Of Browns, Brookies (and some bows)

Client John's BIG Bow

  

 "The fish and I were both stunned and disbelieving to find ourselves connected by a line." - William Humphrey

It has been a fantastic week on the Swift and the EB.

Browns On The Swift

 I have seen more large browns ( 5 to 10lb) on this river in the past seven days than I've  ever seen.  They are all over the place and in the most unlikely places. And they are in a striking mood. My client on Monday got hits from two monsters but lost them.  Same for my Tuesday client.

We saw spawning activity from one of the browns, a big hen that was closing in on 30 inches. I've seen this in the Swift before but the question is how successful is this activity.  Does the DFW know??

The Brookies - They are making their upstream migration to their favorite spawning grounds and will, of course, be followed by egg eating bows and brookie eating browns.  Remember, do not walk on any clean gravel that you find because you will be walking on potential spawning beds and scrambling brookie eggs.  Walk on weeds, silt and leaf litter.  In short, don't ruin the future for this river.

The EB - If it wasn't for the Swift this river would be #1 for the month.  The trout are spread out over much of this river since the earlier heavy rains and they are hitting below and ON the surface.  It's also NOT crowded.  We caught trout today and saw NOBODY which has been close to the situation for the past two weeks.

What Are They Hitting - They will hit anything if it's presented correctly.

And The Flows On The Swift - The flow was running at a steady 50 cfs until the 27th when it nosedived at midday to 16 cfs!!!!!  A place where I saw a large hen brown digging a redd was almost dry three hours later.  This lack of water management does nothing good for spawning trout and should be stopped.  The same thing happened two weeks ago and the rumor was that they(?) lost a drone in Quabbin.  Tough!!!  Don't dewater the Swift again.

Ken

Autumn On The EB, Poaching On The EB And A Millers Mystery

 "Soon after I embraced the sport of angling I became convinced that I should never be able to enjoy it if I had to rely on the cooperation of the fish."  Sparse Grey Hackle

It has been a great October on the EB. Plenty of fish have been taken up and down the river on everything from the dreaded WB to Possum Nymphs to Soft Hackles and Caddis dry Flies.  The surface action has been unexpected because there is very little surface feeding to make one want to put on a dry BUT when you do.....  A small deer hair caddis just seems to bring them up.  Two clients turned me on to a western style caddis which I will work up this weekend for next week.  This fishing, if the flow stays reasonable, will last another month.  BOOK ME!

EB Poaching

I was told by a guy who, I believe, works as a contractor for Chesterfield that someone is poaching the EB. The poacher is using a 4 wheeler to get down to Les's Pool and then keeping fish. (that's what those tire tracks were leaving the road and going right down to the river).  My contact said that the guy is an older man who he believes is a local.  I mentioned this to a Chesterfield Police Officer  but really should contact the EP and I will.

                                                                             EB Rainbow

The Millers

What is going on here??  I've been fishing this river for 35 years and certainly for as long as they have been Fall stocking and I've NEVER seen this river so devoid of willing trout (or  trout for that matter.) as it is now! I know this place inside out and so do many others and all I get is the same old story = NO FISH.  I'm not blaming any high water events because we have them in the Spring and still do well. I just don't think the trout are there or at least in numbers that make a difference. This was the opinion of many concerning the West Branch of the Westfield last Spring. This gem is fun to fish and has always produced but it was empty last Spring.

It is October and we are into the final curtain for many who like to fly fish before winter sets in. Maybe the DFW forgets that popular rivers in this State have parking areas with many out of state plates.  We know that they didn't forget to stock Jamaica Pond in the Wilds of Boston this Fall!

We have a good month of good fishing with decent weather coming up. Contact me and we will get things rolling.

Ken

The EB, The Millers, The Swift And A Word To The Wise

 There's more bullshit in fly fishing than in a Texas Cattle yard. - Lefty Kreh

It has been a great Fall so far in Central and Western Ma.  The river flows, as I write, are excellent. The Millers, which ran close to 800 cfs this Sunday is at 385 and the rain that is in the forecast is minimal.  The EB, which has been smoking this past week, is at 127 cfs.  Don't panic because we caught fish in flows from 40 cfs to 450 cfs in the last week. In fact the EB is full of fish from the Gorge to Les's Pool and beyond.  Our best fly this past Monday was my Possum nymph in sizes 14 and 16.

Speaking of Possum Nymphs

This little generic fly took 5 good bows and two brookies at the head of the Tree Pool on the Swift today. Again, size 14 and 16 did the trick.

