Soft Hackles, What Size And The State Of The Rivers

 "I fish because I love to.  Because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and I hate the environs where of people are found, which are invariably ugly". Robert /Traver

I guide on five different Massachusetts rivers and this is one fly that works on all of them BUT on one river size really matters. Size 16 works on all of them but really works on the Swift (the Swift is a tailwater and tailwater insects tend to run smaller). Sizes 12 and 14 fill the bill on the larger freestones like the Ware, Millers and the EB.

They work all season but work best in the Fall on the Swift during the brookie spawning run. Those egg stealing bows can't get enough of them.

The Rivers

As of 8/28-

The Ware - 79 cfs- a very fishable flow.  Go upstream from the bridge especially in the shaded pools around the bend.  It's always good.

The Swift - 51 cfs - It's been at 51 cfs for a few weeks now.  Spread out and don't forget the Bubbler Arm

The EB 593 cfs - I think this reading may be on the high side due to flood water release just above the gauge. The Gorge section is probably lower than that.  This place was fishing very well before the last flood.  just be careful.

The Millers - 904 cfs and dropping.  It's dropped 556 cfs in three days and that is great. We should hit the magic 500 number by Sunday afternoon.

Book A Fall Trip!!

Ken

 

What About Rubber Larvae And The Rivers

"Nothing makes a trout bigger than almost being caught - Unknown

 Back in the Dark Ages (1970's) a material swept the fly tying nation by storm.  It was latex sheeting which was cut into strips and wrapped around the hook to give a good impression of the segmented body of a caddis larvae.  There was only one problem and that was that this miracle material really didn't catch many fish.  I remember going to hear the great fly tier Eric Leiser speak at a United fly Tyers meeting where he asked the question "has anyone fished with latex nymphs?"  A few dozen hands went up. then he asked if anyone had caught anything = NO HANDS!!  Mike Lawson, the great western fly fisher and author fished this fly, using rubber bands for the body and gave it a good workout for a few years with little of no success and then eliminated it from his arsenal.  

I'm not giving up on this fly, at least not yet. It just looks too good to me although the fish may not like it. The older versions were tied without partridge  which is my not-so-secret-sauce for just about any fly and I want to do it with rubber bands and head cement instead of ultra violet goo. Yes, I'm a throwback!!!

If any of you have had success with a latex or rubber body let me know!!

The Rivers

Ok,  the little Mill River here in Northampton has a greater flow than the EB and the Ware COMBINED!!!  It did not rain evenly across Massachusetts but it rained hard.  Where would you fish today?  The Swift (of course), the Ware and by this afternoon the EB should be ok.  There's no rain in sight through the week but the temperatures will be in the high 80's and above.  Make sure that you have your winged ants ready. It's the season for them and I saw a good swarm of  over the weekend. Nothing brings trout to the surface like an ant swarm!!

Ken

Thinking Of Dries

 

Thinking Of Dries

"For me, the study of aquatic insects and their transformations is engaging in an of itself. It also increases my understanding of the river, the fish and their prey. Learning where the food is will help you find the fish". - Thomas Ames, Jr. from Hatch Guide For New England Streams

Dry flies have certainly changed during my fly fishing years.  Decades ago hackled dries ruled the waters but hackle proved over time to be inferior to things like deer hair and snowshoe fur and fine synthetics.


Now, I stopped tying to "pattern" years ago and now tie "suggestively" which means that the size and shape are the most important elements in creating a dry fly with color coming in a distant third. The style of dry fly is important too.

The Comparadun - This is the F150 of dry flies!!! Simple, rugged, takes a beating and keeps on catching trout. It's half dry fly and half emerger because that body sits right down in the surface film instead of dancing on hackle points. In fact, the more waterlogged the fly the better it fishes. That deer hair post can be seen a mile away.

The main ingredient to this pattern is the deer hair used for the wing. The ONLY deer hair that you want to use is from the mask (face), legs and ears. Body hair is too long and course for those size 14 and smaller flies. If you like you can touch up the wings with a sharpie but it really isn't necessary.

My bodies are all ultra fine synthetics. They are stronger than natural fur and can position that deer hair very securely.

I use deer hair down to size 18 or 20 and then make the switch to fine synthetics.

A close runner up (and closing fast) is Bob Wyatt's DHE (Deer Hair Emerger). This stuck-in-the-surface-film-generic-pattern works because it looks like EVERY mayfly or caddis that is trying to break through the surface film. You just have to change the sizes.

Think of the times you've seen mayflies in the air and trout rising but you can't see mayflies on the water and if you do the trout may ignore them and take something else. That something else is an emerger stuck in the film. They are the easiest prey that a trout can consume. The DHE does the trick and is simple to tie. Scud hooks, mask hair, some 140 denier thread for the body and course hares ear for the thorax will do it all.

Wyatt's book, What Trout Want explains the whole thing!!

