A Bamboo Morning - Summer At Its Best

"If I fished only to catch fish, my fishing trips would have ended long ago" - Zane Grey

I needed a break. I had just finished a L O N G stretch of guiding and needed to practice what I preach, so to speak. It's time to go fishing and on a 90 degree day the frigid Swift would be would be perfect. It was also time to bend some bamboo. I chose my 7.5 foot Swift River Sierra made by bamboo craftsman Rick Taupier of New Salem. It was designed for a 4 weight line but on the skinny water of the Swift I match the rod with a 3 weight double taper and it is perfect. I loaded my soft hackle box with some freshly minted partridge and yellows (sulphurs) and packed two slices of cold pizza in the cooler. (Note: I love cold pizza especially in the morning and as a stream side lunch it certainly beats that noxious combination of peanut butter and jelly!!! It's ok to eat PB&J if you're eight years old and your mother made it for you!!)

There's one other thing. I wanted to fish alone. John Gierach was right when he stated that flyfishers can be solitary, contemplative and a tad misanthropic. This sport lends itself to the people who don't like crowds. That's what golf is for!!! So, the Y Pool and that area failed to make the cut. So did the Pipe. It is a safe assumption that 90% of the people fishing the Swift this morning were packed into those two areas and the rest of the river would be empty. I was right!!!

I chose a section that had ultra skinny water with a slow flow. It's the kind of water that makes most flyfishers, especially euro nymphers, pack up for somewhere else. It looked fishless. That's why I fished it!!

Things change once you are in the water. The tiny sipping rise that you thought was a tiny brookie ended up being a 13 inch brown that ripped line from your reel.(there were 2 of them) Rainbows seemed to just appear in the river and would just barely rise to my #18 Soft Hackle and then go screaming downstream when they felt the hook. I ended up fishing about 200 yards in four hours and took eleven.

Cedar Waxwings were flying in mass picking off the hatching sulphurs. (thank you Chuck for the bird identification) One came so close to my face I could feel the wing beat. The morning sun had that mid summer glow to it, much like a Monet painting and I didn't come within 200 yards of another fly fisher. I was really in my element and enjoying it all.

If getting away from the crowd and fishing out of the way places on the most popular Massachusetts river is to your liking then just contact me.  If you want to  bounce weighted flies you might best go elsewhere.  This will be long leaders, small flies and gentle casts.


Marked Bows

When fishing the Swift check to see if the fish has had an adipose fin clipped, if it has a punched hole in its tail or no markings at all.  I will assume the DFW would want that data.

The Other Rivers

They all got a shot in the arm with the heavy storms that came through the region on Wednesday and right now the Millers and the EB are right where they should be.  Of course, we will have three days in a row in the high 90's and that will not be good. Fish the Swift!!!!

Ken

The Swift - The Fish Are In, The Other Rivers And Book Me

"Things flyfishers know about trout are not facts but articles of faith" - John Gierach

Bill At The Y Pool

It finally happened!  The Swift got it's Summer stocking yesterday, July 1st in the early afternoon.  This will be interesting.  The flow is still up (171 cfs) but dropping. Last year at this time the stocking crew had to actually walk through schools of freshly stocked trout to scatter them in that skinny water.  Not this year. Hopefully they will spread out by themselves.

BTW, rainbows were the species stocked that were stocked.

BTW again, turn in poachers!!!  The environmental police number is 800-632-8072. The bandits will be out in force this holiday week.  Don't let the get away with it.


                                                   The Tree Pool

The Other Rivers

The Millers is at 331 cfs and that is close to perfect.

The Ware is at 97 and it's been flirting with that flow for 2 weeks.  Very fishable!!

The EB is at 116 cfs which is just a tick above it's 99 year average of 99 cfs.

The above rivers are now EARLY MORNING and EVENING RIVERS and will stay that way except for the overcast and cool days that we occasionally get.  Actually we could stand some rain out in the Westfield watershed.


My Bomber

Want a high riding fly to ride those Summer riffles? Try a Bomber!! It's easy to tie:

Hook - size 12 through 16 standard dry fly hook

Tail - hackle barbs

Body - synthetic dubbing of your color

Wing - fine deer hair or synthetic post yarn (skip the calf's tail- it's inferior stuff!!)

Hackle - your choice of color to match the hook size.

Have a Happy 4th of July!!!

