"No fly rod at any price is going to magically transform you into a Lefty Kreh or a Joan Wulff any more than a Stradivarius is going to turn your middle school violin student into Itzhak Perlman. And make no mistake: Itzhak Perlman could pick up a yard sale fiddle and extract soulful Tchaikovsky from it". - George Roberts, Tail Fly Fishing Magazine
The EB, The Millers and the Ware
All fished well during the Spring especially the the EB and the Ware but by mid June the tap went dry. The browns will survive these conditions and evenings are made for this but when water gets too low it just isn't fun to fish for them. That's where the Swift comes in!!
The EB has been the best of the freestone rivers this Fall with trout all over the C&R section and the angling should hold up as long as the water temperature stays at least in the mid 40's. That may last through the end of the month this year.
Seasonal Stuff (Micro Eggs)
100% of the egg patterns that I toss are tossed in November and they are all on the Swift. Yesterday I took 4 bows and 5 brookies on micro eggs (size 14, 16 and 18) in 3 hours. If you think that the sizes are too small remember that brookie eggs are small, usually the size of a pea or smaller. I fish them 6 to 8 inches below a micro shot without an indicator. Orange is the standard color of choice ,but I had some good hits with eggs that were a light pink, sort of a cotton candy color.
The Quote At The Top
The wisdom at the top of the page is worth it's weight in stripers! George is a casting instructor (a good one) that is now the Managing Editor for Tail Fly Fishing Magazine, the voice of saltwater fly fishing (another good one). I met George on the Swift a few years ago and he is what he appears to be - no nonsense, straight to the point but very friendly, something that works with being a casting instructor. The magazine is first class. In fact it's above first class. It's a private luxury jet to fly fishing destinations!!! No, I get nothing for this plug and don't want anything. Just get a copy and read it online or in print.. You'll like it!!!
Book Me
Ken
20 comments:
The Swift was a total freak show today, but I expected it and, as always, walked by all the named places and had about 200 yards below the Tree Pool totally to myself. The river was full of fish. Thanks, Dan, for your tips. I had similar success throwing similar stuff--several brookies and one bow. Speaking of bows, I know the DFW consistently says bows don't reproduce in the Swift, but someone forgot to tell the bows. I stood and watched 6 of them doing their best at spawning in a redd. Maybe it's unsuccessful in the East, but the instinct hasn't been bred out of them. Any way you look at it, the Swift is a gem. And if the bows do figure it out...wow !
Charles
Charles,
The bows will go through the motions but produce no offspring. I believe they were designed that way. (the hand of man at work) Another thing that you see with bows on the swift is the constant chasing each other around. The EB is loaded with bows but none of that weird behavior.
Ken
The Swift has been a total freak show, 50+ cars the last few times I have gone. It has become hard to find solitary water now. Also, the solitary water you do find has been fished hard. I wish many fewer people fished this river now.
I am going to push back a bit on you, Ken, with total respect for you and this blog. I wouldn't want anyone thinking this is the best brown trout river. It will only draw more people thinking they'll catch one. They won't. Seriously, 99% will never catch a huge brown trout in the swift. No matter how good you are. Please stop trying. The swift will give you the wild brookies and unnatural stocked rainbows (which I would like to see stop being stocked). Don't get me wrong, I love the Swift, have fished it for 30 years very hard and never caught one of those huge Browns. It is not a destination for Brown trout fishing, just a few very large, mostly uncatchable fish. This river needs to be downplayed, not promoted. It's become a huge drag with the crowds I fear wont' leave post-Covid or when the freestones improve because they think they are gong to catch Moby Dick. Again, you won't.
The last 5 years have been fantastic for the Brook Trout and produced the best wild fishing in decades. These are mostly very small fish with the occasional 12 incher and a few very large Brookies. Most people will be catching these. There are a number of reasons the crowds have increased and some has to do with promotion. It has led to bad angler behavior, especially above rte 9. The pipe too. I saw 6 people there. I guess they think that is fly fishing? Above rte 9 people are trouncing the Trout redds like they don't know what they look like, or, most likely, don't care, or see "some other guy doing it". It's a mess. I haven't been there on a weekend all year. I can't imagine how crowded it is.
