An EB Primer, Getting Ready For Spring And Book Me

The greatest enemy of "good" is "better". -Voltaire

If you've been a reader of this blog for the last dozen years you will you know that I love the EB (also known as the East Branch of the Westfield) which may be why I fish and write about it so often. It's a great river but every so often we have to root out the half truths and conventional wisdom that seem to creep into the picture.  Let's talk about what this river IS and what it isn't.

  

1. You can have 30, 40 and 50 fish days on the EB - Sure, as long as you can still see the stocking truck tire prints.  It's just like every other river, freestone of not. The trout get thrown in, mill around in a group and snap at everything and then we get a rain event and they get scattered and you wonder where they are.  A few Octobers ago Charlie Shadan of the Evening Sun Fly Shop called and asked if the EB had gotten it's Fall stocking yet. I said YES and that I had two clients with over 60 fish between them. Charlie said that a VERY good fisherman just spent all day there and caught one or two fish. I reminded Charlie that we had a 3 inch rainstorm between when my guys fished and when his guy fished. That changed everything!!!  I love a big rain event on this river.  It makes things very interesting. Double Digit Days are still common and they can be had if you follow a few rules.

2. Fish Early/Fish Late - Yes, you can do it, it just takes some planning and a shot of discipline.  May, early to mid June and October will guarantee the correct air/water temperatures for good mid day fishing but Summer mornings (5 a.m. to 10 a.m.) and Summer evenings (5 p.m. through dark) give you plenty of surface chances. Summer is my favorite time on a good freestone. My best (fish count) on a Summer evening on the EB had me landing 20+ trout in about 3 hours on a large dry stonefly. It was very fast action. My best Summer morning occurred in late August with a flow around 80 cfs (low) and I took over 20, mostly browns, on a size 18 BWO emerger/dry. These were veteran trout that hadn't seen a stocking truck in months or many anglers for that matter either.  My friend and local fish hawk Gary C. is devoted to early Summer mornings.   He does well!!!

3. Favorite Flies To Look For - That juicy morsel on that rock is a damsel fly and it will appear en masse during the first week in June on any warm, very sunny morning. Don't start tying dry patterns for this one but tie up some size 12 olive or brown Wooley Buggers because it's the nymph stage we want to imitate.  These nymphs act like stonflies by crawling to the shore or onto mid stream rocks to hatch by the thousands!!  I've seen trout beach themselves by chasing the nymphs.

4. Big, bushy stoneflies work for me especially in the riffles. Any BWO in sizes 18 through 26 will cover the tiny mayfly game and my old pal the Olive Comparadun, size 14 to 16 is my go-to sundown fly.  Thrown in a few Pheasant tail nymphs and you are armed and ready!!!

Some will say that there are large sections of "uninteresting/empty" water but that's because they are there at the wrong time of day, especially for browns!!!  I've caught trout where trout should not be on this river!!

I've been to the EB on a late Summer afternoon 5-6pm) and worked a large stonefly but then saw that a smaller mayfly was beginning to come off. I changed the fly to that insect (a size 16 olive comparadun) seemed right and it was and it will always be if my experience is any indication.  Experience counts!!!!

Trout Stocking-

Don'teventhinkaboutityet!!!!! It's way too early   We have another 4 inches of snow coming tonight and the trucks will hold off on the rivers for a while. Tie flies and dream instead unless you chase LL salmon on the Swift!

Book Me- There are lots of dates open on rivers that NOBODY guides on but where we have good days catching trout


Think of the EB from the second week of May and through the Summer if the flows are ok (this site will tell you) and then fish it, SLOWLY. Drift a pheasant tail, beaded if required, through likely holding water and you should do well (20 fish days? How about 10 fish days if you're doing it well, that's good too).

Fish the EB!! If you want to learn this river and not the usual "hot spots" then book a trip with me. You will learn and be able to come back by yourself and know the river!

Ken