A Bamboo Morning - Summer At Its Best

"If I fished only to catch fish, my fishing trips would have ended long ago" - Zane Grey

I needed a break. I had just finished a L O N G stretch of guiding and needed to practice what I preach, so to speak. It's time to go fishing and on a 90 degree day the frigid Swift would be would be perfect. It was also time to bend some bamboo. I chose my 7.5 foot Swift River Sierra made by bamboo craftsman Rick Taupier of New Salem. It was designed for a 4 weight line but on the skinny water of the Swift I match the rod with a 3 weight double taper and it is perfect. I loaded my soft hackle box with some freshly minted partridge and yellows (sulphurs) and packed two slices of cold pizza in the cooler. (Note: I love cold pizza especially in the morning and as a stream side lunch it certainly beats that noxious combination of peanut butter and jelly!!! It's ok to eat PB&J if you're eight years old and your mother made it for you!!)

There's one other thing. I wanted to fish alone. John Gierach was right when he stated that flyfishers can be solitary, contemplative and a tad misanthropic. This sport lends itself to the people who don't like crowds. That's what golf is for!!! So, the Y Pool and that area failed to make the cut. So did the Pipe. It is a safe assumption that 90% of the people fishing the Swift this morning were packed into those two areas and the rest of the river would be empty. I was right!!!

I chose a section that had ultra skinny water with a slow flow. It's the kind of water that makes most flyfishers, especially euro nymphers, pack up for somewhere else. It looked fishless. That's why I fished it!!

Things change once you are in the water. The tiny sipping rise that you thought was a tiny brookie ended up being a 13 inch brown that ripped line from your reel.(there were 2 of them) Rainbows seemed to just appear in the river and would just barely rise to my #18 Soft Hackle and then go screaming downstream when they felt the hook. I ended up fishing about 200 yards in four hours and took eleven.

Cedar Waxwings were flying in mass picking off the hatching sulphurs. (thank you Chuck for the bird identification) One came so close to my face I could feel the wing beat. The morning sun had that mid summer glow to it, much like a Monet painting and I didn't come within 200 yards of another fly fisher. I was really in my element and enjoying it all.

If getting away from the crowd and fishing out of the way places on the most popular Massachusetts river is to your liking then just contact me.  If you want to  bounce weighted flies you might best go elsewhere.  This will be long leaders, small flies and gentle casts.


Marked Bows

When fishing the Swift check to see if the fish has had an adipose fin clipped, if it has a punched hole in its tail or no markings at all.  I will assume the DFW would want that data.

The Other Rivers

They all got a shot in the arm with the heavy storms that came through the region on Wednesday and right now the Millers and the EB are right where they should be.  Of course, we will have three days in a row in the high 90's and that will not be good. Fish the Swift!!!!

Ken