Another Milestone And Fiberglass Rods.

"Hi Ken, No special message this time - just thanks again for your blog. I read every new post faithfully. Your sharing of your knowledge of streams, techniques, and patterns is much appreciated. Warmest holiday greetings to you and your readers. "John 

It blew right by me but this fragile experiment in  flyfishing journalism passed a milestone this past October. We met and crossed the 2 MILLION PAGE VIEW MARK.  And I use the editorial "WE" because it takes readership to accomplish this and readership to motivate me to continue with this blog.

Back in the early days (pre 2010) readership was slim but it grew organically by focusing on local rivers, fishing reports, stories and not falling into  the trap of bogus product reviews and bucket list dreaming.  There's enough of that out there.  Keep the flavor "local" and keep it coming!!!!!!

I thank everyone who has enjoyed reading this blog and for all of those readers who have made sincere, knowledgeable comments throughout the years on this blog's content. Again, thank you!!!!!  Rivers in this state such as the Ware, Swift, Millers, the EB and the WB of the Westfield will continue to be reported on throughout the year because of you!!!

Fiberglass

I know enough not to chance smashing one of my bamboo beauties in weather that will cause the tip to ice up and I won't fish any of the graphite "nymphing" rods in this cold season because of all the online evidence of smashed tips that one can easily find.  Regular graphite can get the job done (I've fished graphite in cold weather for 40 years and have only broken one and that was after 14 seasons of heavy use).

If you want a rod that is built to last try out a sturdy fiberglass rod in the 4 to 6wt range (I've also fished glass for years and have NEVER broken one in the act of fishing).  In my younger days I abused fiberglass in all kinds of silly ways but I never broke one.  The stuff is bullet proof!!  And it's not your "fathers fiberglass" but appears to have improved in feel and action while increasing the length to what we would never believe was possible just a few years ago.  I had the opportunity to cast one of the new generation of glass and it felt great.  Yup, I'm in the market for one!!!  I also have a 7.5 foot, 6wt Walt Powell blank that I built years ago and then stripped down because I didn't like the job that I did.  It may be a good winter project this year!

Fishing Right Now

The season is pretty much over as far as the freestones are concerned unless Gary is making some magic on the EB.  It's the Swift in central Ma right now and it's worth the trip especially if we get that winter day when temperatures creep into the 40's and midges and winter caddis start popping at the PIPE and the Y Pool.

I'll be there and so should you!!!

Ken

Polly Rosborough And His Fuzzy Nymphs

"Successful trout fishing isn't a matter of brute force or even persistence, but something more like infiltration" - John Gierach

If you started to tie flies in the 1960's OR if you like to study the trends concerning this wonderful past time of over the last half of the 20th century then you probably have heard of Polly.  His flies, such as the CASUAL DRESS and The FELDERMOUSE, have one technique in common - they are FUZZY and usually weighted. They also WORK as many anglers can attest.  They are buggy and that attracts trout as the great fly designer and trout magnet John Wyatt has proven with his creations which are very similar.






The above fly is NOT one of Polly's creations but incorporates his fly tying principles - make it fuzzy and buggy and drift it slowly!

Hook - Size 14 wet fly or nymph

Tail - pale grey partridge fibers (they move in the current

Body - it's all hares ear with olive making up the rear 2/3 of the fly and orange/red making up the thorax.  Use a dubbing loop to make it really fuzzy and then lash it down with fine (very fine) copper wire.

Hackle - grey partridge tied sparse

Now, Polly used lead wire a lot but I'm removing that material to keep it out of the environment. I don't use lead-free wire because it doesn't have the density to really make the fly sink and will just use lead free shot or a damn bead as seen above.

Fish this fly for an hour or so, catch some fish, and you will see that the fly looks like it's falling apart.  IT ISN'T!  It's just getting GOOD.

I don't have a name for this critter but will call it the BUGGY BUNNY (the bunny comes from the hares ear material and the buggy comes from the fact that it's BUGGY.

Polly tied great flies right up to his passing at age 95.  You can still get his books online and they are a great investment and great reading.

The Swift

Yup, it's still fishable although access to the PIPE, the Duck Pond and Cady Lane is still greatly limited. The Y Pool access via the parking area across from River Road is non existent. Use the main parking area but watch your footing on the hilly section because it will get icy.

