Westfield River (Indian Hollow Campground)

This past weekend (Saturday) I joined TU for their annual trip to the Westfield River in Chesterfield. This was my first time fishing this beautiful river and let me tell you, it wont be my last.  I was taken aback by the smooth flowing, clear water and serene scenery: truly an excellent place to fish.  Its too bad the fish didn't feel the same way. In talking to most other TU members, it seems the morning was productive, but very little for the rest of the day. Due to other obligations I couldn't stay the night, and could only arrive around noon on Saturday. I hit the water right when I got there and within 5 casts landed the brown seen below, much larger and better looking than the picture suggests, 18-20 inch range and broad shoulders. I ended up heading both upstream and downstream from the main campsite, only to find endless pockets, pools and rifles holding beautiful fish. In 6 hours of fishing I landed 10, lost probably another 5. Cant wait to head back.

White Clay Creek in Newark, Delaware

This past weekend I visited an old friend in Maryland. On my drive down, I had the opportunity to stop in at White Clay Creek State Park in Newark, DE (PA/DE border) and fish the White Clay Creek.  Non-resident license was $12, parking was $6. This stream is VERY interesting. Flow seemed to be low, but the water was still DEEP. I fished the fly fish only section above the bridge at Chambers Rock rd. There was a pool extremely similar to the Y-Pool at the Swift which held some BIG fish. Water wasn't as clear as the swift, but clearer than most rivers I've ever fished. It looks like a very accessible yet highly covered river (trees, high banks), which means big trout. There were some big white-colored fish, looked like trout, but I dont know what they were. Could they have been Palominos? I dont know.

In 2 hours I landed 5 rainbows, all bigger than 16". The bigger fish (22" and up) were there but weren't biting. I'm thinking similar to the Swift, the fish get wise, quickly. Caught all fish on a size 20 pheasant tail. Looked like some fish were taking emergers, but I couldn't see what, my guess is something very small.

My spot

I fished "my spot" last evening on the quinnie (river rd near the reservoir) and the trout did not disappoint. At around 730, there was a feeding frenzy on some light colored mayflies on top. I was able to land 5 12-16" bows and a 15" brown. Hooked countless others, but these were surprisingly acrobatic fish and it was a chore getting them to the net.

The fishing was good early this year, and it looks like it will keep up for some time. Here's to hoping water levels comply, as that is the key with this river.


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Welcome

Welcome everyone to the Quinapoxet River Fly Fishing blog/forum/chat/whatever you find it useful for. I will be posting river reports, fishing reports, pictures, flies, videos, updates from other rivers, etc... anything and everything that fly fisherman are interested in. I am also hoping to learn a few things myself through this blog from commenters and readers. Now the Quinnie is my "home water" so-to-speak, but I enjoy fishing many other rivers in MA (the swift, the Millers, Ware, Stillwater to name a few) and Ill include them on this blog as well. But my main intention is to share my experiences on the Quinnie and hope to get more thinking about conserving this gem we have in our own backyard.