The End Of The Connecticut River Salmon Restoration Project

As many of you already know, the 40+ year effort to "restore" Atlantic Salmon to the Connecticut River system ended in 2012 as the Feds pulled the plug on this "doomed" project.

I placed two of the above words with quotation marks for a reason. The project was "doomed" because you can't "restore" something that really, in all reality, was never there in the first place.

The were no millions of salmon surging up the Connecticut River in early colonial times. There were millions of shad and herring but the salmon was a rarity. Why do I say that? Because salmon remains do not show up in the archaeological record in the Connecticut Rive basin or anywhere else in Southern New England. Every other anadromous species does show up in the areas where indigenous people fished for them.

So what about the stories that came down through history of salmon abundance on the Connecticut. At worst these were tall tales to showcase this new land and to draw settlers from England and at best they were species confusion (shad became salmon).

Even the tale of the salmon's sudden disappearance is fishy. The first dams were built and in just a handful of years (by 1814) the salmon had disappeared from the ENTIRE watershed. First, why is the Connecticut River the only major salmon river to loose it's salmon so quickly? Other major rivers were dammed but held onto their runs for decades. The Penobscot had dams but still had salmon runs. Spawning habitat existed in the lower reaches of the Connecticut below the dams but no salmon survived there??? Shad and herring survived! Maybe there were no salmon in the Connecticut.

For more on this I suggest that you google "Catherine Carlson NPS Archeology Program" for a very good read. Carlson runs with the theory that the whole salmon restoration was run by a faith in folklore without any REAL scientific (archaeological)facts.

Now we can get busy saving the fish that have always been there like shad and herring.

Ken

Spring Is Here!!!

The last measurable snow to hit the greater Northampton area was in early February. That 20 inches is mostly a memory now. That can't be said about central and eastern Ma which has been hit with snowstorms for the last few weekends. 30 inches at Blue Hills!!!

Our streams are open and with temperatures climbing past 50 we have one of the first aquatic insects to make the scene. Little gray/black stoneflies are covering everything that's near open running water. In this case it's the Mill River in Northampton. These small stoneflies, (size 20) are a sure sign that the back of Winter is broken. We may have another storm but Spring sun will make short order of it.

In another month......

Ken

Post Evening Sun And The Fly I Skipped Over

First, We had a great Sunday at Charlies Evening Sun Fly Shop. The house was packed for my presentation, maybe too packed, but we got it off and it was great. Flyfishers: Charlies is the place to get what you need whether it's equipment or advice. I have bought rods from Charlie and have asked for advice. I'm a better flyfisher for that!!! Do your business here!!!

During my presentation a slide was shown which I kind of skipped past. It was a photo of a fly that I first tied 40 years ago. I caught lots of fish with it. NOTE: hatchery trout were as dumb 40 years ago as they are today but we don't want to use the same flies that caught all of those fish. Why? Because it's kind of "incorrect" to use a traditional "wet fly". What does it represent?? Consider that thought when you cast your wooley buggers this season!!

This fly in the photo has no name. It is a traditional wet fly. It works when I use it and I should use it more often. This year I will!

Hook - wet fly hook 12 - 14
Body - yellow dubbing
Rib - tying thread (brown)
Wing - brown grizzly hackle tips. I dyed these with RIT brown dye
Hackle - soft brown hen hackle

Another fast to choppy water emerger pattern. Late May and June evenings when the caddis are dancing is when I use it. I've caught trout decades ago with it. It still works.

Why did I skip past it during the presentation? I thought I might be too "incorrect"!!!!

Ken

Sunday At Charlie's And Another Fly

Ok, next Sunday, March 3rd 2013, I'll be giving a presentation on the Millers, Swift and if time allows the Westfield River at Charlies Evening Sun Fly Shop. The show starts at 11:30 and will run to about 1 pm or so. It's always a good time so get there early for a good seat!! Questions and Answers are part of the show and are always welcome!!

