Many activities that we do as a pastime have some pithy truisms attached to them and flyfishing is no exception. One is that trout put on the "feed bag" in the late Fall to prepare for winter (false). The other (my favorite) is "don't bother flyfishing until the leaves on an apple tree are the size mouse ears". Ken
A Swift Brownie
A few years ago I made the observation on this blog that many of the browns coming out of the Farmington were skinny. "Brown Eels" is what I called them. I did a presentation in the Albany area and many of those folks had noticed the same thing with Farmie browns. As it turned out another blog, the Connecticut Fly Angler, noticed the same thing when when he described them (browns) as "Pickerel Trout". Why is that? Maybe the food base in the Farmie is inadequate for the amount of trout that are thrown in (remember, most of those trout are stockers). The trout in the photo above is a prime example of what happens when predator fish get lot to eat. The countless brook trout in the Swift provide an ample forage base for the big browns that we have. Ample forage is why we have monster browns best measured in pounds instead of inches!!!
So Far This Spring.....
Maybe it's the warm days and the low water conditions but I feel that I'm fishing in late May instead of early April. We need some rain quickly. The Ware has been good but I'm really waiting for the Millers to get more predictable. Right now it's at 366 cfs but it was at over 1800 just this past Friday. It's had a sample stocking in Athol and Royalston but I'm waiting for the lower river to to come alive. I just have to remind myself: it's early!!!
Flies
The Partridge and Orange continues to be the top fly this Spring. Sizes 12 through 16 rule the day. Ditto for the Partridge and Olive and the Possum nymphs. If you've been out and about lately you've seen the millions of caddis in the stream bushes but no rising trout because these insects crawl to the shore and then emerge. They (trout) should be after the egg laying insect soon.
Go Fish
Ken
8 comments:
The Partridge and Orange and the Partridge and Olive may be the only flies that you need (and a Hares Ear)
Bill H.
" If you've been out and about lately you've seen the millions of caddis in the stream bushes but no rising trout because these insects crawl to the shore and then emerge".
Hi Ken did you mean to write Stoneflies?
Dean F.,
Nope, I meant caddis!
Ken
Lots of caddis on the Ware this morning.
Hi Ken - I went to the Kempfield section today and it was a great water level, with a big caddies hatch and no fish at all. I didn’t see any risers though conditions were ideal. It was nice to get out. I only saw one angler way downstream in the boulders. I was glad for the solitude as I am sure the Swift is crazy packed after the stocking.
That’s a nice Brown, but it worth noting that most people will never catch one that big on the Swift. They are in there though.
Falsecast,
The Millers got stocked 4/14 yesterday so they say. They say the EB and the MB got stocked this week but nobody has caught or seen any fish. The Ware got fish yesterday for the 4th time this year.
Ken
Add me to the list of people who fished the MB and EB without seeing or catching any fish.
Does anyone flyfish from the shore of the Quabbin?
Mike
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