Serendipities Save The Day

You just can't go wrong fishing the riffle sections of the Swift with a Serendipity. I once used the tradition tie with it's fine deer hair head but found it lacking, at least on the sections that I like to fish. I experimented with this fly, changing the wing and the body material. The addition of turkey flat for the wing worked nicely as did the flat, waxed nylon thread for the body. Take a close look at the "head". Yes, there's head on this version which is dubbing that is the same color as the body but DARKER. My colors are red, pink and green. The green works great in the Summer!

It saved the morning at the gauge/pipe section today. The pipe has been slim pickings this month and that's bit of a mystery. I've only seen one other angler this month in the early morning when I've been there so maybe others have had the same experience. The Gauge is a different story. I took two 'bows on that stretch both on a #16 red serendipity.

Early this Friday me and my better half will be heading to Jamaica for five days for some mid winter R&R. Can't wait!!!!! Maybe the groundhog won't see his shadow next Tuesday and Spring will be "right around the corner".

Ken

The Marlboro Show

It's one of those events that I take with a grain of salt. "Been there, done that" is a term that I'm qualified to use after 40 years of fly fishing. After awhile ( a few decades) it all begins to seem the same. How many new rod designs, new fly fishing gear, new fly tying equipment can you stand before it begins to look like the "same old same old"?? I'm right on that account and after doing the show in 09 I had mixed feelings about the 150 miles round trip to see it all again. But, in a moment of weakness, I had invited my better half to an introduction to our lunacy a month or so ago. As it happened she had to take off to NYC on family matters which left me with some time on my hands. Ok, I'm going but I'll be a man on a mission!! I'll be zeroing in on a small wish list of "have to have" items.

First item - I found a copy of George M.L. LaBranche's "The Dry Fly & Fast Water". If I believed in the supernatural I would believe that LaBranche has used me to "channel" his dry fly philosophy. This book, which I have read in snippets over the years, will be my bedtime reading this winter hopefully during blizzards when all hope of Springtime days are just a dream. I can hardly wait!!!

Hooks - I first bought my Mustad dry fly hooks at $4.00 a hundred back when that was a princely sum to a starving college/flyfishing student. It's 4x times that now. I've heard of the Saber line of hooks and finally got to see them. Good finish (not too bright) and the point is sharp and strong. $6.95 a hundred is great too!! I bought a bunch of them. I'm happy!!

Bobbins - A.K. Best is right!! Today's ergonomic bobbins suck. Hard to adjust the tension and always fouling the thread around the structure. S&M bobbins solve all of that but over the years they have become scarce. Cote's had them and I bought three. Very happy about that. Cote's also had a hare's mask in rust color at $2.50. Perfect for henderickson thorax's and other flies. I'll take my electric clippers to that mask and shave it into a pile of dubbing. Happy again!!

I am the proud owner of the 3rd issue of FLYROD & REEL back when it was called ROD & REEL MAGAZINE. I kept that subsciption for 20 years but let it lapse. Show Special - 3 years for $30.00. I'm in!!!

During the show I ran into some old friends, some new friends, some great folks that I have guided in the last few years. It was fun. The crowds seemed very manageable which made the browsing fun which was very different from the hordes of a few years ago. Maybe my expectations were lower which made the event more tolerable. I had a good time. Hope you did too.

Got some info on the LOWER Swift!!!!!!!! More on that this Spring.

The above photo has nothing to do with the show. I just don't like to post an article without a photo. Sue me!

ALONE On The Swift!

The alarm was set for 5:15am this past Saturday morning. "Just 5 more minutes" I said to myself. Of course, that 5 minutes morphed into an HOUR which had me racing to the Swift. My plan was simple - be the first one there on your first trip of the New Year. But I thought my late start would kill that idea. Well, I was surprised to see NO CARS at the Y Pool lot at 7:30 and NO CARS at the Pipe! I had the place to myself for the two hours that I was there.

The fishing - only two in two hours with an additional two hits. A far cry from my last trip two weeks ago. Could the bait boys have emptied the place? There were a lot of footprints in the snow on the pipe side of the river especially on the steep bank by the lower pool, a telltale sign of bait fishermen. Two years ago the fishing was great from January through March so I can't really say if they had an affect this year.

I took a photo of the Pipe showing the low water condition of this year. The other photo is from January of 2009 during the flood. One can just barely make out the top of the pipe. What a difference a year makes!!

BTW, I was rigged with a #14 serendipity and a #16 scud. The Serendipity produced the trout.

Swift River Scud

I can only tie for so long before I have to write about it. This is my "scud pattern" that I've used over the last five or so years on the Swift.

