Getting Up Early - A Swift River Morning

It pays to start early and when you go to the Swift "early" is never early enough. I began the hike to the Y Pool section at 7:30 today with only one car in the lot and another just arriving as I was putting on the waders. I stayed away from going to the PIPE after what I saw yesterday: 8 flyfishers from the PIPE to the end of the Tree Pool at 9:00 am. The gauge section was not an option because I and another angler saw NOTHING in this section. I decided to go above RT 9 for a change.

After the 10 minute walk I got to the Y Pool and found 2 anglers working the water. No worry because the Pool was not my destination. The Bubbler arm was the place that I wanted to be. Long story short: I took 7 in two hours and all where over 16 inches. Started with a #14 scud, switched to a Grouse and Orange and they both worked. The guy who arrived just after me caught double what I did. A real fish hawk that guy!!! The Y Pool - not so good but maybe as the day went on it improved.

I'm not giving secret spots away. Where I fished is fished by everyone. It just pays to get there early!

Went home, raked leaves and am listening to the Patriots as I write this. A good day so far!

Ken

What Connecticut Is Doing And A River Update.

Google up "survivor trout". You will see what Connecticut is doing for it's trout management. It seems that the Nutmeg State is capturing wild/holdover trout and breeding them with hatchery trout to result in a fish that has better survival odds and it appears that they are seeing those results.

What I like about Connecticut is the fact that over 60% of their hatchery output are browns while Massachusetts manages about 25% of that species. Why is that? Maybe they are not swayed by the unofficial department logic that fishermen want large fish and that means fast growing rainbows. We know that the early season meat hunters want them but most season long fishers on moving water are fly fishers and they OVERWHELMINGLY practice catch and release and they want trout that will make it through the summer season. (BTW, if you can't wait to have the stocking trucks dump in new recruits each Fall then you should take up golf. Tough trout are not your game!) In short, Connecticut (and New York) GET IT. We don't. We better if one believes in climate change and in developing measures to insure a viable trout fishery for the future!

Now, what are the rivers doing. Wait to Thursday (10/16) night. The heavy rain will be over and my site will have the river links that you need. Heavy rains mean this: The Millers will rise and then rise some more and maybe stay there for a week. The EB will quickly rise up and then drop down quickly. Saturday should be fine. Below 400cfs is very fishable. BTW, I had a good Monday afternoon on the EB. I caught a lot in two hours. Many browns (fresh) and some older bows. The Swift - this river is like the running back that gives you 5 yards a carry. Very dependable!!

Good Luck,

Ken

Columbus Day Weekend - Everything Is Perfect!!!!!

Check the stream gauges on this site. Check the weather report for the next few days. Everything is perfect for fly fishing in Massachusetts this weekend. So why are you reading this blog?? Rig up and jump in!!

I'll see you there!!

BTW, I'll be writing and ranting about what one of our neighboring states is doing with trout management on my next post.

Ken

The Rains Came - Finally!!

September was as dry as a bone. Less than an inch of rain fell and the EB and the Millers, still both fishable, needed an infusion. That break came yesterday afternoon and evening. The EB went from 70cfs to 600cfs overnight and now is dropping as it always does. It should level out to 200 or so for October barring another big storm. The Millers fared nicely going from 140 or so to 300 as I write this and now it appears to be dropping which is unusual for this river. It usually goes through the roof and then stays there for a week. I'll take what's happening now any day.

Speaking of the Millers - Saturday, before the heavy rain started, the Millers had a great BWO hatch going on which brought the trout to the surface. The flies were in the size 18 range with both emergers and duns being taken. It was perfect BWO weather, cool and cloudy, until the skies opened up around 1pm. The rain put everything down. We'll have more chances this month if the flows stay fairly low and the weather stays cool and the skies stay cloudy!


Ken

A Soft Hackle September

Soft Hackles - they always work and sometimes they REALLY work. They were my top sunken fly on the EB for a year now and this year they just seemed to beat the Swift River trout especially this month. I will admit that the Swift soft hackles are a size or two smaller than I use on other rivers although a size 12 did work well.

I like to experiment with this style and I believe that I may have posted two of these flies last Spring but a refresher course is in order.

First is an olive body S.H. with size 5x tippet material wrapped around the body. The tippet worked pretty well getting the fly down quick and it gives a slight shine to the fly which also seemed to work. 5x works on sizes down to 14. I like 6x on smaller sizes. Sometimes the Grouse and Flash just seems too bright. The "6x soft hackle" does it just right. Don't ask if one brand of tippet is better than another!!

