Fly Fishing Information On The Millers, Swift, Middle, West and East Branches Of the Westfield River and the Ware, and Mill rivers. YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR MA. FLY FISHING INFORMATION, the top ranked fly fishing blog in Massachusetts! WHAT FLY FISHERS READ!!
The Swift got what it deserves - 1400 trout stocked this afternoon. 10 nets full of BIG trout at the Pipe and I will add that hatchery workers waded into the river to scatter the trout and they did a good job at that. Trout were doing their after stocking "rising" aka gulping air all over the river. Cady Lane got stocked as did the Gauge Run (finally). Dido for above route 9 although I didn't witness that.
We have one day of catch and keep on the lower river. Watch for violators and report them. The number is at the top of my home page.
My NESN show is finally up on the NESN home page:
Google NESN "new england fishing season 2" and you will find it. Any feedback is appreciated.
Before the stocking we fished the Bubbler Arm to no avail. Caught a brookie by the Hemlocks that scared off the bow that we really wanted and the went down to the flats above the Duck Pond. That's were we landed a monster chunk bow on a #16 partridge and olive (what else!) that was 18 inches and on trout growth hormones. What a fish!!
After that we fished for some "new" fish that made the reel scream with the high water we fished in. I thought the flow would let off with all of the rain but not so. That may happen on Monday.
It was a good day. My client had never fished the Swift before and now he is converted. A GOOD DAY!!!
Fly fishers - Have a grand 4th of July. We deserve it!!!!
"Don't focus on having a great blog. Focus on producing a blog that's great for your readers." - Brian Clark
June was Great EVERYWHERE except for the Swift beyond the Y Pool. The Millers has been fantastic, the Ware has been very good, The WB Westfield has been good and the EB has been fair. (sorry EB fans but that's how I see it.) Some can only fish the Farmington or the Deerfield for reasons that escape me. Those tail waters are always there and mostly always the same. So why not test your skills on a difficult freestone?
Comments
Our readers really came through in June with not only rivers named but pinpoint locations given and flies used to come up with memorable catches. No Spot A, Location 2 B.S. but REAL information from those that don't mind sharing the wealth. A fly fisher who shares his information is a confident fly fisher!!! They will get it done anywhere,anytime. All of this info gets published because I believe in the quote at the top of the page.
For your info - fish the top of the riffles at Bridge Street early with any weighted fly. Haven't missed yet!
Ok, The Swift gets stocked Friday June 29. My source was told this by hatchery management. Try not to crowd this place out.
The Millers has hit 300 cfs as I write this. High but fishable and very good news with this weekend heatwave coming up. The Ware has good flow and a low temperature for a freestone. The Swift is roaring at 133cfs and the EB is at 150 which is good.
Book me for July evenings. It's a great time to be on the Millers or the EB. Are you an early riser? Book me for a 6am (or earlier) start and we will certainly beat the crowds.
"But at least I share two articles of faith with the great fishermen: I believe that the solution to any problem - work, love, money, whatever - is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be." - John Gierach
There lives in the mind of every life long fly fisher the hope of finding the SUPER FLY, the pattern that does it all!! (Note: this does not include anything with a beadhead and the wooly bugger is excluded because it's already attained that status). Finding the Dry that represents everything or most every thing (the Adams comes to mind as does The Olive Comparadun) is a daunting task. I think that it's easier to anoint a sunken fly as a super fly and that would be the Starling and Olive Soft Hackle.
I'm in love with starling feathers because they allow size 20 and smaller flies to be tied without losing the proportions of a good fly. And these tiny flies catch trout. This was seen last October on the Millers during one of it's epic BWO hatches. The adults were in the size 22 range and a size 20 SH was the perfect emerger. I also believe that there are a number of insects that this fly represents.
Hook - size 18 through 24
Thread - Olive 140 denier
Hackle - Starling of course
I'm going to tie up a box of this pattern in sizes 14 through 24 and use them for the rest of the year (except for the partridge and orange in October!!)
The Swift
I haven't been there in a week so maybe everything has changed but the last semi-official word (from a meeting that a Swift regular had with hatchery management) is that the river will be stocked on Friday June 29. Until then enjoy the brookies at Cady Lane.