 

Rain - Just In time

Guess what? After the wettest July on record we have had a very dry August. Today (8/19) we are expected to get .85 inches of rain which will bring things up for this weekend. Enjoy it or book a trip for this Fall!!

Ken
 

 

 

 

 

Young Of The Year Streamers

"Most anglers, especially beginners, false cast too often. Three false casts should be sufficient for any cast and two is better.  One is perfect". - Joe Brooks

You see them everywhere at this time of year.  On the Swift it's the hordes of young brookies and on the EB it's the schools of small emerald shiners. The tiny baitfish are out there and are being chased by the larger fish and your job is to provide an imitation that will work.  I first developed my imitation back in 1988 while chasing LL Salmon and outsized brookies on the Moose river up around Moosehead in September.  I knew that there had to be tiny salmon from the previous season so with that in mind I tied up a small marabou streamer with just enough flashabou to catch their attention.  As you can see the streamers are small, only about an inch and a half and the marabou NEVER stops breathing which gives it a distinct advantage over the more static materials such as bucktail or fixed wings.  I will put three to four colors of marabou into these flies along with some accents via Sharpie Pens and they work!!! (Note: I use the same pattern whether I'm fishing to landlocks in the Swift or stripers in the salt.  Only the size changes).  I will actually fish these streamers on the dead drift starting with a quartering upstream cast and high sticking as it passes me on the way downstream.  BTW, size 12 works in freshwater, larger sizes to fit the prey in the Salt.

Comments On The Last Post

Talk of playing out trout until they can't recover really struck a cord with our readers and brought back some bad memories for me. There was once a Swift guide who would not let clients use anything heavier than 8x tippet regardless of the fly size or the guy who fished a size 12 stimulator on the EB using 7x because "the water is so clear" or the Millers angler who wanted some 7x tippet because the trout had become "leader shy" and wouldn't take his size 14 caddis.  "Conventional Wisdom" is usually misinformation.  You can be successful on the Swift over 90% of the time with 6x and many times 5x will do the trick.  It's also easier on the trout!

Book A Trip

Mid September, October and November are the best months on our central Ma rivers. The weather is the best of the season, biting insects are few and the freestone trout like the cooler waters and the flows have been great so far.  Book me on the river of your choice.

Ken

The Copper Grouse - An Autumn Fly

 " Try not to go too light on your tippet, play your trout hard, land them quickly, and try to keep them in the water. No 8x tippet!!! Fishing ridiculously light tippet when water temps are creeping up forces you to baby the trout and play them too long, and that can literally kill them."   -  Wise advice from UpCountry  on the Farmington

It was the Fall of 2019 when I struck lightning at the tying vise. Now, we would like to think that every creation is an "original" when we know that it isn't.  In reality it's just a variation on a theme and this soft hackle is just that but with a few wrinkles that give it it's own personality.  The Copper Grouse is that kind of fly. Yes, it's another soft hackle but it has a few tweaks and bells and whistles that seem to set it apart.  I've used it with success on the Millers, the EB and the Ware but it really shines on the Swift AND it seems to shine best in the Fall.  Brookies and egg eating bows attack this fly.

If you have problems ordering this fly on my site then just shoot me an email with the following info:

What size fly x 1.80 each x 1.065 (sales tax)=

Minimum order = $20.00

Playing Fish Out Quickly

We have all seen this before - some dude hooks a fish and then takes FOREVER to bring it in. The main excuse is "I'm using 7X or 8X" or something like that. So they let the trout have it's way by running all over the river until it's totally exhausted and close to dying.  Try this out, it works.

Hook the trout and try to get it to break the surface. Slashing on the surface tires a fish out quickly by disrupting their oxygen supply.  They give up quickly this way and then are easily revived. There is an easy 50% reduction in fight time using this method.

Fish the Millers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ken

My Blue Wing Olive - Don't Leave Home Without It!

 "Nobody fishes there anymore, it's too crowded" - Paraphrasing Yogi Berra

This fly is the King of Autumn on our central New England Rivers. Although one can see this insect on almost any cool, overcast day through the Spring and Summer, Fall is when it takes center stage especially on the EB, the Swift and the Millers. 

Backcast to 2009. It had been a very wet Summer which had the Millers flowing around 1000cfs all Summer.  Even the Swift was chugging along at 400+ on July 4th.  The EB was up and down in the extreme all Summer but began to settle down to a steady 150 - 200 flow by the end of September. I decided to take the day off and spend it there. The weather forecast predicted a heavy rain the next day so I figured I had a one day window for decent conditions. The temperature was in the low 50's and the sky was laden with heavy clouds - perfect BWO weather.

I started at Les's Pool and worked my way up to Slant Rock and finished at the Bliss Pool. In short I took over 30 trout all on size 22 and 24 BWO and missed more (of course). 

