First things first - Fridays have always been a day that I have had trouble springing myself free to guide someone. THAT'S CHANGED! Fridays are now open with 9/5, 9/16 and 10/3 free and clear. 10/31 is open and every Friday in November is the same. November is a great time to fish the Swift and the EB. My evening trips are very popular and we have about 1.5 months of those before it gets too dark. Right now 4:30 to 7:30ish is perfect.
What a week!! Perfect weather and perfect flows. It started Sunday with a quick trip to the Swift in the early afternoon. The usual parking lots were only half full which seemed odd for such a nice day and that meant that I had the gauge to the intake all to myself. 4 bows, 1 brown and two gorgeous brookies made it to the net in those 2 1/2 hours. In a few weeks those guys will really be taking on their Fall colors making them even more beautiful!!
The Millers - With flows below 250 cfs this river is producing with surface action in and around the lower C&R with the best action at sundown. The darker it gets the better it gets. Just make sure that you are fishing a dry that you can see. #12 light colored comparaduns, bivisibles, HW Adams, anything that you can see. Casts don't have to be long as the trout will rise almost a rod length away. Some rain is in the forecast later this weekend so check out this site for the flow.
The EB - It could use a little rain but we are still finding willing trout. Trout are still everywhere from the pools to the riffles and fishing pressure has been light. Brad and I were their last night and saw 1 other angler. This Labor Day weekend will mark the end of the swimmers for the year which means we will have it all to ourselves until freeze up.
A Lost Vest - Someone lost a vest in the Swift River parking lot over the last week or so. If you found it and would like the owner to reclaim it then email me at ken.elmer9@gmail.com and I'll have that person contact you.
Have a Great Labor Day Weekend! The Autumn season is almost on us.
Ken
12 comments:
Beautiful brookie.
If you keep posting photos like that I may have to pay that river a visit.
Thanks.
Brk Trt,
I should take photo lessons from you. Great stuff!!!
Fish the Swift!!
Ken
Flow increased today on the Swift. It shutdown the surface activity at the Tree Pool. Longer term, any major differences in fishing the Swift with higher flow?
Bill,
The flow went up because the flow on the Connecticut River went down. The agreement with downriver towns was that when the CT River gets low they increase the Swift flow to offset it. It will last until the next big rainstorm.
100 cfs is not too bad. In fact, some prefer it (I don't). The trout will rise again!!
Ken
ken, thanks for encouraging all of us to fish dries. did so recently, using a tarantula in the morning (vicious strikes!) and eased into other patterns. at one point, i was working a pool and the sun was behind me, such that i could see how trout reacted to my flies/drifts. like an aquarium! it was very gratifying to land a particular fish after it looked at but snubbed multiple flies, but finally landed it after swapping in a much smaller fly.
also, there's an old adage that trout focus on "size, silhouette and color," in that order. so, to match the hatch, some think size is most important. your thoughts?
I fished the east branch this morning, not too much traffic like you we're saying & it could use a little rain to bring it up some. Caught two rainbows and a tiger trout all on nymphs. First tiger which was cool.
Joe,
Size and silhouette are the most important. Color is a distant third. Color is just too subjective.
Josh,
I'm amazed that the tiger trout are still there.
Ken
Ken,
Are terrestrials still working at the Swift?
Thanks, Jim
fished the swift for the first time today. saw a lot of rainbows, but nothing was interested in what I had to throw. very frustrating, tried light and dark , big and small, dry and wet. got a brookie on a cricket, but I think that was just to keep me coming back. any ideas for my next try?
Jim,
Terrestrials are still working on the Swift. The flow went up to 100 cfs three days ago which will cause the trout to readjust. Ants and stuff will always work.
Steve,
Just be patient. Saturday I hooked 11 trout on a #12 partigde and orange down to #20 McPhail Buzzers and #22 pinheads. Fish slow and up close.
Ken
Ken
Thanks Ken,
Ants rose a couple fish, but overall, was a pretty slow day at the Swift. Didn't see to many being caught. Do you know if there are still sulphurs hatching? Or maybe some sort of cream cahill in a very small size? they were hitting somehing small and cream-colored at the pipe. Maybe size 28... Didn't have any flies to match the hatch, but I guess I'll tie some up for next time.
Thanks, Jim
Super tough conditions at the EB this holiday weekend, at least for me. Fished twice, including arriving early at both. Stopped fishing 2nd day when water reached 75 degrees. Water quite low. Tried all sorts of surface and sub-surface fly combinations.
Did land a 14" rainbow on size 22 Trico; another on a nymph. Hooked a gigantic female brown that immediately catapulted into the air and shook off the tiny hook. Suspect it might be 20"+?
Hope all had a safe and relaxing holiday weekend!
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