Open Dates
I don't know how it happened but I have two open dates left this month and they are 6/28 and 6/29. Take both, take one, take a three hour trip or a six hour trip. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. Contact me by email and this does not apply to existing bookings.
What's In A Name
I've been intrigued by the fly used by nymph fishers named the Rainbow Warrior. It is a vastly popular fly as are many flies that are in that attractor category. Let's face it, many trout like shiny things and that's ok but why was it given that name? Was it because it sounded good (and that's ok) or was it named after that GREENPEACE ship named the Rainbow Warrior that was bombed and sunk by French military operatives off of New Zealand in 1985 for exposing environmental wrongdoing? I remember that crime and even though it may seem that Greenpeace is a bunch of radicals that deserved it the fact is THEY DID'NT! Did the creator of this fly know of this event and just usurp the name OR did he honestly use the name without knowing of its significance (fly fishers like to claim some environmental superiority so he should have).
The rain came and we can take a sigh of relief. As I write:
The Millers is at 321 cfs, up from 90 cfs
The EB is at 122 cfs, up from 95 cfs. It looks likes it's still going up
The Ware is at 41 cfs, up from 30 cfs
The WB is at 47 cfs, up from 25 cfs
Now, it wasn't that these rivers were dead before the rain BECAUSE my clients and I have caught trout in the above rivers, within the last week, before last nights rain. What this gives us in essence is at least another week of better flows which should maintain the best fishing in years on the above rivers. If it rains once a week we will be fine!!
Book Me
Early mornings and evenings will be the rule for the summer here in central New England. 8 am to 11 or 7am to 10 or 6am to 9 works for me and 5pm to 8pm for the evenings. Contact me.
The Millers - What A Week- June 11 through June 17 may have been the best Millers week in memory and with 34 consecutive years fly fishing this river (more than anyone) that is really a statement. It seemed that everyone was catching trout with everything coming on or near the surface.
Your Comments
Keep them coming!!! I'm getting good feedback every day on this and one reader said that he appreciated people who are generous with their information instead of being tight lipped about it.
There are people in my life who sometimes worry about me when I go off into the fields and streams, not realizing that the country is a calm, gracious, forgiving place and that the real dangers are found in the civilization you have to pass through to get there" - John Gierach
Yes, it's dry and the forecast isn't showing any relief until late next week but we have been given a break with the daily temperatures hovering in the comfortable 60 to 70 range. We have had some night temperatures in the low 40's and a lot of daytime clouds that block the sun and keeps things cool. But we need the rain!!
How are the rivers holding up? We are still fishing over rising trout on the Ware, the Millers and the EB. As long as you start in the EARLY morning (7 am is good, 6 is better) or start fishing at 7pm and stay through dark you should have success. Evening shadows appear on the south bank of the upper Trestle earlier than at the Kempfield and shadows cover Arch Street by late afternoon. Slant Rock Pool on the EB holds it's shadows until about 10 am making it a good morning destination. In fact a client scored a tiger trout there yesterday on a dry at about 9am. We started at 7am and the first three locations we fished held rising fish.
Of course, these hours will take some effort on your part but it is worth it. Driving home in the dark thinking of that brown in the net is it's own reward. If you like to sleep in or are afraid of the dark then stand in line at a tailwater!!!
Client Conor caught an 18 inch chunkbow in the Millers Thursday evening on a size 8 yellow soft hackle which , I believe does a good job of looking like a large stonefly nymph. Good Work!!!
"A trip is an is an adventure and on an adventure things should be allowed to happen as they will. Still, I have some guidelines. Bad camp cooks are okay as long as you can keep them away from the food". - John Gierach Glasses were lost below Rt 9 (probably by the Pipe) yesterday. Black plastic frame, round lens with a croakie. If found email me and I'll "middle man" the return! - Ken
The soft hackle fly has been my "go to" style of fly and style of fly fishing since Sylvester Nemes sent me over the falls with his book The Soft-Hackled Fly over 40 years ago. That style of fly fishing, along with the Dry Fly, are the true essence of fly fishing - long unfolding casts that deliver a seemingly weightless offering that mimics the emerging insect and fools a trout! It's certainly not the "chuck and duck" of a weighted bomb/fly. That method is certainly effective, as is bait fishing, BUT it's not the level of fly fishing that I enjoy. I will throw some weight as conditions dictate but will look for every excuse not to.
