Quiet Places, Roaring Rivers And A Helpful Hint

"Lawyers are like nuclear weapons. By all rights they shouldn't exist, but if some people have them, then you'd better have one too, just in case" - John Gierach

I haven't been to the Y Pool since April and my longest stretch at the Pipe was for a half an hour because there was only one other fly fisher there until the place filled up and that's when I left. Cady Lane has been lonely although I never feel lonely down there. Fewer visible fish mean fewer visible fishermen and that's a fact of life. Catching fish is important and catching difficult fish is VERY important but catching fish in a beautiful place is what I enjoy. Cady Lane can do that, the Gauge Run is another place and the flats from Rt 9 to the Duck Pond is another. I've written about these places for years but the Y and the Pipe are the magnets and that's where people will end up and I think that will never change. Let's not forget Bondsville either!!!!!

What Flies Are Working?  Well, soft hackles always do but I've I've been doing well with a size 18 PT hybrid with a olive colored plastic seed bead at the head. The bead adds virtually no weight but just gives it a certain look and with a peacock collar the bows, from 16 to 20 inches, like it too!

Roaring Rivers

As I write BOTH the Millers and the EB are at 1040 cfs. Most freestones from the Pioneer Valley westward are flowing very high but freestones in EAST of there are running above average flows but are totally fishable. The Swift and the Farmie, being tailwaters, are under control and will see the usual hordes this weekend. Get there very early or better yet, stay late.

A Helpful Hint

I must have been a picky eater as a kid because I can remember my mother saying "Eat your dinner, don't play with your dinner". One can say pretty much the same for flyfishing: "Play your fish, don't play with your fish"! Avoid the conventional wisdom that requires one to play the trout with the rod held low and from side to side. A hooked trout wants to go DOWN where it can wrap your leader around anything that's in the way. The trout does NOT want to go UP. Make it go UP. Make it thrash on the surface which will exhaust it in no time and this is done by keeping the rod UP and using the bending and flex of the rod to work against the fish. We forget what Lee Wulff said years ago and that was that the rod is an important element in your drag system. You should use it!!!


Ken

Bamboo, Brookies, The Rain And This Fall

"Cell phones have changed us from a nation of self-reliant pioneer types into a bunch of men standing alone in supermarkeys saying"Okay, I'm in the tampon aisle but I don't see it" - John Gierach

At 6:45 there were 2 cars at the Pipe lot. At 11:00 there were 10. Everyone was working the Pipe/Tree lot and not with a lot of luck. I spent an hour at the top of the Tree Pool and had 3 hits but nothing in the net (strange). A pheasant tail got the hits and a SH got ignored so when things got just tooo crowded (5) I slipped down to Cady Lane with my 7 foot 4 wt bamboo rod  where I had the place to myself. I don't like crowded conditions which drain the essence of what we try to do.

It was there that the soft hackles (starling and orange) came to life with 4 brookies and two bows in the net. Two of the brookies approached 12 inches and were absolutely gorgeous. The problem was that I didn't see the number of brook trout that we've seen in the last 3 or 4 years. Three years ago I guided a teenage beginner who caught a dozen because there were many dozen in the current below us. Not this year! Maybe it's the high flow or maybe it's just the cycle of things. Time will tell.

As most of you readers know I am not one for fishing crowded waters. I'll go to a popular spot and if I'm just one of very few I'll fish the spot. As soon as it gets crowded I'll head South or North or East or West. Most of my clients feel the same way. "Show me some out of the way places" they say and I do. It's kind of sad that 90% of the fishing is confined to 10% of the water and this has little to do with stocking points. It has more to do with the length of the walk!

The Wet Weather

This weather is actually more like a monsoon than a Front related event. Wet air comes flying off the ocean and then condenses over the land with elevation really wringing out the moisture. The attached map shows this with the bulk of the blue dots (high flow) occurring west of the Connecticut River. As As I write the Millers is running at 784 and trending down. The EB is at 486 and has appeared to have peaked. Hopefully the Swift will drop from it's 133 flow down to it's historical 45-50 cfs flow and then stay there. All this rain has been a gift for our freestones and trout have been seen actually jumping out of the water Monday morning on the Millers. (No, I didn't catch them).



