"I think I fish, in part, because it's an anti-social, bohemian business that, when gone about properly, puts you forever outside the mainstream culture without actually landing you in an institution" - John Gierach
I seem to be on a weird quest to develop the perfect dry fly and that perfect dry fly will not be a traditional Catskill Dry or any other dry that tries to imitate a fully formed floating insect. The vast majority of rise forms that we see are for emerging insects that are struggling to break through the surface tension to fly away. The perfect emerging insect, to me, has part of its body poking above the surface but still has a lot of body below the surface.
Notice the floss tail end of this fly. That's the part that sinks. The very fine deer hair thorax and wing keeps the front end above the surface. You can see it from a mile away (almost). It duplicates a caddis or mayfly very well. Fine deer hair does well from sizes 12 through 16 and that's when I give way to snowshoe fur or synthetics on smaller sizes. I'm losing my love for CDC - too fragile and too hard to clean up after a fish or two.
This Spring - This Spring sucks! We should not be starting off a day in late April through mid May at 30 degrees!!! We should not be battling tough winds that drive the wind chill temperature down to where it is necessary to wear extra garments to be comfortable doing what we want to do. And Quabbin is overflowing making the lower section of the Swift almost unfishable. Is it anyone's fault? No!! It's the way it is and given a week or so things will (maybe) work out and we may be complaining about the
heat. That is New England!! All of the rivers (except the Swift if you want to place tiny flies on the noses of picky trout) are VERY fishable right now. Even the Millers is down into the 700 cfs range so go get them.
You are doing yourself a big disservice by heading to the Farmington or the Deerfield because you don't think the other rivers are worth your attention and effort. This is a kind of elitist attitude that leaves miles of great rivers that would be considered prime water in many states basically unfished. This leaves the Millers, EB and it's branches and the Ware alone. Go fish them!
Book A Trip - I have plenty of 3 and 6 hour trips available through late May and June. Don't wait too long.
Ken
11 comments:
Interesting thoughts about emergent dry...have you tried the missing link? Its a tailess dry that kind of covers both mayfly and caddisfly dry and emergent stages plus it has some outrigger poly wings that could pass for cripple wings or spinner type stage triggers. Its a parachute and has a bunch going on but its not too difficult and worth the effort. I have been on it for about 7 years...Mike Mercer (originator) asked if I would try them sent me some gratis after I called in a phone order and had a few questions on other topics. Ever since then its easily out-produced almost every surface/near-surface fly I have tried. Its like a klinkhammer parachute spent caddis adult . The fly in your photo is on that path sans parachute hackle and poly wing outriggers.
BobT,
I like everything that you come up with, flies or strategies!!
Ken
Caught my first ever brown on the quinapoxit yesterday!!
Zach,
Welcome to the club!!!
ken
Fished the Millers Wed and had a good day,gray woolybugger sz.12 and hares ear nymph did the job got 2 of each species of trout, first time out on the FFO Section never saw another human wow awesome.
Hi Ken,
Thanks again for all your wise and helpful posts. Your High Rise Caddis looks great! It puts me in mind of Hayes and Stazicker's ebook "Trout and Flies - Getting Closer." Great book with incredible embedded videos. They have a lot to say about emergers. Although they mostly focus on English chalk streams and western U.S. spring creeks, it seems to me many of their observations could apply to the Swift.
Warmest wishes,
John
Unknown,
Good work!! BTW,there is no fly fishing only section on the Millers. It has two catch and release sections but no fly only section(s)
John,
I'm just finishing up an ebook so I'll order the Stazicker book next!
Ken
Two thumbs up for the Missing Link! It's a pattern which somehow imitates both caddis and mayflies in both their emergent and spent phases - quite remarkable. There's an article by Mike Mercer in the June-July 2018 issue of Fly Fisherman about the evolution of this fly (which includes its recipe). I find it an easy pattern to tie.
-Mike
Hi Ken - Hope everyone is being safe during the plague! I had my best day of the year today on the Housy. It got to 81 and Green Caddis were popping all day. There also was a good Hendrickson bite. I had a true Hendrickson with a Caddis emerges as a trailer with a small split shot. Dead drift it and then swing. Both bugs took fish all day. Water levels were great. The highlights were 2, 17 inch Browns that were holdovers and the butteries of yellows. Only saw one other person all day.
Falsecast,
Funny, I got all of my trout very early Friday morning on a Green Caddis Soft Hackle while fishing the Ware. And only one other person on the Housy??? Well, I saw only one on the Ware.
Ken
Peter Hayes' earlier book Fly Fishing Outside the Box was outstanding... top five book for me. Can't wait to read Trout and Flies... thanks for the recommendation, John.
Ken, your fly looks simple and effective... I see a bit of Bob Wyatt's Deer Hair Sedge (DHS) and the Klinkhammer in it.
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