Millers Update - September 2012

The Millers is back!! As you have read over the last few posts this river's browns survived a hot dry Summer and are now actively feeding. It's not going to be easy as it was last Spring. On Saturday I guided a gent and we worked a pod of browns on the lower C&R that were rising in a 30ft x 10 ft section. They refused everything!! It was fun and is a hint of what is to come. September and October is great on this river!! Don't miss it!!

Ken

Games Fly Fishers Play

Saturday morning at 6:45 found only ONE CAR at the Y Pool parking lot. Lucky me! Fifteen minutes later I'm on the bubbler arm with only three hours to play. I've always wanted to work this experiment on this river: take one pattern, start small, catch some trout (or just hook some trout as it is on this river) and then increase the pattern size until they stop hitting.

On went a #24 hot spot. I hooked trout. Then a change to a #20 in the same pattern. More trout! Now a #18 and the trout still smacked my offering. Then a #16 hot spot. Only one fish in 45 minutes bothered the size 16!

What does this prove? Probably nothing except that those Swift bows (and one brown) like smaller flies.

This was a simple game played out on a few stolen hours on this lovely stream. It was fun!!

I take the protection of rivers like the Millers and the Swift very seriously. The fishing? It's a wonderful pastime.!!

Ken

The Lower Swift, The Middle Swift

The Swift has been a lifesaver this year as it's steady, cool flow gave the wading fly fisher the only place to practice our sport. I've spent August fishing the Swift from top to bottom or from the Y Pool to Bondsville.

The Lower Swift - Something seems off this year. The catching of a trout down here has become an "event" for me. Over the past few years I have always had great dry fly fishing especially to native brookies. Not this year. It's a shame because the Lower Swift is the only part of the Swift that actually LOOKS like a New England trout stream. It's not the water temperature because this stretch is still cool enough for trout.

If anyone has some insight it would be appreciated. Maybe it's just me but....


The Middle Swift - Had a good morning yesterday. Took two bows below the log jam below the Tree Pool, took two more at the PIPE and then finished taking a sipper in the flats above the Crib Dam. The sipper took a #18 tan parachute, the others took hot spots and a grouse and orange.

We are turning the corner from Summer to Fall. A little rain for the Millers would be nice!!

Ken

The Swift - The Flow Goes Down And The Trout Come Up - And The Millers

It may seem counter intuitive to some (like a fly fishing rafting fan that I've encountered) that heavy rain will NOT raise the flow rate below RT 9 on the Swift. Only the heaviest rain, like last Fall, will do that. Quabbin will hold back it's waters even when 6 inches were dumped on that watershed like last Friday. In fact the flow was reduced from 125cfs to 50cfs AFTER the rain. As one contributor to this blog stated a year or so ago the Connecticut River flow dictates the Swift flow. The more water in the Connecticut River will cause a reduction in the Swift flow, pure and simple.

Anyway, the LOWER flow has brought the trout UP!! Monday, during the day, and Tuesday evening were banner occasions. I fished dries exclusively and landed trout in the 18 inch range in and around the PIPE section. What was strange was the ant event at dusk Tuesday night. One regular said that they looked like caddis but a very close examination showed winged ants in the size 20 range. I still had them on me when I got back to the car. Ant events are not a dusk event so this was strange. The bows loved them. My 18# parachute tan emerger brought some action until the ants took over.

Rafting fly fishers - Monday at noon saw an inflatable battleship, more at home on the Deerfield, trying to negotiate it's way down the placid Swift during a 50 cfs flow. Amidst the scraping noise and the "excuse me" excuses we watched the guide actually have to jump overboard to negotiate this raft through shallow water and deadfalls. Comments were made in their direction. Again, the Swift is NOT a river to be floated!! It's too damn small. It is a WADING RIVER. You ruin things for wading fly fishers. I hate to say it but I would rather encounter a kayak than one of these inflatable tankers. You are not allowed above RT9. The same rules should exist below RT9 until the boat ramp. Guess what - there's trout below the boat ramp. Go cruising down there!!!

The Millers - The flow is up (finally) and I'll spend some time up there. August has always been good on that river during the evenings. The days are already shorter with the sun setting much sooner than just a month ago. The browns have survived (they did in 2010, the worst Summer) and should provide some action as dusk settles on this wonderful river.

Ken

Fog On The Swift And An Old Fly Works Well

The Swift has been bouncing between 45 cfs and 125 cfs for weeks now. I can't talk about what's happening above RT 9 but the fishing below RT 9 has been better with the lower flow. There are a few reasons for this. A higher flow may move the bows around while the lower flow will concentrate them. But there is another reason for this and it's the Summertime fog that wraps up the river on high flows. First, the fog is created by the mix of cold air near the cold water and the humid Summer air above. At 45cfs there is little mixing of the air because the low flow has less cooling effect. Ramp up the flow to 125cfs (a lot more cold water) and you'll have those blankets of fog that can last all day. I see far fewer mayflies when a heavy fog is on the water, period!!! That means fewer rising trout!! All of this is moot when we have a clear, low humidity day. There will very little fog. The "Old Fly" - backcast to my post of 1/12/09. The old Millers Bivisible, a big bushy concoction, DID raise two bows through a heavy morning fog on the Swift. I think the trout could see it!! Ken

This Dry Summer - The Swift And The EB

It feels like 2010 all over again!! Days and then weeks without rain and smothering heat on top of that. The browns on the Millers survived that 2010 Summer and should survive this one but the shrunken flow is not much fun for fishing. With limited time to fish the fly angler will look for other waters. That's where the Swift comes in. The Swift is a sport saver. The last two weeks have seen a 120 cfs flow of ice water and this is the ticket when the air temperature is in the mid 90's. So is the evening surface action that I've had the pleasure of experiencing. I've avoided the crowds above RT9 and spent my evenings around the PIPE where I've seen plenty of fish working the emerging sulphurs and cream cahills. What I really like is the surface fishing for those little native brookies that hid in the weeds around the hatchery intake. A six inch fish is a good fish on this stretch. An eight incher is a monster!!!! Where else in New England can I cast a dry fly for native brookies during this Summer??? Not many places!!! The EB - For the first time during the life of this blog I will not tell you where all the TROUT are on this bony, trickle of a river. You'll have to find out for yourself. For those who thought that they were all dead from the heat I can say that you're all wrong. Pray for RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ken

Early July - An Update

Wow, two weeks without posting is a record for me even in the Winter let alone early Summer. Fishing and guiding and a vacation week have taken up the time in a very good way. Now, what's been happening? The freestone rivers - Anyone who has read this blog over the years knows that the Millers and the EB are in Summer mode as are most freestone rivers. Fishing at mid day (unless it's cloudy and raining - maybe) is a waste of time as far as trout are concerned. Very early morning and evenings (late evenings into the night) will work on the Millers and hopefully on those EB browns. Overall, June was a good month on the Millers. The Swift - This cold water gem will welcome you on a 95 degree day. It will also welcome the flotsum that insist on cruising the C&R section below RT 9. Why they don't take their act down to the boat launch and go DOWNSTREAM instead of putting our fish down will remain a mystery. The last two weeks have been great at the PIPE section especially in the evening. Those Cream Cahills have have made their appearance every time and a dark tan emerger has fooled the rainbows. One thing of note - the best surface action has been when the flows are in the 40-50 cfs range. A few days of 100 cfs seemed to kill the surface action in this area. It would be nice to see some rain during July!!! Ken