"Above all,observe the fish. Better yet, observe the trout as if you were a predator that needs to catch it, not just a participant in a game. Edited-for-action fly fishing videos, won't really prepare you for approaching big, spooky trout. Watching your pet cat will give you a better idea of how a predator moves when stalking it's prey" Bob Wyatt,What Trout Want:The Educated Trout And Other Myths
The MB is the smallest of the Westfield Branches and is about the size of the Mill River along Rt 9 in Haydenville and like the Mill is totally overlooked. There seems to be a growing population of fly anglers who thumb their noses at any river that isn't a Class A tailwater. GOOD!!! That means more great water for the rest of us!!! The MB and the WB are in the same neck of the woods. One makes a good 3 hour trip and together they make a good 6 hour trip. BOOK ME!!
A Quill Gordon
Tenkara Spring
This high water Winter and Spring have forced us to fish the smaller waters that have been been ignored in the past. These rivers can get into shape quickly and they are PERFECT for a Tenkara rod. Say hello to "Asian Nymphing" and book a trip!!!
Tenkara Water
State of the Rivers
The Millers - 1580 and dropping a 100 cfs a day. Without rain we will fish it by the weekend
The Ware - holding steady at 730 which is really too high
The Swift - slowly coming down at 1110 cfs as I write. It was at 1200 on Friday and this decline isn't FAST ENOUGH
The EB - 747 as I write but only 643 on last Friday means rain in the Berkshires!! WE WERE ABLE TO FISH IT IN SECTIONS and caught trout. We only need 48 hours of dry weather to make this river drop like a rock.
The MB - The top river of the weekend!!!!
The WB - This river should get some fish this week and I can't wait!!!!
Ken
7 comments:
The Swift is 'down' to 925 cfs.
Many other streams are falling significantly as leaves emerge and rain abates.
Like many others, I am fishing other streams, and having a blast.
We are fortunate that the tailwater is not the only game in town.
Bob O,
Only 825 cfs to go!!!!!
en
On the WB at 7am this morning, caught 3 trout all fooled with a #10 Gartside soft hackle streamer, only saw 2 other anglers on the river.
Ken,
As limited as the access points still are on the Swift, there continues to be one advantage of this high water....very few folks bothers to fish it. Having this beautiful and conveniently located river all to oneself is a rare treat. Last week at 1200-1300 cfs flow rate, I saw absolutely no one fishing. Yesterday, at 950ish cfs, I ran into veteran Swift fisherman Bill as well as three other folks who were there for very short stints. Bill told me he landed a nice 28 inch salmon on a goldie ( and on a 2 wt rod! ) and another couple of guys landed a couple of salmon in bubbler arm on a Higa SOS pattern.
While I completely agree with how fun it is to explore/learn new rivers with lower flows, I also have found it interesting to figure out ways to adapt to a well known river like the Swift as the flows change dramatically, assuming safe access.
Since there were no insects in the air or fish breaking the surface, I picked up where I left off the week before by fishing streamers on the end of a sinking line. I kicked things off around noon and the flow was noticeably slower yesterday and the water in the spillway arm was not as clear as the week before. Things were very slow for the first 60-90 minutes as I worked through 5-6 different patterns trying to find something that worked. While the grey ghost had worked best last week, it only resulted in one major strike this week and it was an olive bugger that brought a couple of bows to the net.
There were LOTS of midges buzzing around my head so I decided to switch to a floating line and fish some nymphs under an indicator. A size 20-22 black zebra brought a couple more feisty bows to the net. I began to see more rises around 4 pm so I thankfully ditched the indicator and started fishing a size 16 bead head hare's ear. This landed a few more bows with a across/down & across presentation. None of the rainbows were holdovers, so with time, I'm sure they'll be harder to fool. I had to leave the river around 6:30ish, but in the last half hour, I noticed bows shooting up very quickly from the depths to take something that was emerging. I couldn't see any caddis or mayflies in the air, so I'm not sure what they were after. Any guesses?
Paul
Paul,
You did well and that's great. I for one praise the Swift for its low water nymphing and dry fly action. After 6 months of flood, that included salmon, I can say that I'm tired of that and have gone to more traditional venues like the branches of the Westfield that seem to be more in tune with fly fishing in the month of May. I'll see the Swift later.
Gary,
I'll be there around 1pm tomorrow (Friday). I can't wait!!
Ken
Reporting from Eastern Mass, since I haven't made it out to Swift/Millers/Westfield due to high water flows reported.
Nissitissit is stocked and fishing well. I had Colombo C&R to Myself (with dog Scout) tonight 5:30 to 7:30. Caught brookies and bows including a big one (17ish) all on dry flies (#16 BWO, #10 brown Caddis). Landed a bunch of hard fighting stockers, and lost several more.
May get to E.B. tomorrow, else back to Nissi.
Thanks for your work Ken
DRL,
Thank you and glad to see that we have some dry fly action!!!
Ken
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