Something has to give and, IMHO, it's regulations galore. Close it, ideally from Cady Lane to the dam, but at least from rte 9. Nov 1- Mar 1. Add the trout stamp to "manage" the river better. IMHO, get rid of the rainbows, stock fingerling browns. Also, the new parking lot is terrible as it makes it look like the river can handle that many people, 10-15 cars is about the max. I have counted 40. Plus, it seems that people are fishing in little pods or groups casting the same fish, like it's mini golf or something?
I hope everyone realizes that I love this river, and respect that everyone has a right to fish, but anyone fishing it only in the last 5 years has no idea how good it used to be.
Falsecast,
I caught a 4lb brown last week. two of my clients hooked and lost browns that were, in my estimation, in the 6lb class. I'm not going to pull back on the big catch potential of this river. What would be the reason since me and my guys were fishing UNFISHED water while everyone, it seemed, were fishing the popular spots? I don't look at parking areas any more but look for open river and there's a lot of it. Brook trout are everywhere as in the last 10 years except for the high water years. We are not going to diminish the population as long as we stay off the redds.
It's the Swift, it's popular and it is fragile. Stay of the clean gravel and things will be ok.
Ken
I should amend my post to include they should all hire you to get on the big boys! :) There is no way 99% of those folks are catching Browns measured in lbs, Rainbows, yes.
Do you not agree that the crowds, and thus bad angler behaviors, have increased a lot in the last 5 years? I have had more times where someone drops in right next to or below, often with a wave or smile, which is nice, but more worrisome they think it is ok? If people don't seem to mind, then I am alone in feeling the experience has deteriorated while the fishing has improved which is fine. Maybe just venting a bit and looking out for our resource since the state doesn't seem to.
I fished the Swift today, Veterans Day , from 8AM to 3PM and took about two dozen brookies, the largest two were 10" - 12" with bright fall colors. The rest were in the 4" - 10" range. The females seemed fat: bellies filled with eggs, I suspect.
I ran into two other anglers in the early AM, but we never got within 150 yards of one another. Saw two duck hunters with rifles down in Cady Lane area. I saw LOTS of rainbows in the 14" - 18" range just cruising through the pools all day but failed to entice any of them to strike.
Way down in Cady Lane, past "the beach" and "picnic tables," I saw the largest brown trout I've ever seen with my own eyes. At least 20 inches and at least 4 pounds, it jumped entirely out of the water in four feet of water, about 15 feet in front of me. I fished that water for another 45 minutes with dries, nymphs, and even threw a size 6 streamer to try to find it, but no luck.
As someone who has fished the Swift River for 34 years, I agree entirely with Falsecast on this issue. A 4-pound brown trout averages 22 inches in length, and a 6-pound brown trout measures in excess of 25 inches; fish of this size are vanishingly rare in all New England cold-water rivers, including the Swift. Although the Swift's wild brook trout are plentiful, the great preponderance are smaller than 8 inches; they do not "regularly exceed 15 inches" as your Rivers and Rates column states.
However well-intentioned, overstating the size and plenitude of the Swift's trout does a disservice to the river, its fishery, and your readers.
-Mike
After being shown a few spots on the EB by Ken a couple of weeks ago I returned to this beautiful river on Tuesday. Arriving around 7:30 I drove to the gate (which was open btw). There were NO fishermen and NO cars of fishermen anywhere to be seen. On a gorgeous day I started out literally having 2.5 miles of river to myself! I am new to fly fishing and thanks in part to this blog bought my first fly rod about 60 days ago. And as a “don’t know one bug from the next” novice I can confirm the EB is full of rainbows. I ended up with 10 bows several of which were in the 15+ inch class. I climbed out of the river ~4:30 having not seen a single fisherman all day! I have fished the Swift from Jabbish to rt 9 A LOT since June (but only since September with a fly rod) and have seen the crowds steadily growing. I guess my point is that there are other rivers that offer the aesthetics, solitude and fishing that I think most of us are after. Dave
Mike,
I take exception to your assertion that this blog will embellish the size of trout caught on the Swift. I'll let the DFW photos make my case that the brown trout population is expanding. If you actually started fishing the Swift 34 years ago (same as me) you should know that we never had browns like that back then. You do know that the DFW have verified photos of 18 and 22 lb browns from the Swift. I have a collection of photos and a video or two of trout over 24 inches!!! The big trout occupy the top of the pyramid, the prey occupy the base. Think of the Swift as a VERY BIG PYRAMID, tons of food at the base for that growing population of apex predators at the top.
