I've always been a fan of writer Ed Engle. I like him because he is not a flyfishing tech/equipment junkie, fishes bamboo rods, is a good friend of John Gierach and creates some interesting and effective flies.
At the end of one of his books he gives the recipe for his "blue midge" which he claims is a must-have-go-to fly for tailwaters during the Winter. He credits its success to the blue mylar used in its construction. First, this fly is not just for the Winter. I first tied one onto a clients leader back in January and it caught fish. I then promptly forgot about it until this past week when we needed something to wake up some Swift River bows. It did on Friday and really did yesterday with brookies getting into the act. It also accounted for a good double digit day down in Cady Lane. It is a good, general purpose midge fly fished alone or behind a soft hackle (what else). Here is my version which is SH style (again, what else):
Hook - size 18 through 24 shrimp/caddis pupae hook
Thread - 12/0
Body - brown or black thread for the rear half of the body, Pearl Crystal Flash for the thorax (Engle says that the color should be blue. My crystal flash isn't blue enough so I doctor it up with a blue sharpie)
Hackle - two turns of starling. I've seen some midges tied with CDC for the hackle. Don't waste your time with that flimsy stuff on a subsurface offering. Starling is better.
Things I'd Like To See
1. A surtax on kayaks and canoes earmarked for conservation and wildlife habitat like the surtax that recreational fishers pay ON ALL FISHING EQUIPMENT. If you are going to use the resource then you should pay for it! (some "birders" have gotten into the habit of buying a duck stamp even if they don't hunt because the $$$ goes to habitat. Good Move!!)
2. A Trout Stamp! If you want to fish moving water (streams/rivers) you need to buy a trout stamp with the money going to habitat and conservation and with the aim to develop self sustaining trout populations. $30 per year sounds fair because fishers know how to spend money and it's money well spent.
Things I Don't Want To See
The great John Gierach once said that there's no such thing as a fishing dog. I agree after I saw one fly fisher let his mutt chase spawning brookies on the Swift. He looked like I was infringing on his constitution rights when I said that he should restrain his pooch. He did but probably resumed the chase game after I left.
Book Me
Right now the Swift is really the only local game in town and what a game it is. I and my clients have fished in wonderful solitude this summer with no other anglers crowding us out. This is especially true for our evening trips. It can be almost lonely out there with only the trout to keep us company.
Book a trip!!!
Ken
30 comments:
Ken, get off your soap box. People shouldn't have to pay to enjoy the outdoors. Everything isn't about fishing. People should be allowed to walk their dogs and allow them to splash in the water, chase a fish (obviously within reason). BIG DEAL. You sound like a grumpy old man. Charging someone money doesn't make them more inclined to do the right thing. Still a heck of a lot of trash on the Farmy. Heck why not turn the swift into the DSR and charge $70 a day to fish.
Pat,
You buy a fishing license, right?
You buy a hunting license, right?
Birders will pay an entrance fee to prime federal lands for bird watching, right?
Oh,I suppose it's ok that we fishers have to pay the bill for the free loading groups that use the same resources for nothing? Charging people a user fee ALWAYS makes sense if the fee is reasonable.
You have to pay for the right to hunt and fish (you do buy a license, don't you) or do you think that all of what we have should be free? You sound like the anti catch & release types we used to run into years ago before people finally wised up.
Ken
I'd be happy to pay $70 dollars to limit the amount of people on the swift each day and not have a dog chasing stream born brookie while I'm fishing dry's...
Lots of other states have trout stamps required to fish certain waters and no one there seems to bat an eye. Usually those are the states that have the healthiest populations as well most likely keeping bait slingers away.
Jake,
You are right!!!!
Ken
MA stocks trout for catch and keep purposes. Its wonderful the swift has such an amazing population of stream born trout but that does not mean there should be a fee associated with experiencing that fishery. The enforcement of laws currently in place could rectify a lot of the misuse of our fisheries but the state does not seem to care about funding those resources. Secondly if their use of the resource limited our participation I would be in favor of fee. I think there should be a hiking/recreation fee to those that use state land during hunting. Otherwise we should be able to hunt on sunday. I'm as conservation minded as the next guy but don't think a fee is the solution for everything.
Jake, that is $70 a DAY. NOT an annual fee.