First, I guess that it will work on any stream but it REALLY works on the Swift which means it's probably a good tailwater pattern wherever tailwaters are found. I've fished "big" versions of this on the Millers and had success. First things first - I don't like the "bushy" scud patterns. Real scuds are not that bushy. Second, less material means that the fly will get down quickly which is very important. Third, I probably have more real Australian possum in various colors than anyone in New England (maybe a stretch) at this point which I firmly believe is the real reason that this fly works. Believe me, I've tested materials and the Australian possum is the real deal!!

Over the last five or so years this pattern has worked throughout the seasons. Dump it into the riffles, dump it into the pools, it doesn't matter. Trout like it. They like it better in the riffles! Sizes 14 and 16 are all that you need.

I hope to get out this weekend to the Swift even though they're talking about another "weather event" for Friday and Saturday. Say your prayers folks!!!

Ken

The End Of '09

A warm, drizzly day in late December equals a cold, drizzly day in late March. At least that's what it felt like Sunday morning as I walked across the field to the gauge and pipe sections of the Swift except I knew that Spring was not right around the corner but was a full three months away and that this balmy weather was nothing more than a brief tease. Time to make the best of it!!

The pipe was full so I headed up to the gauge where the size 16 serendipity did it's thing in those skinny riffles. Then down to the pipe where the 'bows attacked it. All told I took seven in two hours and missed a few more. The serendipity that I tied was a bit different than the common one that we use and I was pleased with how it performed. That makes a few good trips under it's belt!

Winter is a time when we tie and dream and occasionally fish if the Swift behaves itself. I'll be doing all three plus posting on these activities. I've been tying A LOT!!

Happy New Year and Stay Tuned!

Ken

The Swift On A Cold Sunday Morning

Yahoo Weather said that it was 9 degrees in Amherst at 7am. It was 9 degrees EVERYWHERE! But at 8:30 the water at the pipe didn't feel so bad ( only 42 degrees) and I was the only one there at the "pipe". I had to get out there, get my waders wet and feel that drifting fly at the end of my leader. I was dressed for the weather and was ready to go and the thought of NOT going was too much to bare.

It was "fly guessing time". What to use? After a little self imposed deliberation I chose a size 18 serendipity and that was all that was needed. In the two plus hours there I took 13 'bows. The "dark" fish were sluggish, the one or two "bright" fish fought like hell. Another regular showed up towards the end and we had fun gabbing about water levels, why some don't catch fish, the Farmington all the while playing with the 'bows.

I like the Swift especially when the sulphurs are popping up on a late June evening with water levels being "just right". The Swift has a job to do: keeping me involved and happy during these dark months. I have to admit that my mind drifted to those perfect days on the Millers and the EB when everything is the way it should be, at least in my day dreams. Until then I'll be bundled and layered up on the Swift, working my favorite tiny flies and dreaming of Hendricksons.

This may not be the last post of the year but if it is I wish all of you a great and wonderful Christmas Season. Many of you have responded in the past year with some very nice things to say and I appreciate all of it.

May next season be the best season for all!

Ken

The EB Of The Westfield - A Season In Review

Yes, I'm calling it a season on this river. There's snow on the lawn outside my window and the air temperature is hovering around 30 degrees. The next snow will probably be measured in inches instead of this overnight dusting and that will close down the dirt access road that runs through the Gorge and that will be the end of it until April. Ok, I could be brave and dodge the snowmobiles that will be racing up and down the Gorge but that will leave me ice covered boulders and just patches of open water to play in. No dice. That's what the Swift and the Farmington are for.

How do I sum up this season? It may have been one of the BEST seasons I've had on ANY RIVER!! First, it is the beautiful remoteness of this river that I've fallen in love with. I've guided two people on the EB and both said it was like fishing in the Rockies. Sure, summer weekends can find swimmers in the upper reaches but a short walk leaves all of that behind. Weekdays are perfect!!!

This is reliable RAINBOW COUNTRY which is a rarity here in Massachusetts. Most freestone streams give up their 'bows by July 4th but not this place. I had free rising rainbows from May through October and I bet they were rising during some of those Indian Summer days in November THAT I MISSED!! And during the last two years the fly fishing never really slowed down during the height of Summer. Evenings were sublime, early mornings even better. One hot weekend day I took a walk down to Indian hollow and back and saw rising fish throughout the river especially at the Hemlock Pool. You can rely on this place.

The EB actually saved the season for me with the Millers and the Swift flowing at full bore for much of the Summer. We would get a storm which would blow the river from 300 to 1000cfs
overnight but in a day and a half it was down to 500cfs while the Millers was still rising and RISING! This roadless, forested land keeps it's water too. The tribs and springs ran steadily all summer keeping the main river cool. I do wonder what a severe drought would do to the EB. The last two summers were very wet and I can see where the river could get a bit boney but I believe that the EB and it's trout can weather a "normal" summer. I'm not going to worry about it.

I'll fish the Swift this winter if the water level stays reasonable. I'll spend the winter tying flies too, but I'll be daydreaming about the East Branch during these dark months.

Ken