"Carp Diem does not mean "fish of the day"- Author Unknown
My client and I were about to take our first step into the Ware River that afternoon in early May when we saw/heard this other angler leaving the water. "Be careful. I'm covered with ticks" was the warning. Weird, I saw him in the river a half hour before so how could he be covered with ticks? The Answer: Those weren't ticks crawling on him but a few dozen Quill Gordon nymphs!!!
Welcome to the Ware River!
This is a fly fishing river,period. To earn that label you must have great flows (dry fly and swinging soft hackles does it for me, bouncing heavy nymphs "not so much"), great great insect hatches and plenty of trout. The Ware is a fertile river by evidence of it's hatches and two hatches that you don't want to miss are the above mentioned Quill Gordon hatch and of course, the Hendricksons.
The Quill Gordon is similar to the Hendrickson but is a size smaller (think a size 14 compared to a size 12), doesn't swim to the surface before it sheds its skin and flies away. It sheds its skin on the stream bottom and then rises to the surface as a mature insect. That may be why wet flies work so well during QG time!! It only has 2 tails instead of 3 tails as compared to the Hendrickson and most other mayflies and that's the true give-a-way.
The Hendrickson follows the rules for emergence. Prime time for these insects is dependent on water temperatures but look for low 50's for the QG and mid 50's for it's bigger cousin.
There are a million imitations for these insects which is almost a million too many. A Quill Gordon soft hackle may be all that you need for the QC and that would include the spinner fall. Take your pick for your Hendrickson flies. Remember, both insects get active in the morning, emerge by mid day or so and swarm by late afternoon and early evening. Photo by Thomas Ames Jr.
March Browns call the Ware home and you will see them by mid May right into early July. BWO say hello especially on cloudy, cool days.
BTW, you will not run into any real crowds on this river and most of the time you will be fishing alone. That is because the Swift River is just down the road and that draws many away from the Ware. Maybe the river is too "rural" for some and they feel more comfortable and safe in a park-like setting such as the Swift or the Farmington. ( I say that because I was told that!!)
My experience is that the Ware will provide the first GOOD, reliable surface activity of any central/western Ma river!!! Go fish it!
Ken
A spot on the upper Ware
8 comments:
I agree the Ware is a great river in the Spring. The spots you’ve shown me up and down the Ware have lead to some memorable days fishing dries, SHs and streamers. I like the rural parts of the river further upstream from Gilbertville. As long as the river stays cool, I much prefer it to the Swift. Fewer people, some great runs and pools and plenty of fish. It’s usually easy to fish a long stretch of the Ware with few anglers so you can keep on moving along going from run to run.
Chuck
HI Ken,
I've always found that a"Walter's Emerger" worked very well on QGs in a size 14 and in a size 12 for the Hendricksons. It is a simple tie which we all appreciate. Hook is a Daiichi 1100. Thread Danville brown 6/0. Body 4-5 Pheasant Tail fibers wrapped along the hook shank and reinforced with wraps of Cu wire. Wing and Thorax CDC. The thorax is started about a third of the way to the head and the wing is finished slanting forward so that only the wing floats above the water line. A couple of wraps in front of the wing helps acomplish this.
Good Fishing and Tight Lines
"Doc"
Ken,
I have had some fun on the Ware in the Bondsville section. Some action above the bridge in the slower water on top water flies like the Ausable Wulff, but best action for me has been downstream in the riffles with soft hackles. Loads of water to fish and pretty easy to wade which I like at this stage of my life. My aim this year is to try other sections. It really is a nice river.
Best,
Sam
Chuck,
The DFW stocks the upper Ware with browns in late May and have been doing it for years. I've never fished that far upstream but I want to give it a shot.
Doc,
Walter's Emerger is on my list
Sam,
It looks like a good evening stretch especially the riffles and yes, easy wading. I'm thinking the 2nd week of May if the flows are good.
Ken
Sam,
If you need a sample fly I'll send you one. I'll need contact inf0.
"Doc"
Thanks for your kind offer, Doc. I get a good picture of how to tie Walter's Emerger from your description above. I would be interested to see a picture of it though. If you are inclined to, would you email me a photo of it to samw219@yahoo.com ?
Best, Sam
Ken good post im glad you mentioned the behavior differnces in emergence because as a novice I used to fish dries as a QG offerings to no avail on the squanny, ive seen them there in the air very early in the year often with snow still on the ground sometimes flows are challenging that time of year but if you can find a way to present them traditional QG wets work very well as do soft hackle imitations throughout spring I use the same soft hackle size 14/16 pheasant tail abdomen with a shaggy hare mask thorax to fish both hendrickson and QG hatches with good results on the squanny and other similar freestones, the soft hackle mentioned works good for cahills too just adjust the size the fit the stream!
Paul,
Years ago my wet flies were all quill wing patterns made mostly from ducks and geese. They were horrible representations of insects with their solid wings (mayfly wings are transparent) that always ended up separating. Soft hackles do such a better job.
Ken
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