Pat,
Ma also stocks trout for catch and release purposes and those areas are extremely popular. There should be more of them.
A hiking/recreation stamp ($5 p/yr) is reasonable and not just during hunting.
I have always been in favor of Sunday hunting.
When I hunted I got a doe permit and an archery stamp. Cheap money for lots of fun!!!
As Jake said, other states have trout stamps/fees. I'd pay them!!!
Ken
Pat, a small price to pay for fishing in peace!
They should put up a rod fee shack at the bridge.
Ken I think you do a very good job with your blog it helps a lot of the people that want to learn to fly fish there is always golng to be people that aren’t happy with the way things are.the department of fish and game dose a great job of stocking the river.how ever I do not feel that we should have to buy more stamps to fish that’s what happen with the primitive arms stamp now you need a stamp for everything. I fish the river everyday.and I’m catching a lot of fish everywhere on the river. Big bows and brown’s and plenty of brookes.. let’s all learn to deal with it the boat people are not going to heart anything .
Anonymous 6:14,
I used to buy a primitive arms stamp. It was worth it. Finding a way to get trout to reproduce in Ma rivers would be a lot better than just throwing them in year after year.
Kayak people should have to pay to use waterways just like us. Right now they pay nothing.
Ken
I do respect others opinions and understand why they wouldnt want to pay extra. I will say that a small price increase for certain trout rivers would greatly increase funding that is clearly needed.
As conservationists it is our duty to create recreational opportunities for future generations, while not always counting on yearly stockings for put and take fisherman. If that means increased regulations,increasing C&R, increasing license costs to create a sustainable population in systems that can support it, then why not?
I am usually very against extra taxes and such, but when it comes to improving public land use I am all for it.
Pat a trout stamp in most states for a year cost less than a quarter a tank of gas for your pickup truck...and they take amazingly better care of their fisheries...Mass has some incredible potential but needs some attention and TLC
We protect nesting birds and we limit use of land that is in the process of regenerating rather then eroding it further, why wouldn't we put special protection on rivers that have wild trout or are potentially suitable for it? I am a believer in the trout stamp for mass if for no other reason then it justifies special restrictions and enforcement. It should be harder (or more expensive) to fish the swift rather then your local bass pond. We have wild bass in every mud puddle in the state, but only a few wild trout rivers that need restrictions. As some people know on here, I am advocate for stopping stocking on the Swift, not a very popular position I realize, but I believe it would go a long way to solving a lot of the rivers problems (ok, maybe not the swimming dog). It would become less attractive to people who come to catch big bows or hope to get one of Hunter's monsters. It would become, a wild trout river, something that should be cherished and protected. I also would like to see a closed season for spawning brookies. While I'd rather see all of this without a trout stamp, this state needs it. That said, a stamp is useless without the right conservation. Perhaps that is what all the electroshocking is for?
That trout stamp is cool. Even a 5 dollar charge like I pay for various hunting tags each year would help. I'm fine with Pittman Robertson esque tax being extended to other things like kayaks etc. More conservation based dollars are good.
that little blue fly is pretty cool, I like it.
I may get out tonight or one of the next few nights... have to try and spin up a couple :)
Ill nitpick you though Ken. For Trout the swift may be the best game... But dont discount the super fun smallies on the ware or millers. While the swift may be packed, one could fish those other rivers and find themselves having a blast with 6-12" smallies and the occasional bigger fish. Lots of fun to be had doing that!
Dear Ken,
I must agree with Pat and 'Anonymous 6:14' on this issue. While I enjoy reading your forum, all too often it voices an exclusionary tone. In this installment alone we have read about "free loading groups", "bait slingers", and "kayak people", and fees have been proposed for the express purpose of restricting public access to the Swift ...
This exclusionary streak runs deep in fly fishing literature, commentary, and practice, and is counter to our best interests long-term, for some day WE may become the group which is excluded. Pat said it best: "Everything isn't about fishing".
-Mike
Mike,
I want these people to pay the same fees that we have to pay. "kayak people" didn't pay for boat launches, WE DID!!! They didn't pay for public access, WE DID!! There's a federal conservation tax on every bit of fishing equipment from a Zebco rod to an Orvis rod. Is there the same kind of tax on a kayak???? There once was a time when there was no C&R, in fact you could keep all the fish you caught. The poor general public howled like scalded dogs when those restrictions were put into place but it improved the fishery and they had to live with it. They can't have their bait and eat it too!!!
