Brookie

Brookie

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

TU and Rushing Rivers Institute needs volunteers!

Attention all conservationists, trout enthusiasts, and outdoors people, we need your help! We are looking for volunteers for Wednesday, August 28 starting at 8am, to help with some local stream restoration work on the Wekepeke river in Sterling, MA. The Central MA Chapter of TU has teamed up with the Rushing Rivers Institute, Nestle Waters North America, and the Town of Sterling to improve, restore, and reconnect the waters and environment of the Wekepeke river as part of grant funded work from TU National and Nestle. We are at a very crucial point in the project and are looking for volunteers to help with the removal of a structure that is affecting stream flow. If you are interested in helping and/or learning more about the opportunity, please send me a message (nmcomeau@gmail.com). This is a great opportunity to get involved locally, learn about this great little stream, and have fun doing so! http://www.wekepeke.org/tu-project

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Tailwaters until September


Over the past month or so, I've fished about as often as I've updated this blog - which you can tell is not that often. I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. We were complaining about high flows early in the season, and now look at us - eating crow and not catching now fish - unless you're hitting a tailwater. If it wasn't for today's massive rainfall, we were heading for single digit CFS water flow on the Q. Its currently up to 50 CFS but will not be there for long. My guess is we'll be back to 10-20 by the weekend. I'm not sure if today's downpour will stimulate the bugs or fish at all, but its worth a try, I may be out there this evening. I'm sure you all know the past few weeks have been dreadful on the Q and other Massachusetts freestones. I did hit the Millers and Quinnie earlier this month and the best of the day were the two rainbows pictured. The hefty bow below was from the Millers and was a lot lighter in color than normal Millers River Trout. Typically, after being in that water for a month or so, the rainbows develop a blackish color, and the pink becomes more of a dark red. The browns get a bit darker as well, and the typical "butter belly" becomes more of a silver or light black/brown. So I was surprised to catch a fish that looked like it belonged in the Swift! Maybe its a sign of better water quality?! I wont hold my breath...

So, until September or so, its the tailwaters to keep us busy.

The Swift: This will be the most popular. If you're OK fishing within 10 yards of someone, then you'll do fine and catch fish. If you're not so fond of that, and happen to have a canoe or kayak or float, head downstream to the second bridge (Cold Spring Rd), put in below the bridge and fish DOWNSTREAM. Everyone likes to head upstream, but there are terrific stretches down past the houses and above the dam. You will catch fish on small (sz 20-24) pheasant tails and scuds.

The Deerfield: If you are OK with the drive (for me it's a little under 2 hours) this river is a gem in the summer. Big fat dries and terrestrials will catch fish during low and high flows during the day. Streamers work well too. Check out the flow release schedule and plan your trip accordingly. I usually fish the stretch just below the Fife dam right up until they release the water (~9am), then head downstream to the Zoar Outdoor parking lot to fish for another hour or so of low flow. Once the water is up, you can head further downstream and pick your spot along rte 2 - streamers and buggers, or Chernobyl ants if you can reach the edges. Head back to the fife stretch for the evening rise when the water comes down.

Tight Lines,

-NC


Friday, June 28, 2013

Past, Present, and Future

The Past
So I fished with a friend this past weekend where we floated a river "out west" with the help of the Harrison Brothers. Dan and Tom are fantastic guides, they know every inch of the rivers they fish and have endless knowledge on tips, tricks, and techniques that can not only help you catch some fish, but become a better fisherman. Sometimes I feel like they can put you on a fish of your choosing! After a slow start, the rain held off and we were able to net double digit fish by mid day, yet still looking for the big one. I ended up getting the big one on a double streamer rig (he followed the white attractor and nailed the trailing bugger), a beautiful 20" wild brown. Thanks to the Harrisons for a great day!



