Swift Brookies And The Half & Half Fly

 

"Accurately recalling an entire day of fishing is like trying to push smoke back down a chimney, so you settle on these specific moments" - John Gierach

So, they are finally here! The Brookies are back and they REALLY started their run when the river flow dropped as I predicted. Suddenly the 6 inch fish have been replaced with 10 to 12 inch that are eager to hit a fly. The traditional redd areas are not full to capacity as these fish seem to still getting used to their new colors. The rainbows know that the brookies are there and are starting to hang out below them and are also trying to get into the spawning act themselves.

Last Friday I worked the area from the Gauge down to the Pump House ignoring the weedy sections and working the gravel stretches, the "skinny water" with a micro egg on the bottom and a Half & Half 18 inches above with a micro shot in between. I took 8 brookies between 8 and 12 inches and 5 robust bows in the two hours that I was there. The rainbows grabbed the egg and the brook trout wanted that nymph.

"That Nymph" is the Half & Half which isn't a new fly but a new style that can be incorporated into many dubbed bodied nymphs.
As you all know all aquatic creatures are two toned: dark on the top and lighter on the bottom. Over the last 100 years there has been some attempts to mimic that coloration but it has never really caught on which seems strange since many of us love to argue the merits of different shades of colors. So, about a month ago I began to tie up some generic, light bodied nymphs and did some cosmetic work by running a brown sharpie down the top of the fly from head to tail. They looked REAL and life like. To make them more life like I went retro" with them by ditching the bead and going with a non toxic wire wrapped on the hook shank. The result was a fly that had a more even, slower descent instead of that nose drive that you see with beadheads. (Guess I solved that thing called "vertical drag". That was easy!!)

The results were great. Swift brookies and EB browns couldn't get enough of the fly in either weighted or unweighted versions. I used natural body material in natural colors and none of that glitzy neon stuff that turns a fly into an attractor pattern.

Hook size 12 through 16 wet or dry fly style

Body - Good old Australian Possum dyed light olive

Rib - ultra fine copper wire

Weight - non toxic wire.

Coloration - a brown or black sharpie run along the back of the fly

It's the last week of day light savings. Go FISH

Ken

Back To The EB - Finally!!

"Fly Fishing is a collection of instants: moments when it either comes together with amazing perfection or goes horribly wrong" - John Gierach

It's been S-L-O-W-,Long time since I've guided and fished this river. The third week of June was the last time due to this worst drought in 60 years. I was told by the Ma DFW in mid October that the EB wasn't on the Fall stocking list but that may change. It changed this week when it got stocked with a lot of small browns which are very good for the soul. It's not how many fish that you catch or how big they are but how you catch them and in what surroundings you catch them in.

I really missed the Eb not because of 60 fish days but because of the environs that those days exist in. It is the most breath taking scenery to be found on a river in Massachusetts so on days that I catch nothing I'm happy because I'm in a good place. That really happens!

Today I guided Gary who had not fished the "EB" below the Gorge. We worked the Swimming Hole, the Bliss Pool and we caught into the double digits with most coming from the Bliss. Water temperatures were in the low 40's but we had a steady parade of BWO with the occasional rising fish. Remember, as long as the air temperatures get at or above 50 you will have BWO and an assortment of midges.

 We were the only ones there for three hours.

Fish the EB!!! It's a great river that had a hard season but the scenery which says "New England in October" will make it all worth while. With temperatures getting into the low 60's early in the week it's a good time to play some hooky before we set the clocks back and hunker down for Winter.

Ken

Above Route 9, The EB And The Brookies

'The real truth is, convincing a fish to strike is like playing string with a cat: The exact size and color of the string is probably less important than how you wiggle it... And little cats are easier to fool than big ones" - John Gierach

10/27 - JUST GOT A CANCELLATION FOR THIS SATURDAY, 10/29.  3 OR 6 HOUR TRIP, MILLERS, SWIFT OR EB. FIRST ONE BY EMAIL GETS IT. - KEN

10/28 - SATURDAY IS BOOKED. - KEN

It was late Tuesday afternoon and the first thing that I noticed as I walked upstream of Route 9 was that the water had dropped. A quick look at the neat phone app that I have confirmed it. This was a concern that I had for this Fall: the high (120 cfs) flow would disrupt the brookie spawning. A flow in the low 40's, like the last few years, would be great and those were great spawning years.

A few notes -

This was the first time since April that I gone above Route 9 on the Swift since the fishing experience BELOW Route 9 was so off-the-charts great!!!

The brookie run is late this year and that may be because of the higher flow or the warmer water temperatures. There are certainly fewer fish on the redds this year (it pays to have a nine year old blog as a data base) at this time. I'm sure that this will improve since November is the best month on the Swift for spawning brookies. BTW, I've seen more spawning brook trout below Rt 9 so far.