Ken

The Millers In The Evening, The Swift NOW And Poaching

"Many go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." - Henry David Thoreau

I think that the stars were lined up for this trip - lots of caddis and rising trout and although I fished for only two hours (6-8pm) I took four bows and a big brown on my caddis emerger. I resisted the urge to tie on a dry due to the distance required to cast to these porpoising trout and the inevitable drag and decided that a "damp" fly (AKA emerger) was the best bet. It was!!! Readers of this blog will know that the sign of a rising trout is the sign of a trout taking an emerger and NOT an adult fly. I also lost three that just threw the hook.

I've been fishing this river for over four decades and it still delivers surprises. I can leave a place alone for 10 years and then rediscover it again. I can fish a month on a hundred yard section of the Millers and never want to leave as one discovers the "river within a river". I guess I can say that about all the rivers that I fish.

It's going to be a GOOD summer on the Millers!

Fish The Swift

Over a month ago I said I wouldn't fish this river until it went BELOW 200 CFS. Well, it dropped 42 cfs overnight to get down to 182!!! It's still historically high but fishable. The photo, on the left (taken yesterday) is of the Swift just below the spillway. This flow is a third of what it was just 2 months ago. That means that this high water era is coming to an end.  Above route 9 it is very wade friendly. Just watch your step at the Pipe and you will be fine.  Pick your safe spots at Cady Lane.

July 1st stocking and poaching

Remember, the regulations change on the Swift below Route 9  through Cady Lane on July 1st and that means that our C&R summer stocking will happen soon and I bet the damn poaching will ramp up.  Put the Environmental Police number in your phone and use it when you need it. If you see someone with a spinning rod above Route 9 call the EP!!!!! A stringer with trout below Rt 9 after June 30? Make a call!!!  Here's the number again - 800-632-8075.  Put it in your phone!!!

You know, I think we could use a little rain.  Not a lot, just a little!!

Ken

Dry Flies On The EB And Bait Slingers Above Route 9

"I'd rather sit on a dock on lake Michigan and drown worms than EVER, EVER fish a wet fly" - A purist character from Trout Madness by Robert Travers



Netting a nice bow before falling in

Things can't really get better I guess since all rivers are firing on all cylinders this past week.  The EB was full of fish that were "looking up" and we took advantage of that tossing stimulators and large (#12) Comparaduns and catching trout.

One spot that has produced well this Spring has been the 2 Mile Run. It's directly next to the 2 mile marker on the cart road. And so has the Bliss Pool, Chronicle and Slant Rock to name a few. Frankly, there are trout all over that river!

Let's hear it for the Ware BECAUSE this river has been producing for over the last month. Soft hackle emergers have ruled the day and I've guided gents that have claimed there best day EVER on a Massachusetts stream.  A word to the wise: early morning works great but the last hour of sunlight works better.  This is a perfect "Evening Rise" stream.  Don't be afraid of the shadows because the browns are not!!!!!

The Millers: I think it's funny that one self proclaimed "know-it-all" said that you don't need a guide on this river.  If that's true why do so many fly fishers ask me where to go and if they already know the locations why do they ask me how to fish it??? (Why did that know-it-all ask me for a copy of My Flyfishers Guide To The Millers River).  It's simple: It's a BIG river where many fish the same old popular spots and at the wrong time of day. I fish the seldom fished sections at the right time of day and hammer them!!!
Book me for a shot at this!!!  Remember, it's an evening stream from late June til September!!

Bait Boys about Route 9

Ok, this is what I've been hearing. There have been a number of spinning rod bait and lure tossers above Route 9. They have been seen lugging stringers of trout out and when they are approached in a civil manner about the Rules they say that they have a valid license and no one is going to stop them!!!  I've heard that calls to the DFW hotline go unanswered.

This is brazen bullshit by scofflaws who don't give a damn about our regulations.  We have to turn them in.  The Environmental Police number is 800-632-8075.  Call them and if you know the vehicle they are using take a cellphone photo of the plate number.  We need to make some examples of them.  I called the Environmental Police about some naked guy running around above route 9 last year and they got right back to me and went after him.

If you fish there and enjoy it then report abuse!!!!

