THE GOOD AND THE BAD
So what's going on at the Millers? This season has been absent of those truly remarkable reports we have been fielding during the previous few springs. Anglers have been struggling to land a few fish even in the infamous Wendall Deport area. The C&R section of the Farmington River in Connecticut is experiencing one of the best seasons in recent memory. Virtually every fly angler we've come in contact with, from early spring until early June, has been enjoying stellar days on this watershed. For the most part water levels hace cooperated nicely encouraging prolific insect hatches throughout the spring. If you're planning a visit in the near future be sure to tote along some sulphur duns (16-18), blue winged olives (20-22), march browns (12-14) and tan caddis (16-18) to insure your success. Saturday, June 6th is the date of the Millers River TU Chapter's "1 Fly Contest". If you are interested in attending please visit www.millersrivertu.org of call 978.249.7858 for all the particulars. Incidentally, the event coincides with the Massachusetts free fishing day so no license is required within state waters. Good fishing and safe
wading, |
June
4, 2009 - With
water levels still hovering somewhere in the 300 cfs range, the Swift
River in Belchertown remains difficult to negotiate throughout it's
southern journey, and that's the bad news. The good news is there are
plenty of fish to harass from the Y pool to Cady Lane. Some anglers are
reporting the presence of modest sulphur hatches occurring during the
mid-afternoon hours. This is probably the quintessential hatch on the
river and generally extends well in the summer season. If you do
encounter this phenomenon I would encourage you to consider low floating
imitations such as compara duns, no-hackles or parachutes in sizes
#16-#18 to best mimic the natural. Subsurface angling is the prescribed
method during non-hatch periods. A disco midge (22), brassie (20),
pheasant tail (22), copper john (20) or RS2 black (20) are pretty
reliable patterns and are generally fished in tandem and accompanied by
a strike indicator. We are now stocking a hackle wing blue winged olive
#22-#24 that has been highly successful on the Swift and other
Massachusetts rivers as well.