Note: this is the big brown found dead on the Swift within the last few hours this Sunday morning 9/8/19
I was up by the Duck Pond when it flew by, a large osprey with a brown of at least 16 inches stuck in its talons. Later on that day a regular spies a brown of at least 28 inches above Cady Lane. I've taken more browns this Summer from the Swift than in any other Summer. A DFW employee involved in this past Summer's electroshocking said what is now becoming obvious - the Swift is becoming a brown trout river!!It wasn't always like this. We had some outsized browns years ago but not like today. A 21 lb brown (there are many in the 5 to 10lb range also) isn't an accident but the result of the stars being aligned just so. That alignment involves a stable cold water environment (thank you Quabbin) and an ample food supply in the form of a gazillion brook trout.
That ample food supply grows big brown trout quickly and they are fat, healthy fish. (Have you noticed that many photos of Farmington browns show a bunch of skinny, eel-like fish while Swift browns look like weight lifters?)
A BIG Swift Brown
You will begin to see more of these giants as we get into October. They will follow the brookie spawning run upstream picking off as many as they can. Two years ago I was about 20 yards downstream from the gauge watching a pod of brookies when a monster brown charged through the pack. I knew he wasn't interested in my #16 partridge and orange but wanted real calories. I think I may have a good brookie imitation worked up and ready to go but that's for the next post!!
I'm starting to book up for October and November. The Millers, Swift, EB and the Ware can be yours at the best time of the year. Because the days are already shorter my evening trips will go from 4 to 7pm instead of the summertime 5 to 8 schedule.
BOOK ME!!!
Ken
10 comments:
The big dead brown bothers me because I have the feeling that a lot of bait slingers and hardware guys went after this guy.
Ken
Fished the Deerfield CnR and was working up river and noticed to bait slingers perched up on a sand bar in lawn chairs reeling in trout and putting them on stringers! Not being sure what I first saw I gave them the benefit of the doubt until I saw them do it again and after this time I confronted both of them and told them it was catch and release only and that mass environmental police had been notified... they acted like they didn’t hear me and continued on for 15 mins more before packing up and leaving not sure if they had the stringer of trout or not or if the EP followed up with them.... completely unreal
Had a great day on the Swift, surprised I didn’t see you this morning. Fished from the Tree Pool all the way down to Cady. Got a good amount of 12-14” brookies, starting to show their brilliant colors. Also noticed a big brookie with its head poking out of the mats with a tail sticking out of its mouth. Went up above Rt. 9 and got a couple of bows.
Ken, what a shame about that big brown. Do you think someone was trying to snag it and caused that wound on the side or had a predator been pecking at it? Last fall a worm guy showed me a 20" brown that he took out of Bondsville saying he usually doesn't kill trout, but had to show his dad "this one". I pointed out to the nitwit he could have taken a picture of it.
Some pretty good action last evening for me as I changed things up a bit lengthening my leader like you posted recently, went with 6X instead of 5X along with a #16 olive soft hackle. First drift got action from a good sized rainbow and several more were connected with. Really nice fish which made me wonder if DFW had stocked rainbows recently, but their web site didn't show any recent stocking. A few brookies got into the action too and it is a pleasure to see how they are coloring up already.
Best, Sam
Phil,
I was at the Swift on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I guess I needed a break.
You are doing well this year!!!!
Sam,
No recent stockings. You just found the KEY!!!
Anonymous,
Someone was threatened by a spin fisher last week at the Y Pool!!!! Where are the environmental police!! They know of the situation.
Ken
EPolice very undermanned and I bet that fish poaching is low on their radar. They seem to be focused on recreational vehicles and boats. They need to get more officers and assign them to major resources like the Swift and Deerfield. A major bust of these poachers is badly needed.
Hi Ken,
I watched yesterday the "Central Mass. Trout" video linked in this posting and your guest, at the 13:43 mark, stated that when he tried to set the hook on a rising trout that engulfed his dry fly, he broke the tippet.
I had something similar happen to me this past Sunday at the Swift when I set the hook on a fish that hit my San Juan Worm under the surface: "poof" the fly was gone. It was a solid strike, so I'm assuming it was a decent sized fish. I was using a 5X tippet.
My question is: is there any technique you recommend for setting the hook with a light tippet which reduces the chance of breaking off the fly? Until I discovered your blog this summer, I fly fished mostly for bass here in Eastern MA and never had this problem before.
thanks and best regards,
Tom from Boston
Fished the Millers downstream of the Arch street bridge in Erving Tuesday late in the afternoon (3:30-6:30). Water was 68-69 degrees. Lots and lots of small mouth on small streamers in the faster water, particularly where it was deeper (caught over a dozen from one spot). In a pool several hundred yards down from the Arch street bridge I saw some rises. Not seeing much on the surface, I used a midge pattern and ran it over some of the rises. Got a few nice, gentle takes and they also were small mouths. Didn’t see or hook any trout but it was fun catching the smallies.
Chuck
Hi Ken,
When I was at the Swift a couple of weekends ago, I did see the state police, not the environmental police, go up to the Y pool to respond to a call that a couple of guys were spin casting up there. Not sure whether he caught them in the act, but EP must be way understaffed if the "Staties" are showing up. On the other hand, with the state police barracks 1/2 mile away, maybe it would be a good thing if they get involved.
This past Monday was a gorgeous day on the Swift. I spent the day fishing the surface and occasionally added a tiny nymph dropper. The action with beetles was Ok, but not as strong as last week. By mid afternoon I was getting big bows and browns to come to the surface for olive chubby chernobyls and of all things, a giant green foam hopper called....."hog caller hopper". I landed a nice brown on the latter and bow on the former. Also lost a couple, but it was impressive to see just how much attention, long follows and an occasional nose bump that those bigger
offering received. I'm not used to that on the Swift and was fun to see!
I also spied a few really beautiful 14+ inch brookies in the tweener zone and the gauge run. They were pinned to the bottom and seemed completely uninterested in eating.
Regards,
Paul
At the EB this morning about 7am the flow is low and there is a lot of skinny water. Air temp. was 59 degrees,water temps in the low 60's, all the springs and mountain brooks are still feeding the river. And it was raining, so I fooled 3 bows with a #10 red & black leech in 2 hours. An unwitnessed hat trick in the rain.
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