I hit the Swift Thursday morning around 11:00 am to toss some micro streamers (10 and 12), or some micro Bitch Creek streamers to be exact, to see if I could entice some bows to chase them. No bows but some good sized brookies came to play. They were all between 10-12 inches and there were 7 of them and they were found in or near the traditional spawning beds of the lower Swift. I think the run has started and my records state that by mid October we will be in full swing. They are already stacking up below the Rt 9 bridge.
Friday was a good day with my client Matt as we were the first (probably) to fish the Ware this Fall. The 38 degree air made the fleece necessary at 8:30 as we began to swing the reliable partridge and orange. We had four solid hits and landed two, a rainbow and a beautiful brown. The water level is low but cool enough to keep the trout active. We were also greeted with a decent Trico hatch which the newly planted fish totally ignored.
Then we went to the Swift, walked right past the Pipe, and went down deep into Cady Lane to catch brookies on dries. It seemed that the brook trout population down there has thinned out(as one of our commentors pointed out) as the "herd" moves upstream to spawn. That has to mean that the monster browns will begin to move with them.
Back upstream for a few obligatory casts at the Tree Pool, then lunch, then a session at the crib dam before the day was over.
As I write it is raining. It will not be enough and we will need more!
Ken
7 comments:
The water I felt was warm tonight. Nothing doing whatsoever with the trout. The annual turn over of Quabbin is taking place I think.
Sam,
We've had temperatures pushing 70 degrees this week on the Swift. It will be over soon.
Ken
PA, I've heard the same about the Swift this past week. I hope this cold trend that's causing the turnover holds as we definitely need some rain in the coming weeks.
Might the warmer Swift water simply be the result of the consistent northwest wind has stacked the warmer water where the bubbler draws from the Quabbin? Seems too early for the turn over ...?
Keep up the good work Ken. Always a pleasure to review your blog and comments.
Bob O,
You are right in thinking that. Last year there was a wind out of the northwest that you could almost surf on the Quabbin with in early September. It raised the water temperature then. I didn't see the same thing this year but who knows for sure but the temperature is up. It should go down soon.
Ken
Ashutosh,
Good to hear from you!!
The big question is when will it rain. We are all waiting for that. The "turnover" is a seasonal event (fall and spring) and it will happen regardless.
BTW, I miss your blog posts which give a voice to the "North Country" which is missed. Don't give up on that. Your blog was refreshing. Keep up with it, keep posting and the viewers will arrive. That's how I did it!!!
Best,
Ken
Ken,
I think I saw you and a client releasing a trout down in Erving center yesterday. Was that you?
GW
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