Fly Fishing Information On The Millers, Swift, Middle, West and East Branches Of the Westfield River and the Ware, and Mill rivers. YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR MA. FLY FISHING INFORMATION, the top ranked fly fishing blog in Massachusetts! WHAT FLY FISHERS READ!!
Autumn On The EB
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Sure, sometimes a non-angler will ask how I can stand to hook, play, and land these increasingly rare fish that I claim to love and respect so much, adding to their already heavy burden of survival. To that I say, "It's because life is more complicated than either of us could ever imagine". John Gierach
I love all rivers, large, small and somewhere in the middle. I love transitional rivers that border on cold and warm (big insect populations and big trout live there). I guess I can say that I love freestones the most. What about tailwaters?someone may say. All I can say is if I were to have the best day of fishing in my life I would want it to be on a freestone BECAUSE I wouldn't have to deal with the tailwater crowds or artificial conditions. In fact, the best days of fishing, for me, have been on freestones.
There is something natural about freestone streams just like fishing a bamboo rod as opposed to man-made composite materials. And also a freestone river is subject to the weather that we have on that day. A tailwater is usually the same if we don't have flows subject to hydro power generation. Fishing a tailwater can be done at bankers hours because of the artificial flow of the river. It's always cold. Freestones, especially in the summer, fish best in the very early morning and at dusk when things are cooler. It's my favorite time!!
I used to find myself getting into the Millers at 4am in early July when there was still some darkness to show a few planets and stars. In that dim predawn light you could make out the rise forms of dozens or maybe hundreds of trout as they rose to drifting nymph forms and I caught a lot of rising trout UNTIL DAWN when the whole show would shut down. 15 hours later I would be back as the evening, or should I say the "Dusk Rise " would start. This went until after dark and it was great. I played under Mother Natures Rules and not a dam release schedule. It was great!!! This is flyfishing on the Millers, the EB and the Ware and you may have the place to yourself (no crowds).
"Tailwaters are what Thomas McGuane called "the great theme parks of American fly fishing," with their more or less stable water temperatures and artificially inflated populations of insects and fish. They are irresistible for all kinds of reasons, but all of those trout breed the peculiarly postmodern sense that anything short of a 20 fish day is a bust, so when things are slow there's the temptation to lie about numbers or to vaguely allow that you are "getting your share" - John Gierach
Many may not realize but the first of the tailwaters was unleashed on the American fishing public in the late 1930's as a solution to power generation and/or flood control. Turning natural rivers into refrigerated trout zones was not the intent but a biproduct of the design. Also, tailwaters are not the trout heaven that we imagine. There have been some major fish kills below the dam(s) when released water has a low oxygen content. That will kill off more trout then when Mother Nature rewards us with a drought.
The Rivers
As I write:
The EB - at 514 it is fishable but maybe not crossable in all sections
Millers - at 1060 cfs it is slowly rounding into form. Look for a flow of 500 cfs or less.
Ware - 248 cfs is good. Fish this river
Swift - 45cfs - Yes, it got stocked again. Very fishable as always.
Go Fish!!
13 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Hi Ken, I have recently begun exploring the Ware River and I'm wondering what took me so long. You have been raving about this river for some time. It's a beautiful river and for those of us in Boston or just west of Boston, it's an easy 1:15-20 minute ride. More time on the river; less time driving.
Last week we made numerous stops as we drove along the river starting at Church St and finishing at the Barre Falls Dam. The sections we fished or tried to fish ranged from gorgeous meadow runs to pocket water. At around 250 cfs, the runs were fishable, but the pocket water was flowing a bit too fast in the Gilbertville section. While the swallows were very active, we didn't see any rising trout, so we mainly swung streamers/wetflies under weighted leaders/full sink lines with good success in the long run at Church and also downstream of Creamery Rd Bridge. We also fished the section below powder mill pond, but no luck there.
We tried a few different approaches to fish what looks like a very juicy run below the pocket water behind the old Gilbertville woolen mill ( aka Gilbertville Storage), but we could not find a safe way to access this section. We even drove upstream, crossed over via the old covered bridge and drove south a bit until we came to a farm/barn/pasture. We got permission to park our car & cross the pasture that is across the river and up a hill from the Mill in an attempt to access the run. Unfortunately, there was too much wire & fencing (some which was electrified) to break through. Have you ever fished this run and if so, do you have any tips on how best to access it?