Ken

Fly Rod Thoughts And The Rivers This Weekend

"Fly fishing isn't really about catching fish.  Fly casting is a great part of it, and in a sense a rod is like a baseball bat. If you hit the ball just right, you really nail it. It feels good.  You've found the sweet spot in the bat. A fly rod should deliver that kind of joy: the joy of casting" - Tom Dorsey, founder of Thomas & Thomas Rod Company

I've guided hundreds and hundreds of clients over the last few years and  very few of them had the tool that we call the nymphing rod in their arsenal, very few. Now, did they use the techniques that we now label as nymphing? Yes, when the circumstances called for it.  Were they hampered by using the wrong equipment? No, not really.  I will make this statement: the average well designed graphite fly rod of around 9 feet for a 4 or 5 weight line that is moderate to medium fast will be able to do everything that you want it to do, including all forms of nymphing, and will only be restricted by your ability to use the rod correctly.

As Tom Dorsey said, this sport is about fly casting and your garden variety nymph rod is not a good casting machine.  A stiff butt and mid section married to a soft tip section gives an awkward, hinged feel when you need to make a long cast instead of just "flipping and mending". I have a 10ft, 4wt nymph rod given to me as a gift.  If all that I wanted to do was nymph I'm ok but longer casts to rising trout felt like shooting a bow with an arrow of the wrong spine.  There was less control over the placement of the fly as my casts got longer.

My other graphite rods of between 8 to 9 ft can do EVERYTHING that my 10 ft nymph rod can do PLUS make long accurate casts with a dry fly.  Am I hampered by a shorter rod?? I can bounce nymphs on the Swift, the EB, the Millers and the Ware and I can position myself to cover all of the water correctly (sometimes nymphing) with a generalist rod of 8 to 9 feet.  Am I hampered by not having the softer tip section  for strike detection? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  There's something wrong if you can't detect a strike while nymphing with a generalist graphite rod.  John Gierach, the great writer, once said you could nymph fish with a broom handle and another sage said that it's not the arrow but the archer. Get the point??

It seems that the industry that supports this sport has been working overtime to create new markets. For 30 years the only advancements in fly rods was the introduction of some new generation of graphite. Then came things like switch rods and spey rods and now specialist rods that you can buy because we are becoming like golfers. A fly rod for every situation. Soon we will have rod caddies!!!!  Many of these advances are not NEED driven but are MARKET driven.  We are convinced that we need the new thing and we go and buy it.  Many times we have bought a solution in search of a problem!!

I read recently that instead of shelling out $700 for a new fly rod the angler should buy one for $250 and spend the rest of the money on casting lessons.  Good advice I think!!

The Rivers This Weekend

Yes, that's the PIPE on the Swift. Legend had it that it was washed down to the Connecticut River during the Winter BUT it has reemerged. The flow is at 303 cfs as I write (6am on 6/13) and fish are being caught there and in the Tree Pool so go fish!!! The flow on the Swift will continue to fall even with the expected rain late in the weekend. Try to time your Y Pool visits to when the OVERFLOW ARM has just a trickle of water coming over. That arm will be loaded with trout. P.S. read the comment by Joe C. regarding the Y Pool - KEN


The Millers and the Ware - It feels great to FINALLY dump the streamers and buggers and swing my soft hackles in these calmer currents. The Millers is at 463 and the Ware is at 98.  Hit the Ware about 6:00 pm and stay through dusk = good action!!!  BTW, my old friend, the Light Cahill, seems to be hatching in abundance this season. This is a good mid afternoon to dusk fly!!!

The EB - Soft Hackles again are getting it done. The water temperature on this river at 10 am was 58 degrees = perfect!!  I spied an old bed of Iris while on the EB. Probably the remnants of an old 19th century garden and something good to see on this early Summer Morning. - Ken

 

The Swift And It's Brookies

"Contrary to what some people think, guides and outfitters don't get to fish that much. instead, they're busy doing the countless, mundane, mostly invisible things that allow their clients to fish" - John Gierach

A Swift Brown

First, it was the salmon that went over the falls and into the Swift last October and that was a good thing. But Mother Nature has left the faucet running well into Spring and now into early Summer and the catch at the Y Pool now includes smallmouth bass, pickerel (yes, it's true, I've seen the photos) and (this is the real killer) YELLOW PERCH!

Now, I don't think that the rainbows need to worry since they are big enough to fend for themselves. Same for the browns for now. It's the brook trout that I worry about because whenever smallies and yellow perch enter brook trout country the brook trout lose. One only has to go back to the early 20th century to when some "do-gooder" decided that it would be a nice thing to fish for smallmouth in Maine's brook trout waters. In go the bass and the trout decline! (The same can be said about the early push to expand LL Salmon and smelt into most of Maines coldwater lakes, lakes that were populated by massive brook trout and their special prey, the blueback trout. The smelt overwhelmed the bluebacks and the salmon out competed the brook trout and the rest is history.