It's been a month since we've seen rainbows going through their spawning ritual on the Swift. This is a fruitless exercise because they've been doing it for years and we never catch 3 inch bows like we do with the brook trout. The 5 inch bows we caught last Summer were escapees.

As I was walking up to the Y Pool I saw an angler wading right down through prime spawning gravel. Luckily the trout were far and few between but we will see this scene unfold as soon as the trout REALLY begin to dig their redds. Stay away from the gravel and stop scrambling eggs!!! Walk on weeds and bottom debris which spawning trout avoid. In fact, try to avoid fishing anywhere between the deflector wings. This is a great spot for taking some great pictures of dozens of trout.

I fished the bubbler arm for 45 minutes and took 4 bows and 2 brookies on a size 18 egg pattern in a howling gale. It was sight fishing with no nest building action going on. I was actually able to stand on the bank, hide behind a tree and roll cast out there. It's times like this when a double taper comes in handy.

The EB got stocked in Chesterfield on Tuesday and that will mean the Gorge section. They reported that the fish were browns which is ok with me. Here's what to expect: it will be either feast or famine as the fish will be holding in the stocking points until we get a higher flow. Let's hope for a higher flow!!!

Ken

A Millers Update And THAT Fly

"There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting beat in the process" - Paul O'Neil

10/24 Update - The EB has risen into the 70 cfs range. Check the DFW site this week to see if this river gets stocked. - Ken

10/25 Update - The Swift flow dropped Tuesday to 43CFS and the EB got stocked with browns! More info on that and brookies in the next post - Ken

Another great week on the Millers River with one important change. Before you think that the lower results of Saturday were because the trout suddenly became selective (they didn't) you should look at the fact that the river went UP from 93 CFS on Friday to 160 on Saturday. That will scatter the trout which have been holding close to where they have been stocked. The same thing happened last October on the EB where trout were stocked in a low flow, hung around in schools where they got clobbered and then scattered like the wind right after a 2 inch rainfall. Charlie Shaden actually said that one customer of his who was late to the EB party actually wondered if the river had been stocked and if the catch reports were true. That's after scoring a ZERO after the rains.

Now, we caught fish!!! Top locations were the Bridge Street Pool in Farley and the Erving Center stretch and we used a number of flies and methods to get it done. This reminds me of a trend I've seen in the last few years. Try not to be too orthodox in your fly fishing. I'm seeing more and more fly fishers stuck on one method while attempting to use that method under a number of very different conditions. When I'm on a stream like the Millers or the EB there will be a mix of three or four different presentations to get the results that I want. Also, I see a lot of fly casters repeating the same cast over the same place over and over again. It's a habit that people get into. Cover all of the water.

Ok, it's the Mop Fly and here's my story; I first saw this thing online this past summer and thought that someone should rename it the P.O.S. I hated it because it didn't have the qualities of a well crafted fly (size, proportion, life-like materials and the look of something alive). It looked stupid and the result of a low skilled tier. But then I found a short 3 minute video, by someone named Zimmerman I believe, and that guy changed everything. After tying his mop fly with lots of marabou for the collar,he left the camera range and then returned with a totally sodden fly. That's It, He did it. He changed this POS into a living, breathing creature that looks alive in the water. The trout clobbered it. It looks like a big hellgrammite so why would they not?

Your Bill of Materials:

Go to Walmart or Auto Zone and buy one of those car washing mitts with the "fingers" on it. You'll have material for hundreds of flies for $6.00. I bought grey and run a brown sharoie down the back for that 2-tone look. Don't buy these things in a small pack for fly tying. It's a waste of $$$$.

Get some size 8 or 10 scud hooks and some brown marabou. Get some beads. You know the rest.

This fly works best when bounced deep up and across from you and not swung in the current below you. If the fly is below you and rising up you will get some short strikes and loose some tails in the process.

I've always wanted a good hellgrammite. Now I have one. It works on the Swift too!!!!


Ken

Seldom Fished Places On The Millers And the "Meatball" Proves It's Worth

"The best time to go fishing is when you can get away" - Robert Traver

10/20 update - the annual lake Tully drawdown has started and is adding another 20 cfs to the flow of the lower Millers. Coupled with more flows coming out of Winchendon we can expect decent flow conditions on the Millers this weekend.

When I take clients to any river, especially the Millers, I make a point to show them many stretches that are not frequented by the hordes but are out of the way where one can fish alone or with a friend without feeling "a little crowded out" which seems to be a condition that my clients want to avoid. Some anglers like the crowd atmosphere where the talk is non-stop while others want to avoid it. One VERY GOOD fly fisher and fly tier said he avoids crowded areas because people can't SHUT UP!!

