The cast was made into skinny water up tight against the bank. The size 18CDC Soft Hackle gently touched the surface and had floated about three feet when the brown began to chase it DOWNSTREAM. The take was strong and the fight lasted longer than I thought it would even for a 16+ inch brown. The fish was netted, smiled for the camera and then swam away.
That should of been the highlight of the evening except it had competition from "THE brown". An estimated 4 to 5 lbs, it moved into a favorite holding spot (I've seen it before) but then swam upstream before we got a cast onto him. The rest of the evening was spent working dries to the brook trout that were all in the 6 to 10 inch range. They looked like jewelry in the net and we were deep into the double digits for that species when we called it a day. Another Cady Lane experience! Contact me for a trip if you want to get to know the place.
The Drought - Tuesday nights rain barely made a click on the the flow gauges for central/western Massachusetts. It seemed that the flows averaged an increase of 3 cfs for the region but a further examination was in order. A quick look at the USGA Vermont map revealed that the State got hammered by storms and that some of the rivers increased their flow over five fold. The storms crossed over into western New Hampshire and had the same effect until petering out in central New Hampshire. Why am I concerned about what's happening in northern New England? Simple, the rivers that peaked out after the storms are tributaries of the Connecticut River and that increased flow has to go downstream. Large rain events up north have risen the CT. River flow in the past enough to turn down the spigot at Quabbin and lower the Swift River flow. We could be bone dry here but as far as the Connecticut River is concerned the drought is over. Let's keep an eye on it.
Tomorrow, July 1st, marks the seasonal regulations change in the Swift. It's C&R from RT 9 through Cady Lane and it is a traditional stocking time. A trusted source has told me that he saw the 7/1/16 date published! Whether it's 7/1 or sometime early next week is anyone's guess. Many anticipate this date with the same fervor as some anticipate NFL Draft choices! In any event the place will have trout (hopefully) and the fly fishers will return to the same popular spots.
I'll be in the OTHER spots!
Ken
14 comments:
With brookies like those I may have to take a trip there.
Beautiful to see that.
Brk Trt,
Always welcome!
Ken
Ken,
A CDC soft hackle. Can you explain?
ML
ML,
My May 8 post talks about it. It's nothing more than cdc built in as an underwing which keeps the fly floating with the soft partridge legs moving in the current. Very effective!
Ken
I just noticed the Swifts flow just dropped like a rock, now at 38 cfs. I will be there tomorrow.
Phil
I just noticed that the Swifts flow dropped like a rock, now at 38 cfs. I will be there tomorrow.
Phil
Phil,
I may have nailed the prediction on the flow on my last post BUT the flow is now rising. We will see what is happening by early tomorrow morning!
Ken
The Ct River gauge age at Montague City has yoyo'd for three day between 2500 and 10,000. Must be making power at Northfield. With the thunderstorm line moving thru tonight, the Swift may again settle to lower levels.
The gauge works again and the EB is at 55... Hope the t-storms hit it hard tonight, the Millers too. Hopfuly the increasing flow on the swift again moves around all the new fish, nothing worse than 200 fish stacked at the pipe. Well, maybe droughts are worse lol.
Lenny
I went to the Swift today. Completely jammed, 14 cars up top. I guess people like to chase the stocking truck and the dumb-Bows? This was a head scratcher for me as above Rte 9 has been fairly barren? Below was crowded too. I think we should ease up on the promotion of the river. :) That said, they weren't that easy to get as they just went in and were still gulping at debris on top. My guess is that the water was warmer in the hatchery and they are adjusting, but did manage about 4 fairly huge, but not big fighting Bows and one nice Brown. Very few bugs around and the fish I got were on streamers. All in all, a sort of cheesy day on the Swift.
I must admit, I am the guy who keeps taking down the "XXXX, YYYYY Bait & Fly Shop" advertising/pollution stapled to the trees around the Swift (or one of them). How could the owner of this shop be so ignorant, or maybe, just really cheap. Does he/she think people really want to see ads while walking to a river and that makes them look good? Anyway, dude, if your fly shop is like your ad campaign, I am sure it sucks. :-)
Thanks for this quick vent, Ken! Fish the Swift!
I'm laying off the Swift for awhile before I yell at someone. Does ANYONE know ANYTHING about etiquette anymore! My last trip there I was downstream of the bridge looking for some Brookies to cast to when some joker came walking right down the middle of the river, walking right through a bunch of Brookies while talking on his cell phone. He didn't even attempt a cast until he had completely spooked every fish then he made a few half hearted casts and proceeded to walk right back up the middle of the river. I gave the area about 30 mins to settle down and ended up landing some beautiful little brook trout but man that type of crap has to stop.
The flow is down on the Swift as of this evening. Brookies hitting on top same as always, some flying clean out of the water to get what they're after. A lot of shallow runs as a result. I ask myself where do the bigger trout go when it gets so low and shallow? I will keep trying to find out.
Sam,
Actually the Swift flow dropped on mid day on Friday.
My next post will tell you where "the bigger trout go when it gets so low and shallow".
Ken
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