The dark S.H. has a tiny wingcase of mylar which makes this fly more visible. It works well!

Try them out.

As you all know by now we need rain. The rivers are still mostly fishable in the deeper pools and where the river's flow gets pinched down to give good flow and depth. The good thing is that the weather is now cool enough so water temperature is not an issue. Just one good 1 inch storm will set us up for the rest of the season.

The rest of the season - Last November was great on the EB and the flow was low then too. I'll show you this river. Just email me for availability. The same goes for the Millers and the Swift.

Ken

The Swift - First Day Of Fall

No rain at home during the night but 20 minutes into a 30 minute drive to the Swift I had the wipers on. When I arrived at the Pipe lot there were puddles and a light rain. So goes the first day of Fall. The upside of this was that at 6:45am mine was the only car there. That means there's only one thing to do: Hit the PIPE.

This 120 cfs flow gave me the opportunity to fish LARGE meaning size 14 and 16 soft hackles and the trout agreed. In three hours I landed 21 and missed another half dozen. The top of the food chain came to the net with some 14 to 18 inch DARK bows followed by some 8-10 inch fish of the same species. These guys reminded me of this past Spring when the place was crowded with them. Maybe they stocked some recently or this high water made those Spring fish come out of hiding. Bob O. (who was the second to show up at 9ish) floated the theory that maybe these guys are young stream bred fish which intrigues me. Then came a few 4 to 6 inch brookies. The top soft hackle was a size 14 olive and partridge tied on a scud hook. This short, heavy hook gets the fly down AND it looks buggier than a standard hook. Overall, a good morning.

I left at 10am leaving only Bob and a new arrival to have the place to themselves.

Rain - In short supply recently. The EB is low but the cool days and very cool nights have saved this place. One storm of about 1 inch of rain will fix this place up quickly. Let's hope this happens!

Ken

September - What The Rivers Are Doing And A Lost Camera

I managed to be on all three rivers over the last week and for the first time this season I'm looking for a little rain for the EB. All is not lost and in fact I like the flow flow because of the dry fly possibilities. If swinging sunken offerings is your game than the going will be a bit rough. But the water temperature is in the mid 60's at mid day but lower very early in the morning.

The photo above shows the great isonychia nymph which is all over this river. A quick, darting swimmer this nymph acts like a stonefly by crawling up onto rocks to hatch and then flying away usually around dusk. There are plenty of imitations that you can find online so I will not bother with the recipe. The dun is dark colored with smokey grey wings (unusual for this time of year) and trout will take that surface imitation EVEN THOUGH it doesn't ride the surface like most other mayfly duns. Don't leave home without them!

The other photo is of the great Hemlock Pool. As the Eastern Flyfishing Magazine article pointed out it also has another name: Les's Pool. I believe I met that man years ago when he was a driving force behind TU (when it was a driving force) in Massachusetts. I'll call it by the latter name going forward. Anyway, fish this pool and the riffles at it's head. The gate is still closed so it's a 15-17 minute walk to get there but well worth it.

The Millers - I love this low flow and I love the fact that darkness falls at 7:30 instead of 9:00. You don't have to wait f o r e v e r for surface action. Again, water temperatures are fine. Even the rainbows made it through the Summer. Don't forget to bring some large light colored flies so you can see them in the failing light. They have worked the last few times out.

The Swift - Every thing works at the Gauge down through the Tree Pool from 30's to #14 soft hackles. Also, weekend evenings have been sparsely attended by fly fishers in this section. On Wednesday evening I saw only two other anglers which appears to be the norm over the last few weeks. Spend an evening down there before our evenings are gone.

I have some open dates through late September and October. October Fridays are mostly open (weird) with a few weekend dates available. First come, first served.

Summer is winding down with Fall right around the corner. Fish the next two months before everything shuts down (except the Swift).

Ken

9/12 Update - The lower gate on the EB is open so you don't have to endure the 15 minute walk to get to Les's (formally called the Hemlock Pool) Pool. It was windy as hell which made dry fly fishing dicey but worth it. I rose 4 and landed 2 in the 3 hours there. Long floats through the pool brought 3 up with 1 hooked and then 1 in the riffles at the head of the pool. Ok under the windy conditions. Probably could of caught more with a nymph BUT I like dries. Rises were on and off and If you see a rise cast to it.

Update #2 - The lower gate was closed on Wednesday evening BUT was open on Friday morning. Go for it!!

This Just In: a camera was found on the way to the Y Pool. Email me and I'll connect you to who found it.


Ken