The Present
With yesterday and today's rain, the Quinnie is making its way back up to 100 CFS (perfection) after a steady decline over the past week. Should make for good fishing this this afternoon and this weekend. The only negative I've noticed this year about the Q has been the lack of 14"+ fish in "my spot." Last year there were more than plenty but all but 1 or 2 made it through July with the heat, lack of rain, and low flows. This year, its exactly the opposite, yet where are the fish?!  Since I have not hit the Millers yet this year, I have to make it there this weekend. Hopefully the rain will hold off enough to keep flows where they are now (700 CFS in Erving and 400 CFS in South Royalston).

The Future
If your looking to fish the Q in the late months of summer, you won't be productive at any of the easy access spots. The combination of heat, low flow, lack of feeder streams, and # of fisherman will make these spots worthless. If you want to catch fish on this river into July and August, follow these guidelines:

  • Fish Early and Late - you will not catch many fish at noon. Get out at sunrise and fish until mid morning, or head there around 4 and fish until and even after dark. The evening hatches on this river are quite the Blitz. Hoppers and Chernobyl ants will take fish in mid morning and maybe early afternoon. Sulphurs, light cahills, and summer caddis will take fish at night.
  • Fish Stealthy - the low flows and high water temperature will cause fish to move, so don't assume that where you stood and where you were catching fish in May will be the same in July. Don't be so quick to jump in the water, fish from the banks until you are positive there are no fish in close and out of the sunlight.
  • Fish where other people don't - Easy access is great when the fish are plenty and the flows are full. This time of year you have to work for your catch, and that may mean spending time walking when you'd like to be fishing. Some good areas where cover, and cold feeder streams make for good fishing include:
    • Upstream from the 190 bridge. You can park on the North side of the closed River rd and walk down the hill to the trail head on the left. 
    • Upstream from the Mill st bridge. Its a bit of a walk, but 12" brookies (some wild) await your hare's ears and caddis dries.
    • Confluence of the Asnebumskit and Quinnie. Park at the bridge of the Asnebumskit on Mill St and walk downstream to the Q. Fish the 100 yards below the fork.

-NC

Monday, June 17, 2013

DIDYMO ALERT

My first blog for the month of June, and it's about Didymo - partially a clue into how fishing has been recently...


The Massachusetts Fish and Game and DCR are reporting the first confirmed finding of Didymo in Mass in the Green River in Alford and Egremont (western MA). The invasive algae favors cold, clear, nutrient-poor waters with a neutral or slightly basic pH. Blooms can produce dense covering on rocky substrate and eventually result in long, unsightly stalks. Didymo may appear gray, brown or white and have texture comparably to wet wool or cotton balls. Extensive didymo blooms can cover river substrate, and may temporarily impact aquatic habitat, specifically cover stream bottoms, and make swimming, boating and fishing difficult and/or less desirable. 


Difficult and/or less desirable might be the understatement of the year. Just google "Didymo river" and see first hand what this rock snot can do. If bad enough, this stuff can get to the point where it actually inhibits water flow. This stuff is a trout killer, and with the rivers of central MA already dealing with conditions that most other areas of the US are not (extensive stormwater pollution, high fishing pressure, fluctuating flows and temperatures) this would spell DISASTER for our rivers, especially the Quinnie. Check out the link here for more information about the finding in the Green River and about what you can do to stop the spread of this crap. First and foremost NO FELT!!! Make sure you thoroughly clean or dry your boots, waders, and equipment after every trip. http://www.mass.gov/eea/pr-2013/didymo-discovery.html


I happened to run into a DCR officer at the Quinnie yesterday afternoon when fishing for a few hours (5 small rainbows, all on a foamy, buggy creature floated and skimmed on top). Not only did we talk about the Didymo finding, but also about another invasive species they are dealing with locally - some sort of water flea that sticks to your line. So its important to clean that as well. I'm in the process of finding more information on this flea to share.


I'm heading to the Q this afternoon to fish (246 CFS and coming down). I'll have some fliers with me to put on cars. Say Hi if you see me there.