Book This Fall

It's not too early to think about this. In fact, it's right around the corner. Book a Fall trip. It's easy and you don't have to tie up your $$ with a deposit because I don't require one. Also don't forget about fishing the Millers on an August evening. It has always been a prime time for me!!

Ken

Back Home, Ready For August And A Dream Gig

"Many go fishing their entire lives without knowing it is not fish they are after" - Henry David Thoreau

It's good to be back home. Northeast Georgia is beautiful and full of trout but I am a homeboy at heart and was daydreaming of summer evenings on the Millers and the EB on the flight back which has always been my favorite time on those rivers. I will say one thing about Georgia fly fishing - the Upper Toccoa, a FREESTONE, may be one of the BEST freestones I've seen in the eastern USA. It is July but it was running cool and full enough to hold trout and a lot of them. I'll be back!!

I can honestly state that some of the best Millers/EB fly fishing has been from 7pm onward during late July and August and I've got over ten years of blog entries to back that up. Now, I admit to defaulting to the Swift during bankers hours if that's my only option but I would prefer to be on the Millers or the EB when the shadows fall and the trout begin to rise. The "Evening Rise" is a part of our legacy.

What's My Strategy?

First, I'm not there to drown flies but to catch rising trout. A typical start to an evening would be to get there around 6pm and toss something large to mimic a hopper, beetle or some dumb land insect that has found itself in the water. When I say "large" I am only talking about size 12 or so. This strategy has worked really well on the EB in the riffles and the heads of pools and it will continue to work until I begin to see the telltale rise forms of trout taking emerging insects. At this time I want to mimic whatever insect is getting ready to hatch. Notice I said "mimic" and not "match". You want something that is close in body size and profile (shape). The color should be of a brownish cream because that's the color of most (isonychia excluded) emerging insects (they're still wearing their exoskeleton ) at this time of year. Bob Wyatt's DHE emerger or a size 14 to 16 Comparadun will do the trick, especially a comparadun that can double as an emerger or an adult fly.

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The Water's Too Low

That's the excuse that's mostly heard about summer on the EB. Last year, during some low water conditions in August and September, I had some double digit mornings on that river working small soft hackles and then olive emergers. The flow was between 60 and 80 cfs and we had to hunt for the fish and then work hard to get them to take but we did it. The flow was the same in October when the DFW decided NOT to stock the EB because of LOW FLOW. I still don't think they believed the tales of us catching trout in skinny water!!!

Off To Argentina

Good friend Lenny, who has been a frequent supplier of worthwhile comments to this blog and a newly minted graduate of UMASS informed me that he has been hired by a fly fishing guide service in, of all places, ARGENTINA!!!!!!!!!! His stint is from early November to April which is their summer and prime time on those rivers.  I am very happy for him. It was only a few years ago that he was making the weekend drive from Brockton to fish our central/western Ma rivers and then making the transfer to UMASS in Amherst to be even closer.

Looking forward to some fish stories, Lenny!


Ken

The Toccoa River, Blue Ridge Georgia

You should check this place out!! Blue Ridge Georgia IS the Trout Capital of Georgia and the Toccoa River is it's crown jewel. A 2.5 hour flight and a 90 mile beeline out of Atlanta brings you to another world. Let's review the amenities:
Big Fish Live In The Toccoa
The climate is NOT the subtropical steam bath that us northerners would imagine. As I write this morning (sitting on the deck of course) the temperature is a balmy 61 degrees with a high projected to be 83. It's projected to be 85 back home today so it's a draw. An altitude of 1800 feet takes the stuffing out of the humidity too. We get a light shower in the late afternoon on some days and a light shower on some nights. Easily managed!

The average high in January is 49 degrees and in February it's 54. In Worcester, for those months, it's 31 and 35 respectively. This means that January and February down here are equal to our April in central Ma. Some years it snows (average of 5 inches), some years it doesn't.

The Terrain - Georgia has 26 peaks over 4000 feet and most are around Blue Ridge. The long growing season and about 60 inches of rain make for a lush temperate rain forest condition and the first thing that you notice is that the streams and tribs along hiking trails are full and flowing. THERE'S A LOT OF WATER HERE!! The forests are thicker and denser too. Springer Mountain, the southern end of the Appalachian Trail, is "just down the road a bit"!

