It's been about a decade or so since the brook trout population explosion occurred on the Swift. Every Fall we were greeted with waves of brookies charging up the Swift. What about this year??
This year was, in my opinion,"off". The numbers were not there, period. The gravel beds above route 9 had spawning trout but not like before. One alarming observation was the almost TOTAL lack of brookies on the gravel below the Duck Pond. In 2015 and 2016 this spot was ground zero for the brookies. There would be hundreds at a time working the redds. This year it was almost barren. Here are some possible reasons:
1.The Duck Pond situation was obvious. This year the gravel beds were covered in weeds which was a new development. Spawning trout will avoid a place like that. What brought on the weeds? Well, having a heavier nutrient load in the water will do that. Is there an old leach field in the area? Did the construction of the pipe from Quabbin to the hatchery upset the balance?
2. I saw more BIG browns this year than ever before and I'm not talking about puny 18 inch fish but browns measured in pounds. I've seen big browns swallow a 6 inch brook trout on this river. Have the browns eaten up all the brook trout? NO! Mother nature has a way of balancing things. If anything, the browns probably keep the brookie population in check so we are not fishing for stunted fish.
3. After years of population growth we were probably due for a leveling off or even a DOWN year. I would monitor the Duck Pond next season to see if that weed situation returns. In the meantime enjoy the balancing act between the brookies and the browns. (BTW, my home page shows a photo of me with a Lake Ontario brown. There are bigger browns in the Swift!!)
Every day we gain another 2+ minutes of daylight. Think Spring!!!
14 comments:
Ken, another great post. But for crying out loud, stop boasting about your salmon river brown. Was it a nice fish--yes. But it is nothing special for that fishery. It is a shame that you are not nearly as humble as you portray yourself to be. In past posts, you have made back handed comments about those that seek large fish, quantity of fish etc. But not you, your "game" is catching those challenging fish that are selective and tough to bring to the net. However, your constant referencing of that salmon river Brown and other large browns that you have taken from the Swift seems to be a contradiction. My 2 cents--Dan D
Was it just me or did the brookies get a little more picky this year? They definitely got bigger! Felt like I couldn't keep the brookies off my flies last year, this year was a different story.
0k in Dave McPhail perfect world he uses the Chadwick 477 wool. Again his perfect world. What are u using as a substitute . I once was told in maine that my maple syrups were the wrong color tan. The brookies didn't think so. Looks like your adding a little pink sharpie to your creations. I think the copper wire showing thru the wool could be a factor in performance. Again a trout will hit a single gold bead, so the copper on end I think is more of a factor than the wool type.
Interesting review. I missed the brookie "run" this fall - to much time in a tree chasing deer with my bow.
I do feel like I'm seeing more large brookies - like 12-20" fish than in the past. Perhaps it's the fishery reaching a maturity point. Or just a random year. Was the water up towards 120 more this year as well?
I know the state claims to have electroshocked several browns in the 6-9# range on the swift. Those fish are not coming out of the res, those are old fish that have grown since being stocked. And who knows - they could have been stocked down stream or up in the FFO area. I suppose some could be wild, there are certainly wild browns born on streams through central and western MA, probably Eastern as well...
Enjoy the warm weather this weekend if anyone gets out!
I think he was moreso referring to the fact that the Swift being so close is producing browns of similar or greater quality of a fishing trip you would take several hours away to seek those big fish.
Dan D.,
Hold on there buddy! First, let's clear up some of your misconceptions.
1." Stop boasting about your Salmon River brown" as you say. First, it was not a Salmon River brown and I never claimed it to be. In fact, it was a Sandy Creek brown and when I wrote about it on my 11/11/17 post (the only time that I mentioned it) I didn't name the river!!!
2. "you have made backhanded comments about those who seek large fish"!! If that is true why did I post photos of big Swift browns THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE CAUGHT throughout the past Fall. I praised those fish and the people who caught them!!! I mentioned that the Swift is becoming a big brown river and that's a good thing!!!
3. I don't understand how you can say "another great post" and then go off on something that simply isn't true. You are entitled to your opinion but not your own facts!
Bob (tincup),
I can't say that I use a substitute for Chadwicks, that mythical body material. I tried to source a similar color of wool but to no avail. My Swift Killer Bug doesn't use wool and that's as much as I'll say until you invite me on your boat again(LOL)!!
David h,
You are right about the larger size brookies but the number of spawning fish just seemed down this year.
Ken
Will,
Funny, but it was the great Fall fishing that we have that made me put down the recurve years ago. It would be great to find out the origin of these Swift browns. In the meantime let's fish for them.
Ross,
That November trip of mine was my first Western NY trip. We may never have fish like that in those numbers but having the Swift full of fish that are best measured in pounds instead of inches would be nice.
Ken
Some may disagree with me, Ken, but it seems to me there were fewer brook trout in the lower Swift this year, but the ones caught did seem larger than previous years. Maybe big browns are feeding on them in that stretch as well. If so, I would like to net one of those big browns some day.
Best,
Sam
Sam,
I trust your observations on the lower river.
Ken
Ken,
I agree on the brookie population on the Swift. Hopefully just a seasonal swing this year. It would be nice if we could have the brookies and the browns prosper!!!
GW
I’d say that Brookie lsnt quite gape limited! It’s quite the mystery what the swift will become in the next few years. Who knows what will happen? l can’t say!!!
Lenny
I’d say that Brookie lsnt quite gape limited! It’s quite the mystery what the swift will become in the next few years. Who knows what will happen? l can’t say!!!
Lenny
I've spent about 10 hours on the Swift between today and last weekend. WHERE ARE THE FISH? Yes, they are in the Y-pool. Yes, a few are in the tree pool. But I've walked from the bubbler arm to far south of Cady Lane and the fish just don't seem to be there the way they have been in winters past!
Book_trout,
Good observation. I think the brutal cold of January set them to the deepest water that they could find.
Ken
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