Fisherman love rivers for their own sake, but we always look at them with the knowledge that it can take years to begin to see what's actually there. That's why we can't take our eyes off them. I've been in cars that almost crashed because the driver and all the passengers were looking at a river instead of the road" - John Gierach
The drought continues. The freestones are down and the Swift is up. In fact, the Swift did it's impersonation of the Deerfield on Tuesday by dropping about 80 cfs and then gaining them back. It didn't stop the brook trout from rising for the struggling sulphurs that managed to hatch. The reports of good dry fly fishing are real with the Parachute Adams getting the bulk of the work (see comments by Lenny and Sam, aka "Parachute Adams", in the last post). Brookies were bending the bamboo for me on Tuesday evening!!
The Millers and the Ware have been excellent this year but I think I want to give them a rest until we get some rain. There is a practice on the Millers to fish the mouth of Whetstone Brook at the Kempfield stretch during low water because the trout are stacked up there. Try not to do it. The trout have to dodge blue herons and otters at that spot and they don't need to dodge us. I saw an otter with a trout in it's jaws last August swimming away from Whetstone.
Throw the EB into the same freestone mix. The flow there is way south of 100 cfs. Fish the deepest holes/pools and do this VERY early or well into dusk and do it with dry flies.
This blog - I am a numbers driven person and I've had a good handle on this site as to it's popularity and range. Thanks to you this is, by any measure, an extremely popular regional blog with a good and growing readership. Here are some stats:
Past 40,000 page views a while ago and still growing. This is far more than 99% of the regional sites with the exception of Small Stream Reflections, a great site.
A very healthy COMMENT SECTION!! I just don't count comments because blog hosting sites can't distinguish between a READER'S comment and the blog Owners comment. Most comment totals on most sites are a 50-50 split between readers and blog owners. I know one site where author comments actually outnumber reader comments!! I don't comment on reader comments for the most part because I believe that the comment section belongs to the readers. I will occasionally answer questions but will answer multiple questions in a SINGLE comment so it doesn't skew my comment numbers. Every two weeks I check the trends on this blog. Here are some numbers:
A rolling 10 post average of between 12 and 14 comment per post.
73% of the comments are from readers with only 27% coming from me. That means that the last 10 posts produced 130 comments of which 95 were reader comments. NOBODY DOES THAT!!!! As I said a few months ago, the comments section of this blog is a gold mine of knowledge and not just pom-pom wavers. They know their stuff and are not afraid to share it.
In almost 9 years I have never "mailed in" the effort by posting someone elses video on the front page. Everything is original and will continue to be.
I don't endorse fly fishing products. I have no brand loyalty and get no discounts/products from any of them. There's a lot of snake oil out there and I keep clear of it but if the makers of Flex Seal want to give me a free can I'd take it!!
There are millions of websites in this country. This one is ranked in the top 600,000. Not too bad!!
One would be hard pressed to find a site with a better/larger comments section. You are the drivers behind this effort!! Ken
16 comments:
Keep up the good work, Ken!
Herm
P.S. I made plans earlier in the week to hit the Swift today because the forecast called for clouds and rain, the type of weather I usually prefer for fishing during the day. But it's totally sunny! I think I'll go anyway. Are the sulphurs you're seeing the invarias or the smaller dorotheas? Thanks again!
Hi, Agree that we need rain and the right thing to do is to rest the freestone streams until we get some needed rain. Last wknd I did fish parts of Red Brook on a dropping tide. http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/south-coast/lyman-reserve.html?referrer=http://www.searunbrookie.org/history/ Only caught one brookie and spooked several others. It was a nice "combo" trip because after catching the brookie I did a bit of saltwater fly fishing. Near the base of Mass Maritime Academy ship Kennedy. Caught a dozen stripers chasing sand eels under the ship. Interesting to switch from a 2 wt to an 8 wt within a half an hour of each other (and less than 5 miles away from each other).
I fished the main (middle) branch of the westfield last night and the water was disgustingly low. I usually start getting small mouth as by-catch in August and last night that was all that I got with my cousin getting one average rainbow and the same amount of smallies. We need RAIN and lots of it.
Ken you may mean my comments on the land of wild brook trout post, the last post was to see if it was false cast I talked to haha!
Man I hate the swift when it's high except when there are fish in runs and riffles, and there are just about zero in most of my favorite spots. Caught rising fish but only those who were consistently rising. I prefer finding solid Brookies in low slow water and sight casting an ant. The build up on the slow drift is the best waiting for a rise. Ants might be just as favored as pheasant tails are by the brookies
Lenny
I agree with those that prefer cloudy days to fish. If it is sunny, do not go to the Swift... Stay home! Haha! On Wednesday, I was all alone in the section just upstream from Cady. It was a blast!!!
Millers River Flyfisher you have a good local blog, Thanks
Herm,
It makes no difference whether the insects are invarias or dorthores. There is too much variation in size to determine the exact insect. Invarias can be larger on some streams than others. The same, or the opposite, with the Dorthores. Fish the fly that you see and fish the right size and present it correctly .
and the trout will not know the difference.
Patrick Maloney,
Did you fish the Middle Branch or the Main river?
Lenny,
I like the low water too.. Pray for rain.
Gary Cranston,
Thank You!!!!!
Ken
Ken,
Your comment on the heron and otter is something to consider. Maybe the first week of June or last of May I was fishing the first run, below Rezendes pool. I heard sloshing and thought perhaps a deer or something was trying to cross the river. I look up to see a herron, almost mid river, where the sand bar comes off the far bank at the end of the pool It's got a brown that had to be 15" and it's attempting to swallow it! Quite the wrestling match. It was an awesome spring in that section, but I've not been back in a few weeks... It's just a trickle. I can fish bass happily for a while and let the trout do their best to survive... Especially given there is not a lot of rain on the 10 day... Feels odd to wish for a week of sogginess mid summer... but I'd like that. Makes for good bass fishing too.
Be well
Will
I learned the early season Swift sulphurs are an AM hatch, and later dorotheas are PM. A friend who fishes AM said he won't wait around for them. Terrestials season is on. Especially with lack of rain.
Ken, keep up the good work. Great detail and comraderie.
Bob
Hi Ken - where's a good parking and access spot for the Bondville section of Swift if I can get out this w/e?
Thanks - Joe.
Ken, your blog is excellent!!! The writing is descriptive without being superfluous, long enough to engage the reader, but short enough to read during a short work break. Add to that your forthrightness about sharing information and honesty regarding tackle (I'll never buy 7X again!). I always look forward to your next post and your blog makes me wish I lived 45 minutes further north.
-Seth
I was at the quinnepoxet last friday. We need rain. The river was very low. I brought a few to the surface but couldn't hook up. The week before I was in Henniker and the low water levels made it a real joy to fish but it is a big river. The quinnepoxet seems to walk a fine line between river and stream. With the lack of rain the holding water is dramatically reduced. There were slots here and there that were ~3 feet deep and that is where the trout were. I think I was just striking too fast and never hooked up.
Mike
Ken, love the blog and the comments. This page truly has helped me become a more seasoned angler and encouraged me to try new spots. Also it is just plain entertaining reading new posts and comments.
Paul Fay
Herm,
Thank you. Got a new bamboo rod. 8ft 5wt that casts a 4wt like a dream.
Bob O, are not Dorotheas considered sulphurs?
Seth,
Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!
Paul,
Thank You Too!!
Ken
Did you get the bamboo rod from Amherst NY?
Chico,
Yes I did! Good value.
Ken
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