STRANGE GOINGS-ON July 27, 2006 - I had the opportunity to chat with a few Swift River regs recently and they both echoed similar themes. Hardwick resident, Tom Schofield, who has been known to labor on the watershed for 100-200 days a year, related the odd characteristics the river has been displaying during this mid-summer season. When visiting the main branch of the Swift below Windsor Dam an angler would normally expect to encounter water temps in the 50-60 degree range due to the bottom release situation located at the west end of the dam. This temperature range provides exceptional trout habitat throughout the hot summer months offering anglers a cool summer retreat, while many of the state's freestones suffer from low, warming water conditions. This has not been the case this year. While the west end discharge continues to spew cold water (50-55 degrees), it is united with the warmer outflow from the east end surface spillway creating a pool of complex water temperatures at the infamous "Y Pool". This phenomenon has caused an unusually large population of trout to occupy the west bank of the river seeking refuge from the warmer water. It has not been uncommon to experience water temps in the 68-74 degree range downstream of the "Y Pool" and even as far south as the Rt. 9 bridge abutment. Dale Mills, another Sift River zealot, repeated Tom's concerns almost verbatim. While water levels continue to drop (now considered slightly high but wadeable), the situation should remedy itself in the future and the Quabbin Reservoir proper at the same point will return to a more normal level limiting, and even ceasing the surface discharge. This situation obviously exists due to the extreme weather the area has experienced beginning with the autumn of 2005 and continuing through our current summer. While this situation does not provide anglers with an optimum fishing opportunity, fish can certainly be located at random locations throughout the system. Dale also expressed his concern for the poaching problem that always rears its ugly head just after the July stocking. In any event, if you are planning a mid-summer sojourn, be sure to inventory a few inchworm patterns (14-16), black parachute ants (16-18) BWO's (20-22) and caddis (16-18). The sulphur (16-18), which has been the predominant insect hatch on the watershed in past years, has not yet materialized and we fear that it may not be evident for the remainder of the season. Oh, incidentally, those strange shadows that occasionally appear at random may be smallmouth, largemouth, white suckers or a variety of coarse species that have entered the system during excessive water discharges. Good fishing and safe
wading, |
