My own fly boxes always were, and still are, a perpetual mess, with pigtails of leader attached to the eyes of hooks; mashed and unraveled flies that should be thrown away but may still be good enough to fish in a pinch; odds and ends that I picked up on trips and didn't fish but that still looked promising; dry flies with droppers still attached; flies put away in the wrong boxes where I'll never find them again; experiments that didn't pan out or at least haven't panned out yet; flies that were given to me by friends and helpful strangers that I'll never fish but somehow can't discard, and so on. As lean and efficient as I aspire to be as a fisherman I'm often short on the flies that I use and well stocked on the ones I don't (come to think of it why am I carrying flies that I don't use?) - John Gierach
It was a good brook trout season on the Swift. It's not to mean that you can't find the BT's roaming around the spawning beds right now but it is safe to say that the dance is over for the season. Here is my assessment for this Fall: the brook trout count seemed to be the same as last year but the fish seemed bigger. Another surprise was the number of big, BIG browns that charged upstream this late October. We are very lucky to have this accidental resource at our disposal.
Y Pool
Disappearing Rainbows
I've heard a lot of talk over the last two seasons on how the Swift rainbows like to pull a disappearing act after stocking. I really can't say that I believe it because the river appears to be bursting with them. Now, I don't fish the super popular spots much (last week was only my 2nd trip above RT 9 since mid May) and that may be the reason I'm seeing and catching more bows. They may not be so easily spooked by me if I'm the only fly fisher there.
Pinheads and Swift Serendipities in sizes 20 and 24 have been doing well in the skinny water sections above and below Rt 9. I would suggest a tiny micro shot about 10 inches above the fly and just bounce it up and across the stream. So far I haven't needed anything smaller( but I probably will!).
I tweaked my Swift Serendipity from a red body/thorax to an olive body/thorax. A big difference!!!
Guiding in December
I always find it funny when some guide or fly fisher feels compelled tell you how to dress for Winter fishing. You should know how by now. Dress warm!!!! It also pays to take a break and get out of the water to walk around a bit. It warms you up. If you are interested in working some small winter flies then book a trip!
Ken
15 comments:
Ken
You are right about a good brook trout run and we still have the bows to play with during the winter. The Swift is a good river that we are fortunate to have.
Anonymous
Hi Ken, I love that quote from John Gierach. Why am I carrying around flies I never use?
As for me I plan to spend some of the "Dark season" removing the dead weight from my fly boxes. As my tying skills have progressed through the years, I keep finding older and not well done ties taking up valuable fly box space. Flies that a few years back I considered fishable now look to me like they were tied by a 4 year old. I usually end up cutting them down to re use the hooks. Now I know some of these ugly flies will still catch fish and guys like Fran Betters made their career out of deliberately tying ugly flies. Still I do get some satisfaction from looking at a box of well tied flies that came from my bench. On the days when the trout are not cooperating that may be the only satisfaction I get.
Dean
Dean F,
Every year, usually in dead winter, I tie up some flies, usually dries of some sort, that I intend to fish during the prime (May - June) dry fly season. when that time rolls around I'll take a look at those flies and say to myself "what the f___ was I thinking"? It's still fun!!
Ken
Totally agree about the bows; the last time I was above Route 9 was March, before the stocking. Fished the section downstream from the Tree Pool a couple of weeks ago, and it was crawling with bows. Flow rate was low enough that at one point I could stand still and see over half a dozen at the same time, all sizes. However, they were fake spawning and not interested in what I was throwing. The bait boys will start thinning the herd in a few weeks.
Charles
Ken,
First time reply... first want to thank you for your contributions and all of the others who have commented on this educational and entertaining blog!
I’ve always used beadhead flies and somewhat new to using ‘micro-shot”. With a size 20-22 fly, what size micro-shot do you recommend? Realize some experimenting is required for every situation! 2nd question, are you routinely fishing a single fly 10” below the shot, or are multiple flies involved? Again, thanks!
Tim C.
Charles,
You give the bait boys too much credit. I hardly ever see them below the Pipe/Tree Pool.
Tim C.
Hmm...It depends on the flow as well as the depth. I buy micro shot in containers with an assortment of sizes and then experiment going from the smallest on up. Most of the time the smallest sizes work fine.
I fish single fly rigs mostly because I hardly ever get tangled up with a single fly and shot rig. Two flies = more tangles!!
Ken
Ken I agree with you trout everywhere spread out throughout the River from route 9 all the way down to the A-frame house at Cady Lane. Great job Fly fisherman on the Swift this year hardly seen any trash at all walked about 2 miles.
Baitslinger,
I noticed that last summer, less trash even at the Duck Pond. I hope they put the trash barrels out again next season like the one at the Pipe Parking lot.
Ken
Ken they took them away the bears were dumping them over.
Baitslinger,
Oh....
Ken
Ken saw you on NESN the other night. Must have been the long version of the magazine show spot! Looking good!
Cheers,Chet
Hey Ken, I have been having a blast throwing streamers for big brookies and browns deep in Cady Lane. I was wondering if we have any sculpin present in the swift, or if the main forage is young brook trout. Thanks
High flows on the Westfield got the trout chewing. Had fish coming right out of the water slashing at my bugger during the Nor'eastern and the following day they weren't as aggressive but equally hungry. 7 bows came to hand with the average size being about 11-12 inches and one about 14 (half of its tail missing but put up a heck of a fight). Freestones are still fishable for those that don't want to go to the fish club.
Devin,
brook trout, brook trout and brook trout! I don't think that sculpins are a major forage stock on the Swift but that's only my opinion. The DFW could tell you more but I've seen enough brookies grabbed by big browns to think the calories come from brookies.
Pat,
The latest that I've fished the EB has been December and I have caught fish. Were you fishing below the gorge or on the main stem?
Ken
main stem, couple of spots tend to hold fish almost all year
Post a Comment