Most flies are tied to catch fly fishers, not trout! - Author Unknown
The Millers is running a few ticks below the 1000 cfs range AND it's been stocked! I know you'll want to fish it so BE CAREFUL!!! One false step and you may be on the evening news. Don't think that it's going down soon because rain is in the forecast. The good thing about the stocking is that this flow will move those bows around so there will not be any stocking point heroes. I'll be waiting until things become a bit more civilized!
A week ago a comment was sent in by Phil Foster about his tried and true brown and peacock bugger. I've had this fly on my brain over my 10 state drive from Florida. I love the color of this and I believe that it is a VERY good imitation of a crayfish just as he said. My version is above. Also long time reader KOZMAN again mentioned the fabled HORNBERG. This fly worked well for me on the Ware last spring and I need to tie up a few more.
I couldn't resist placing a photo of a big Swift Brown from last Fall. This will be the year to watch this specie on the Swift. There is no DFW sponsored program to promote browns on this river as in Connecticut because it appears that we really don't need it. This population has exploded in the last two years ALL BY ITSELF.
Pet Peeve
It really bothers me when someone says that a river is sub par or worse, that it sucks. No river deserves that. Years ago a western Ma. outdoor writer called the Millers an open sewer and it took years to get rid of that branding. Maybe these people haven't developed the skill set to successfully fish a place and they don't realize that one trout caught on a tough freestone can be a better experience than a bunch on a famous, but crowded tailwater!
Ken
10 comments:
The Millers will start coming down just in time for the Rat Race flooding.
Ted
They were 'open sewers', Ken. Every one of our rivers that ran through a town were open sewers. It took the clean water act of 1972 to put an end to much of it. When I was a kid I wasn't allowed near the Asheulot because of the finless browns and the toilet paper hatch that used to come off every day. The Millers is a beautiful piece of water now; don't listen to the peanut gallery.
Ha - I was just going to say what anonymous said. Rat Race is this weekend, so the millers should be high for a while given it takes a while to slow... Though if you are a boat fishermen fishing upstream from orange can be good this time of year (or earlier) for Pike - though I've not done it since the river was lowered to fix the dam in orange a couple years ago - so no idea how that fishery is holding up.
That color combo of a bugger is awesome Ken! Going to have to try that.
So true on the "river sucks" thing. Then again, if folks want to believe the millers is nasty, thus ensuring quiet and clear evenings with bug's flittering and fish slurping... Ok, sounds good :)
Will (hibernation),
The 2018 Millers River Rat Race is on April 14, 2018 if their website is correct and not this weekend.
Glad that you feel the same way about the Millers as I do. Some say that it's an easy river to fish but that's only if one fishes the stocking spots soon after stocking. It's the same for all rivers.
Mike,
As I've said many times over the years the "open sewer" comments were made AFTER the river was cleaned up and AFTER trout stocking resumed. Those printed comments about open sewers occurred in the mid 1980's by people who didn't really fish the Millers. They, as a source of vitriol, are long gone from the scene. Now we have to deal with so called "experts" who believe that the river is marginal and that's because they refuse to fish the Millers on summer evenings when it can be great. To say that the Millers gets too warm is to say that all mid New England freestones are too warm for trout which is total nonsense!!!!!!
Ken
Ken,
Hard to tell with my computer monitor, but is that peacock bugger with some Krystal flash and brown marabou tail and palmered gingerish hackle or would you trend towards olive-ish? I can see how it might be crayfish like.
Eye,
Ginger brown but olive would look good too!
Ken
Any news on when Pipe and CR area at swift is getting stocked?
Anonymous 6:43
Go to the DFW website to find out.
Ken
Indeed, the DFW web site details every place and day they dump trout in to various waters. I get it that people want to catch trout to make the most of the license they bought, but why not more catch and release areas in our state like Connecticut manages?
Sam,
Good point but I visited two CR and two general regulation rivers yesterday and saw hardly anyone. This seems like 2015 all over again: cold weather and high water and few trout!
Ken
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