There is something valuable at stake here and that is a balance that we see in the Swift. Brook trout have thrived up and down from Cady Lane. There may not be a denser brook trout population in New England. They, in turn, provided a food source for the apex predator - the brown trout. Brookies over 20 inches and browns over 8lbs means something is going right!!!! Yellow perch and smallmouth don't belong. The question is what can we do about it?


                                                                                                           A Swift Brookie

Please use the comment section or just email me direct concerning catches of anything other than trout in the Swift for the rest of the year. We need to keep track of this.

Book Me On A Freestone In June!!!!

Ken

The Millers Revisited (Again) And Book Me

"The best fishermen that I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again; instead they strive to make new and interesting mistakes and to remember what they learned from them" -John Gierach

It had been a while since I last fished this spot. Actually it had been years since I worked this water. This is a spot on the Millers that sees very little fishing action and not because the fishing is poor. Actually it's great but it is a bit out of the way which then begs the question "Ken, I thought you liked spots off the beaten track" and I do but some just fall through the cracks and become forgotten. I will not forget this spot again!

My client and I arrived and got ready to explore the long glassy flat that seemed to stretch forever. The fly of choice was a Kens Caddis Emerger in one of four body colors that I tie it in. (a think it was grey). We caught some big fish with trout slashing at the swinging emerger. It's my experience that the rise to a swinging emerger is the most violent and exciting hit you can have on a trout stream.

Forward cast 24 hours. I just finished a guiding session on the Ware and then made a beeline to the Millers. Same spot, same fly and a 9 foot 5 weight because I can make longer casts with a 5 weight than with a 3 or 4 weight. The result - 9 fish (7 bows, 2 browns) in three hours.

It was one of the most satisfying short trips I've had in a while. Oh yeah, I saw no other people fishing.

The Rivers

As I write the flows are:
Millers - 419
Ware    - 119
Swift    - 410
EB       - 286
WB      - 123

Everything is in GREAT shape except for the Swift which still has to come down and more importantly has to stop overflowing. We are in June and that Quabbin surface water is NOT what we want in the Swift.

Fish A Freestone/Book A trip

The freestones are in the best shape for the first week in June that I can remember but some just can't pry themselves away from the Swift or the Farmington.  There's lots of GOOD flyfishing  on natural rivers in central Massachusetts that goes unnoticed.  I've been dry fly fishing the Millers on Summer evenings for over 35 years and caught a lot of trout while the "experts" said it was a bass river after June first.  Book a trip trip and find out!!!!

Ken

Up And Down The Millers, The EB And Your Comments

 "Everybody is an expert in May, especially the first few weeks after they stock!" - Upcountry Website 5/24/19


                                                                                                       This Blog

It doesn't matter whether you just started reading this blog or have been at it for a decade - the REAL fishing news is HERE and one only has to read my COMMENTS section to see that the MANY people who read this blog also share their success with YOU in the form of telling you where they fish (river name), where on the river they fish (pool name) and the time of day that they fish. They don't treat this information like it was a State Secret only to be shared with a chosen few.  They know that after they leave others will fish the place too and they will hopefully catch trout and they know the trout will be there when they return.  Kinda like a community I would guess, a term that is widely misused now a days!  My readers know that this is a public resource and it should be shared.  This blog does this and the others don't, period!  That's why I've spent all of this god forsaken
month of May giving timely stream flow updates to help flyfishers prepare for all the high flows. So, many thanks to the COMMENT providers (all comments are volunteered and not coerced) and KEEP THEM COMING!!!

The Millers
Yes, the Millers has begun to recede breaking the 500 cfs barrier for the first time in months (it's at 541 as I write but it will go down with little rain in the forecast).  We've taken some good browns and bows at Bridge Street and actually nailed some bows at Erving Center which always seems to be the last place to find fishable water on this lower part of the river.  The Kempfield Run has yielded one lonesome brookie in two trips and the Upper Trestle is still too deep/fast to fish.

I know this river having spent 34 years fishing it. It's a favorite summer evening river!!!!