I'm still guiding on this river!!!!

Ken

The State Of The Swift And Caddis Questions

"There are people in my life who sometimes worry about me when I go off into the fields and streams, not realizing that the country is a calm, gracious, forgiving place and that the real dangers are found in the civilization you have to pass through to get there." - John Gierach


I drove down to check out the Swift knowing that Belchertown received 21 inches of the white stuff. The question is has any of it been moved to accommodate parking for fly fishers?

Here's the rundown by parking area as of 9 am:

Route 9 Main Lot - It has been plowed as of Friday afternoon

Route 9 across the street - A small area that may accommodate three cars has been cleared

The lot across from River Road - It has not been plowed

All three pull offs of of River Road including the Gauge lot - They have not been plowed!

Enoch Sanford Rd (the cul de sac road the turnaround has been plowed but the fisherman parking area has not


As it stands the areas have very limited or no parking available. Now, here's where YOU come in. If you drive by these areas in the next three days and notice that snow has been cleared just email me at: ken.elmer9@gmail.com or text me at 978-790-4320. You would certainly be helping a lot of fellow anglers plan their weekend!!!

A Simple Caddis

The caddis fly has always bugged me (pun intended) and many other flyfishers.  I have been on the Millers, a great caddis river, in mid May and have seen a zillion adult caddis flies hopping around in the stream side bushes BUT see very little surface activity.  That's because a good number of immature caddis do not rise from the bottom of  the stream to the surface but crawl along the bottom and then emerge on the shore, dry their wings, and then fly to the bushes. It is a good strategy to fish any of the subsurface patterns available and save the dry versions for egg laying time.

                                                                                                                                     DSM Caddis

You guessed it! A soft hackle fly dressed a bit stouter such as my DSM Caddis will fill this bill nicely. Just change the body color to match the insect if you like although I really don't think it will make too much of a difference.

When To Fish The Dry

Most of the important (big numbers) caddis of Spring will hatch/lay eggs during mid day hours. By late Spring this activity takes place during the low light hours of  morning and evening, just like mayflies!

I don't like traditional dries that are supposed to imitate caddis because they look like a cartoon version of the insect and are too complicated for their own good.  I like things simple. The above Simple Caddis is a breathtakingly easy tie:

Hook - standard dry 12 to 16

Body - fine dubbing of grey, tan or olive

Wing - (here's the tough part) use very fine deer mask hair and not a lot of it.  Don't make the wing too long either.  The neat thing is that you can color the wing with a sharpie if you like to get that grey or brown color of some of these flies. It may not be necessary but it's fun to do!!!!


Ken

San Juan Worm Reviewed

They say you forget your troubles on a trout stream but that's not quite it. What happens is that you begin to see where your troubles fit into the grand scheme of things and suddenly they're not such a big deal anymore. - John Gierach

Yes, this fly does catch trout although most don't want to admit that they actually use it. I have used it with success BUT I have a problem with the way that it is tied. It's tied by lashing the chenille at the mid point to the hook. Some add a bead at this point because we just have to add a bead to anything that doesn't float. In any event this tying method causes the chenille to kink and fold over on itself. Aquatic and earthworms don't fold over on themselves but just wiggle around as the current moves them.

After looking at countless pictures of standard tied SJW's I found a photo of a length of chenille tied to the hook at the end. This made sense even if the tier had a bead attached. I ditched the beads and tied some up. The chenille moved in the current in a very natural way and the Swift Bows approved. I guess I was looking for something to do because I tied a few with tiny glass/plastic beads for eyes but I dumped that idea a while ago because the beads kept falling off after a fish or three. Now I just use black thread at the "head" to make it look like a head.  

I don't worry about "short strikes" just like a bass fisher doesn't worry about them with rubber worms. The trout just inhale them!

 I like the way it looks. BTW, I always use micro chenille.

This is what happens when you are forced by Winter to spend early evenings thinking about fly fishing instead of actually doing it!! Actually it was fun!

Yes, it snowed as it does every winter.  Is fly fishing done for the season??  Your answer is found in the last 12 years of this blog and that answer is NO!!!!  It's the perfect time to book a three hour trip to a spot on the Swift that you've been meaning to get to. The air may be chilly but the water is actually nice.  This past Saturday I guided a gent who had NEVER caught a trout on a fly.  He took three and one was a beautiful brookie closing in on a foot long.

