Flyfishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some hands, poetic in others, and laced with conflicting aesthetic considerations. It,s not even clear if catching fish is actually the point! - John Gierach
Buzzers - The English term for gnats and such and they've become part of my arsenal over the last two seasons. Davie MacPhail ties a neat buzzer but I've reduced the fly down to basic elements because I am a minimalist by nature AND I like tying lots of flies FAST.
HOOK - Scud hooks from size 14 through 20
BODY - You can go with stripped peacock (slower to tie and more fragile) or some 140 denier thread in either dark olive, black or brown.
RIB - fine copper wire
WING PAD - Here is the secret sauce for this pattern. I use Orange kevlar which I also use on my Partridge and Orange Soft hackles. It has a nice shiny, waxy look to it and mimics the budding wing pads of many gnat species which seem to have a orange shade to them. Now, McPhail ties orange gills on the underside of the thorax which really isn't necessary IMO. This fly, like all subsurface flies, tumbles in the current and Mr. Trout probably doesn't care if the orange is on the top or the bottom.
Coating - I don't use the UV stuff which I believe catches more fishermen than fish. I will use Sally Hensen's Hard as Nails on the quill bodies if I remember. It doesn't seem to make much of a difference.
Where to fish it - The Swift, of course, from the Bubbler arm (great spot) and below the Pipe. The Pipe flow is loaded with these critters and this fly has worked for me. The Millers is full of this type of insect and there are times when they exhibit something called "behavioral drift" where the entire population will begin to drift downstream just under the surface with trout in pursuit. The smart money says they're rising to buzzers!!
Fly Fishing Only Regulations - The Massachusetts DFW page concerning the Swift River (above RT 9) and a portion of the Nissitissit River defines fly fishing as using a "conventional fly rod and fly line". This is good as it eliminates those who fish with a spinning rod, a bobber and a drifting nymph and still claim to be fly fishing but it also eliminates Tenkara fishing because that rod and line set up are not "conventional" fly fishing equipment in the spirit of the law. Now, what if you have a fly rod, a fly reel, fly line and 40 feet of mono and have no intention of putting that fly line into play? Technically you are legal because you have a "conventional" fly line in possession even if it never gets wet. This style of fishing seems very much like mid west "Noodle Rod" fishing: 12 ft soft rods attached to large capacity fly reels that are loaded with 20lb mono (no fly line) which are then used to toss out strike indicators fished over everything from bait to actual flies. Noodle rod fishing is never confused with fly fishing!!
I would be inclined to issue a pass to Tenkara simply because it's aim is to simplify our sport which has a tendency to become overrun with equipment junkies and method madmen. It's good to take a Tenkara break every now and then and reset yourself. You can also catch a lot of trout this way!!!
A few yearsthe or so ago I experimented with 30+ foot leaders and thought they were novelty that worked well when conditions were good and didn't work well when conditions sucked. I then realized that my Tenkara rod could do the same thing so I went back to conventional equipment and feel good about it. Now, if I could only attach a fly reel to a Tenkara rod.........
Ken
Ken
12 comments:
I got out to the Swift yesterday 9/19 and hit the duck pond run and fished down to the pipe and tree pool. the 6-8" brookies were eager to hit swung partridge and orange / olive. the bows were not having anything. hung out in the tree pool trying every tiny midge in my box under a dry dropper or dead drifted. all thoroughly ignored or rejected. i was 'only' using 5x or 6x leaders and tippets. too heavy? they were keyed in on something very small and specific. the regulars were able to pick them up. wonderful fall day and a chill was in the air!
Nice tie. Regarding Tenkara, if you can cast a traditional rod/reel setup with just a long leader outside the tip, isn't that the same as Tenkara in that you are limited in casting distance? Maybe the regs need an upgrade?