The EB Of The Westfield

I'm beginning to feel that the lost TU weekend on the EB was a good thing. No camping party, no hordes of anglers, no schools of freshly stocked trout means a more natural experience. I've been catching trout, so far all bows, which is ok with me.  This river has been fishable for two weeks  (that means you can cross in most places) and it will only get better.  Some of my best Summer flyfishing has been on the EB. BTW, I fish the EB about once a week from May through October.  I know the place!!!

Make sure you are there on the first real sunny warm days in early June to catch the damselfly hatch. This insect in its nymph stage, looks like a dragonfly nymph and will act like one by crawling out of the water onto a rock or log to shed its case and become an adult. And what an adult!!! The drab two inch nymph transforms into a three inch long light green thing of beauty. It's not the dry fly that we are concerned with but the nymph. This critter moves rather quickly through the water and a small (#12 or #14) size brown or olive or a combination of the two wooley bugger cast up against the rocks or shore will get action. I've seen browns BEACH themselves trying to catch this insect. The EB and the Millers (especially the EB) are loaded with them.

The Swift

Talk to you when it gets down below 200 cfs. I could use a tailwater fix but the prospect of getting the time to hit the Farmie is out of the question with my guiding schedule. I have found that the best time to avoid the mob is in late July/August on a Monday, Tuesday Wednesday.  Camp out and fish your brains out!!!!

The WARE

My clients and I have been doing well here.  It's a good river to split a day on between it and the Swift.

I love the quote (at the top of the page) from the folks at Upcountry. There's a lot of truth to that!!!!

Book A Trip
June is the top month for fly fishing in Massachusetts as far as I am concerned. The water has warmed to a point where trout are most active and the flows are still good (especially this year).  Just email me to secure a date.  I guide on seven rivers so there is plenty of trout to fish for!!

Ken

Fish The Millers, Fish the EB, Fish the Ware, Fish Anywhere And Book Me!!!!

"Fly fishermen are born honest, but they get over it". Ed Zern

Well, this crazy Spring is finally settling down and good flows and good fishing has returned to cental/western Ma. The Millers was at 522 cfs early this morning and should fall below 500 by Memorial Day afternoon. There have been some good catches this past week with caddis emergers and buggers ruling the day. The Ware can't get any better with a 209 flow and lots of trout. Again it's the two previously mentioned flies that are causing the most hits.

It's Memorial Day Weekend which means that the EB will be invaded by swimmers, dog walkers, mountain bikers and maybe flyfishers. On holiday weekends I like AFTERNOONS best because all of the non-fishing activity has peaked for the day and is then on the decline. The EB flow is a good 395 and it got stocked late in the week. Do not forget evenings on this river!!

Can't forget the Swift. It's dropped to 483 this morning and that's 243 cfs in one week!! Once the spillway stops spilling it will drop like rock. Maybe someone will throw a "PIPE PARTY"!!!!


I Ihave some good openings in June left which includes "evening rise sessions which always seem to work. I'll have the caddis and the Comparaduns. You bring your enthusiasm!!!!


Ken

The All-Around Fly, Our Rivers And Book Me

 

"Fly patterns are like literature: endless variations on a handful of themes.  The good ones are the ones that work, for whatever reason, and the great ones are those that survive beyond their own generation." - John Gierach

Let's talk about the rivers first.

The Millers - It cracked the 800 cfs barrier on Sunday with a 786 flow and with a projected rainfall through next Sunday of only .30 inches it will come down even more. I'll be spending time there with week saying hello to the browns!!!

The Ware - My client almost broke the half dozen mark a few days ago but we dropped a lot of fish.  The DFW appears to be playing with us by stocking a zillion 6 inch browns in this river. Its the second year in a row that this has happened and I'm wondering if they are performing an experiment or are they making more room in the hatchery for more rainbows??

The Swift - It's down to 686 and that flow can't drop fast enough for me!!! There are a lot of smallmouth that have come over the spillway in the last two weeks and that could spell bad news for the brook trout. Remember, brookies and smallies don't mix and wherever they are together the smallies win out. The State of Maine once didn't have smallies!!!

The EB - It's VERY FISHABLE right now with a flow of 454 (it was 407 just 48 hours ago) but the days of catching 50+ fish courtesy of a recent stocking are long gone for this Spring  unless they stock again. The flow of this river has been a yo-yo over the past month so the trout are spread out. This flow will will drop to the 250 range and stabilize I think, much as it did in 2009, the best year I've had on this river!!!!!