30 years ago a few of us fought allowing whitewater rafting companies on the Deerfield River. We got steamrolled by the Appalachian Mountain Club and TU was too polite to do anything about it. It was a better river before it was turned into a theme park and we will never get that back.
Ken
Hibernation,
As I said earlier the smallie was a great change of pace. I would not mind seeing bigger smallmouth in the Millers especially above Athol where I've never seen any.
Falsecast,
I agree but the Swift is already a wild trout river (brook trout) with some rainbows thrown in. I don't know what the carrying capacity of that river is but I bet I've seen a thousand fingerling brook trout in the last week. I've heard that bows don't reproduce there. I'd junk the bows for a healthy brown trout fishery.
Ken
Holy cow, I took a ride with my wife to the upper Swift on Sunday to see what it was like. What a shit show. Cold Spring parking lot was to capacity and over flowing on to Cold Spring Road. Flotillas of boats on the river, one row boat and two kayaks along side taking up the whole width of the stream. Those folks should pay something to partake in the Swift, same as if you were going to fish at Quabbin. This is getting ridiculous.
Went to the Millers earlier this week; only had an hour, so I missed the evening rise, but it's always good to be outdoors in a river. Nothing rising anywhere. Following Ken's advice, I tied on a small tan hopper, and not paying much attention cast it into a seam, and bang, caught a brown on the first cast. Over the next hour, two more browns, a couple of 10-inch smallies, and the most vividly colored redbreast sunfish I have ever caught--about 9 inches. Great day.
Charles
Sam,
It is a real mess. Two Sundays ago my client and I got blown off the river down in Cady Lane by 10 am by the kayak navy. There were probably 30 to 40 of them and you can hear them a 1/2 mile away. They take a beautiful place and turn it into a theme park. I won't hit that place on weekends until after Labor Day or if it rains.
Charles,
Good work!! Brown trout are real survivors and can make it through a harsh summer.
Ken
Speaking of smallmouth on the ware/millers if anyone is looking for a change of pace you can reliably get them in the 2-4 pound range on either river. A lot of people go out and catch the supper aggressive 6-12 inch fish and assume smallie fishing sucks.The key for me has been throwing large top water flies very close to the bank like 2 feet out, specifically in well shaded areas. They usually slam it as soon as it lands or on the first twitch. Second to top water would be some kind of crayfish imitation. I've never caught a real hog more than a couple feet from the river bank in years of smallie fishing. A 4 pound smallie on the fly is something everyone should experience, hang on tight!!
Just throwing this idea out there which has crossed my mind numerous times in the 2.5 hr ride home from the swift. I would love to see the swift complete closed down to fishing for a season. The swift is unlike any other New England fishery I have experience it feels almost “ not real” to me as it relates to the way the fish act. I would love to see what Mother Nature would do you the fish population with no pressure from anglers for a season as well as how the fish may act different when we return to the river. Maybe we would see fish gulping down some size 8 hoppers.
Dear Ken,
User fees meant for conservation of a public outdoor resource must be affordable for all and applied to all. In exchange for a modest, universally-applied fee such as a fishing license, trout stamp, or excise tax, a public outdoor resource is preserved and improved - all well and good.
In contrast, user fees meant to limit participation in a public outdoor resource by design must be made unaffordable for some percentage of the population; a $70 daily rod fee is one such example. These are inherently exclusionary and incompatible with the mission of public lands and navigable waterways; such fees will never be applied to the public outdoor resources of Massachusetts.
Lotteries are an equitable means to control access to a public outdoor resource; moose tags in Maine, salmon river beats in Quebec, and outfitter access to certain western rivers are all examples. However, imagine the uproar if suddenly one-quarter of Massachusetts fly anglers were excluded from the Swift, Millers, and Deerfield through the random mechanism of a lottery ...
Like it or not, popular public outdoor resources like the Swift are destined to be overused by a broad array of (at times competing) outdoor enthusiasts: fly anglers, hikers, birders, and yes, those "kayak people". We must all learn to get along.
