So what's wrong with warranties? Actually everything! Let's say you buy a rod for $800 and it breaks in half on the first day out (this happens, check the web). You send the rod back with $50 and wait for the repair or replacement. In the meantime you are saying things like "$50, that's reasonable". Did it ever dawn on you that part of that $800 price tag may have been made up by factoring in the cost of the warranty. Maybe you are paying on it twice! Remember, the rod companies are NOT going to loose money on you!!!
I like an honest warranty that covers materials and workmanship only. The fly fishing industry sailed over the Falls when it offered "no questions asked about the dumb ass way you mishandled the rod" kind of warranty. Maybe we would appreciate the craftsmanship more and take better care of rods if they were not so easily replaced! I've only broken ONE composite rod in five decades of flyfishing!!!! KenGauge Pool
Shed a tear fellow Swift River anglers. Mother Nature dumped a load into the river in the form of a large tree right into the beloved Gauge Pool. One of my favorite places to swing a soft hackle or drift a dry has now been cut in half. If you remember last Summer you may recall the HUGE dead pine that broke in two in the same spot. Now, some good citizen armed with a chain saw went and took that old pine out. Maybe the same thing will happen with this new obstruction.
As of Right Now
The Ware River - 476 cfs and not coming down = too high to fish (this river was a savior the last two weeks) This river is a brown trout river if there ever was one!!! Soft Hackles and size 14/16 possum nymphs have ruled!
The EB - 1000 cfs = forgetaboutit!!!
The Swift - 46 cfs = fine as usual
Millers - 1930 = It's going to be a while
The Farmington (WB) 440 cfs PLUS the Stillwater flow of 291 = 731 cfs which is fishable but be careful.
Look at the bright side - we needed the water and now we have it. Anything's better than a drought!!
This Blog
I'm beginning to believe that this is the only Ma blog that ACTUALLY reports of fishing conditions, names the rivers and pools where we fish, and will share info on the flies that we use. I use the collective "we" because my reader comment section is full of helpful and friendly fly fishers that don't mind sharing information. There are no State Secrets on this blog, just good useful info on our rivers. Let's face it - there really are no secret spots and to act like there are is foolish. To write about a good day on a river without naming the section of river or EVEN the river is putting the spotlight on yourself and not on the river.
Readers - Keep up the good work. You have made this a source for fly fishing info!!!!
Ken
9 comments:
Just a thought....
https://www.searunbrookie.org/conservation/how-to-kill-a-salter-stream/
Love this blog and I love sharing info, infact if the person who commented about seeing suckers on the squanny is reading this fish some eggs with a pheasant dropper, I've seen big holdover fish taken on eggs in bertuzzi and the hendricksons should be on the move so a pheasant tail type nymph should produce very well as well as brown or pheasant body emerger/ soft hackle dead drift with a swing and lift at the end and hold on!!
I agree with there being no problem speaking about the vast majority of rivers on here but you mention the salmon run on the west branch too often. I would have never known about it if it wasn't for this site and that would be a good thing. Last fall I saw a guy with Vermont plates repeatedly casting at 2 large spawning salmon (both over 5 lbs) for over an hour, that guy did not drive all the way down here for no reason. He most likely heard about it online and this is the only blog that talks about it.
Brk Trt,
The Swift is full, and I mean FULL, of woody debris which is one of the major reasons that the brook trout population is so robust. I just lament a beautiful short stretch of this stream being taken out of commission. If the tree had fallen 20 feet upstream everything would be nice.
Ken
Ryan,
Don't know where you've been but the salmon run on the W. Branch is very old news in Ma. The place used to be swarming with snaggers but spreading the word about the about snaggers has lowered their impact. If I had my way there would be NO FISHING on this fragile little stream. Too important as a LL salmon and brook trout nursery. P.S. The WB was popular before the internet!!
Paul Fay,
Well said, again!!!
Ken
I believe USGS removed the tree that had fallen into the gauge pool and I'm guessing they will once again remove this one in due time. The presence of that deflector will have an effect on their flow data.
I also enjoyed this little bend of the river. I hope a few samaritans pull some the debris to one side and resurrect it. Trying now to engage the remaining fish is an invitation to tangle. It may become a brown trout lair.
Anonymous 12:03,
Good point and thank you!
Bob O,
I think a lot of anglers feel the same way. Everyone who casts a fly on a favorite river, on a favorite pool or run year after year and then finds a downed tree blocking it will feel the same way. As I said earlier, we have plenty of woody debris in the Swift. Opening up a great little run will not do any damage to the river.
Ken
Ken - that tree will make the gauge tricky... But man, all the wood since the 08 ice storm or 11 Halloween Blizzard that has made it into the swift really has helped the fishery. It will change how to approach that pool... And maybe one of the 10# browns will make a station beneath it. But for all the fishing challenges, Ill take trees in there to help provide cover and food for trout and the aquatic life they need to thrive.
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