but essentially it's a solitary, contemplative sport. People are left alone with themselves in beautiful surroundings to try to accomplish something that seems to have genuine value John Gierach
When I passed the Y Pool parking lot at 6:10 am there were a dozen vehicles there already. Tee times start early at the Y!! And from what I've heard there are a lot of fish above Route 9 and NOT a lot below Route 9. The ONE car there at 6:15 is testimony to that. The big, fat stocking on July 1 that we saw last year and the year before that and the year before that is not the case this year. It is slim pickings and a lot of empty water. For me it's PERFECT!!!!!!!!! (I'll tell you of a place where the rainbows are. Just stay calm)
I skipped the usually places and headed down to Cady Lane. I love this spot! Brookies, browns and bows are in the offering but it's the brookies that drive me there. The brookies are BIGGER this year. This morning I got deep into the double digits with a number of 8 to 10 inch fish and a beauty that hit the foot long mark. The 3 inch freshmen stayed off the hook although I could see them on the edges of the weeds. Where else in southern New England could you have this crazy treasure?
The brown came out of nowhere and grabbed the size 18 soft hackle, placed its 14 inch body against the current and then shook the hook. Fair enough because I saw him rise up from the bottom and felt the resistance for an instant. A lost fish but a good experience!!
I was down at Cady for three hours on a Summer holiday and NEVER saw or heard another angler. The only sounds were the riffles from upstream, summer morning birdsong (much subdued from spring) and some cattle mooing in the distance. Cady is a good place to reset the clock. I've been running full bore over the last three months with guiding and the "day job" and I needed CALM. I got it. (BTW, I'll have an word on that day job in a week or so)
Now, where are the freshly stocked trout below Route 9????? Local fish hawk Jim found them and he found them to the tune of 6 bows and 2 brookies (all good fish) on dries in a 2 hour span. If I found them I'd tell you where but he told me so I will not. I visited the place at the end of the morning, caught one bow and saw others. Hint: Explore!!!!!
Steak and ribs rubbed in pepper and salt going on the coals in an hour. Have a Happy July 4th!!!
Ken
P.S. A reader found a rod IN the Millers (???) If it's your rod then just go to the comments and look for Anonymous and his email address.
14 comments:
Happy 4th to everyone! Good to see the brookies are staying true to the approximate 1-2" growth increase each year. I always think to myself what the place will look like in 5 years. Going back to the East Outlet tomorrow for the real deal brookies and salmon, only this time with a 2 hander
Lenny
Lenny,
Oh boy!! Breaking out the big boy rod!!!! Good luck to you up north and if the 1-2 inch growth rate holds up we may never have to go to Maine again. Hmm...would LL Salmon work in the Swift? Just thinking..... Let us know how you do!
Ken
Happy 4th to Ken and all! I was stranded with car trouble in the Poconos on a trip to Western PA. Thought I'd try the little stream in back of the motel--caught one baby brookie (ca. 7") on a BWO dry. A nice consolation prize for the trouble. Got to get out to the Swift one of these days!
Cheers,
David
Ken
Glad you got a rainbow at that spot on the Swift I mentioned. By the way, these fish are for everyone. If I tell you about a spot that has a few fish, that is not meant to be a secret and you can tell whoever you want and certainly take your clients there. Put it in the blog if you want! I put a friendly fisherman in the run when I left. I did not put an earlier walker by who snubbed my hello with a grunt. Hey, it's catch and release, everyone should have some fun and catch a fish or two. When fishermen tromp on a group of trout they will spread out which is what we want. Happy 4th! Jim
Jim,
Way to go!!!
Ken
Should have gone to the Swift!!!
Hit the Millers at the upper Trestle...water a tad high but not bad. Around 7:30pm a few fish started coming up...then massive splash after massive splash...beavers, two of them put them down and started getting close to me. Hooked a small brown on a softie and that was that. Before total darkness went down to the Bridge pool. One guy working the only spot that made sense given the water flows...oh well. Fished 3 unknown to me brooks in the hills..did fine on small brookies and one 12" brown. Fun but was hoping for a "hatch situation" ; given my travel schedule and high water this spring that situation has eluded me.
Had the Tree Pool and Pipe area to myself late Monday afternoon. Not the usual stacking of rainbows like the last few years but still plenty of fish.
I will always do my part to pick up the Styrofoam worm boxes that aholes leave around. Fish worms, fine. Fish dough balls fine. Good luck, but just pick your shit up.
Tree pool and pipe did well for me this past weekend. Too bad some nutter on Saturday thought the pipe wasn't big enough for the both of us. It's astounding how territorial some people get.. and at the SWIFT of all places. I let him have the pipe, and outfished him downstream anyway :)
Alex B,
Someone else had the same experience 2 weeks ago. I've had it happen and it was a "newbie" from Connecticut who thought that being within 30ft of him at the Pipe was too close!!!
Ken
Ken, I remember when you first guided me on the Swift. When we got to the Pipe you said, "the etiquette's a little different down here." And how! The Swift gets crowded, of course. But the upside of that is that there is a nice camaraderie among those who fish it regularly, from the old timers to the noobs like me. I've learned so much from other anglers on the Swift. It pains me to hear of jerks like the ones mentioned here. Sigh. I suppose all we can really do is try to model the behavior we think is appropriate.
Cheers,
David
David,
Well said! I try, when I'm fishing,to avoid the crowds but I will get into good conversation when I'm passing through and it just adds a good moment to the day.
Ken
Ken, tonight I started out with a couple of sub-surface flies, but with no action, quickly dumped them in favor of a big Ausable Wullf. I had some good brookie action on it along with a swing and miss from a nice rainbow or brown, not sure which. I connected with a pretty nice brown briefly, but off it went.
You have to love dry fly action. The fly is floating along and you think nothing will hit then all of a sudden the explosion occurs. You can't beat it.
Best, Sam
Joe,
Thanks for the info.
Sam,
It's the high point of fly fishing!!
Ken
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