There is still alot of river that we drove by and my guess is we missed a bunch of prime spots. I'd appreciate any suggestions for other sections you like and in particular if you've fished the section below the Barre Falls Dam by or around where the Burnshirt river comes into the Ware. Also, do you have a "sweet spot" for flow rates where you see more surface activity for fishing dries & emergers?
I imagine you have, but I will ask anyway, have you ever fished the Swift from the upper most Bondsville dam on down to the next one? My wife and I walked the path from Depot St. on up last night and the water looks darned good. Most of it is hard to get down into except for one path that takes you into a nice run. What a lot of deep haunts for fish to hold in appeared to me. Getting into them is another story, at least for me.
Ken - Nice points about Freestones, but I have to say we have so few that are wild and reproducing that it makes them a stocker game. That game, for some, can become really boring especially if you are really looking to match your skills against the fish and conditions. Now wild freestones, to your point, that is the ultimate! Up north in Maine there are some. I treat the Magallaway as a tail water?? I believe all of our others are small streams/brooks with wild BT and Browns. Maybe few rainbow streams in western VT?
The Swift, as a tailwater, is actually a poor one because it is fundamentally not that buggy. Over time, like 75 years, the midge and BWO and sulphers have evolved in a tail water fashion, many of them and tiny. Other hatches, even caddis, are sporadic. If, say if the Housatonic, was behind the same dam, we'd have the best tailwater in the northeast. A dam of that size south of Pittsfield, would make the Housy a potential trophy river. It doesn't have the wild fish, but it has the biomass.
A lot of west coast dams are in the late 1800's 1920 and, as you said, put up for irrigation, or blue ribbon trout fisheries were just a lucky by product of the dams and non scientific trout stocking of non natives. The Madison is one of the best rivers in the US, totally artificial. It "should" only have whitefish and west slope cuttys.
Tailwaters are basically rivers with little aquatic diversity, millions of one or two species of bugs and little else. The Housy and the Millers are fertile and have many species of bugs but I think you could turn them into the next cleanest thing since tap water by building a bottom release dam - colder water supports less insect diversity and the nutrient load is diminished because it settles out behind the dam. We agree!
Ken, with regards to our freestones, maybe a little (or a lot) of stream conservation and thoughtful (i.e. non-) stocking practices could go a long way - you never know until you try. An obvious example is one western MA stream that shall go nameless (though I am sure your knowledgeable readers can figure out which one it is). This polluted (therefore defacto C&R), urban stream is unstocked, yet holds a remarkable population of large wild brown trout, a few brookies that migrate down from the tribs, and occasionally it gives up a huge football rainbow in the 5-8 lb. class. The entire management strategy for this river seems to be "leave it alone" - and look at what has happened! Cut back on stocking the clone-bows, increase stocking of browns, and extend C&R and who knows how good the fishing could be on some of our central and western MA freestones!
Unfortunately, most of the freestones in the East aren't natural either... logging and numerous small dams (not bottom-release) warmed the waters and pollution destroyed the food webs that supported trout, so we are left with degraded habitats in many (most?) instances. Tailwaters therefore create cold-water habitats that replace, imperfectly, the cold-water habitats that were lost. I think the best fisheries are found in spring creeks which are as nutrient-rich as tailwaters but feature far more diversity in terms of hatches. A close second is probably the situation you have on the Farmington below the Still River... a mix of cold water from the dam and the warmer, more naturally fluctuating waters from the Still create a habitat with strong, diverse hatches and good conditions for trout throughout the year.
"I think the best fisheries are found in spring creeks which are as nutrient rich as tailwaters...." TAIL WATERS ARE NUTRIENT RICH??????????? tRY AGAIN!!
Yes, tailwaters are typically nutrient-rich compared to freestones... the deep water in the lakes that feed them is full of nutrients from the remineralization of phytoplankton that die and sink. Due to the nutrients, the biomass supported by tailwaters is higher than freestones, but the diversity of species is often low (due to the narrow temperature range and other factors). You'll find crustaceans like scuds and sowbugs and aquatic plants and dense hatches of certain insects in tailwaters that all support (unnaturally) large populations of trout that grow large because they feed year-round in ideal temperature conditions. Hence, the theme park fly fishing.
