hear from you Kozman.
I agree with Mr. Vincent. Massachusetts still runs a stocking program to satisfy the seasonal, catch and keep crowd. They believe that fisherman only want to see lots of big trout and they have told me this. I have survey evidence that catch and release flyfishers fish long after Spring is over while the stringer loaders are done with trout fishing in rivers by Memorial day. About 66% of our stocked trout are the less adaptable rainbow and less than 25% are the adaptable brown, the exact opposite of Connecticut and New York. More browns mean more holdover potential. And don't get me going on stream raised trout. They basically don't want to hear about.
Flyfishers make up the majority of trout stream hours in this State. We should have more say.
Hendricksons in mid May except on the Swift where it will be earlier.
Ken
Could anyone help with a reasonable motel or place to stay to fish the area of bear den. (Millers). Or the swift. A 3 hour drive makes it hard for one day trips. Sleeping in truck is getting old. Thanks.
Tincup.
There are two reasonable (cheap) motels where 202and rt 2 meet in Orange. I have had guide clients stay there.
Ken
Tincup, one of the places Ken mentioned is the Travel Inn in Orange. I've stayed there in the summer because when I fish late into the evenings, I get too tired for my two-hour drive to Manchester, NH.
It was a slow day at the Swift yesterday. Bill was doing pretty well sight-fishing down by the hemlocks/powerlines, but when I joined him for a while they refused all my offerings. I did finally get one at the Y, on a #24 black midge. There just didn't seem to be that many fish around. Whatever people say, I'm looking forward to the spring stocking ...
Herm
fishmeister thanks u also ken live in the northeast mass. depending on traffic leaving late it can take up to 3 hours. When I leave at 3am in morning to make sunrise and a day of it driving home becomes problem. I heard with this weather system(cold) stocking is going to be a month delay.
tincup,
Stocking of ponds will proceed pretty much on schedule. Stream and river stocking will start in April. Bad hard winters have pushed things back a week or two in the past but by early May we will have forgotten about this. That's when things start to get good.
Ken
P.S. - I've seen the DWF stocking ponds in the early Spring that were still ice covered and I remember, many years ago as a very young man, walking through knee deep snow in mid April to fish Locke Brook in Ashby to catch stocked trout. The trout will be there come ice or high water. The question is will they still be there by July.
Ken
Ken, speaking of July, I was on the Swift July 1st last year when the stocking truck pulled up and dumped fish into the Bubbler. It was really kind of comical. I was fishing for wise, seasoned fish in the Y Pool, while behind me dads and their kids were pulling up fish left and right, with the kinds shouting, "Dad, this is so easy!"
Herm
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