Here's a note from Charlie Shadan of the Evening Sun Fly Shop:
Ken,
I fished the Squann. on Tues. 11/3/15.I caught my biggest rainbow of the year 16 1/2" and 2 browns also.The weather was magical and the experience was a "memory"!!!! There are sippers all along the river and stealth is important in approaching them.One cast is all you'll get if you make a mistake say goodbye to that fish.The water temp. is in the 40's and the fish are there for the pursuing--notice I did not say for the "taking"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Call me if you need more info on my day.Thank you for all that you do for me.
Regards,
Chaz
The key words are "sippers" and "stealth". I'll be joining Charlie next week to revisit my old stomping grounds. In the meantime you should visit this river if you haven't been there in a while and if you have never been there stop in at Evening Sun and get Charlies map of the river.
We are experiencing a true "Indian Summer" with temperatures in the 60's for the next week and no rain in the forecast till next Wednesday. All rivers are perfect including the Millers with the best action being at mid day. In fact, this kind of weather will bring out the BWO's on the Millers in swarms. The same may be true for the EB. BTW, last weeks 1400 flow scattered the pods of trout and now you really have to fish for them. I did have some success with a small marabou streamer in a size 12. White marabou below the shank, green above the shank and grey on the top. It looks like those two inch long emerald sided shiners that are all over that river.
And the Swift.....Check out the brookies above Rt.9. As many as last year and they seem bigger. We've always had brook trout in that river but the last 5 years have been amazing. One thing that I've noticed is that the brookies seem to be building their redds not in the middle of the stream but along the sides leaving safe passage for anglers or for anyone who wants to witness this event.
Go Fish!
Ken
11 comments:
Dear Ken,
I hope that you have been well and that this week of tame fall weather has afforded you extra time on the water. Having the extra hour of light in the morning has allowed me an extra hour of fishing, so while I'm sad to lose the afternoons I'm pleased as punch to have the extra hour on the water. And, to top it off the early morning has still be decent fishing; though the water runs quite cold, it's not nearly as cold as last November at this time.
I wanted to write to chime in on your recent discussion of new (and old) streams. I have been fishing of late on the Deerfield and Cold Rivers out in Charlemont, and on the Green River above Greenfield. These are all in wonderful shape by my assessment. They are not crowded by any means. In fact, my grandson and I were the only anglers on the Green both days last weekend (yes, I said weekend). The fish are there, and that little river is just a charm. Small square tail abound in the pools, but I know that there are bigger fish in there having spooked more than one with sloppy entries and footfalls. The Deerfield's lower release section was visited by the stocking truck sometime in the middle of October, according to a local fly shop, but I had no luck getting their attention on two trips in the subsequent weeks. On Halloween day, however, they were hungry. I had my finest "Stage 1", as you say, day in quite a while. I fished on top with success and on the way back down to the car park swung a Monitor with equal success. The Cold River, as you and your readers surely know, is quite overlooked when the Deerfield flows well. I found it tough to access the better looking areas with my old bones, but the pool and long slick that follows at the junction of the Cold and Deerfield was grand by my standards. Anyone with a canoe and weighted pheasant tail could catch 20 fish there. Sadly, we only had the latter, but we did enjoy netting a few fish including two that were large - one brown and one rainbow.
Take care, and I hope to see folks (but not too many) on the Millers this Saturday. I have a trip to Boston planned, and aim to fish along the way.
Muggs B.
Muggs,
Thanks for the input. GO FOR IT!!!