After Fly Fishing Blue Ridge is cool without being an overdone tourist mecca like North Conway or Manchester VT. Lots of restaurants, breweries, fly shops and even a bamboo rod maker on Main Street!! Hiking has been great!!

Fly Fishing

The Toccoa is basically two rivers, the freestone above Blue Ridge Lake and the tail water below the lake. Above the lake it's a "delayed harvest", AKA C&R, from the Fall through the Spring and it's one of the most beautiful streams you can fish. The Tail water below the dam is packed with trout (and tubers) during the heat of the day. An online water release schedule is accurate and you must adhere to it because it comes up fast.DON'T TRY TO FISH THROUGH IT. LEAVE THE RIVER! Also take note that most fly fishers fish this tail water section WET during summer. Also take note again that this is not a slippery rock garden like the Deerfield or the EB. Wading is easy along the gravel and sand bottom and during non release times the flow is only knee to thigh deep in most places.

The Trout
Browns and bows are the game down here with the occasional brookie thrown in. One can hire a guide and drift through the lower Toccoa or explore the public access spots and branch out from there. It seems that EVERYONE uses indicators down here and it seemed that I got some long looks when I was swinging soft hackles which worked real well down here.

Blue Line Fishing
There are many small streams that feed the bigger rivers in this area. Noontootla Creek is one of them and it is a special regulation, wild trout stream. No bait and only one 16+ inch fish can be taken daily. Most of your fish will be 6 to 12 inches making it really a C&R stream. It can be tough going on this stream with very limited casting room. Use a short rod. Use a tenkara rod on the lower stretches.

Where We Stayed

Our "Cabin", totally surrounded by forest and with great views of the mountains, was within 5 miles of at least a half dozen prime public access spots on the Toccoa.

The owner, Steven Lockhart, appointed this place really well with just the right vibe to suit the outdoor minded. No garden gnomes here, just cool and tasteful digs. Two bedrooms, two baths, big deck, screened porch, hot tub, gas grill, AC and great views. More photos below.

I would not even think of recommending this place if I didn't think it was a great place to stay that happens to be surrounded by blue ribbon river fly fishing. If interested contact: Steven Lockhart at email address: aquaeuphoriallc@gmail.com   or  www.airbnb.com/r/sandral28005

Ken

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The Heat, The Drought And Blue Ridge Georgia

"Fly fishing does have its social aspects - on some of our crowded trout streams it can get too social - but essentially it's a solitary, contemplative sport. People are left alone with themselves in beautiful surroundings to try to accomplish something that seems to have genuine value." John Gierach

A few points:
Ok, it's hot and fairly dry except for the rain that tweaked up the EB three days ago. Get there early or get there late for the best fishing. Same with the Millers. Those browns can be caught and released if done quickly without any extended photo opts especially those with the fish lying on the ground.

Fish the Gypsy Moth hatch especially on the Swift. Use my imitation (two posts back) or throw on a Chubby Chernobyl. It's been working.

Thank you for the multitude of comments over the last few months. This blog has been averaging well over a 100 comments for every 10 posts AND the vast majority have been from readers (not from me) AND they are REAL comments about technique, flies, places to fish and not sugar coated "what a pretty fish" filler. THANK YOU!!!

Now, what's this Blue Ridge Ga thing?? That's where I've been for the last two days and for a few more.

Things to know about Blue Ridge:

It has a base elevation of 1800 feet and is surrounded by mountains that rise to 3000 feet.

The high temperature in Massachusetts today will be 92. The high temperature in Blue Ridge will be 82.

High temperatures in January will hit the 50's. Spring is in full stride in early March.

BLUE RIDGE IS THE TROUT FISHING CAPITAL OF GEORGIA!!!!! This is the result of a number of tail water dams built decades ago and a number of guides that work the rivers, the Toccoa River in particular. I'll supply more info latter this week.

Did I mention that it is absolutely beautiful down here???

