Hot Fly, A Revelation And Thinking About The Ware

"Fly fishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some hands, poetic in others and laced with conflicting aesthetic considerations. It'd not even clear if catching fish is actually the point" John Gierach

Try this fly!!!

Hook - size 20 to 24 Saber scud hook or smaller midge hook
body - Dark Olive 140 denier thread
Rib - ultra thin copper wire
Wing Buds - Crystal flash
Head - black thread

You can tie dozens of these in no time at all due to it's very simple construction and it works because it is so generic. It represents all of those little guys we find in the Swift and can be fished solo or behind something like a WD40. It has worked on the Swift this past month.

The Ware River

By February I'm usually lost in a day dreaming swoon as the urge to fish my freestones in the Spring just takes over. This year I'm dreaming of the Ware River and reliving some of the awesome Spring days of last year. I fished some of the best dry fly water in central Massachusetts on that river. I would work a soft hackle just below the surface on a classic swing and then end up casting upstream with a floating offering as the RISE took over. I caught trout at every location on this river AND I usually had the place to myself. If fly fishing is a social experience for you then you may not feel comfortable on the Ware. That's what the Farmie and the Swift are for!!!

A Revelation -

Sometimes things all come together and seem to make sense at the strangest moments. I've always wondered why "nymphing" has captured the minds of so many fly fishermen while, at least for me, it seemed somewhat familiar and in a way old fashioned.

Then I did a Swift/Millers presentation to a TU group in Poughkeepsie NY last month and it finally came to me and almost derailed my presentation. I kept talking about our rivers but the thought was in my head for the rest of the show AND the ride home. The thought was that I've been "nymphing" since I was 9 years old and I did it with worms as any self respecting 9 year old SHOULD do. I learned the high stick, tight line methods of fishing a worm from pre internet magazines and from watching others who were catching fish. Toss the spinning line (same as a 20 ft leader) out there into the riffles at the head of a pool, keep slack to a minimum and watch for the hesitation in the drift.

I'm beginning to think that there are a lot of river fly fishers who have very few hours (maybe minutes) on a river WITHOUT a fly rod in their hands and that's a shame. It seems that today's revolutionary techniques are really old school techniques that now have a new label.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

The Swift - Lots of snow this weekend but the fish are still there. Go get them!!

Ken