Do This
The following are suggestions:
1. Stay away from the usual gathering places. That means the Y Pool and the Pipe on the Swift or any other hot spots. If Orcutt Run on the Millers wasn't a construction site that would be a place that I am talking about. How about trying some other rivers that ARE not crowded?
2. One Is Company And Two Is A Crowd. John Gierach writes about the solitary angler in a very good way and the best fly fishers that I know all seem to fish alone. Two or three as a fishing team on the same section of river just adds more bodies and the impression that we don't know that we are in a plague.
3. Parking There were about 12 anglers above Route 9 at noon when I hiked up there BUT there were about 24 cars in the parking area. The Reason - There were plenty of hikers above Route 9 and I saw them BUT it will be the fly fishers who will get blamed for this "crowding". Park across from Route 9 or down by River Rd.
(We have been having an increase in hiker use of the Route 9 parking area over the past few years. We can't blame today's crowd on the Visitor Center parking being off limits. (the visitor center is closed) I think it's fair enough that Route 9 parking be exclusively for fly fishers and the hiking parking be directed to the Visitor Center when it reopens).
Don't take any of this lightly. There are individuals and groups (PETA for one) that think fishing is immoral and they would love to see it shut down. Let's not give them any reasons to point their bony fingers at us.
Polly's Fledermouse
A week or so ago I wrote about the great Polly Rosborough and some of his flies. The Fledermouse is a favorite. It's a big wet fly/nymph that just screams "I'm a big caddis fly!!!"
Hook - size 8 to 14 wet or dry fly hook
Weight - lead free wire
Body - dun colored Australian opossum tied in with a dubbing loop
Collar - Gray colored Australian possum using a dubbing loop then picked out and brushed with a dubbing brush.
Wing - short mallard of wood duck fibers.
This is a good fly to high stick through pockets and riffles.
Just about every place has been stocked so fish EVERY PLACE.
10 comments:
Well put Ken unless everyone wants to be tying flies all spring summer spread out. Areas in the northeast are being shut down. It could be fishing pressure but like you have seen a ton of walkers hikes dog walkers are going to get all these CLOSED. And now saltwater ramps and ramps in northeast are closed. They don't want two in boat. Thank God my wife will drop me off at locations and pick me up. Kind of like some of my best bowhunting spots. Ticketing and temporary no parking signs are going up everywhere. And if u don't think it can happen to where your favorite area is JUST CROWD a little. A officer said they will ticket 1000 cars before they pull over a speeder. Stay safe and enjoy safely. That's one killer fly, I tie it with rabbit mixing both the gray inside fur as body and outside brown fibers as brushed dubbing.
Your version of the Fledermouse looks a lot better for catching than a lot i have seen tied including Polly's! Screams caddis pupa!
tincup,
Thank you! People have to take this seriously. Try some out of the way places to fish and I don't mean Chesterfield Gorge which could be closed with the drop of a hat.
Anonymous 9:50,
Thank you but it can never be better than Polly's.
Ken
That is a good post, Ken. People need to stop crowding for their own and other people's health, period. I am not shy about saying "go away", in fact, I am going to continue it after the plague. The behavior, on the Swift especially, but plenty of others needs to change. Do not tolerate 3 people casting to the same fish. The Swift, prior to the plague, was becoming a real downer for fishing traffic, and worse, angler behavior. It seems Mass has the laziest anglers in the country, truck chasers, etc. I only fish in the worst weather these days to avoid people.
The other issue is the increase in hikers in areas, but that should subside once things get back to normal. The fisherman, however, will take re-training.
Excellent advice. Last week, I saw five cars parked at a bridge in the upper Quinapoxet area--a place that they do not stock and that never has more than one car. I drove on. For the foreseeable future, I will be in the blue lines practicing with my 2-wt. Plus, with today's deluge, the Millers is going to be a whitewater river for a while yet.
Charles
Falsecast,
It was a little over 30 years ago that I first fished the Swift and I was amazed at the amount of anglers and it wasn't an "opening day" thing but a Saturday in September! Since this blog started I've been beating the drum for anglers to s p r e a d o u t!!!!!!! To little avail I think. One can get some lonesome angling on the Swift but you have to look for it. One brown taken from under a snag down in Cady Lane or below the Duck Pond is worth 10 from the Pipe or the Y Pool. Just my opinion!!
Charles,
Blue Lines represent simplistic angling and they are not the place for technical gear driven fishing. Therefore the blue lines are not that popular in this world driven by marketing of equipment.
Ken
Ken,
I took a ride around with my wife and our pooch on Saturday to take the pulse on just how crowded places are these days on the Swift. No gear in the SUV to fish, just taking a look around. Unpopular places are crowded now, who knows how many are fishing and how many are hiking. Can't blame folks for wanting to get out, that is for sure.
If there was any year that would motivate me to revisit small streams I fished in my youth, this would be it. Take care and stay healthy.
Sam
Sam,
This is certainly the year. I'll be taking a trip to this tiny stream that I first fished 40 years ago. When I first fished it the stream was beaver free and had a few native brookies of about 4 to 5 inches. Then the beavers got in and changed everything for the good. In a bit more than a decade the trout population exploded to where it was common to catch chunky 8 inch brook trout. No hatchery trucks go there. No roads!!
Ken
I look forward to hearing the report on your tiny stream, Ken. I have two in mind myself. They are not remote, but no one ever fishes them and I like my chances.
Take care,
Sam
Sam and Ken (and others)--what a great idea for a post--reporting on our exploits in tiny streams for native trout.
Charles
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