-Mike
NH Fly Guy,
You're way over the top on that one. It has that "not real" feeling because it isn't real. It's a tailwater and like all tailwaters it's a man made environment and the fish will act differently. Maybe you should fish down in Cady Lane or in Bondsville where it's a bit more normal.
Mike,
The $70 p/day fee is, of course, a joke.
I don't like user fees but I like trout stamps.
Ken
You know what I would like to see? Rain! Lots and lots of rain!
NH Flyguy- After 9/11, above Rte 9 was closed for months and when it reopened there is no doubt the fish were less spooky and more aggressive. That said, I don't see the wisdom in shutting it down, you'll just have more people there when you reopen it. FYI, I almost exclusively fish Size 8 hoppers and anywhere on the water, you just have to fish them differently. In pitch dark you can thrown 5 inch streamers and catch fish, just have to do everything different there.
For what it's worth, and I've fished the Swift for close to 30 years, I call it the big aquarium. The fishing is most definitely "not real" feeling because it's not real. Also, it's a MASSIVELY overfished river by anyone's standards so the fish don't respond "normally". Catch a 16 inch rainbow in the swift and every other wild rainbow in the country fights harder. It's why I go to MT every year. One wild 16 incher is better then a 10 fish day here. These fish are trained to be caught and release, each one you catch has been caught dozens and dozens of times. It knows exactly what a fisherman looks like and most flies. Ever notice how much harder the Brookies fight?
That said, it's also a MASSIVELY technical river (and visual) so it can be satisfying to catch these fish. IMHO, the Y pool is the lamest place on the river. Always packed with people desperately repeat casting a size 28 to the same rise. Eventually, it eats it and bends your rod for 1 min. I get very sick of the swift (especially the crowds now) and would like to see it less appealing to many of them and a pure wild fishery would do that, IMHO. Many people just want those bigger fish. Ken's point is well taken, but few take it, you can lose people and do well on that river, but these days you really have to. It was not a good a wild trout river 20 years ago, but it was far less packed with people and kayaks. It was a more enjoyable experience.
Why do you say $70 p/day is a joke? If you go to the Douglaston Salmon Run in peak salmon or steelhead season, that is the going rate. Essentially that of a very cheap ski mountain now. That is what happens people start charging a fee for things like fishing. The price goes up and up until only those with the means to afford it can participate.
Dear Ken,
I fully support three of your proposals to improve Massachusetts trout fisheries:
1) A trout stamp. Best if its revenues primarily support C&R and wild trout fisheries - the devil is in the details ...
2) A closed season. It makes perfect sense to protect both the riparian zone and fall-spawning trout from November through March, on all Massachusetts rivers.
3) Preferential stocking of brown trout, where applicable. Brown trout are more tolerant of high water temperatures, more likely to establish self-sustaining populations, and (IMHO) a better quarry for dry-fly fishing.
Three posts in three days - I'll shut up now! Thanks as always for your excellent forum, Ken.
-Mike
Hi Ken (and others with more Swift River experience than I have gained over the past 5 years),
How large do rainbows get in the Swift? Today, I was at the Tree Pool (because there was absolutely no one in sight for a couple of hours). Caught a few brookies (on a hopper) and a stocked rainbow on a weighted rubber legs. But what may have been the largest rainbow I have ever seen basically swam across my boots in knee-deep water. Larger than the 19-inch one I caught in March, and at least as large as the 23-inch 7-pound one I caught in spring, 1977 in Hop Brook on the west side of the Quabbin. This fish was huge, and since I was staring straight down at it, there was not a refraction angle to enlarge it much. I have to confess that I experienced the fish version of "deer fever" and in trying to get a cast out in front of it, I only managed to tangle my line.
So, just curious if other people have seen rainbows that size.
Thanks,
Charles
Charles,
The bows are as big as the state stocks them, sometimes over 20 inches.
That Hop Brook bow was a Quabbin fish probably chasing smelt in the Springtime.
Mike,
I agree with point 1 and 3 but not 2. I'm old enough to remember the riots of opening day. You never want to see that again. Maybe it would work where we KNOW the trout spawn successfully.
Falsecast,
I haven't been to the Y Pool since the end of May and have fished the Tree Pool once in the last two months. I don't like crowds. I want to fish, not talk about equipment and technique all day. I can find a quiet, out of the way place to fish and catch plenty even on the Swift.
Ken
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