River Review As Spring Moves Into Summer

How have the Millers and the EB been fishing? The answer - perfect, excellent, best in years as my own observations and others have pointed out. The Millers has been running at a steady fishable pace for weeks now which usually isn't the case. The EB has had the flush of local T-storms to keep it from getting to bony. Having fishable flows and cool weather (nighttime lows in the high 40's really help)have kept the trout active.

The Swift - below rt 9 it is slim pickings and above rt 9 not too much better. We can count on the 7/1 regulation change below rt9 to give us a good stocking of trout (it always has)but why do we have to wait sooooo long for this when the vast majority of anglers who fish this section are C&R fly fishers who don't litter the place with coffee cups and bait containers and who stand in the middle of the tree pool waiting for a "bite" on their power bait which keeps everyone else from effectively fishing this pool?? Thankfully "they" have dwindled over the last few weeks because there are few trout because they caught and kept them all. Personally, I am tired of this policy. This is a fly fishing river pure and simple.

The Millers and the EB will be swinging into summer mode very soon. The great mid day catches of a month ago will cease with action occurring very early in the morning and in the evening into dark. If we have a cloudy, cool and misty day in July and August your daytime catches will improve because of that weather especially for browns. The Swift will be the Swift - flowing along at 58 degrees and hopefully some trout.

One of the above pictures shows a stocking just upstream from the Pipe last year. The trout are tossed into the river just above the intake building where they school up for days and are hammered by everyone. One would thing that the boys would swing the truck around to River Rd and toss some at the gauge and the other up river turnoff. Hopefully they will read this!!!

Ken

Sorry for the delay in posting. Lots of guiding, lots of fishing and lots of quick tying to get my fly boxes replenished.

Here it is:

Fish the EB - This river has been producing very well even through some weekend crowds(it's not really crowded) Find your way out here during the week and you will find next to nobody there. The fly fishers that you run into are just like you: friendly, low key and are just looking for a wide section to fish. There's plenty of that on the EB.

Fish the Millers - flows are very good and the Thursday Friday rains haven't (so far) jumped the flows into something that is unfishable. HIT THIS RIVER. Lots of bows and browns.

The Swift - I've heard the story about the lack of fish. It may be true or not. I've done well and so have others while others claim to be fishing a desert. One thing is true - there are fewer trout especially below RT 9 but trout are there. After the July 1st regulations change we will see more trout due, hopefully, to a late stocking for the catch and release folks who are the ones who REALLY cherish this river.

What's been working - soft hackles have been ruling the day for me on the EB, Millers and have been working well on the Swift by the Pipe. Any dusky olive pattern in average sizes works well. WB's in SMALL sizes (10-12) cut to the chase on the Millers/EB. Choose the dry fly pattern to fit the occasion on these rivers.

We are into PRIME TIME on these three rivers. Within two weeks we will be into the summer mode on the EB and the Millers - early morning and evening fishing until mid September when it is all day fishing.

I don't want to think about September now. We have three months of great fishing on three great rivers.

GO FISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ken

Forgetting What Worked....

Sometimes you wonder why you stop doing things especially things that work. Maybe because they may seem passe or old and from an other time. Maybe you stop doing something that works because you know that in a short time you will be in a situation where that technique will just have to be stripped away in order to deal with an evening rise or some other situation.

I had a short window of opportunity to work this presentation out of my brain. As I crested Chesterfield Center at 5:00pm the temperature read 83 degrees but the darkening haze to the west let me know what was in store. At 5:30 I was in the water on a very average riffle/run section of the EB. It looked more like 8:30!! On went a size 10 yellow and partridge and a size 10 tarantula as the top fly.

I used to work this set up ten years ago on this river and had very good success but I abandoned it for a single fly approach. It was perfect for the riffles and semi plunge pockets that the EB is famous for. A great trout hunting set up.

I fished for 45 minutes before the distant sound of thunder made me leave. Three large 'bows came to the net. Two on the surface fly and one on the soft hackle.

If you are addicted to indicators I would ditch the indicator and use a large dry fly like a tarantula, simulator or a size 10 Adams or any large mayfly. You can practice your dry fly technique and still catch trout!

On the way back I stopped at the Bliss Pool and saw some rising trout but the thunder was very close and I had done what I wanted to do. I felt fine.

As I crested Chesterfield Center on the way back east the temperature was down to 67 degrees. The skies opened up when I made it to home in Leeds and it poured for an hour. Wednesday (tomorrow) will be in the 70's and the forecast for the next few days will be cooler than the last two. Good news for the EB!!

I saw NOBODY fishing the river!!! So much for weekday crowds. For those who want to fish the EB in mid June please remember that early morning and late afternoon are prime. Mid day.....not so much unless it's cloudy and cool.

I'll hit the Millers again on Thursday if it's not too high.

Ken

The Millers On Memorial Day Weekend

The gauge in S. Royalston read 400 cfs at 10 pm Friday night and 400 again at 4:30 Saturday morning. The cloudbursts that hit my neck of the woods overnight spared the Millers Watershed and although a I would have liked hitting the lower river THAT flow was still too high.

Off to The Bears Den!

