Rating The Rivers 2017

"There are no dams on it, and it runs clear, cold, and clean for most of the year. This attribute attracts trout from the main stem and other branches when the water levels there are high and roiled in the spring and again in the summer when the other waters can warm to dangerous levels". - Tom Fuller on the West Branch of the Westfield in Trout Streams of Southern New England

Rating The Rivers, a yearly feature of this blog, is now going into its 7th season. Things change on a river from year to year and one can see it in how it fishes. This feature is basically a review and a casual ranking of the rivers that I fish and guide on. Much of the ranking is based in comparison to the ranking of previous years. Here we go!

6TH Place - THE MIDDLE BRANCH OF THE WESTFIELD

I should have a category for seasonal streams and if I did the MB would win it every time. First, It is beautiful. Second, it runs clear and cold and third it is fun to fish. It's one drawback is that it does get bony by late June during a dry spell and that is the time that one just drops down to where it empties into Littleville Reservoir especially on June evenings. Put the MB on your April, May list.

5th Place - The EB

Ok, it's beautiful, wild and scenic and six miles of catch and release BUT it seems like it's been treated like a redheaded stepson the last year. First, It's not stocked from the Gorge downstream until the 3rd week in May and when it is the fish are dumped in two or three spots which will give a lucky angler a 50 fish day. Second, it got left off the Fall stocking list this year because the DFW said it was "too low and warm". It wasn't and I told them that. How to improve things: First, kill off that 3rd week of May TU stocking and stock this river in late April at the FIRST TURNOFF below the Gorge in high water. The trout, mostly bows, will drift down through the entire C&R instead of ganging up at stocking points which is what happens now. The fishing experience will improve.

Was it all bad this year? No, actually late August and early September were very good with a flow around 60 cfs (too low according the the experts) and water temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees (too warm according to the experts). We had good evening fishing and the early morning outings were fabulous but what few fish we had were concentrated in summer holding areas. A Fall stocking would have given a fishing opportunity for many before the season winds down.

4th Place The West Branch Of The Westfield

First time on the list for this gorgeous river!! The WB reminds me of the "New Girl in School", the head turner that makes everyone else become an afterthought! Tom Fuller's quote at the top of this blog talks about the physical qualities of this river. I'm astounded by the beauty of it and began to ignore some other streams last Spring just to spend time here. I did some scouting, was given the chef's tour by Gary and ended up catching fish up and down the river. It is an average size river with all the trappings that we look for: deep pools, riffles and runs. It is a CADDIS river for sure. Fish it in 2018!

3rd Place - The Ware River

Best Hatches of 2017 (Quill Gordons and Hendricksons)
Best flows of Spring 2017
A Spring stocking of browns that were still around being caught in October.
A river that is much cooler than one thinks it is. (temperatures are online)

While the Millers was running high during May the Ware stayed in its banks and provided GREAT fishing. This fertile stream is a mayfly heaven and it produced the best looking, dark browns to be caught during October (the DFW didn't stock browns in the Fall, just bows). One of it's charms is that it will probably never be overfished because that other river is just over the hill and grabs all the attention. Good for us!!!

2nd Place - The Swift

Sorry, but tailwaters are held to a higher standard. While freestones are in flood a tailwater has a fishable flow (mostly). When freestones are running warm a tailwater is in the high 50's and it's trout are dancing in the open current while freestone trout seek springs and undercut banks (another reason to like freestones). What's not to like about tailwaters? Nothing mostly, but since I brought it up:
1. Crowd control is an issue. Why do people flock to the same spots on this river?? TRY ANOTHER SPOT!! You might surprise yourself. 2. Stocking of trout - Stable flows and stable temperatures don't give trout much incentive to move around and we see this year after year. A little effort at stocking the 2nd turnoff on River Rd and FINALLY stocking at the gauge would buy some goodwill.

How was the fishing? The June 30 stocking below RT 9 WAS BELOW the numbers of fish stocked in previous years. (This was stated in an email exchange between one of my readers and the DFW) Word has it that 2016 and 2015 had surpluses of fish stocked. 2017 didn't. People were used to the higher numbers, complained and began to stay away. IT WAS WONDERFUL!! That pesky problem of crowd waters was diminished a bit. It was weird to show up during a Summer evening at the Tree Pool and find NOBODY there. The Brook Trout - they keep adding to their numbers and also getting bigger all of the time. There will be a tipping point in the future and that may be due to the expanding BROWN TROUT population. A 17lb brown was recorded by the DFW and numerous 5 to 10lb monsters are seen frequently. The brook trout provide forage which will also help their population too.

The Swift is a gem without a trout management program as advertised in Connecticut and that's very cool!


1ST Place - The Millers!

Most of May was a washout but then this river whipped into shape and gave us a June and July that was memorable. Evening fishing held up all Summer and the browns that were stocked in early May were still there at Labor Day. October had the best mid day, dry fly fishing that I've ever experienced on this river in over 30 years of fishing it and that lasted until Mother Nature shut it down. Still, it was the best and made the best memories. That's what it's all about, right??

Ken