Fish sense, applied in the field, is what the old Zen masters would call enlightenment: simply the ability to see what's right there in front of you without having to sift through a lot of thoughts and theories and, yes, expensive fishing tackle.
John Gierach
The first inkling of this "strange fish" occurred last Fall when reports out of Bondsville (thank you Sam) mentioned an odd looking brown, a light colored fish that began to show up on the lower Swift. Double haul to the present month and the reports, photos and video (thank you Falsecast) of the same kind of fish being taken above route 9. They are Landlocked Salmon for sure and are in the 7 to 10 inch range.
Where did they come from? They could of gone over the spillway during the high water of this past Spring OR they could of been the progeny of the adult salmon that went "over the falls" in the Fall of 2018 and were seen spawning up and down the upper Swift. As mentioned by a reader of this blog these fish would be the right size for a salmon that hatched in early winter of 2018/2019. The main question is did they go over the spillway or were they born in the river?
Now, our DFW may have answer with all of the electroshocking that's been done over the past two summers but we really don't hear much from them, do we.
Going forward, if you catch a "strange looking brown" let me know. If these fish are born in the river then we have another Mother Nature success story.
BTW, I saw two DFW employees down at the Horse Farm bend with an electro shocking pack and DIP NETS on Monday morning. The only fish you would use a dip net on would be for fingerling brookies. I wonder what that's all about?
Cady Lane Poaching
There they were on Tuesday morning, 4 or 5 brook trout heads in the water about a few hundred yards below the Horse Farm. Those trout heads were not there Monday morning but 3 anglers were. One was flyfishing and the other two had spinning gear and were drifting what appeared to be large flies under bobbers. The call is in to watch for these guys or anyone else breaking the law on the Swift.
Book Me
We are approaching the latter part of Summer and will soon be on the cusp of Autumn which is when the best central Ma fishing occurs. It's not too early to book your trips to the Swift, Millers, Ware or the EB. Every year people wait to the last minute and get left out or have to settle for a less than perfect date. Book Now - I don't take deposits so your money isn't tied up for weeks or months. It's the perfect deal!!
Ken
13 comments:
Hi Ken haven't posted in a while but wanted to mention that I too caught a small LLS at cady lane about 8 inches lasy week also my brother caught a small rainbow with parr marks and ive heard of a few parr browns caught over the years myself included , always interesting to catch parr sized fish -Paul
I was fishing a little upstream from the bench above Rt 9 last week, and saw one of these--about 10 inches. Thought it was a very light colored brookie; now I know better since it looked exactly like the one in the net. It wasn't interested in what I was offering, but just more confirmation that the Swift is an incredible river. My fantasy is CR from the dam to Bondsville, but not only will that never happen, it probably would increase poaching from the bait slingers.
Charles
Ken,
That small salmon looks like what I was catching periodically in 2019, starting in July then all the way through November. They got a little bigger as the year went on so they must have adapted pretty well.
I hooked something pretty big during that time in an unlikely zone that took to the air like nothing I've ever seen. Maybe a big rainbow, maybe a big salmon that went with the flow downstream. Either way it was fun to have on if only briefly.
Best, Sam
Charles,
I am all for catch and release which includes Bondsville all the way through the industrial park. The Swift is indeed an incredible gift of a river.
I fished Bondsville tonight and saw where the stream temperature was 70 degrees. I am laying off of it for a while after tonight. I did fish for a bit though and connected with two. Gave slack and sure enough they both got off without a long fight.
Best, Sam
Paul Fay,
I've taken small rainbows but they are escapees. I've never taken a tiny brown from the Swift. I have in the Millers.
Sam,
Wow, 70 degrees. I guess I could see that happening with this heat wave and a 45 cfs flow. A 100 cfs flow will fix that.
Charles,
I'm all for C&R year round on the Swift, Millers, Deerfield and the EB. C&R means no bait which will make poaching stick out like a sore thumb. It's fairly safe to say that 9 out of 10 who fish the Swift use flies and 9 out of them release fish. An EP once told me he would like to see the entire river C&R.
Ken
Hi Ken,
As for landlocks, this is from my August 8, 2019 fishing log: "...Cady Lane, a 7-incher...jumped more than a foot into the air three or four times. Once in hand he was unusual looking – dark back, silvery, with black marks." We also used to run into baby landlocks upstream on the Quinnie 20 years ago, the offspring of the LLs in the Wachussetts Reservoir.
On another topic, I just wanted to compliment you on your writing. All of your posts are enjoyable reading - clear, succinct, and well-written. The one before this was particularly good. It really captured a a sense of place, your experiences, and the unpredictability that makes fishing fun.
Warmest wishes,
John
I'm very hopeful that those salmon are stream born. That could be amazing in the years to come - those are some super fun fish.
Earlier this summer, I was fishing the Y pool - amazingly all to my self for a few hours one evening - and saw an EPO van pull up on the grass (coming from below the dam). He looked me over in binoculars, then walked upstream. He never spoke to me, but man it was nice to see him just scoping stuff out.
Hopefully they continue doing that... poaching sucks.
I'll "sign the petition" for C and R on that river all year to some point (geographically).
Hibernation (Will),
A good place for the EPO to park would be in the Cady Lane lot that's down the road from the Pipe lot. Get there around 10am on a Friday or weekend when the lot is fairly full and start checking people when they give up for the day or just walk the bank for a while. You'll get them.
John Strucker,
We would all like to see the LL Salmon get established in the Swift. It would make it the best river in Massachusetts and maybe New England.
Btw, thanks for the compliment. I'm almost blushing!!
Ken
Ken You shouldn't blush this is one of the only sights which is fresh current and full of support. Reports are daily hourly and very honest true. No bull shit here ever. Fly type tippet size trout moving into different areas time of day moving etc. Need to know a fly a hatch just log on. Several other sights (maine guide shop) stopped reporting since early spring. Surfland one a month if lucky or lucky if you can get on the island or park. SO HATS OFF TO A GREAT BLOG FROM AN INDIVIDUAL WHO CARES AND MOST IMPORTANTLY SHARES WITH READERS>All of the individuals which give information,they do so because you share and we all share the resource to be caught again. So always tight lines at our age it not numbers its time spent in a river a boat a ocean. Its a sunrise or sunset, a current we cant drift or a rise we can't reach but the time which is enjoyed in peace trying. And this is what is blog gives honest,sincere,trueful,timely,information no bull no crap just honest firsthand information which at 3 hours away I check daily STAy safe Salt has been ok not great TINCUP
Thank you Tincup (Bob)
Ken
What's wrong with fishing flies under a float? Artificials only. Right? Same thing as indicator fly fishing
Mattk,
Actually nothing is wrong. It's just not my way of flyfishing. Is it really flyfishing in most cases?
Ken
I think a lot of us feel it should be Fly only/C & R just past Cady lane. Not much of a nymph guy
Post a Comment