We had "brown trout skies" (overcast) when I met Brad at Pete and Henry's at 7am and then drove down the short road along the river to our destination - the stretch upstream from the trestle which includes that big beautiful pool and the riffles above. That's where I took "the brown". If any brown could be considered a "native" it would be this fish. First, it was almost black instead of brown, a sign of spending considerable time in the Millers. Second, ALL fins were intact especially the pectorals that were as large as oars. Third, it was about 16 inches which is the largest brown that I've caught in this section that fits the above description. That's important because I've caught more 4 to 8 inch browns in this section than anywhere else on this river. The DFW doesn't stock 4 inch browns in the Millers. This is an area that holds native browns!!

We spent 3 hours working that part of the river and did OK with the chunky hatchery browns (no rainbows). Then I took Brad to the Bears Den epicenter - Rezendes. We took a short upstream hike to the riffles below the trestle, found a somewhat safe section to cross the river and then fished downstream through that beautiful piece of water until we were across from Paul's house. The place is full of browns and not a rainbow to be found.

One note about crossing that section of river. At 400 cfs it is an adventure and I will recommend it only for those with a wading staff sturdy legs. I was at my limit in a few places.

Now let's stop here and let me ask the question - where was everyone?? This is Memorial Day weekend and all day long we saw only 3 people in the water and one going in as we were leaving after 7 hours. It was almost as empty as it was 20 years ago. Yes, the flow was a bit high but still wadable and it is loaded with browns.

As I write the flow is still at 400 but it will come down. You have no excuses!!

Ken

Update - EB and the Millers And Damselflies

The EB has been GREAT! And it's going to get better because we are entering the damselfly season. Around the end of May and certainly by early June we will see the damselfly emergence. Consider a warm sunny day on this river. By noon you will start to see trout activity VERY close to shore and that is because this quick swimming nymph is ready to head towards the shoreline (or rocks and limbs close to shore) to emerge. The trout follow this nymph and will intercept them in very shallow water. The chase can be very abrupt and noisy and sometimes if you are ten feet out in the river the noisy action will be BEHIND you. This happened to an angler that I was guiding on the Millers a few years ago. Standing ten feet out from the grassy island at the head of the Millers Kempfield Pool this angler almost jumped out of his waders by the very noisy hit right behind him. We changed flies and took browns in VERY shallow water where the browns were chasing damsels.

The Millers has lots of damsels. The EB is loaded with them. I've seen HUNDREDS who had just emerged and were drying their wings in just a few hundred yards of river. It's incredible how a 3/4 inch nymph can become an inch+ long winged insect but it happens.

It's the nymph that we are interested in. Although it doesn't really look like a damselfly nymph this pattern works: Tie an olive wooley bugger in a size 12 with clipped or undersized hackle. For added effect tie on a set of bead chain at the head. The nymphs have BIG eyes and the bead chain will get this fly down.

I actually saw a Millers brown land it's head on the shore trying to grab one of these morsels.

The Millers is calming down with the Bears Den at a very fishable level and the lower C&R right behind.

Go Fish

Ken

The EB And Some Open Dates

The EB is perfect!! The fish are there and the flows are very fishable. I spent about two hours there this evening and took 4 bows on a size 8 orange and partridge. That's right - a size 8. I've been waiting since January to throw that large fly into the riffles and runs of that river because that's where it works best. In fact, I spent the two hours just working one 30 yard stretch because it was just too beautiful to leave. The Bliss Pool and Slant Rock will be there for another time.

My favorite river?? Maybe.

I have some open guiding dates: Sat. May 24, Sat. June 7, Mon, June 9, Sat, June 14. These are for day long trips on the Millers, EB and the Swift and every time I do this I book up quickly. First come, first served. Just EMAIL me to grab a spot.

Look for the Millers to get down to the 600 cfs range by this weekend if it doesn't rain. I like flows below 500 at this time of year but.....

Ken

Millers, Swift and EB Update

OK, It's time to start fishing until the ice begins to form next Winter. It's almost May so there are no excuses except when the water levels go nuts as they have on the Millers. We will have more rain within 24 hours of this writing so watch the gauges on this blog especially for the Millers. To get a good read on the EB check the gauge reading for the WEST BRANCH OF THE WESTFIELD. It is dam free and a few miles from the EB. The gauge isn't effected by a dam. If the water is dropping on the West Branch then it is dropping in the C&R section of the EB!!

The Millers - The annual stock of browns is scheduled for May 2nd. Before that moron from Winchendon howls about me talking about mentioning STOCKING when I have said that I will not LET ME JUST SAY that I have worked long and hard to get AND keep browns in this river for over 25 years. I'm also proud of this accomplishment, having scheduled the event for 5 years and have mentioned this event over the last 7 years that I've written this blog. It's the reason that the Millers fishes so well through the season. BTW, I'm told that TU is continuing to work this event again - very good!!!

The Swift - Lots of fish. I've seen them, caught them and my clients have done the same. If you are getting zeros above RT 9 then fish below RT 9. You can't really see the fish there soooo it's going to be harder, I guess.

The EB - Go fish!! As mentioned above you have to check the levels of neighboring rivers for the next few weeks. It really begins to hop by mid May!!

The guy in the photo - that's Charlie from Evening Sun Fly Shop on the Millers!! Spend your money there!!!!!!! You'll get a great deal and will be shopping local!

Ken