Ken

A Swift Morning, And A Word About Freestones

At 6:30 there was NOBODY on the lower Swift which was strange because on Tuesday there were six cars in the lot at 7am. I had been dreaming about gypsy moth flies and wanted to stake my place at Cady Lane with its placid flow and with gypsy moth flies falling into the river but with an empty river I decided to spy on the Tree Pool first. It was odd when I saw a light but steady parade of sulphur like mayfiles floating downstream but any rises were coming from the PIPE Run and not at the Tree Pool. Go to the Pipe. A sulphur nymph did the job, first with a foot long brookie and then with four bows the largest being close to 20 inches that decided to go airborne during a prolonged fight. Funny, but the Pipe has been only so-so for the people that I met in the last week but when you see mayflies sailing through the "tree" go to the fast water above because that's where the feeding fish are!

The first angler arrived, saw the aerial display of that big bow, and that sent me down to my original choice being Cady Lane. On went a Gypsy Moth. I failed the hook set on the first and then took a second which was a bow and a good one. Moths started to hit the water by 8:30 but they didn't seem too active. As Andrew (AKA Falsecast) said they need to be flopping on the water with some movement to get trout excited. These guys were still chilled by the air (52 degrees when I got there) so the action was slower. (Note to self: kill the early start during the Moth Hatch).

I then went to the "top" of Cady to fish the riffle water that only appears when the water is high as it is now. This is a good place and starts just below the Tree Pool and ends as the flow settles out a 100 yards downstream. I took two bows in that water with a PT nymph and had nobody around me. YOU SHOULD FISH THIS SPOT!!

A good Morning!!!!

Freestones in Summer - Take your advice from those who have spent decades fishing freestones in the Summer. Here's the advise: trout feed the most actively between the water temperatures of 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. That doesn't mean that they stop feeding at 66 degrees BUT it means they reduce their feeding needs as the temperature goes above 65. IT'S A SELF REGULATING ENVIRONMENT!!! Go ahead and fish at 75 degrees but you may catch nothing because they have no need to feed actively. Browns have been caught while surface feeding on the Millers over the last 30 years at DUSK or after nightfall when the water temperature is about 70 degrees. Over the decades I have broken off browns on warm Summer evenings and then hooked and caught them again anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours later and retrieved my original fly! Listen to some without that dusk experience and you would think that the trout was going to crawl under a rock and die!!!

Low water temperature does the same thing. When water temperatures drop in Winter trout almost reduce or cease feeding depending on how cold the water is. One former blogger (he had three blogs that sank without a trace) was hellbent on telling me that trout HAD to feed more actively in the Winter to keep their energy levels up to survive the winter. That makes sense if trout were WARM BLOODED and not COLD BLOODED! I still don't think he gets it!!!

Note: Notice that the trout shown in this blog are photographed "in the net" (the net is quickly lifted out of the water for the photo) and then quickly returned to the river. Sometimes one may be hand held but only for a few seconds and only in cold weather. You will not find photos of beached trout laying on the riverside rocks for the photo opportunity!!!!!!!

If you don't use a stomach pump you are doing the trout a favor. Remember, you just caught the trout so you have a good idea what it's been feeding on. Tailwater trout feed on TINY organisms and it takes MANY of these to maintain it's weight. So why rob them of hours of feeding activity, right?????

Ken

The Gypsy Moth AND A Lost Fly Box

"Dry fly fishing isn't just fishing with sub size 20 flies. It's fishing to imitate the existing insect that's on the water." - Me
Top                                                  Someone lost a green Orvis fly box about a hundred yards above Cady Lane.  If you find it notify me and I'll get it to the owner. - Ken

Ok, you've seen them all over the Swift or anywhere there are oak trees. The trout don't like the caterpillars (too hairy) but love the adult moth and this pattern works!

Hook - size 12 dry

Body - tan dubbing dubbed thick

Hackle - two large (size 8 to 10) hackles, one brown and the other tan wrapped over each other.

Trim the hackles top and bottom leaving about a 1/16 of an inch long stub top and bottom. Slightly trim the sides but leave them on the long side.

The living moth has two predominant "ears" that can be represented with grey CDC. Don't bother because the trout don't care.

This "hatch" should be around central Massachusetts for another two weeks and then that's it although trout have a good memory and also may take it as a land insect. I'll be on the Swift tomorrow using some.