The soft hackled fly may be the best imitation of a living insect that has ever been created - long flowing hackles that suggest movement and life. I've always used partridge to capture this effect but now am moving over to the possibilities of starling and the spider style of tying. First, starling is perfect for those smaller flies of #16 and under and secondly,the spider style (no thorax and the hackle wrapped a step back along the hook) just has that traditional appeal that I like. So do the trout!! One style that has crossed my vise is the tying of a thread body, then winding on a soft hackle and then finishing with a pronounced "head" on the fly. (nymphs are thicker in the front and slimmer in the back). Size and profile matter most in fly tying, color comes in third.
Thank you Gary Cranson for showing me the Black Spider. As the English would say, "It's a killing pattern".
Photo by Thomas Ames Jr.
The insect is the reliable Isonychia Bicolor AKA Leadwing Coachman, a common season long Mayfly on New England trout streams and the possible reason for our inability to even get a rise from the free roaming browns on the Ware River. I captured on of these guys as it rode down the surface of the current which is highly unusual because it usually (almost always) emerges on rocks along the surface instead of moving up the water column. Thomas Ames says that a large dry fly (size 12) with a dark brown body and slate colored wings is hardly refused. I had nothing but lighter colored flies in that large size. I still think that color is not that important but..... Maybe that is why our only action was on black spiders!!
And The Swift
In over 25 years of fishing below route 9 I can easily state that this year has had the fewest anglers that I have EVER seen down there. Maybe that's because this year has had the fewest TROUT that I've ever seen down there! That seems to be the opinion of most regulars that ply the Pipe and the Tree Pool and hundreds of years of experience and observation can't be all wrong. Now, is this all bad? I think not. First, it wiped out the "putting green" scene and forced some anglers to fish other spots or better yet, other rivers. The other rivers, especially the Millers, Ware and the WB of the Westfield have been great and the DFW should be recognized for this. Second, Cady Lane has been steady in it's supply of native brook trout with a few bows thrown in for good measure.
Now, reliable sources say that we will have plenty of fish for the regulation change on July 1. Some fish is good but not too many or the crowd seen will be back in full force.
"It is a fabulously ugly fly, cheap and quick to make, and very effective. I like flies that are so easy to replace that I can make those kamikaze, hook the fish and lose the fly casts without even the briefest of second thoughts. I'm as impressed as anyone with artistic fly tying but, to be useful, flies must be thoughtlessly expendable" - John Gierach
It's been a wonderful Spring which has been full of guiding and fishing and fishing and guiding. I've been tramping over 8 different watersheds, catching trout and introducing many to these great waters. It dawned on me this weekend that I can't remember the last time my wading boots were dry!! I'm getting blown away by the interest in the Millers! Maybe a thousand Fly Fishing Guides to the Millers River since the beginning have been sent out but I still get many requests to guide on this river. It's not as easy a river to fish as some may say (unless you fish the stocking spots) and people will recognize that quickly.
The Ware and the West Branch of the Westfield have been great AND unpopulated by anglers. If the water levels stay up they will be good all Summer. Maybe I'll tell you about a special section on the MB!!!
We are now swinging into mid Summer which means that the freestone season will be an early morning and evening fishery. Want to get up early?? I'll meet you on the river at 6 or even 5am. Just request the starting time and we'll do it. 5 to 8ish pm is great also. I'm the only wading guide working these hours so contact me!!
Your Comments As I've said many times before the health of a blog is in the page views and READER comments. This blog is far ahead in page views compared to other owner operated sites. Here's the count for the last 10 posts before this one.
164 comments - Blogspot, Wordpress and the others count ALL comments even the ones from the blog author(s). Many times the author(s) account for close to or even more than 50% of the total comments if they get any. This blog had 164 comments in the last 10 posts of which only 29% were from me (I have to answer questions sometimes). The other 71% were from READERS and they were not of the "pretty brookie, pretty bow" variety but hard core info on WHAT river trout were caught, WHERE on that river they were caught and what they were using. That's a REAL community and it's much appreciated. Keep writing and reading the comments!!!!!