Speaking of Low Water

Yes, they finally turned the faucet off  on the Swift AND this is not new news for Swift regulars. When a drought stricken CT River gets too low they open the Quabbin tap.  When the CT River goes up the tap is turned down.  It happens almost EVERY FALL!!!!!! It's not going to harm the trout in fact it gives the brookies better spawning conditions.  High water will keep them off the redds, low water doesn't.  You don't like low water? Then adjust your game. Pull yourself away from the Pipe and go far and fine.

A Word To The Wise

 My client for the day sent me an email last night that he tested POSITIVE for Covid-19 and had to cancel.

Folks, this thing isn't going away soon regardless what the occupant of the White House says. My client took all the precautions but went on a trip and that's that!  Wear your masks, wash your hands, avoid crowds and don't listen to that stooge that resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Look what happen to him and his staff. (If you don't like what I say about that blowhard = TOUGH!!!)

When on the stream keep a fly rod's length from everyone. When shooting the shit after fishing keep your distance.  It's not hard and you have a better chance of not getting sick.

Book Me

We have through the Month of November to have great fishing.  BOOK ME!!!

Ken

Predicting The Near Future

"Thank you for the multitude of comments over the last few months. This blog has been averaging well over a 100 comments for every 10 posts AND the vast majority have been from readers (not from me) AND they are REAL comments about technique, flies, places to fish and not sugar coated "what a pretty fish" filler. THANK YOU!!!"  - Ken

We are in for some rain today and tomorrow.  That will raise the flow in the Connecticut River which will mean that the Quabbin will stop gushing water and take the flow down in the Swift from it's current 124 cfs down to it's historical average for this date of about 50-60 cfs.  That will make the brookies more comfortable on their spawning beds which is what we want.

The EB has been perfect these last two weeks.  We caught many fish when the flow was around 50 cfs and still caught them when the flow increased to 350 which seemed high but is just like a day in May.  Remember, the EB, when it rains, goes up like a rocket but then drops like a rock!  I've seen it go from 60cfs to 1200cfs and then back to 250cfs in the course of 72 hours.  Not like the Millers. 

I'll predict that the Millers will be stocked within a week.  There is no excuse not to. There's plenty of water right now and the rain today will bump it up.  BTW, the Millers was NOT taken off the Fall stocking list as the rumor had it.

October and November are my favorite months in central and western Ma. Book a trip with me to see why.

Ken

 

A Wonderful October

 I don't fish the really famous Montana rivers much anymore and when I do I usually hit them at off times - between the major hatches when, as a guide once told me, "there are fewer rising trout but more rising trout per fisherman" - John Gierach 

It's been a great October so far.  The EB has been producing and the Swift has been getting it done. That leaves a few other rivers to report in.

The Ware is at a bony 10cfs!. To paraphrase Seinfeld "No trout for you". See you next Spring.

The Millers, from Route 2 (Farley Flats), looks like you could cross it without getting your feet wet but that's not the case.  There are plenty of shin to thigh deep stretches all over the place and what's good is that the water temperature is in the 50's.  This place needs some fish. The flyfishers are waiting as evidenced by the half dozen cars at Wendell Depot at 7:30 yesterday morning. P.S.- no reports of fish!  If the Squannacook can be stocked when the flow is only around 12 cfs then why on the Millers?  It certainly has the water and as a listed CR river it will have the flyfishers.

The Swift - At 126 cfs it's fine for standard flyfishing BUT not fine for brookie spawning. Two years ago high water kept most of the BT off their redds.  We need to have the flow down to 50-60 cfs.  

Fall Flies

All generalist flies should work all year long. The Soft Hackles do as do the Hares Ears and Pheasant Tails. But this generic little nymph is great in the Fall and Winter on the Swift but forget the Summer. My Possum nymph has all the right triggers to be successful all year but...Next Summer I'll really give it a workout!!

Swift Scud

My Scud has been a very successful fly on the Swift especially in the Bubbler Arm. I really have no idea of the scud population in the Swift (does anyone?) but this fly must yell "eat me" because it usually works in the Fall and Winter. In the Summer- not so much!! I used to tie it with weighted wire but it made the fly seem too squat and boxy. I fish it now unweighted but with a micro shot about 6 to 8 inches above the fly.

Book Me -  October is filling up fast and so will November if past years are any indication. Remember, November isn't Winter and we can have days in the 50's just like April!!!

Ken

Fall Is In Full Swing

 "All a trout really needs to know is that anything that moves is either food or danger.  If it's big and moving, it's probably dangerous, so flee.  If it's moving and small enough to eat, chow down. They can learn from their mistakes to a certain extent, but to a trout, if something looks like a bug and acts like a bug, it's probably a bug.  It's a good thing, too, or we'd never catch them".- John Wyatt 

10/7 Lost Reel on the Swift. A Lamson Litespeed G5 reel.  Email me to return to the owner.