-NC

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Fish, Flies, and Flow


This river is on fire right now. Anyone whose fished the Q since our recent rain event I'm sure has seen as stellar action as I have. I fished it yesterday evening until dark. I can't say it enough, 100 CFS is the perfect flow for this river, especially for the spot I frequent (if you've read this in the past you know where that is). I hit all the usual pools, runs, and riffles and ALL of them had fish. Rainbows and Browns 12-16 inches. The setup of the day was a Chartreuse-headed wooly bugger with a caddis pupa trailer slightly weighted. Fish were hitting both flies, the caddis usually on the drift and the bugger on the swing. The beastly brown pictured above smashed the pupa on a swing - he came out from underneath the tree you see in the water in the picture below. Speaking of, the rain changed this river, not as much as Sandy and Irene did, but you can see the new piles of sticks/brush downstream of where I fished. Anyways, I fished from "the wall" to "the pump." Caught fish all the way down - easily 20 fish. I even got a double - a 6" brookie took the caddis pupa on the drift and just before I set the hook, a 12" rainbow hit the bugger. The brookie came off at my feet before I netted them. I ended the night with an elk hair caddis on the 3-weight. Caught 5 more on the dry, all rainbows. Caddis were everywhere and there were some light yellow mayflies coming off as well.

It was a great night. The river is absolutely perfect right now, hitting all 3 F's (flows, fish, and flies). If you can get to the river this week, I suggest you do it. Because as we saw last year, who knows how long the flows will remain where they are.

-NC



Friday, May 24, 2013

Streamside Blog

Caddis, sulphurs, and march browns all coming off the Q right now. If it wasn't for the gazillion CFS flow I might catch something...

NC


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Cinder Worms and Caddis Pupa

So much to update, so little time... I'll try to be brief.


Stripers: I went to a RI spot with a friend the weekend before last to target some stripers for my first time. Pun intended, I'm hooked. My friend was gracious enough to have me on his boat and showed me some of the popular and easily accessible wade spots. We hit the clousers early, nothing much doing. Around 3pm we made our way to a spot Todd was sure there'd be some cinder worm action. He was a great guide, sharing insights about flies, spots to go and when, what to look for, etc. The only thing missing was me paying him.... I caught my first striper (although not a big guy) on a cinder worm I tied in one of Todd's classes. It was a great time and I'm looking forward to future outings chasing line siders.

Trout: I went to Indian Hollow this past weekend (sat-sun) for the TU council outing. Fishing was slow saturday morning and throughout the afternoon. Come 3pm it was like somebody turned on a switch. Quickly caught a bow and a brookie on trailing caddis pupas. Then a hefty rainbow on a drifting hares ear. Come sunset, both March Browns and Caddis flies were coming off. I took 3 bows and a brown on a march brown dry. When they stopped hitting that I tried a caddis emerger, fished well past dark, and landed 7 more (browns and bows). Easily the best outings I've had this year. The Westfiled is a beautiful river, it's too bad it has such a hard time holding up throughout the summer. Sunday morning was productive as well, 3 more rainbows came to the net to a swinging caddis.

I'm heading to the Q today and Friday afterwork, then its the Millers this weekend for the big browns for the first time.

Tight Lines,

-NC




Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Fish are spreading out

Two great things I've noticed this week: the fish are spreading out and theres rain today and tomorrow. I fished downstream of the Harris st river st bridge yesterday, WELL below the the big turn. Caught a healthy 16" rainbow subsurface (pictured). Nothing rising but still tons of caddis coming off. Got more takes even further downstream. With the rain, the fish will probably even spread out more, which is ideal for a long summer of fishing. Get those healthy stockies to spread out early and find the holding areas and feeding zones. Then it's up to you and me to find them. Its not as easy as throwing bait off a bridge.

Right now flows are at ~50 CFS and still climbing from the sub 40 it was earlier this week. I've always said I love this river at just under 100. Well see if the rain can get us there.





Thursday, May 2, 2013

Quinnie update

Well, the hendricksons are here, and according to the DFW, so are more fish. I was at my spot this evening after work, didn't catch a fish, but spotted both dark and reddish-pink hendricksons coming off around 630pm. Should make for good dry fly fishing over the next few weeks if the fish get to normal eating habits quickly. My spot has been very unproductive for me so far this year, I am surprised to say, and I am wondering if they have not or will not stock it this year. This would be disappointing as its some of the best water on the river. I assume all the other normal suspects were hit with fish this week (Harris st/river st bridge, lower harris st bridge, the cable pool, rte 31 bridge, and mill st bridge). Rail Trail bridge off Harris st may have gotten fish as well.