The Grouse and Flash - don't leave home without some!!! This is a very good soft hackle fly that was highlighted in Tom Ames book "Hatch Guide For New England Streams". Ames says that it represents a caddis or two but it seems to work just as well when the Mayflies are hatching. In fact, it works well when nothing is hatching. It's a "go to" fly for the EB and works well on the Swift in smaller sizes.

Hook - standard dry or wet fly hook sizes 10 through 16. (tied some on scud hooks a year ago - don't bother!)

Body - thin strip of mylar wrapped through thorax area.

Thorax - something olive and very buggy. Olive Australian possum works well.

Hackle - dark grouse

There it is. Easy to tie and very effective.

Ken

Dreaming Of The EB

It's freezing outside, pure and simple. The wind is gusting to 50 mph here in western Ma and eastern Ma is getting hit by another coastal storm. I never even considered hitting the Swift today. Actually my thoughts were about the East Branch of the Westfield and in particular the EB on a June evening!!

If I had one place to fish on a June evening the EB would work for me. First, it's the solitude and this is strange because catch & release areas get crowded quickly. But the EB has miles of water to absorb the fishing pressure if there was any real pressure. The only time I ever saw crowds on the EB was when TU would hold it's annual shindig in May. I believe that event has ended. I have a handful on "secret" stretches that work very well for me and I am usually always alone.

Second, It's the fish!!! Primarily a rainbow river the EB got a good dose of browns last year and they made it through the Summer.
The rainbows will too if we would have a fairly wet Summer like 2008 and 2009. 2009 was the best year that I've had on the EB. It may have been the best year on any river that I've fished!!

So, back to tying some flies and thinking of Spring. Believe it or not - the days are getting longer!!!

Ken

Pinheads - A Fly For The Swift

Let's go back to the Fall of 2008. There were these times when my standard subsurface offerings on the Swift just didn't seem to be getting it done. It was time for some thought. The trout seemed to be active - chasing something that I wasn't offering. I knew that it was something small and it was not on the surface. A session or two at the vise and a session or two on the river resulted with this very generic fly - the Pinhead. Generic is the word. This fly covers the bet for many tiny hatching flies on this river. My first day with this creation resulted in a dozen trout on that mid October evening. It worked.

This is a good fly. When flows are low on the Swift (50-60 cfs) I use it without shot. When flows are above that I put on a micro shot 18 inches or so above the fly. This fly seems to work at mid day during the winter and in the late afternoon/evening (especially the evening) at other times.

As I write this the weather guys are predicting 18 inches of snow starting in 24 hours. This is the best time to tie flies and to think about SPRING!!!!

Ken

This January And The Grouse And Orange

What a difference a year makes. Last January we had days in the 60's. This January we are in a deep freeze. My January started off with The flu that lingered for a week and a half. I did get to spend a week in Florida with it's 80 degree days which were perfect. And now back to the arctic where I've been hunkered down restocking my fly inventory. Today, the 27th, was my first fishing trip of 2013. It was 2 degrees at 7am and not much more at 10am when I quit. Two small 'bows were all that I got from the Swift. February will be better.

The Grouse and Orange - An ancient soft hackle fly that gets a modern makeover. Ditch the silk or floss for the body and go with orange kevlar. This glass thread gives a waxy shin to the body that the traditional materials don't.

Size 10 to 14 hooks (you can go smaller if you like)
Kevlar body
rusty brown natural dubbing for the thorax
Grouse, chicken hen or any soft material for the hackle

Many times we have a grouse cape that has been picked clean of the popular size hackles and all we have left is an abundance of hackles that are to large to wind on the fly. Here's how to use these feathers.

Pluck a large feather from the cape. Strip of the fibers from one side of the feather and position them on top of the hook, concave side on top, and enough fibers extending in front of the hook eye to equal about 1/3 of the hook shank. Do this before you wrap the body. (don't use too many fibers, keep it sparse) Then wrap your thread loosely around the hook and fibers allowing the fibers to encircle the hook. Now wrap the body and thorax (covering the butt ends of the fibers)and tie back the hackle fibers.

With practice your flies will all have that "wrapped hackle" look and you will be using all those feathers.

Ken