Ken
Falsecast,
Take a deep breath!! How come I don't run into the same crowds on the Swift that you do????? And I didn't say my clients landed those huge fish but I landed a 4 pounder and it wasn't in a crowd.
Brooksman,
The EB has been perfect this Fall. Great scenery, great fishing and no crowds
On Swift River browns--earlier this year, Ken reported the results of DFW shocking research on the Swift. They tagged a brown that weighed 4 pounds (pounds not ounces) more than the state record caught back in 1966 at Wachusett Reservoir. I was so amazed, I emailed Ken to ask if it was a typo. Of course it wasn't. No exaggerations going on in this blog. As Sargent Friday used to say, "Just the facts" based on decades of experience. So if anyone is fortunate enough to catch one of these fish, please handle it gently and quickly. Then put it back so we will have more of them.
Charles
Dear Ken,
I moved to New England in June 1986 after completing my military service; per my fishing diary my first trip to the Swift River was on July 11, 1986, where I caught "one 14-inch rainbow on Hare's Ear #10 from stem of Y-Pool". I have fished the Swift regularly since.
I don't dispute that the Swift holds a very few large brown trout; where we differ is in our estimates of their abundance and availability to the angler. In the hard-pressed and overfished Swift it is the hatchery rainbow trout population, regularly replenished by stocking, which sustains the fishery and commands most angler interest. It's an unfortunate situation which is unlikely to change.
-Mike
Well I got to the mighty swift today about 7,4 cars in the pipe lot. Fished around the gage for awhile, many brook trout of all sizes for about 200 yds but they didn't want to play. So off to Cady lane (2 guys in the tree pool right at the pipe). Got to the horse barn and started watching the water, more brook trout I can see them Whoa whats that damn a big brown long but skinny in front of the downed tree that goes almost across the river, so I cross the river and go up stream to sneak up on him (the long and skinny brown) I cast in front of him the side of him on top of him with a #14 partridge & black, I brought 2 nice brookies to hand, they put a good bend in my 5wt, oh no brown I should have stayed home and watched the masters. Even with a further hike downriver the only humans I ran into: 2 guys cleaning the pipeline and baitcaster (a regular contributor to this blog). Great morning on a quiet river.
Your fellow fly fishermen are staiting false facts.Tell them to walk the river from Rt 9 to lower cady lane.Ken the trophy fish for the state of Mass always has a brown trout or rainbow from the swift .Right now the biggest Rainbow in the state was caught in the swift.Ken met a true gentleman at cady lane today named Gary as you call him the king of the Westfield.
Hi Ken - I was being very genuine that you know how to find the big fish and know this river and the others that are your subject matter intimately.You know I am big advocate for this blog and this river. Did not mean to be controversial at all, just some venting. I just had a few bad angler behavior incidents and a number of people asking about the big browns. You are right that I should not come across as bitching. We are all very lucky to have to Swift or we would all have been S.O.L during the drought and the plague.
I was one ofKen’s clients that hooked a giant brown and lost it. Ken did everything right. It just exploded when I came tight and the fly popped out. He was not exaggerating the size. Pushing 30”. John
Hi Ken, Just got home from the Swift. Haven't fished it in a couple of years, but decided to give it a go, what with the weather and it being a Friday. Tied up a few of those micro peacock buggers earlier in the week, and I'll tell ya, I couldn't keep the fish off of them! Started with a natural peacock with an egg trailer and picked up a good number of bows and brookies with the takes being 2:1 for the bugger. This was from the above the Guage to about half way to the Pipe. Moved down to just before the first house down stream from Cady lane and lost that set up to a tree on a LDR. I tied on an orange peacock one with no trailer and WOW, did the bows react! Took one or two from every likely looking area from Cady to the tree pool.
Saw one of those monster browns too! Thing created wake like the Red October at periscope depth!
Thanks,
~Pete
Pete,
That's a very good day!!!
Ken
Hello all,thinking of a last trip til next spring.Anyone fished the EB around the Gorge or Knightsville?
I get compelled to comment on the size of the browns at the swift. It is not overstated at all, and they are targetable, as I have hooked into quite a few trophy size ones this year alone. The thing is... nobody is ever really fishing where I fish, the fish aren’t pressured, when Ken says explore, explore!! Walk as far as you can. Those trout are attainable to anyone wanting to put in the hours, and when I say hours, I truly mean pain staking hours. And as for the abundance? There are more then most of you will realize.
Hunter
Hunter,
You have the photos to prove it too.
Ken
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