"The fish and I were both stunned and disbelieving to find ourselves connected connected by a line." - William Humphrey- The Armchair Angler
The fly to the right is your standard soft hackle P&Y and with a little floating dust works great up and across stream for nymphing trout.
The Swift is back to it's familiar flow of 55 cfs but that didn't stop the rafting guides from scratching the bottom of the river with their "too big for this river rafts." You would think that the Deerfield or the Millers would be, with all this water, their backyard. One very famous floating guide once told me that they don't drift the Swift unless you really can't wade it. Wish the rest felt the same way.
The Ware (119 cfs), The Swift (55), the EB (267) are perfect and yielding catches. The Millers, (1150) needs some time.
GUIDING
Evenings in the Summer are great to fish as are the mornings but don't forget the best season of all - FALL. Book your September, October and November dates now.
Ken
13 comments:
Glad to hear you are back in action, Ken. Floating the Swift in a raft seems ridiculous to me in 50cfs flow, but I saw a tv show out of Boston earlier this year that confirmed there are fellows doing it for guide service.
Sam
Sam,
I saw one raft guide with a client get stuck under a deadfall and then end up walking his raft back to the Gauge lot.
Guides come and go on the Swift. Most just give up.
Ken
Harrison Bros (several rafts), Chris Jackson and others fish the "Pond in the river" section on the lower Swift. Not sure that is an area where many guides are wade fishing...
Anonymous,
The lower river gets too deep and can't be waded successfully. No problems with that but in the skinny water upstream? YES!!!
Ken
Can't disagree with that. No good reason for rafts to be in any water near Cady Lane. The way the Millers has been running most of this year, you'd expect some of these guides to be floating it regularly. No else can fish it!
Just curious...sling packs or traditional vests? Which one did you choose and why?
Thanks.
Jeff J.
Jeff J.
Neither, I hate them. I've used over the shoulder tackle bags for 50 years.
Ken
Dear Ken,
Having abandoned my fishing vest many years ago, I share your strong preference for a compact fishing bag which carries my essential gear. In my case this is a ca. 1990 Wood River bag sold under the L.L. Bean label (the same bag as the Wood River 'Golden Trout').
Despite its 9" x 6.5" x 6.5" dimensions it holds: four Myran fly boxes, extra spool for my CFO III, leader wallet, tippet spools (3X thru 7X), amadou patch, desiccant floatants, tin shot, stream thermometer, hook hone, Ketchum Release tool, penlight, folding knife, Bic lighter, baseplate compass, nipper on zinger, and 'scissor forceps' on zinger.
Fully loaded it weighs 3 pounds. It rides comfortably on my left hip held by its shoulder strap and never interferes with my net or daypack. Highly recommended if you can find one (eBay is an occasional source), as unfortunately Wood River went out of business years ago.
-Mike
Mike,
I've carried two bags for the last 15+ years: one is my freestone bag which is a a Fish Pond bag circa 2005. I tore out the clumsy lumbar strap and ditched the foam fly table and now it's perfect. Lots of room and built to last. My tailwater bag is a small canvas bag not built/marketed for fly fishing but it gets the job down.
Ken
Jeff J,
Good question and one I've been wondering about myself the last two - three years. I've always had the traditional vest but have found it to be cumbersome the older I've gotten. I like the quick, frontal access, but it just doesn't seem to "hang comfortably" as it once did. I've seen LOTS of anglers with tiny back packs, sling bags, shoulder bags, etc over the years and am seriously considering swapping into something new. Thanks for starting the thread.
Tom from Boston
I've tried all the bags and packs and still wear a vest...I have my system and it just works- I have been putting my stuff in all the same spots since I was in my 20's -never could get used to the other styles.
I like my LLBean chest pack. Works perfect. Everything up front, lots of room for everything, keepers for forecepts, clipper. Can hang net off shoulder with magnet keeper for quick grab. Nice backpack type strap clips it around back to secure. Don't sweat with it. Rapid River Micro Chest Pack
Harrisons are good guides, good people. Plenty of water for everyone.
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