It's been a very good two months. Adjust your hours and it will continue.
"Dumping or relegating flies is best done during the coldest week of the year, when you're as close to being objective as you'll ever get. Flies that have stayed in a fly box for even a single season are probably useless and should be moved aside" - John Gierach
Every once and awhile you get a break from the usual and today was that opportunity. My client was Gary and he is a DRY FLY MAN. No buggers or beadheads for him but only the real thing - the Dry Fly! And I'm not talking about a namby pamby # 18 parachute but good old freestone dries and even more. I'm talking about # 12 parachute Adams's, and a monster which we call the Chernobyl Shaving Brush. The Orcutt bows and browns loved these oversized critters. And why not! Big caddis were in the air and big stones have in fluttering for days. Give them what they want.
The Kempfield section was even better. We took another 4 browns and bows on large caddis dries and missed even more.
I will say that the Millers River is the BEST river right now for the wading fly fisher in Massachusetts.
All of the rivers are fishing well (Swift??) and it should continue for those who are early risers or are not afraid of the dark through the Summer.
" It is wrong to take advantage of someones misfortune unless you are in sales and the other person is also in sales" - Me
NOTE: NESN is airing a show on Central Ma. fly fishing with yours truly. 6pm tonight!
The fly fishing on the Millers has been unreal in May and June, only two days old, is off to a great start. Let's face it, a freestone has a special charm that a tailwater can only dream about. Both are dependent on stocked fish but tailwaters were created by the hand of man and are about as natural as an artificial Christmas Tree! Freestones change with the seasons and present natural challenges that you will not see on a tailwater unless they turn the water down to a trickle like they do sometimes. I fish tailwaters in the Winter and in bone dry Summers but my heart belongs to rivers like the Millers, the EB, the Ware and the WB. This weekend my client caught browns and bows up and down the Millers. Yesterday morning I took 3 browns in an hour with my CDC soft hackle casting to rising fish.
Summer Start Times
To take advantage of the coolest time of the day I will start guiding sessions not only at 8 am but at 7 am or even 6 am if you request it. 8 to 2pm can become 7 to 1pm or 6 to noon. Three hour sessions can go from 8 to 11 am or 7 to 10 am or from 6 to 9 am. Evening start times do not change. This will last until mid August.
Saltwater Tips
Last March I mentioned that I was doing some corrosion tests on freshwater hooks that I used in the Salt. From a total rinse to no clean up at all all the hooks are still strong and sharp. I did the same test with a cheapo cast aluminum fly reel and had no corrosion. Frequent commenter BobT wrote about how his father fished for stripers with an old Medalist and performed minimal cleanup on it. He also mentioned seeing photos of baseball great Ted Williams bonefishing with a medalist and Rodney Flagg always used one on Joppa Flats stipers. There's a lesson here: don't get oversold when you want to get your feet wet in salt water fly fishing. BTW, the cheapo reel is a Cabelas Wind River that set me back $30. I landed good sized stripers and blues this past year and that drag doesn't miss a beat.
More Saltwater tips
Try to avoid using stocking foot waders. If you fish the surf and tidal streams your boots will load up with SAND and you'll never clean them up. Wade wet or get a cheap pair of boot waders = problem solved.
If you fish tidal rivers or the surf go with a FULL SINKING LINE instead of an intermediate sinking line. An intermediate will work in sheltered bays, flats and small tidal rivers but will not get it done when the tide is roaring or the waves are crashing. Even a clouser will be out of the strike zone if an intermediate line is your choice.
Dump any thought of a tapered leader!! You will not need it. I use 6 feet of straight 12 to 15lb mono
and it has never failed me. I've thought about a 25lb shock tippet but until I lose a fish I'll pass on that.
A 9 foot 8wt will suit 90% of your New England striper needs. The Newburyport area has been the home to a lot of schoolies in the 16 to 24 inch range lately. That's when I break out the 6wt (full sinking line of course) and have a ball. There's a guide in that area that uses a 4wt!!!!!!!
This has been a good Spring. Don't miss the rest of it. Book me! I have 6 rivers to choose from!
