"I don't really know how to tie a fly until I've tied a hundred dozen of them". John Gierach
So I decided to take some time off from what we like to call "flyfishing for trout" or what is more accuratley described as "flyfishing for dumb ass hatchery trout". After 50+ years I have had it. My fishing this year, and most of last year, has been for STREAM BORN fish and that has left me fishing the non-stocked "thin blue lines" when they have enough water to fish and the Swift River. Wait a minute, the Swift is stocked dumb ass hatchery trout. Yes, but where I fish it's all mostly NATIVE BROOKIES and that's what I want!! My three best days on the Swift have produced 27 brookies (all of dries), 16 brookies and 15 brookies. I have waded right past rising rainbows and just didn't care. My opinion is that any stream that is stocked with clonebows is a degraded stream. Those fish do not survive, for the most part, to make it to Labor Day. I just read an article where the DFW doesn't really know where their Swift River 'bows go even after all of the shocking surveys. Note to DFW: Stop stocking the Swift with rainbows and protect the brookies and the monster browns. (the same article stated that the goal of the DFW is to enhance the "put and take" fishery in this State - enough said!!!!)
When rivers get low warm I switch to smallmouth which are a great fish and are always there to entertain!! And yup, I've been chasing stripers with limited success but it's been fun!!!
Thanks for hanging on since May. I haven't died and am still fishing and tying flies. I actually feel like writing again.
Ken
8 comments:
Glad you're back posting. Just got a nice 2wt and hopefully will have a few Brookies on the end of the line by summers end! They are a beautiful fish!
Well I for one missed you Ken, though I am sure there are hundreds that would agree with me.
We all need a break from time to time.
I get it, natural species are always the best. I have to admit, I love fly fishing for smallmouth, Perch, white fish, as well as other fresh water species not known as trout. Certainly catching a "natural" brookie is at the top of the list. You can't beat their colors or feistiness.
After all these years, I can only hope that the DFW will listen to you and will designate certain rivers for more browns and brookies..
Good to see you back at it Ken. Did you order up all this water? Was looking like a good year on the freestones then non stop rain.
Ken, It is GREAT to have you back! I had a good spring catching a few browns on the Miller's. I checked out the Miller's yesterday on my way back from the Berkshires. The river will be unfishable for a while. The water looked like chocolate milk rather than the usual tea hue! What flies and tactics do you suggest when the water level drops? Thank you. Bruce from Merrimack Valley
Bruce,
As I write the Millers is over 2600 cfs which is flood stage and if history is any indication it will remain high foer weeks.
Ken
Good to have you back Ken! Something seems odd this year- I have 2 rivers near my home that I fish often and in the past 15 years these rivers have been stocked with Rainbows only. These are freestones, that have populations of Small Mouth but stay within the temperature tolerance of Browns. I noticed this year that after the catch and keepers were finished hauling away the Rainbows, the state came along stocked both of them with very small Browns. I caught (and released) a lot of these little guys, none of them was larger than 10”, with most being about 8” and some were as small as 6”. I’ve never known the state to stock such small trout. It made me wonder if they are intentionally late stocking small browns into waters where they might have a chance of reproducing? I would love to see these trout take hold. I have switched over to chasing Small Mouth for the summer but I’m really hoping these Browns will survive into the Fall and spawn, we’ll see. Who knows maybe someone at MassWildlife is reading your blog?
Dean,
The same thing happened two years ago with the Ware River. The DFW stocked it in late May with loads of small browns. I can't say I know what happened to them but I like the idea.
I've been told that the DFW reads this blog. I don't know if they agree with it.
Ken
Ken, I was getting a bit worried about you. Glad you are back writing, and better spirits, fly-fishing wise. If you get discouraged, a lot of us also loose some motivation. By the way, I’ve got some nice memories of small mouth fishing in some of, what I believe to be, your favorite places. Hang in there sir, we really need to her from you, on a regular basis.
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