If you are looking for something to do with the kids this Saturday, head on over the the Fulling Mill Trout Park in Charlton for their FREE fishing day. This stretch of the river will be freshly stocked with plenty of fish to catch and you'll have a great time doing it!

-NC

Thursday, April 25, 2013

We wait another week

According to the stocking website, the quinnie did not get fish this week, which is poor timing related to the hatches. Usually it takes the stockies a week or two to acclimate themselves to the food source of the new stream they've inhabited, and with the Hendrickson hatch starting to come on strong, it might mean only a small window of the dry fly fishing for this hatch (assuming we get fish next week!). Fortunately, there will be no shortage of stones and caddis, as always, but I haven't seen a good Hendrickson hatch on this river lately and was somewhat looking forward to it this year.

What I did notice was that the Millers was stocked in basically every town it flows. In checking the flows on the USGS site, it looks like only the Athol/Royalston areas are fishable right now at 400 CFS. I am going to head out there saturday and I will probaly head to the Pete and Henry's pool to start and make my way into the bearsden. I may end the day at the Wendell depot area if it comes down from its current 700 CFS by then.

The plan is to head to the quinnie tomorrow after work (after a stop at The Lower Forty to stock up) and hopefully the worm Dunkers and spinner throwers have had it with this river by now and we'll have it all to ourselves. Nothing like a cigar and the fly rod to take you into the weekend.

NC

Monday, April 22, 2013

A 4/20 Fattie (pun intended)

I fished all weekend, separate sections of the quinnie each day. Still nothing rising to the prolific Stonefly hatches, so it was subsurface (deep) fishing - which was productive. Saturday April 20th has a different meaning for some parts of the world (see California, Colorado, and now MA).When I caught this fish, I just couldn't resist - it was the only 4/20 "fattie" I came in contact with.


On Sunday, I tried below the dam at the pumping station. I think I will try this area more often. Caddis were coming off when i got there around 230ish and there were 4-5 rising fish upstream from the "no trespassing beyond this point" fence. I tied on a elk hair caddis and in two casts got a take, missed him, and that was it - just like that the action shut off. Note to self, head there around mid-day for surface action. As I was leaving (730) I spotted these on the rocks by the shore. Hopefully its a sign of things to come.

NC


Thursday, April 18, 2013

More Browns!

Stopped by the West Boylston side of River Rd on my way home from work on Tuesday. Fished upstream from the pumping station - about a mile up. Saw 2 other guys there (1 on the fly rod, 1 on the spinning). I caught 2 browns at the "parking spot" section, lost another 2 downstream from there (saw them when they leaped) and lost a fat rainbow just downstream of the "guardrail" section. Ended the night just above the dam but got skunked there. I did see Mr. Beaver and he looked nice and plump. Should have gotten more fish this week (probably today).



What's working? For me, its "prince nymphs", size 12-14, dead drifted or swung slowly and yellow stonefly nymphs. Also, the browns can't resist the newly created "nic-a-nymph."

-NC

Monday, April 15, 2013

Little River Browns

The little river in Charlton-Oxford is a gem of a stream in my childhood backyard. I never fished it until this year, and I'm disappointed that I didn't know enough about it until now. Very easy access at the route 20 bridge and the new Fulling Mill trout park on fulling mill dr where the river empties into Buffumville. The latter place is where I fished Saturday evening with a local conservation officer. We started down at the lake with high hopes of holdovers and stockies that made their way downstream from the bridge, but the fish hadn't moved yet. In my experience it takes about a week for the stockies to travel down/upstream from the bridges they are put in it. Typically it's downstream first. We made our way up to the bridge and found a double digit pod of browns sitting above the fast water, just below the bridge. I tied on a prince nymph and caught a few. Tried a bugger, caught a few more. Ende with a stonefly and landed another 3. Lost the biggest one (12") on the stonefly. The largest fish in this stream won't break 14" but fishing here is worth it. It's the perfect size stream for a 3 wt.





