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.
Ken
11 comments:
The Millers has been great. Really can't believe how it's held up. Took two on the surface and one below!
GW
You are so right about the Millers Ken. Been fishing it for over 20 years and there is something crazy going on this year. I want to believe its the years of stewardship you and others have put into it, and this will be the new norm! That, or they fed those trout something special this year in the hatchery! Honestly I think its a combo of #1, and the perfect conditions this year. Hope it keeps up!
Ken - I've been out a couple of times to the Miller's myself. I saw some nice stonefly's, I am assuming they were golden stone nymphs. Do you have any luck with the Golden's?
Is the bear's den fishing as well as other spots?
Needed the rain, but it's draining away quickly.
Fished the millers tonight. Not my home waters but i get there once or twice a year. Kempfield area was good. Brown on a tan caddis..2 smallies on a coffin fly....yes a coffin fly. Biggest fly i could find that looked close to a dragon fly. Fish were jumping for them from 4-7 when i was there. Skated another bid stimulator. When it submerged on the swing i got two bows in tailouts. Orcutt area was very slow 7-9. Mostly chubs n bluegill were breaking the surface. Did get one hefty bow on another swung stimulator above the bridge. Flow was pretty good.
Bigdawg,
It's been great and if we have a normal wet summer it will stay that way.
Falsecast,
I've had luck with goldens on the Millers but more luck on the EB
mattk,
The Coffin fly is an old Catskill pattern. Haven't seen one in years!!
Ken
Hi Ken, The upper trestle pool was fishing well last night from 6-9. We each had 3-4 nice browns as well as 3-4 big fat rainbows that plowed through the water like oxen. I was catching them on the chubby chernoble as well as a hackled pheasant tail nymph dropper and "Ricky Bobby" was catching them mainly on dark colored wooly buggers both swung and dead drifted. Fish were caught both by wading out to rock bar in mid-river and working that stretch as well as the pocket water at the top of the pool and the nice deep run closest to shore you hike into. Question - while we saw caddis, mayflies and stoneflies, one which landed on me and kept me company for awhile, there was one giant flying insect that I had never seen before. It almost looked like a flying drone with long, evenly sized/spaced legs surrounding its body, long antennae and it had an light orangy/tan color. Any ideas on what that might have been. Needless to say, it attracted the trouts' attention when it occasionally touched down.
Thanks,
Paul
Paul,
My guess is that the mystery insect was either a large stonefly or a large crane fly. Both hatch around now.
Glad that you had a good night!!!
Ken
1st bow of the summer, fooled with a #14 white spider. On the EB this morning at 7am off at 10am, air temp 52 water temp 55. I saw 4 other anglers on the river which was very fishable at around 115 cfs.
Good guess Ken! I looked up a picture of a crane fly and that is exactly what it looked like! What I thought were large antennae were mostly likely the front two legs. What patterns would you fish to imitate that guy?
Thanks,
Paul
Hi Ken - Lots of bugs around late on the Miller's. I believe Paul probably saw a large black stonefly as I have seen a bunch too.
I got zipped, nothing today and I stayed late at the boulders and Kempfield. Not only that, I had a lot of feeding fish around me, not only that, I got good drifts. Tons of Caddis around, both the long antennae sedge and a large beige one, maybe green caddis too. None of my offerings did anything and I switched up a bunch. Possibly selectively taking emergers. Also, some of the trout were looking like they were eating damselflies or something?? Really aggressive, shark-like takes on the surface. Also, just breaching the water straight up. In the past, I put a brown woolly bugger in in and bam, but today nothing. Fish Gods humbled me, but that's fishing. Was a beautiful night to be out there. Water temps were ok. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow before it all ends to get payback :).
-Andrew
Gary,
Fished the EB in the Gorge area last night and had only two passes at my dry.
Paul,
Years ago I ran into a crane fly hatch at Saco Pond in the White Mountains. These guys are clumsy flyers and a stiff wind was knocking them back into the water. A large soft hackle did the trick. The trout would hit it as soon as it landed.
Andrew,
Damselflies!! Yes, I saw that this weekend! That "breaching" that you saw - I saw that twice in June over the past decade. They jump right out of the water straight up and if you are close enough you can hear the trout shake. Very weird, like they're trying to shake off a parasite. Only happens in low water too.
Ken
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