Ken

Angling Books, Avoiding The Crowds By Booking A Trip And A Basic Emerger

"Fish sense, applied in the field, is what the old Zen masters would call enlightenment: simply the ability to see what's right in front of you without having to sift through a lot of thoughts and theories and, yes, expensive fishing tackle" - John Gierach

Fellow fly fisher Samuel from Amherst College gave me the information below concerning an exhibition of something that is dear to many of us and that is the world of angling literature. Remember, not all literature is best downloaded but held in your hands in front a fireplace on a cold winter night. I will find the time to view this exhibit especially the classic rods and reels.

Thanks Samuel!

"This summer Archives and Special Collections in the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College is presenting an exhibition of selections from the Lane Collection of angling books.  On view are some of the best-known books on fly fishing, both historical and contemporary, along with some classic rods and reels. 

For people interested in angling literature, the books in the collection are also available for use in library.

Archives and Special Collections is located on A level of Frost Library on the Amherst College campus and is open M-F from 9:00-4:00. 

The exhibition will be on view until mid-September."

I think I got too used to being alone on the lower Swift this Spring. Sure, the picking were slim but the solitude was almost like a security blanket. No lines of anglers looking for a position, no tangled lines and no rubbish to pick up. That ended with the stocking last Friday which means that I will fish the hidden places which are right in front of our noses. During the past week I guided two anglers on separate trips and showed them spots that are seldom fished and we caught trout. Most Fly fishers only fish the Y Pool and the Pipe area and ignore the rest. Book a trip with me and I'll show you the rest!

SNOWSHOE EMERGER

Author Bob Wyatt really turned my head around with his book What Trout Want: The Educated Trout And other Myths. His DHE Dry has nothing but the basic triggers that all natural material flies need and it absolutely works. It reminds me of The Swift's Dan Trela and the snowshoe emerger that he tied at a Western Ma Flyfishermens meeting a few years ago. I love this fly and use it on the Millers a lot.

Hook - size 14 through 18 standard dry

Tail (shuck) - gray z-lon

Body - I like olive

Wing - Snowshoe hare (don't overdo it)

Head - brown rabbit in gray or brown

Now, this fly is a good imitation of either a mayfly or a caddis in the same way that a soft hackle can represent both insects. In fact, I may tie this with a RED body, a WHITE wing and a BLUE head and call it the Forth of July Caddis!!! I bet it would still work. (that's what Wyatt has done to my head).

The Heat, Small Soft Hackles And Happy 4th Of July

"No misanthropist, I must confess that I like and frequently prefer to fish alone. Of course in a sense all dedicated fishermen must fish alone; the pursuit is essentially a solitary one. - Robert Traver

Don't worry too much about the heat because Mother Nature gave us a gift last week and that was a few inches of rain throughout New England. As I've seen through the decades heat AND drought are very tough on freestone trout but if we get rain the adverse effect can be minimal. As I write most rivers are over their daily average flows and that is good. Your freestone may show a high hand held temperature BUT the feeder tributaries are running and the aquifer has been recharged. Trout will find these cool spots, reduce their feeding and just weather it out. Your freestone fishing will be in the very early morning (4 to 7am) or in the evening from 8pm onward. Hope for rain on a weekly basis and things will be fine. Having no long heat waves will make it even better!

Or You Can Fish the Tailwaters

The Swift is loaded with trout. Now, try to visit some out of the way spots instead of going to the same old spots like the Y Pool or the Pipe/Tree Pool section. You can do it, I know you can!!! I know four spots where I'll have a good stretch all to myself.

I fished the Deerfield early Monday morning after a 25 year hiatus and was greeted with 68 degree water at 6:30 am. We still caught trout under that low water condition with dries which is my favorite style of fly fishing. I'll be back later this season.

This is the season where my soft hackle inventory goes up in quantity and down in size. These are the flies that I use for rivers like the Swift and will be with me when I spend a few days on the Farmington in August. Size 16 is the largest and then down to size 20 and they are scaled down with trim bodies and many without a thorax. Try them out with natural starling or the smallest of partridge hackle.

Have a happy 4th of July!!

Ken