Book Me!!!!!

Good Winter Flies

Fly-fishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some hands, poetic in others, and laced with conflicting aesthetic considerations. It's not even clear if catching fish is actually the point.John Gierach

Over the years I've narrowed down my fly selection to ONLY WHAT WORKS on a reasonable basis.  No, I don't carry a thousand flies (I know someone who does) every time I hit a river.  I have a tailwater bag with tailwater flies and a freestone bag with a freestone selection.  There is some crossover but not a lot.  Some #22 BWO are in the Freestone bag when they start popping up on the Millers and that lonely Wooley Bugger is in the tailwater bag in case I go head to head with a monster brown on the Swift.


Does this selection change with the seasons?  Of course it does.  No ants or beetles on the Swift in January and forget about a sulphur hatch for that matter.  My BEST flies are subsurface and they are small!



Swift River Serendipity

A good red color that the trout can see and the white wing tag makes it work.


BUZZERS - 
Black body, copper rib and that orange wing case make this a dependable fly from the Bubbler to the Pipe.

The Good Old Scud

Use it year round but especially in the late Fall and Winter.  It's the shell back that spells FOOD to a trout!!   

There are more but I have to have these flies with me when the snow begins to fly.

 

CDC vs Poly Wing Yarn

"There's more bullshit in flyfishing than in a Texas cattle yard" - Lefty Kreh

Fly fishers like one or the other.  I like one and that's poly wing yarn, the finer the better.  I once was a big time user of CDC feathers on small dries but I've changed my ways for what I think are good reasons.Let's talk about those reasons and the history of CDC usage.

CDC is a loose translation for the French term Cul De Canard which basically means bottom of the duck.   It first hit the fly tying stage back in the early 1980's and it was treated as a wonder material. Yes, it could float but it had some drawbacks:

1. It was said that these feathers resided near the preen oil gland of ducks and geese and were saturated with the stuff.  One marketing genius tried to sell the preen oil as a floatant and totally failed because it was the structure of the feather that made it float, not the application of a floatant. That's why CDC flies sink if any liquid or gel comes in contact with it.

2. (Here's my favorite bogus reason for using CDC) - CDC works because it comes from harmless and benign waterfowl (ducks and geese) that pose no threat to a trout.  Now, if that were true trout would have been beaching themselves to get away from the nymphs I used to make with raw, untanned MINK fur. (I wish I still had some). Years ago feathers from blue herons and  kingfishers were tied into flies and they caught a lot of trout!!!

3. CDC is fragile stuff.  It gets chewed up quickly which means your flies will have to be replaced.

A Better Way

1.Use Poly Wing Yarn. It's nonabsorbent (CDC isn't),

2. You can buy miles of it for next to nothing (not with CDC)

3. It's dainty and fine but tough as hell (tougher than CDC)

4. It comes in a zillion colors but you only need three

I can tie dries and emergers down to size 28 with this stuff without making them too top heavy.  And after releasing a fish just wipe it with a paper towel (yes, a paper towel) and give it a shake with some silica powder and you're back on the battlefield.

A Word About Silica Powder

The stuff is great because it wicks away moisture and doesn't gum up the fly BUT the stuff that comes with a tiny applicator brush is a joke and here's why. 

Most of these products are the "shaker" variety: dump the fly in the bottle, close the bottle, shake 2 or 3 times, open the bottle and fish. This works because the manufacturers of this product threw in "silica gel" along with the silica powder. The gel (tiny rocks) "moves" the powder around to coat the fly. Because the bottle top is closed during the application you do not lose any powder. This is a good idea!

Now, the guys with the applicator brush need the brush to get the powder on the fly and on everything else from hands, sleeves, waders to the surface of the water. One writer says don't use it in Montana because Montana is too windy!!!  If silica gel was used you wouldn't need the brush.  It was a bad idea!!

Keep fishing!!!!!

Ken

Happy Thanksgiving

"I think I fish, in part, because it's an anti-social, bohemian business that, when gone about properly, puts you forever outside the mainstream culture without actually landing you in an institution" - John Gierach 

Happy Thanksgiving