Scuds
My must have flies are as follows:
Scuds - always a great Fall and Winter fly. Tied less bushy than the traditional scuds Sizes 12 and 14.
A great midge fly. My top Midge fly below the Gauge.
One October afternoon a few years ago I took about 30 bows and brookies from the Pipe to the middle of the Tree Pool and it only took 2 hours to do it. Like I said, a great fly. Sizes 20, 22, 24
Soft Hackles
The Partridge and Orange and the Partridge and Olive will give you what you need. Brookies love the Orange. All sizes work! Partridge and Orange are in sizes 12, 14 and 16. Same with the Partridge and Olive with the addition of a size 18 in olive. This fly works on all rivers and has been my top Autumn fly for the EB. Check out the video clip on my site called the EB and Me to see what I mean.
Swift Serendipity
Another great midge pattern that works the best in the Fall and Winter. I tested this fly about 15 years ago and took a 16 inch brookie with it. It's been with me ever since. Sizes 18, 20 and 22
The Rivers
It's beginning to look like 2017 all over again - a bone crushing drought that leaves only the tailwaters like the Swift and the Farmie actually looking like trout streams. There are some local fish hawks who can still work their magic on this skinny water (that's Gary) but even they would like to see some rain to get us back to normal. I would hate to see us enter early winter with low water because that's a recipe for winter kill!!!
The forecast calls for some rain today 9/26, Tuesday 10/1 and Thursday 10/3 for a grand total of .27 inches! That's not enough but maybe the weather folks will be wrong. What a difference a year makes!!!
6 comments:
Today for me was a planned dry fly day. Got to the EB around 7:30, 45 degrees on the banks of the river, water temp was 58 degrees. 1st bow fooled on top with a #12 Hi float attractor,the 2nd bow was special to me (they all are) because it was fooled with a #13 dry of my own design tyed with synthetic hackle. There was a sulphur and brown caddis hatch,that started around 9 and no other anglers that I saw.
You are getting it done!!!!!
Ken
Ken, Based on your blog, I finally purchased a starling skin. What a difference tying the smaller soft hackles. Loving it, and I think the fish will too! Thank you for your advice. Truly appreciate this column. There's always a tidbit to be read that makes my fishing adventure enjoyable.
Bob O,
Thank you. You made my day!!! You will do well using starling. It is great stuff but a bit fragile but it's worth it.
Ken
"What a difference a year makes." Truly! Last year around this time I got myself an AirBnB for a week out by the Millers, with the intention of doing a hardcore exploration of the river. Couldn't even get in the water!
Doing my rain dance!
Dave P.
Ken,
I drove over the Ware this afternoon on the way to fish our gem of a tail water and it is unreal how low it is. Quaboag the same. Praying for rain same as you.
Partridge and orange produced a good number of brookies in the Swift. Same fly stopped suddenly on bottom or branch I thought until the head shakes started to confirm it was a trout. Just as suddenly the fly came loose and line tension brought it all back to me beyond and behind me. That took a while to sort out.
Toward the end I saw a riser and put a soft hackle emerger which I put floatant on into its zone and got an aggressive hit. A small brown was the riser and it was quickly released. I have caught a fair number of these small browns this year, maybe an experiment by DFW. Never caught them this small there before.
Best, Sam
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