Crazy Bows And Winter Midges

 I do have some 71/2 foot 4 and 5 weight rods - plus a couple of 7 foot 9 inchers. I use them a lot on small mountain streams and medium sized creeks and love them dearly, but I think anything shorter and lighter than that is too specialized to be very useful. If you're spooking fish with an 8 foot, 5 weight rod, the answer probably isn't a 7 foot 3 weight. The answer is a longer leader and a better cast. - John Gierach 

There is a spot at the Swift River's Bubbler Arm that has taken my attention over the last two weeks. This spot,  from sunup to about 9am, is devoid of fish but then becomes crowded with rainbows.  Where did they come from?  My guess is that they are hanging out at the Y Pool and then when the air/water temperatures reach a certain level they go upstream to eat small nymphs such as black fly larvae.

I've had some good mornings working an olive Serendipity #22 and Pinheads of the same size range and have taken a bow or two in the 20 inch range and a bunch in the 14 inch range. 

I get there and wait for the fish to show up and in a way it's like a tiny version of steelhead fishing.  The Y Pool is the ocean or lake and the Bubbler is my steelie river. I have actually seen them charging out of the Y Pool and heading "upstream". This show doesn't last long and is usually over by noon with the bows dropping back to the lake (Y Pool).

Winter Midges

After the bows have backed down you might see some tiny airborne critters flying around. We lump the whole group into "Midges" although they are not just midges but tiny mayflies and caddis (the Winter Caddis of the Swift and Farmie come to mind.)  There seem to be more of these insects on days where the air temperature jumps past 40 degrees although I've seen them on the coldest of days.

What to use

Pinheads, thread flies, peacock bodied gnats, DHE dries (real small without the deerhair) and winter caddis of course.

Dealing With Winter

I'm not going to tell you how to dress.  You are all adults and I will assume that you've been in New England, or a similar place, for some time.  I've been fishing through the winter for decades now and I don't find it that cold and maybe it's because I call off the pursuit when the air temperature sinks below 10 F. I will tell the newbies to winter flyfishing this: you don't know cold until you pull the flaps back on your tent and find 4 inches of fresh snow. That's COLD!  You also don't know cold until you find yourself on a tree stand in the pre-dawn hours during the November deer season.  That's COLD! Ditto for coastal duck hunting too!!

I don't use hand warmers or toe warmers or any other kind of chemical assistance. A good stocking hat, a long sleeve tee shirt, a good turtleneck shirt, a good fleece zippered jacket, fingerless wool gloves and a lightweight waterproof shell does it for me.

Now, let's talk about something better like grilling on a warm summer day.  It beats grillin' and chillin'.  Yes, I'm still firing the grill but that will diie down shortly.

Ken