There is one spot on the Millers that my clients will recognize. At 250 cfs, when the rest of the Millers is peaceful and easily waded, this place is a raging torrent that cannot be fished without a wading staff. At below 200 cfs it comes into it's own as a sunken or dry fly stretch and both methods work very well. Late Tuesday afternoon I knew the flow would be PERFECT and it was time to work out a fly I wanted to introduce to the Millers - The Meatball!

My post on July 11, 2016 spoke of this fly and how it just seemed to take brookies and browns on the Swift down around Cady Lane. At the time I said that I wanted to get this fly on the Millers as soon as this river had water. It took three months but better late than never.

The Meatball is a fluffy, full fly when dry but slim when wet. Its marabou pulsates in the current as does the veil of partridge over the thorax. Very fishy!!!

The results - the test lasted 1.5 hours and 10 big bows took this fly fished DEEP with a micro shot placed 20 inches above the fly. I also lost a few but the trout liked it. What does it imitate? A big stonefly nymph, a damselfly nymph, maybe a leech (don't forget about leeches). Maybe it just looks good to eat!!

The air temperature was 76 at the start and the water temperature was 60. It is October.

Polly's Fuzzy Nymphs

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

Polly Rosborough was a great inventive fly tier from over 60 years ago.  He basically invented the "fuzzy nymph", that concoction that seemed loosely tied but gave the impression of "life" due to the natural flowing materials used in it's construction.  Tightly wrapped bodies on his nymphs were not to be found. Light reflecting natural fibers applied with dubbing loops were.  They worked.  In the last years of his life he tied mostly for collectors and his flies were always in demand.

His BEAVER NYMPH and his CASUAL DRESS applied beaver in it's construction but any buggy (I like Australian Possum) fur will do. I apply very thin copper wire although Polly didn't.  It never meant that I was creating a "variant" of his fly but just putting my personal preference to it.  It's still Polly's fly!

One material that is in these two flies is a thorax of ostrich herl.  This is now becoming a forgotten material but it REALLY works on the two flies mentioned here.

The Casual Dress

Size 12 nymph hook

Use wire weight if you want but Polly never used weight. It works well with a micro shot

Australian Possum on a dubbing loop or just loosely dubbed on the hook

The finest copper wire available if you want it.  Use a dubbing brush to work out the fibers after you wrap the wire on.

Use a long strand of ostrich herl to wrap over the thorax area and you are done.

No need to coat this fly in plastic. You will absolutely kill it as you will with all dubbed bodies.  Let those fibers breathe and you will do well!!!!!  I used them late Sunday afternoon on the Millers and I did well!

Ken

Bows, Browns And Bamboo - A Millers Morning

"If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're doing something wrong" - John Gierach Again

It was 6:50 am when I entered the 53 degree water of the Millers at the Orcutt Section. I decided to rest the great Swift River Sierra 7.5 ft bamboo which I've used on the Swift and went with the longer Phillipston Pacemaker 8 foot bamboo matched with a 4 wt.line because I felt that I would need the added distance and line control. A good choice. The flies - I worked a number of them starting with my two-tone weighted nymph (olive Australian possum with some weight in the body and a brush of brown sharpie over the back) and then soft hackles and one of Polly Rosborough nymphs named the Casual dress. They all worked fine as long as you PRESENT them correctly.

I did the obligatory high stick/straight line for a bit and caught some but realized that SWINGING these nymphs/wet flies releases the magic and that really worked. I fished 4 or so different flies and they all worked which spells PRESENTATION!! The strikes were hard, the little Battenkill did that classic scream, the bamboo was bent and fish came to the net. It was a perfect October morning on my favorite trout river!!

I left Orcutt at 10:15 when I saw the first fly fisher. I was told that three cars pulled up after that. That's when I left after catching about 40 fish and then went down to Wendell Depot where I met Ken Simonds from the DFW as they stocked just below route 2. They were stocking the entire river again.  The majority of the rainbows that were stocked over the last week came out of the hatchery a very dark color which seems to be the case with Fall stocked bows over the past few years.  The bows in Ken Simonds stocking net were dark.

FISH THE MILLERS!!!!! We have another month and a half, maybe longer, to fish this river. Will it be too cold? The average high temperature in April for central Massachusetts is around 55 degrees. In November its around 49 degrees. It will not be too cold. You will have the place to yourself!! For those new to the river and have heard of the Kempfield, Bridge Street, the Upper Trestle Pool and Orcutt but don't know where they are or haven't done well there just contact me. I'll guide you there!!

Ken