No one was at the Pipe Parking lot at 7am and on one was there when we got back at 2:30. The Y Pool lot seemed strangely un populated early and late in the day. No matter, me and my client were going elsewhere and elsewhere was the Ware River. We did well during that morning trip (Friday) catching and losing some on SH drifts but did better working dries upstream. Bows and Browns were the order. Then we went to Bondsville! (the Lower Swift if you don't know)
I was there on Wednesday during a video shoot and we passed the double digit mark within a half an hour. Brookies, browns and bows all fell to (guess what) an olive and partridge. One thing of notice: almost all of the trout were stuffed to the gills with a size 16 nymph that appeared to be a sulphur or a Pale Evening Dun (also considered a sulphur in some circles). We were ther at mid day. God only knows, or a lucky flyfisher, what ended up hatching during the evening.
Fish below the last dam or go down to the industrial park cul de sac and fish from there. It is TOTALLY different from above RT 9 which may offend folks that like that park-like atmosphere but the water is still COOL and there are trout. It LOOKS like a trout stream and it will be good for you and your soul!
The Millers is doing well. I was there during the past week and I did well. All places mentioned in my Millers Guide are prime right now especially in the early morning and in the evening. Order my Millers Guide so you will know where to go instead of reading self serving reports that will NEVER tell you where they were fishing.
The EB - Well, what can I say! I've done well and so have my reporters.
Happy Memorial Day.
Ken
8 comments:
Hey ken glad to hear the ware is still fishing good as i may head there today. Had a great yesterday evening on the swift above rt9 Brian took a good many on an ant and myself on my favorite dry emerger (pheasant tail body dubbed thorax to taste and a cdc loop wing) we were also very lucky and saw a moose in the bog on rt9 (if your coming from ware it was on the right) just a mile or so down the street from y pool entrance
Glad to see that you did well above Rt 9. I know that bog and you would expect to see a moose there!!
Following your encouragement Ken, I set out Friday morning to explore the Middle Branch of the Westfield River from the Littleville to Worthington. My time was limited so I began by peering over the bridges to see if I could spot any trout. Nothing at the fairgrounds. The Smith Road bridge has quite a drop into what looks like a very nice long and deep run for about 100 yards downstream. The bridge was rebuilt in 2009, post Irene?, and there is a tall abutment on the downstream side where the former bridge rested. Access seemed a long and difficult scramble so I continued north.
The next bridge showed at least five or six fish staged in the sun downstream, a couple of good proportion. The water was low, and clear as crystal. Encouraged, I fitted my rod and put on my hip boots (no need for waders here) and vest to see what trouble I might stir up. My first choice was a small cream colored egg pattern with a pink blood spot in it. It took some time to work up into their zone, but once there a few nice bows came to the net. And a little brookie.
As good luck would have it I was hailed over the bridge’s rail by a fellow fly fisher named Jack who asked if there was room for one more. Sure I said. I’d taken a few fish and there was room a’plenty. Jack turned out to be a wealth of information – a local, he knew the ins and outs of the Middle Branch. He reckoned as it would be good for only a couple more weeks till the water temps become dangerously high for pressured trout. Then he’d head to the Farmington. Jack filled me in on some of the spots where fish are put in - mostly at the bridges, or old bridge abutments. He mentioned one particular hole further upstream loaded with almost too many fish. He allowed how the State had stocked many large fish in the MB – almost complaining, projecting a high mortality rate because of the fishes’ inability to cope with the warming water temps.
We went on chatting for a good while before I bid farewell. What a friendly guy he was! Jack had given me some good landmarks, so I decided I’d try to look for the too-full hole. I did.
Again, the cream and pink egg brought immediate results. Lost the first fish, and then took four in a row before the action tapered off, and finally ended. The flash in the pan was just that – so I had to employ other tactics. My approach here turned out to be similar to the Swift or other spots where I cast over fish for a period of time – variety – keep changing up. A couple came in on a hare’s ear. A couple followed an olive soft hackle (no takes), an SJW (both pink and worm colored) garnered a few looks but no connects. A very small green bodied mini bugger with black marabou wings became popular. An olive wooly bugger, small and underdressed, also drew a few takes. The final chunk bow of my afternoon smashed a silver-bodied red finned dace streamer that I excitedly drew across above him in short, staccato bursts. He banged it. I released the scrapper and smiled.
That’s it for today - I’ll be back – for the browns. Thanks for the incentive Ken. So much water, so little time. Tightlines.
Bob O,
You're stealing my thunder for my next blog post!
I short, I and a friend worked the MB on Saturday morning.
I met a "regular" who was very friendly and who said that they didn't stock this week. My guy was also very friendly and we spent time talking about the 3 branches.
We found trout and they were tough to catch. I had 3 on and one landed. My friend had 2 on and one landed.
The best places are by any bridge until we get some rain to flush things around. There are big trout in the MB which is why I was back at 6:15 am today when I landed 4. All of the trout took size 18 and 20 black nymphs.
It's a great stream and if we get some rain it will remain great. Last year around late June Christophe Perez, who wrote the Eastern Fly Fishing article about the EB, and I fished this river in the heat and low water of mid day. A fat 16 inch bow came to Perez's net.
We need some rain. I will be back!!!
Ken
Hopefully the rain will be here Monday. It is so hard to leave the great shad fishing 2 miles from my home in North Andover and the flyfishing on plum Island beaches has been the best in 25 yrs. The fish are 10 inches to 30 inches and over 50 per trip. But the solitude of the bamboo rod call me to hit one if not all of the four great trout rivers in western mass. Such problems to have and to top it all I cancelled a trip to the Moosehead area for the first time in 25 years. With so much to do in Mass. I don't need to waste 7 hours up and 7 hours home when i could be fishing the 4 great western rivers. Will give up date in a week.
That's it! I'm going to Bondsville!!!
BH
I fished the Swift form Caddy Lane to the Y pool this weekend and landed 2 big feisty browns. Other than that it was rather slow. This is my second year in Mass and I remember last Autumn it was packed with fish. I know they've stocked the river multiple times so I wonder where are the fish. On the upside, there aren't as many people on the water either.
Post a Comment