Ken
I've been fishing close to home on the Squannacook and been quite successful this week in the fast water, hooking up with big rainbows. However, I'm eager to see these autumn brookies on the Swift and it sounds like they have been successful breeding on the river by the evidence of so many juvenile fish spotted this year. So I have a question for you Ken. What exactly sustains this population (and those big rainbows) year round? With that cold, nearly constant temperature water flowing out of the bottom of the Quabbin, it sounds like supports an ecosystem similar to the spring fed streams down in Pennsylvania. Clearly there is rich vegetation, abundant gravel, sand and freestone architecture. Sure fish can be had on top water, but as you have mentioned, they get most of their feeding done subsurface. I was looking for some macro invertebrate surveys but couldn't find much online but know from spending time with you that fishing wet and fishing small is very effective. So what nymphs and other insects are we mimicking here on the Swift? It certainly seems unique compared to other streams that don't have such a steady temperature like the swift above and below Rt. 9. Just curious and thought you'd have some thoughts on the subject.
Harvard,
You asked a question and then answered the question. What sustains the brook trout population at its level IS the release from the Quabbin. It's nowhere near the richness of of spring creeks found in Pennsylvania but it it clear and cold and its nutrient level doesn't grow until you reach the area around and below Cady lane which has thousands of brook trout at all year classes. Nothing sustains the rainbow population. They don't reproduce and have to be restocked every year.
"So what nymphs and other insects are we mimicking here on the Swift?" you ask. Answer: size 18 through 24 wet offerings in generic patterns if you want to represent trout food in the water column or "midge" patterns in the film. But the real answer is HOW we are "mimicking". The key to mimicking is PRESENTATION and not selection. SIZE and PROFILE and correct PRESENTATION are the key on this river and most others. Most patterns will work if presented correctly. I change flies very seldom BECAUSE the flies that I use represent what insects that are active in the Swift. I'm successful at this. Use small sizes of PT's for a start. Be careful of the way your fly "touches" the water and make sure that it has a natural drift.
There is no "rich vegetation" on this river until you get to Cady Lane. There is no rich vegetation above route 9.
Ken
From Pete RE: Green River
Mr. Elmer,
I hope that this email finds you well. I fished the Green river yesterday (the one above Greenfield) & had a hell of a day. I started in the AM above the Lydon bridge at the border of VT & spent the afternoon below the bridge from the wildlife management area up.
All rainbows, all in the same pattern of water (riffles & slicks), & all on the same short line nymph technique w/o indicator. Hookups were 50/50 between the dead drift & swing & 50/50 between weighted nymph & soft hackle.
I stopped keeping track of the number of fish @ 6, as they were all in the first hour, & looked like recent stockies, but there were some darker ones throughout the day. The rest of the day was the same regarding hookups.
Saw one other fisherman all day.
Heading to the North river today & will let you know how that goes.
Ken,
Occasionally the rainbows there do reproduce. Not that it happens often, but I have caught a few that shot eggs all over when I unhooked them. Plus a handful of baby rainbows, although I guess you never know with the hatchery being do close.
Scott
Scott,
The Swift?? I've caught some baby bows but only in the area around the hatchery. Escapees!
Ken
Yup Ken! Multiple rainbows have spewed eggs all over these past few trips there.
Scott
Ken, Why wouldn't rainbows reproduce in the Swift? Not saying you're wrong, but I wonder why that would be?
Regards, Sam
Took another trip to my local river, the quinnie. Worked some new stretches found a pool with a few fish in it. Got some strikes but couldn't hook up. Finally hooked up with a rainbow down stream. I was hoping for a brookie or a brown (because I have yet to catch one on this river) but seeing as I have been skunked the last few trips the rainbow was a welcome catch.
I am going to check out the Squannacook or Nissitissit next friday with a friend. It has been a while since I have been there. Charlie gave me some hand drawn maps on post it notes a few years back. I need to find those.
Scott,
I have heard the reasons rainbows don't reproduce is that most rivers in NE are the wrong acidity level for the eggs. So they will produce eggs but the eggs can't mature.
Mike
Scott and Sam,
After decades of stocking hundreds of thousands of rainbows EVERY YEAR there are only two streams in this State that have verified reproducing and self sustaining rainbow populations. One is in Central Ma. and the other is in the Berkshires. They do not reproduce in the Swift. Yup, rainbows have eggs but that is about it in this state.
Ken
Post a Comment