The Swift may well be an outlier among tailwaters, given that the watershed is managed primarily to provide a pristine drinking water source (one of the best/cleanest in the country). The upper river may appear "sterile" in part because of how cold the release is. It appears fertile in some ways... large amounts of aquatic plants supporting populations of sowbugs, etc... but the insect hatches are not particularly heavy (and of course the bugs are practically microscopic). Below the hatchery is, of course, more fertile due to the outflow.
Leaving the Swift aside though, tailwaters are typically fertile... think of the Henry's Fork, Missouri, Bighorn, San Juan, Green River, White River, Upper Delaware, etc.
I fished (walked mostly) the Swift from 8-12 today. Starting from the parking area to the Y pool. Saw 2 fish, Big but only 2. There were 2 guys in the Y and I saw one land a smaller fish. Saw 3 fish under the Rte 9 bridge. Went to the pipe and talked to one fisherman (the only one) who saw one fish under a log, gave up on it and was going to wait for the pellet hatch. Water is low. But where are the fish??? In total I saw 5 in four hours. Certainly no evidence of any recent stocking or anything else. And none of the usual locals were there. So none of this is a secret. Can anyone provide more info on the state of the Swift.
These fish, mostly rainbows, pull this act every year. My guess is that they learn about Cady Lane and the lower Swift and chase the TONS of brookies that spend most of the year there.
13 comments:
Hi Ken,
I have recently begun exploring the Ware River and I'm wondering what took me so long. You have been raving about this river for some time. It's a beautiful river and for those of us in Boston or just west of Boston, it's an easy 1:15-20 minute ride. More time on the river; less time driving.
Last week we made numerous stops as we drove along the river starting at Church St and finishing at the Barre Falls Dam. The sections we fished or tried to fish ranged from gorgeous meadow runs to pocket water. At around 250 cfs, the runs were fishable, but the pocket water was flowing a bit too fast in the Gilbertville section. While the swallows were very active, we didn't see any rising trout, so we mainly swung streamers/wetflies under weighted leaders/full sink lines with good success in the long run at Church and also downstream of Creamery Rd Bridge. We also fished the section below powder mill pond, but no luck there.
We tried a few different approaches to fish what looks like a very juicy run below the pocket water behind the old Gilbertville woolen mill ( aka Gilbertville Storage), but we could not find a safe way to access this section. We even drove upstream, crossed over via the old covered bridge and drove south a bit until we came to a farm/barn/pasture. We got permission to park our car & cross the pasture that is across the river and up a hill from the Mill in an attempt to access the run. Unfortunately, there was too much wire & fencing (some which was electrified) to break through. Have you ever fished this run and if so, do you have any tips on how best to access it?
There is still alot of river that we drove by and my guess is we missed a bunch of prime spots. I'd appreciate any suggestions for other sections you like and in particular if you've fished the section below the Barre Falls Dam by or around where the Burnshirt river comes into the Ware. Also, do you have a "sweet spot" for flow rates where you see more surface activity for fishing dries & emergers?
Thanks,
Paul H.
Ken,
I imagine you have, but I will ask anyway, have you ever fished the Swift from the upper most Bondsville dam on down to the next one? My wife and I walked the path from Depot St. on up last night and the water looks darned good. Most of it is hard to get down into except for one path that takes you into a nice run. What a lot of deep haunts for fish to hold in appeared to me. Getting into them is another story, at least for me.
Sam
Sam,
I have only fished it once and that was the lower end. I didn't do well.
Paul H.
There is no one sweet spot. Different sections have different terrain thus different flows.
Ken
Ken - Nice points about Freestones, but I have to say we have so few that are wild and reproducing that it makes them a stocker game. That game, for some, can become really boring especially if you are really looking to match your skills against the fish and conditions. Now wild freestones, to your point, that is the ultimate! Up north in Maine there are some. I treat the Magallaway as a tail water?? I believe all of our others are small streams/brooks with wild BT and Browns. Maybe few rainbow streams in western VT?
The Swift, as a tailwater, is actually a poor one because it is fundamentally not that buggy. Over time, like 75 years, the midge and BWO and sulphers have evolved in a tail water fashion, many of them and tiny. Other hatches, even caddis, are sporadic. If, say if the Housatonic, was behind the same dam, we'd have the best tailwater in the northeast. A dam of that size south of Pittsfield, would make the Housy a potential trophy river. It doesn't have the wild fish, but it has the biomass.