The WB - It;s been weird this Spring. The flows on this river have been steady but the fishing hasn't held up. Last year June was very good on the West Branch. Let's hope it's the same this year.

Stocking will be over by Memorial Day.  Fish now!!!

The All-Around Fly

Do you ever wonder what you would use if you HAD to limit yourself to one fly pattern. I play with this thought on occasion and I believe have a final style based on its versatility and fish catching ability and it's the SOFT HACKLE !! (pattern colors are not that important, materials are!!)

Your standard SH is a nymph, a sunken adult fly, an emerger AND a dry fly all rolled into one.  It all depends on how you fish it. Let's say that it is early  on a Spring  day when insects have not started hatching BUT YOU KNOW THEY WILL!!  A SH fished deep on an upstream cast and then high sticked past you (it's ok to use split shot) is the same technique used by the great Theodore Gordon over a 100 years ago. You can fish this fly on the swing to imitate the emerging insect but you really have to do it correctly and that is with constant MENDING of the line. Mending allows the fly to drift lower in the current and slows down the drift of the fly to a natural speed instead of it being pulled by the line  like a water skier attached to a speedboat!

And with the standard soft hackle you don't have to think about imparting "action" to the fly because the soft hackles naturally move with the slightest current which is all the movement that you need. (actually this is true for all subsurface flies. They are bounced around buy currents coming from all directions JUST LIKE A NATURAL INSECT!!

Now for the Dry Fly. How does a fly that is made from materials that absorb water become a dry fly.  Answer: it doesn't but it becomes an emerging insect and that's what you want to fish.  Most "rises" are not for the adult insect but for the insect that's trying to break through the surface film. Drifting a soft hackle down and in front of a surface working trout is the perfect presentation. The fly rises in the current in front of the trouts feeding lane, the perfect presentation!!!!

Is there a second place fly???  Yes, it's the Golden Ribbed Hares Ear AND any Sawyer nymph.

Better Late than Never, This Blog And Book Me

I would be inclined to issue a pass to Tenkara simply because it's aim is to simplify our sport which has a tendency to become overrun with equipment junkies and method madmen. It's good to take a Tenkara break every now and then and reset yourself. You can also catch a lot of trout this way!!! - Me on Tenkara

This Blog

First off, I'd like to thank the dozens of commenters who have contributed their fishing experiences in just the last few weeks. That group is not just the same old regulars that festoon other blogs with the same old, same old but a wide range of fly fishers who fish a wide range of rivers and are not afraid to share a good spot with others. (Let's face it, there are very few secret spots anymore and many who jealously guard their "secret spots" have pumped me for info in the past.) This blog provides information about where and when to go and what to use.

Better Late Than Never

Finally, things are rounding into shape. Namely, the flows are coming down. Let's look at the last week:

May 3 CFS                                      May 10 CFS

Millers - 1850                                        1050
Ware - 800                                               345
Swift - 1200                                             877
EB 643                                                    391
WB 324                                                   202

All the rivers are dropping nicely with the Branches of the Westfield producing in a steady fashion (quill gordons are popping out all over that system).Size 8 Partridge and Orange, your standard quill gordon wet and a size 12 peacock bodied black buggers have produced the most.

The Millers has dropped about 120 cfs every day this week. I've was told by a fellow that I guided on the EB that he fished Orcutt around the edges and caught browns so it can be done but just be careful.

Got a report of some good catches on the Ware yesterday that may have been the result of the water control boys turning the flow down. (from 606 cfs to 345 cfs in ONE DAY is not normal) I can't wait to get out there!!!!

The Swift - slowly but surely it's coming down. I'll wait until it gets below 100 cfs. That's the flow that I like and there are too many other rivers to fish!!

Book Me

I have a few openings left in May and I am starting to book up June ESPECIALLY my Evening Rise trips. There's no better way to spend an evening than on a trout stream.

Go Fish,

Ken

The BROOKIES Are Back!!

"A very nice read and guide to the Millers, thank you. Of course I have my favorite spots, many that coincide with yours. I am sure that I will re read your guide several times. The most important thing for me is, how to fish the spots, not necessarily where the spots are".- Reader comments about the Millers Guide  and the MAIN reason why I guide on the Millers which is SOMETIMES YOU NEED A GUIDE!!!