My BWO is tied as an emerger without the outrigger tails found in most conventional flies. The trout go nuts for this half floating/half submerged offering. My wing material keeps it floating.

I have a BWO/Millers story for another time.

The Rivers This Morning 

The Ware - 72 cfs (a good flow for unweighted flies)

The Swift - 51 cfs (same old flow, fish above the Duck Pond and/or Cady Lane)

The EB - 178 cfs (Fish early or fish late, avoid the tourists at mid day)

The Millers - 482 cfs and falling - finally below 500 cfs.  Fish this river!!!

All the above rivers have been doing well and this blog isn't afraid to tell you where you can have a good day.  It's all stocked, public water, Right?????

Book Me

Ken

Don't Forget The Old Standards And The Other Side Of fly Fishing Competitions

 "The situation (poaching by net) got so bad so early that the first documented fishing regulation in America was enacted in 1734 by the City of New York, which limited Collect Pond (lower Manhattan) to hook and line fishing only. By some accounts, the pond continued to produce brook trout until 1816 , when it was drained; it's now covered by the Tombs Prison." -John Merwin

The WD 40

This may be one of the great mayfly nymph patterns of all time.  It perfectly imitates those pesky  emerging Baaetis nymphs nymphs by being the right size (20 to 26), being the right shape (slightly curved) and being constructed with natural materials that imitate insects and not costume jewelry.  It's also easy to tie.

Hook - curved nymph hook (I use Saber Hooks by Fly Shack, good hooks, great price)

Thread - 12/0 olive

Tail and Back - Mallard tied in on top with fine fibers extending just beyond the hook curve. Mallard is advanced forward over back.

Thorax - buggy rabbit or muskrat in a buggy ball with the end of the mallard tied down over it.

(Note) the photo above is tied with olive thread for the body, and combed out olive floss for the back and tail.  Also the thorax is just dubbed on without mallard of anything else holding it down). Use this fly on those shallow flats!!!                                              European Fly Fishing Competition     

The photo on the right is of Day 1 of a fly fishing somewhere in Europe.  Doesn't look like a skill test to me but an old opening day on Comet Pond.  Do you thing they loaded the place up with stockers for the event?  I do, just like I believe that competition rivers are stocked to the brim a few days before.  I can see my 10 year old grandson wanting to enter a fishing derby and that's because he's a kid, not an adult!!!

The Rivers

As of this morning: 

The Ware is at 84 cfs (good)

The Swift is at 52 cfs (and staying there)

The EB is at 272 cfs (perfect)

The Millers is at 723 cfs (not yet, wait to 500 or lower but be careful)

These rivers will recede and hopefully that will happen slowly to insure a great Fall season which is just around the bend.  I'm booking for the near future already.  Lock down your date!!!!!

Ken

An August Morning On The Ware

"Brown trout show a preference for and are typically most active in water ranging from 54 to 67 degrees.  These figures are only slightly higher than those cited for brook trout in the previous chapter.  The principal reason for the success of brown trout in streams depleted of brook trout is almost certainly because brown trout are harder to catch". John Merwin - The New American Trout Fishing

Note:(8/3) Friend Brad found a spool holder with 6 spools of tippet recently on the Ware River.  Name the tippet brands on the holder and I will consider you the owner. Ken  8/6 = tippet spool claimed

I had to hit this river because I love the way it looks.  It's a throwback to times where farmland, fields that are being overgrown and succession forests ruled the landscape near rivers as opposed to tall stands of trees and parking lots.  I love the rural look and feel of this watershed.  I like the trout too.

I heard good reports in July of good catches including me in early July but yesterday's report from a friend was a blank if you don't count sunfish. My friend doesn't and neither do I except the big crappie earlier this summer which was a surprise.  In short, I figured all of this rain plus farmland terrestrials might be worth the chance.

First off, I skipped the usual popular spot (below the bridge) and went to my new favorite location which is upstream and that required a walk along this years cornfield. I liked the idea of fishing a shaded spot with great pools and runs with depth. This spot has it. It also has picture perfect dry fly water with an even current so that all casts ended up drag free!!!

I fished a dry fly, a generic caddis imitation in a size 16 and that deer body hair made it float like a cork. After two hours I was beginning to think that this would be a fishless day when I saw the rise!  It was up against a far bank and with the stream conditions that fly would float right over that trout and it did.  My brown was just a 10 incher but it felt good.  It was during the release that I saw the next rise, maybe 30 feet above the first one.

Again, it was going to be a perfect drift and this brown, a healthy 16 incher came to the net and was quickly released.

So, I decided to call it a morning and felt good about the 2+ hours spent there.  I wasn't expecting a lot of fish because freestone fishing in the dead of summer doesn't work that way. I could of fished subsurface and maybe caught more but dry fly conditions can't be passed up!!

Book Me

I'm the only guide in Massachusetts that regularly guides on 5 different trout streams.  Book a trip!!!

Ken