A lot of west coast dams are in the late 1800's 1920 and, as you said, put up for irrigation, or blue ribbon trout fisheries were just a lucky by product of the dams and non scientific trout stocking of non natives. The Madison is one of the best rivers in the US, totally artificial. It "should" only have whitefish and west slope cuttys.
Great post, as always!
Falsecast,
Good points!
Tailwaters are basically rivers with little aquatic diversity, millions of one or two species of bugs and little else. The Housy and the Millers are fertile and have many species of bugs but I think you could turn them into the next cleanest thing since tap water by building a bottom release dam - colder water supports less insect diversity and the nutrient load is diminished because it settles out behind the dam. We agree!
Ken
Ken, with regards to our freestones, maybe a little (or a lot) of stream conservation and thoughtful (i.e. non-) stocking practices could go a long way - you never know until you try. An obvious example is one western MA stream that shall go nameless (though I am sure your knowledgeable readers can figure out which one it is). This polluted (therefore defacto C&R), urban stream is unstocked, yet holds a remarkable population of large wild brown trout, a few brookies that migrate down from the tribs, and occasionally it gives up a huge football rainbow in the 5-8 lb. class. The entire management strategy for this river seems to be "leave it alone" - and look at what has happened! Cut back on stocking the clone-bows, increase stocking of browns, and extend C&R and who knows how good the fishing could be on some of our central and western MA freestones!
Mike from Pittsfield
Unfortunately, most of the freestones in the East aren't natural either... logging and numerous small dams (not bottom-release) warmed the waters and pollution destroyed the food webs that supported trout, so we are left with degraded habitats in many (most?) instances. Tailwaters therefore create cold-water habitats that replace, imperfectly, the cold-water habitats that were lost. I think the best fisheries are found in spring creeks which are as nutrient-rich as tailwaters but feature far more diversity in terms of hatches. A close second is probably the situation you have on the Farmington below the Still River... a mix of cold water from the dam and the warmer, more naturally fluctuating waters from the Still create a habitat with strong, diverse hatches and good conditions for trout throughout the year.
Brendan,
"I think the best fisheries are found in spring creeks which are as nutrient rich as tailwaters...." TAIL WATERS ARE NUTRIENT RICH??????????? tRY AGAIN!!
Ken
Yes, tailwaters are typically nutrient-rich compared to freestones... the deep water in the lakes that feed them is full of nutrients from the remineralization of phytoplankton that die and sink. Due to the nutrients, the biomass supported by tailwaters is higher than freestones, but the diversity of species is often low (due to the narrow temperature range and other factors). You'll find crustaceans like scuds and sowbugs and aquatic plants and dense hatches of certain insects in tailwaters that all support (unnaturally) large populations of trout that grow large because they feed year-round in ideal temperature conditions. Hence, the theme park fly fishing.
Brendan,
I was told by a Ma Aquatic Biologist that the Swift release is fairly sterile because it is a bottom (or near bottom) release.
Ken
The Swift may well be an outlier among tailwaters, given that the watershed is managed primarily to provide a pristine drinking water source (one of the best/cleanest in the country). The upper river may appear "sterile" in part because of how cold the release is. It appears fertile in some ways... large amounts of aquatic plants supporting populations of sowbugs, etc... but the insect hatches are not particularly heavy (and of course the bugs are practically microscopic). Below the hatchery is, of course, more fertile due to the outflow.
Leaving the Swift aside though, tailwaters are typically fertile... think of the Henry's Fork, Missouri, Bighorn, San Juan, Green River, White River, Upper Delaware, etc.
I fished (walked mostly) the Swift from 8-12 today. Starting from the parking area to the Y pool. Saw 2 fish, Big but only 2. There were 2 guys in the Y and I saw one land a smaller fish. Saw 3 fish under the Rte 9 bridge. Went to the pipe and talked to one fisherman (the only one) who saw one fish under a log, gave up on it and was going to wait for the pellet hatch. Water is low. But where are the fish??? In total I saw 5 in four hours. Certainly no evidence of any recent stocking or anything else. And none of the usual locals were there. So none of this is a secret.
Can anyone provide more info on the state of the Swift.
These fish, mostly rainbows, pull this act every year. My guess is that they learn about Cady Lane and the lower Swift and chase the TONS of brookies that spend most of the year there.
Ken
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