                                                                                                 

THEY'RE BACK and they came back with a vengeance. The wave of brookies are leaving their summer homes and are heading upstream. I took a beautiful 12 inch male in the gauge run and saw several others along with the browns. I have heard that the BT are scarce above RT 9 but that should change soon. So tie up some eggs, tie up some Partridge and Orange SH and get at it. Remember, don't walk on spawning grounds and that is everywhere you find clean gravel. Walk on weeds,leaves,sand or any debris to reach your location.

For the record - according to this blog the brook trout began their upstream march in 2017 on 10/22. It was earlier the year before and a week later this year.

Autumn On The EB

How are the other rivers doing? Well, here are the current flows for them as of 5:30 am on 10/29:

Millers - 949 and rising.  I may have to write this river off for the season. Even with no rain for November the seasonal draw down from Lake Tully will fix that. (Thank you Bill from Tully for the info)

Ware - 167 and dropping. It's hard to believe that the flow is excellent here after all this rain.  FISH THIS RIVER

The EB - 563 and dropping. And it will drop a lot with every dry day that we get. I'm looking at a flow of below 500 to hit some areas and a flow below 400 to hit most of the river. That will happen by mid week hopefully.

Book a November Trip

We have fished the EB well into November over the years and have had excellent catches.  I remember client Van tossing a stimulator into the run on the right and having it smashed by a large hungry bow! Want to get in on the action on the Swift?  Book me for a 3 or 6 hour trip.  Want to explore the Ware? Same answer as above.




Ken

Looking For Browns

(g) Swift River: From the Windsor Dam to the Rte. 9 bridge crossing. In addition to the provisions of 321 CMR 4.01(2)(a), fly fishing only is permitted on the Swift River between Windsor Dam and the Rte. 9 crossing. All anglers must use a conventional fly rod and fly line. -  Ma. DFW Regulations: Tenkara and tight line nymphers beware!!!   

                                                               Can You See Him?

The Rainbows of the Pipe and the Y Pool swim in wide open areas  during broad daylight. They will let you break the current for them and have been known to swim between your boots. In short, they are accustomed to us. They provide sport which is important.  Browns are different. Browns don't trust us! They like to hide next to logs and weeds and undercut banks. A bright sunny day will just turn them off.  Clouds and drizzle work fine and night is even better. They are my favorite trout.

They saved trout fishing in the Eastern U.S. 130 years ago when transplanted from Scotland and Germany by filling the void left by our brook trout and in fact populated rivers or sections of rivers that had never or seldom had trout. (The Millers may have been one of these). They established themselves nicely in their new home and grew bigger and faster than the brookies did. They were also blamed for preying on brook trout populations, a fact that we tend to celebrate on the Swift today.

I think it is safe to say that the browns have established themselves in more streams and rivers than the rainbow has, at least in Massachusetts. Two thirds of the trout that are stocked in this State are rainbows but they don't reproduce well (sterile females?). Every once and awhile we get a few 5 inch bows over a short period of time in the Swift but they are always 5 inches not 3 to 6 inches which would be evidence of some year classes (like the brookies) and not just escapees from the same tank.  It's a different story with the browns. I've caught them from 3 inches to 6 inches in the Swift and in the Millers.  Not a lot but enough to prove a point.

Browns like places that a lot of nymphing fly fishers don't like to fish - slow current, lots of trout cover, (weeds and wood), undercut banks (as in the photo) and overhanging trees. All of this will make your garden variety tightline nympher head for the hills or the nearest safe and civilized riffle. Fans of brown trout search these wild places out.  I have fished this one section of the Millers that is a pile of rocks and logs and brown trout AND HAVE NEVER SEEN ANOTHER ANGLER THERE. I don't think I ever will!!!


Last, but not least, the brown is wired to feeding on the surface. Sure, you can bounce a rainbow warrior off it's nose and he might snap at it but the real fun is to take a sub #18 dry and follow that slow deliberate rise to that magic moment.  As friend Matt said after releasing an 18 inch brown from a size 18 dry "Sure you can fish a subsurface fly but why would you?"

Browns are magic!  They make you work for them.  Browns are my favorite trout!  I like brook trout too but.......

Blue Wing Olives

It has been a great Autumn for this mayfly on the Swift.  I've heard tales of size 30 and 32 BWO but size 22 and 24 emerger flies have done very well.  The fly?? A BWO emerger tied like a Wyatt's DHE but with snowshoe hair or slate grey post wing material for the wing.  The rear of the body sinks but the wing keeps it in the surface film. It is a killer!  If the Millers comes down it will be my fly like it was last Autumn but the Millers has to come down for that dainty morsel to be used.

