Fly Fishing Information On The Millers, Swift, Middle, West and East Branches Of the Westfield River and the Ware, and Mill rivers. YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR MA. FLY FISHING INFORMATION, the top ranked fly fishing blog in Massachusetts! WHAT FLY FISHERS READ!!
Autumn On The EB
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
An EB Afternoon And Book Me
I also would like to thank you! I’ve been fly fishing for a little over a year now and I can’t even begin to explain how helpful your blog has been to me. I’ve checked it daily since April and it’s helped me put countless fish in the net! Seriously thank you! -Reader Zack
This was the kind of day that I wrote about on Sunday- gray, overcast with a slight hint of drizzle. Perfect BWO weather on my favorite BWO river- the EB. Except I only saw one of the above insects in the few hours that I was there. That's ok because I wanted to play a different game. It's been tiny flies for a while and I wanted to pitch something meatier. What would friend Gary, the Admiral of the Westfield, do in a case like this? Maybe Pats Rubber Legs. It's worth a try. The river was last stocked three weeks ago and we had two rain events to scatter the trout so things would not be too easy. They would certainly be able to see this fly!!
They certainly did!! All eleven smashed this deep drifting bug and on one cast a bow hit the offering as soon as it hit the surface. All casts were within 20 feet and ALL trout hit on the drift. It's the only way to fish this fly.
The lucky spot was the Bliss Pool from the fast water above the main pool down to the mid section.
I decided to head downstream to the next good spot, The Chronicle Pool, and switched flies to a hellgramop (yup, you guessed it. That took another 5 before I called it an afternoon. It was a good 2 1/2 hours!!
This river is full of trout and if I had more time I would of caught more.
If I were you I would take the time to get up there. BTW, the bridge detour is history as is the 8 mile detour.
I've booked some dates since I posted the openings just yesterday. Don't wait too long. All of these rivers are fishable!!!!!!
Ken
17 comments:
Anonymous
said...
"All casts were within 20 feet and ALL trout hit on the drift. It's the only way to fish this fly." It is a great fly and works well highsticking or euronymphing.
On the EB at 8 this morning, air temp 50 degrees, water temp 52 degrees, which means still no waders. So the fish have spread out and that's great,last week I caught 15 fish in about 200 yds. (and lost 10 more), this morning I had to cover a quarter mile for 8 (lost none). Again mass wildlife great job, thanks. Fooled some of the fish with a #10 pats rubber legs and some with a #14 bh nymph and #5 flouro tippet. There was nobody else on the river and I was off at 11.
So back to EB this morning, 1st spot I drifted a #16 BH hares ear caddis (with my own dubbing blend) and fooled 3 nice bows, by the way I had to fight them in fast current and pull them 40 feet across the river. Hey Sam 16's may be the answer they fought hard but came all the way to the net I lost no fish today, rare this year. The next 2 spots I fooled 1 bow at each with a #14 halloween nymph (my own design), so 5 for the morning at times in the pouring rain. No one else was there. By the way today I sent an Email to the head man of the mass wildlife western district office thanking him and his people for the placement and quality of the fish (chunks this year). He replied thanking me and told me he passed it on to the people that make those fish chunks because they don't hear that very often. I think they do a great job and deserve to hear it, without them we could not fish.
Has anyone been to the Bears Den section of the Miller's lately? I am planning on heading out tomorrow but was not sure what impact the rain this past week had on the river. I checked the flow charts, which seem high but I do not have much experience with these so I could be wrong. Thanks
People have fished there with so-so success. The flow will be high and, in my opinion, the Bears Den has the toughest wading so be careful. The lower C&R would be a better bet.
Curious to hear if anyone has checked out the LL run at the Stillwater. I went out Wednesday and didn't see a fish. Thought the rain would help, but maybe I was still too early.
Nothing much doing in Bondsville, one rainbow lost at net, an unusual swing and miss on a wooly bugger that was still dry and floating with the current up against an opposite bank. It was a zone where I lost a good one a week ago, not sure what it thought that floating wooly bugger was, but it went for it in a big way, but it either missed it or refused it last second.