I use 1-2# fly line and tippet on my tenkara rods. I use the back end of some cheap line. Works for me. I contacted the state about using it above rte. 9. They said it might be in a "gray" area. But it is a fly rod with fly line. They suggested it might be okay. Always up to the discretion of the agent. They said they have been looking at revisiting how tenkara rods are viewed vs fly traditional rods.
Bill/Tully and Anonymous 7:33,
The Ma regs for fly fishing only state that one must use a conventional rod and conventional line and that's it. Some states include a conventional fly reel. NY gets strict on the fly fishing only section of the Salmon River. Leaders cannot exceed 15 feet or it's not fly fishing.
Ken
Response to Mike Z:
I was on the Swift today (9/19) and I, too, fished below Rte. 9 to the Pipe. I skipped the Pipe entirely, and from there south through Cady Lane I took one 16" Rainbow, one 14" 'bow, and a 6" bow, and 5-6 brookies, none larger than 8". Just above the Pipe, at the USGS Gauge Shed, I took a beautiful 16" brown trout. I caught them all on a size 18 or 20 gold bead head pheasant tail with a 7 foot leader and 2 feet of 2X tippet. I also nabbed a total of 11 brookies.
Two weeks ago, I took a 20" rainbow on a size 6 Grey Ghost Streamer (black and yellow pattern) below the Pipe.
Everyone I talk to at the Swift swears by 6x and 7x tippets and size 28 - 32 flies. Somehow, I seem to do OK with what I'm throwing.
Tom from Boston
Unknown (Tom from Boston),
The great late Lefty Kreh once did an experiment on catching trout on heavy leaders like yours except he shortened the leaders to LESS than a foot and still caught trout. He said that leader thickness is a non factor with a sunken fly. I tend to believe him.
Ken
I read every blog and response, and I always learn something. This session is no exception. So, I thought I would ask a question for more knowledgeable fishers of these streams to chime in on (bet I'm not the only reader wondering this). I was at the Millers during the evening magic hour. I caught several smallmouths. Big browns were jumping completely out of the water. I know what to try on "normal" rises, but what are these fish doing and eating? Or are they just having as much fun as we do when the conditions are perfect? I tried hoppers, #12 caddis, #14 royal wulff, and an orange soft hackle pheasant tail (which I think one of them hit, but I missed). A rise of white flies (sulfurs??) was occurring, but I had left those in the car (bad prep, I know). I look forward to what you have to say. Thanks.
Charles
Charles,
I've seen this before but only during very low water flows in early Summer.(the current 70 cfs is very low). The browns exploded like missiles from the water. I was only about 4 feet from one when it left the water and that's when things got weird. The trout seemed to SHAKE when in the air. You could actually hear it! I did some research and the best explanation seemed to be that they may have had parasites on them (due to low flow?)and were trying to shake them off. As soon as the water level increased the activity stopped. I first saw this about 10 years ago.
Ken
^^^thank you Tom and Ken for the response and insight. next time, Im going to try more subsurface patterns. i was thinking to two-step downstream swinging streamers...but i thought 'nah, thatll never work'. next time. this blog / forum is great, thank you to everyone who shares their knowledge so openly. :-)
Mike and Kate,
Glad that you enjoy the blog!! This blog has always been free with naming rivers, locations and flies and this has never lessened our fishing experience. We are truly a fly fishing community and not just in name only!!
Ken
35 degrees on the banks of the EB for the last 2 mornings, still fooled trout both mornings with a #14 black spider, water is crystal clear and moving slow. Hopefully the river will be stocked next week, it can be in places, I hate to see hampden ponds get the fish again. Fished the EB almost every morning for 2 weeks no shutouts, water temp consistent around 55 degrees, and for 2 weeks I had the river to myself.
Gary, Thanks for the update but a word of caution. Two Octobers ago the EB was flowing at the same low rate as this year and they DIDN'T STOCK!! I don't think they checked out the Gorge but just drove over the Rt 143 bridge and said "Nope". The was plenty of water below the Gorge.
Ken
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