It's been a great start to what I consider my favorite time of year.  Autumn has it all. Good temperatures, good water flow (mostly) good insect hatches (mostly BWO, you don't need anything else) and trout that want to cooperate.  The stockers in the EB and, as I write, in one Millers location serve a purpose. These rivers went through hell this summer so cooling waters and fresh fish are welcome.  The Swift got a load of pint sized browns last week. (they weren't kidding when they said the browns would be around 9 inches.) and a load of wondering rainbows (this is a fish that plays follow the leader or "chase my tail" all day.  

The fish are there and not too stream wise as of yet.  A big catch day may not be the result of your piscatorial prowess but being in the right place at the right time.  Who cares, in three months it will be fishing under different conditions so fish now as daylight wanes the thermometer drops!

Things I'd Like To See

1. I'd like the flow on the Swift to be reduced from the 125 cfs done to a historical 60 cfs soon. We need rain for that.  I like 60 cs because it gives the brookies the perfect environment to build their redds.  It was only about two years ago that the Autumn flow was too high and many of the favorite spots held no fish.  Besides, the low flows produce great dry fly (BWO) fishing, the high flows not so much.

2. Make the entire Swift catch and release.  I called the EPO's a week or so ago for bait fishing and chumming violations.  The EPO I spoke to said he was down in Springfield but would get there asap.  I got the make of vehicle but not the plate.  I think these guys are spread too thin. The typical violator will play dumb, thinking you could still keep fish.  Total C&R makes that hard to do.

3. Am I hallucinating or are there more bamboo roads on the Swift in the last few months?  I guided two people with exquisite bamboo rods three weeks ago.  Then I met a fellow who wanted to show me the cane rod that he had built from scratch (splitting the culm) and it was a wonderful work of art!!  And on this past Sunday a met an angler who had an OLD bamboo rod (reinforcing wraps the full length of the rod) BUT it was a fast action which would pair with a 4wt DT and perfect for the Swift.  Now John, who I guided this past Tuesday, showed me a 7 1/2 foot Orvis impregnated rod that was maybe 60 years old and was in unused condition.  It was labeled for a 6wt but would easily cast a 5wt or a 4wt with ease, just adjust your casting stroke. It is a beautiful rod!

It is very good to see "believers in the cane" as they say.  Bamboo, in the trout weights, beats graphite any day as long as we don't have ice in the guides and ice in the guides is rare during the April to mid November trout season.

BOOK ME

It's beautiful out there!!!! A frosty morning will not kill you but a mid morning start would work too.  My calendar is filling up for October and November will soon too.  I guide 7 days a week because I love it and it's fun for you too.

Book Me

Ken

  

Two EB Mornings And Book Me

"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 

 Note October 5- LOST & REEL found on the Swift by the 2nd parking area. Contact this blog and we will start the ball rolling. - Ken

I have missed this river. It was wonderful this Spring but the summer drought brought it to its knees which, given the help of a little timely rain would have made it like most summers - skinny water that floated a fly which is all I asked for.  No such luck.

But cooling Fall weather and some timely rain AND a DFW stocking changed things for the better.

Now, I'm not saying that I fished over selective trout this past weekend.  They were rainbow stockers but being able to fish the EB with enough current to move your fly line was a pleasure as was the great scenery of the Gorge.

Saturday Morning - In the water at 7am at the Bliss Pool with a Partridge and Orange which did nothing.  Ok, let's try a black and purple WB at size 12. 18 bows came to the net and the I noticed rising fish and a few caddis.  On goes a size 14 caddis and another dozen come to the net as trout continued to rise.

I then moved up and down the river with some success but then, going out of character, switched to a size 8 Mudder Minnow. I landed another 4 bows.

Sunday Morning - We went back to the same spot as yesterday and spent 45 minutes with one bow. Friend Harvey had beat us there but said he had no hits. How could things change in 24 hours like they had.  We then noticed rising fish 30 or more feet downstream Harvey tied on a dry and we went with a caddis emerger.  All hell broke loose!! Harvey started to take fish on the surface while Jeff fished just below the surface.  We all took fish!!  Jeff got into the dry fly (caddis) action and at the end of the session  had netted 20 bows, most on dry caddis (sometimes less than dry) imitations.  Deer hair caddis emergers, half submerged in the surface worked great.

The EB is a great summer long river if it can get even an average rainfall. I've had Julys and Augusts that were fabulous even with low water but you NEED some water.  We had to wait until Fall this year but it was worth it!!!

The Swift -  It was stocked this past week with bows and browns they say.  I have not been there so I can't attest to the results. I like the idea of more browns!!!!

The Millers - Watch this river.  There's enough water here for some good fishing.  I'll keep you posted.

Ken