I did net a very silvery 10" brown, spotted in a fashion I don't remember seeing before in a stocked brown. Maybe wild stream-born. No reason I can think of that browns shouldn't reproduce there, so it might have been wild. I will email you a picture of it.
Thanks for looking at the picture. I sent the picture to another angler friend of mine and he said the same thing. I wish I had a picture of the tail to confirm if it was a salmon. A good looking fish that made a good account of itself in any case.
17 comments:
"All casts were within 20 feet and ALL trout hit on the drift. It's the only way to fish this fly." It is a great fly and works well highsticking or euronymphing.
Anonymous 7:14,
Highsticking was basically what I was doing.
Ken
On the EB at 8 this morning, air temp 50 degrees, water temp 52 degrees, which means still no waders. So the fish have spread out and that's great,last week I caught 15 fish in about 200 yds. (and lost 10 more), this morning I had to cover a quarter mile for 8 (lost none). Again mass wildlife great job, thanks. Fooled some of the fish with a #10 pats rubber legs and some with a #14 bh nymph and #5 flouro tippet. There was nobody else on the river and I was off at 11.
Gary,
You did almost the same as I did yesterday. The EB is perfect now.
BTW, how was steel heading out in NY.
Ken
I know its a long shot, but i lost a pair of black costa tuna ally sunglasses. Sunrise mirror yellow lenses.
Juice,
Where did you loose them?
Ken
So back to EB this morning, 1st spot I drifted a #16 BH hares ear caddis (with my own dubbing blend) and fooled 3 nice bows, by the way I had to fight them in fast current and pull them 40 feet across the river. Hey Sam 16's may be the answer they fought hard but came all the way to the net I lost no fish today, rare this year. The next 2 spots I fooled 1 bow at each with a #14 halloween nymph (my own design), so 5 for the morning at times in the pouring rain. No one else was there. By the way today I sent an Email to the head man of the mass wildlife western district office thanking him and his people for the placement and quality of the fish (chunks this year). He replied thanking me and told me he passed it on to the people that make those fish chunks because they don't hear that very often. I think they do a great job and deserve to hear it, without them we could not fish.
Fell off fishing the y pool. Not sure where they would have drifted to.
Halloween Nymph??? Black and orange I bet.
The EB has had a good late season!! I hope it continues.
Ken
Has anyone been to the Bears Den section of the Miller's lately? I am planning on heading out tomorrow but was not sure what impact the rain this past week had on the river. I checked the flow charts, which seem high but I do not have much experience with these so I could be wrong. Thanks
Jamie,
People have fished there with so-so success. The flow will be high and, in my opinion, the Bears Den has the toughest wading so be careful. The lower C&R would be a better bet.
Ken
Curious to hear if anyone has checked out the LL run at the Stillwater. I went out Wednesday and didn't see a fish. Thought the rain would help, but maybe I was still too early.
Jared,
They should be in the Stillwater. Maybe they are further upstream by now. I'd check way above route 202.
Ken
Ken,
That'll probably be where I try next. Gonna tie up some marabou streamers and drift them through the deep holes.
Jared
Ken,
Nothing much doing in Bondsville, one rainbow lost at net, an unusual swing and miss on a wooly bugger that was still dry and floating with the current up against an opposite bank. It was a zone where I lost a good one a week ago, not sure what it thought that floating wooly bugger was, but it went for it in a big way, but it either missed it or refused it last second.
I did net a very silvery 10" brown, spotted in a fashion I don't remember seeing before in a stocked brown. Maybe wild stream-born. No reason I can think of that browns shouldn't reproduce there, so it might have been wild. I will email you a picture of it.
Regards, Sam
Sam,
It seems to have a LL salmon color to it. I can't see the tail which would really tell us what it is.
Ken
Ken,
Thanks for looking at the picture. I sent the picture to another angler friend of mine and he said the same thing. I wish I had a picture of the tail to confirm if it was a salmon. A good looking fish that made a good account of itself in any case.
Sam
Post a Comment