Charlie And The Ware

 "The fly-fishing catalogs weren't much of an improvement. They tended to confirm the worst fear of the conservationist Aldo Leopold had expressed in the 1940s, that our love of the outdoors was fast being overwhelmed by the addiction to gadgets.  Anglers could now clank their way to the river weighted down by a dizzying assortment of guy things: digital thermometers, telescopic wading staffs, streamside entomology kits, head mounted ion lights, and a collection of pliers, clamps, clippers, scissors, forceps, and hemostats that made you look like a surgeon heading for the operating theater." - George Black

Charlie On The Ware                                                                                 

It's good when someone gets their first exposure to a river.  Many times that first exposure is the result of two reasons: 1. there's a famous stream nearby that steals ones attention or 2. one thinks that the river is second-rate and thus not worth the attention.  Reason 2 has always been a big mistake among the fly fishing public.  All rivers have their charms and their secrets and Charlie Shadan of the Evening Sun fly shop got to witness those charms and secrets of the Ware this week.

Now, Charlie had no ill feelings about the Ware prior to this trip.  He just never had the time to fish it. He had read on this blog about the great catches and had heard the rumors about great insect hatches (Hendricksons) from customers at his shop.

Time to hit the Ware.

Tuesday started cool with temperatures starting in the high 30s and topping off in the mid 60s.  We postponed our start until 10:30 in the morning hoping for some surface activity but the 300 cfs flow put a damper on that.  It didn't stop the caddis from hatching and they were everywhere.  Sooo.... caddis pupae with weight to hug the bottom, or near bottom, did the trick.

I put Charlie in the HOT SPOT (clients of mine know where this is) and the rest is Ware River history. He took 15 or more in the three hours that he worked over this 100 yard section.  All were rainbows and some had some heft to them.  I ended up with 3 bows (no size to write home about) and 2 browns of about 8-10 inches each.  I was nymphing which I don't really care about.  What I wanted was some surface/subsurface trout to work over but not today.  Next week!!!!

The Ware, like the Millers, gets some not-so-good press from anglers who know nothing or next to nothing about the river.  These folks crowd out the stocking spots, catch the hatchery trout  until the trout scatter, rhapsodize about tackle and technique then say "it's a beginners river" or "it's fished out" and head to the Farmington.  The Ware, like the Millers, fishes well from April through November but you really have to KNOW the river, when to fish it and most importantly WHERE TO FISH IT.  That's where I come in.  The Ware, Millers, EB of the Westfield and the WB of the Westfield and, of course the Swift, are great New England trout streams. Learn how to fish them.  Book Me!!!!!
                                                                                    Do You See It??

Early Spring??

Not yet. Most streams are at their 80 or so year flow average but they are still fishable for the most part.  The Millers isn't one of them and will not be until 600 cfs is seen.  Even then it's still chancy.  The EB is high but drops like a rock.  Look for sub 500 flows.  More rain in the forecast!!!