Ken

The Millers, The Swift And Book Me

"There is a lot of room for good lures in our trout fly boxes, as the purpose for them will exist as long as there are trout. And designs meant to be swung (as opposed to dangled under a bobber) will always fill a sporty niche."  The Soft Hackle Journal - Trout Spey And The Art Of The Swing

At 660 CFS one would have an outside chance of catching something so off to the the reliable Bridge Street Pool of the Millers on Tuesday morning. The flow was manageable if I didn't wade too far out and the hunch paid off with two browns coming to the net within an hour. It's a big difference from the last two years where low flows kept the trout schooled up and double digit numbers were easy. This year you have to hunt for them. As it turned out the flow increased overnight and is now running over 700 cfs. I'll keep the faith and hope that November will be good on this river. It always has.

Big Browns - Browns are not like rainbows. They will not be found  swimming around in the open especially in broad daylight. Instead they seek the  cover of brush piles, logs and undercut banks. If you are not seeing big browns you are looking in the wrong places.  Also, the rise form is discreet, almost dainty and one would think that a tiny brook trout was at play until 18 inches or more of brown trout explodes across the pool.

Book Me - We still have a good month of good conditions. The Swift, EB and Ware all have great flows and have been stocked so what's stopping you?  Contact me!                                                   

Since Monday we have spied browns on the Swift that were in the 4lb range and have hooked and or landed browns in excess of 18 inches and all of them rose to size 20 to 24 BWO!!!

Ken

 

The Big Fish Of The Swift

Above all, observe the fish. Better yet, observe the trout  as if you were a predator that needs to catch it, not just a participant in a game. Edited-for-action fly fishing videos, especially ones with hard-rock soundtracks and rambunctious high fives, won't really prepare you for approaching big, spooky trout.  Watching your pet cat will give you a better idea of how a predator moves when stalking its prey" - Bob Wyatt, What Trout Want: The Educated Trout And Other Myths

Last Years Brown - They're bigger now

Saturday my client and I cast over an 8lb male brown and his 6lb girlfriend while fishing the Swift.  I then got a copy of a video of a hooked 10 lb Swift River Brown clearing the water twice. Then I saw a DFW photo of a 26 inch Brook Trout taken by the DFW from the Swift.  Match that up against the 10 lb brute I saw last Fall or the brown of the same size that ran the length of the Tree Pool before escaping.

Something has happened to this river over the last 10 years.  A brook trout population explosion has resulted in a forage base for browns, big brook trout AND outsized rainbows ( 5+ pounders).  It's also caused an increase in the dreaded mergansers, a flock of which will sweep a stream and take everything from 1 inch to 6 inches.  What ever has happened we can say with certainty that the placid Swift may be the top trout fishery in the State or New England for that matter.

What makes the Swift interesting is the fact this population explosion of big fish has been done by Mother Nature and not a State agency!  Maybe Massachusetts developed a "survivor program" by not doing anything!!!!


The Swift has a good reputation for its rainbows and deservedly so BUT that's not what's important here.  The WILD brookies and WILD browns take top billing on the Swift.  And unlike the 'bows they're not going to jump in your net. You have to hunt for them!!  "Where are they" you may ask?  THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!!!


Brook Trout

They are starting to stage up downstream and now we are starting to see them upstream of the Pipe.  It will be interesting to observe the numbers this year.  A word of caution: watch where you step above Rt 9. It is a prime spawning area with it's almost endless gravel stretches.  If you must fish it walk on the weeds and leaf debris and not on clean gravel.

FISH NOW!!!

The Ware is at a placid 162 cfs as I write

The EB is at a PERFECT 154 cfs!!!

The Millers has come down to 749 cfs and is still dropping. Orcutt is one of the first places (below the bridge) that becomes fishable at that flow.  We have next to no rain in the forecast until Sunday so this river should get below 500 cfs by mid week.

Mergansers 

I got an email from someone who said that we shouldn't worry about mergansers since they will fly south soon.  Fat chance of that.  They will stay as long as they have open water and the Swift doesn't freeze. Neither does the Quabbin.  And they are not new to the scene. I've seen them below the Pipe and in Cady Lane for two decades!

Ken