Hit the quinnie on the way home from work. Nothing hatching, no top water action. Just one take on a golden stonefly nymph on a swing. Good size rainbow, lost him before he got to the net. Flows are right about where I like them for this stream, just above 100 CFS. Should get hit with more fish this week. Smaller stones still coming off, but we're looking at the larger guys to start to make an appearance soon. I've seen green, yellow and a pale orange in the past. I've got this fly ready for its first trial run as soon as I see them. I call it "The Flying Todd." Super easy to tie. Peacock body, foam top with segmented body, and an elk wing. I'm going to experiment some more with a tail and some rubber legs. Make it your own!





Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Cicadas to make return to East Coast

I saw this article on Yahoo yesterday. Cicadas, often colloquially called locusts, are set to make their return to the East Coast after a 17 year "vacation".

From the article:
It’s not a welcomed reunion, but after 17 years the cicadas are set to return to the East Coast.

Insect experts say that starting in mid April to late May, residents from North Carolina to New England will witness the emergence of billions upon billions of the singing insects. For them to emerge, the ground has to be a mild 64 degrees, notes retired Smithsonian entomologist Gary F. Hevel. That's how, even eight inches below ground, the insects know, "It's party time."
“In places where they’re going to be present, it’s going to be spectacular. There could be as many as 1 billion cicadas emerging per square mile.”

These guys are offspring from the last batch to make an appearance in 1996! It should be very interesting to see how this affects fishing. The insects live underground near tree roots as they feed off the root systems. They die soon after mating - so imagine a carpet of these guys lining the surface film of the quinnie! Trout will be gorging themselves. Article URL: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/cicadas-coming-151907579.html

Anyone else hit the quinnie this past weekend? How'd you do?

NC

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Fish are here






The stocking trucks made their way to the quinnie last week and word has it they hit all the bridges. I fished twice this past weekend. Friday evening it was a friend and I at the Harris st/River st bridge. Neither of us caught anything but we saw 2 rises as it got dark. I went back today to try my luck at the same spot. There must have been 15 cars at that bridge. Fishermen every 20 feet. That's not fun. I stayed for an hour but decided to try my luck elsewhere. I headed to a spot few people fish. Don't know why it's not that popular, but I was delighted to see the tracks of the stocking truck when I arrived. And best part was I was the only fisherman there. Caught two rainbows on my "quinnie special" and had a few other takes on caddis nymphs. Beautiful weather - stoneflies were hatching and fluttering on the water all day but I didn't see a single rise. One more warm weather week and the dry fly action should get going.
I tried the echo rod Friday night. It's a 7.5' 3 wt. If you're into old school progressive-moderate action rods, this thing is for you! Perfect length to get into/under brush and overhangs. Casts very well 30ft and under. If you need to make 40ft casts, stick with your 9wt. But for quinnie fishing this thing is a dream. Better for dries but you can nymph with it. The lamson I matched with it is a perfect fit. I'm very happy with this rod. Thanks to Jim at The Lower Forty for recommending it.
-NC
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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Rich Strolis streamers and a new 3wt setup

The quinnie is my hometown river, always has been, always will be. But, I had the chance to head down to the Farmington river in CT last year for the first time and it quickly turned into one of my favorite places to fish, ever. Clear, broad water. Smooth, stony bottom. And BIG browns. Ever been yourself or want to learn more about it? Here's your chance. Rich Strolis, well known farmington river maven and fly tier, will be at the Mass Audubon center in Worcester (414 Massasoit rd) at 7pm Thursday night to talk at the monthly CMTU meeting about these big browns and the streamers he's used to catch them. Don't miss this chance to learn from one of the very best!

On another , I'll be taking my new setup to the quinnie this weekend to look for holdovers and see how she casts. It's a 7'6" Echo Carbon 3wt rod matched to a Lamson Velocity Nickel reel with rio floating line. Very excited to test it out.

-NC

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

So much for low flows!!




As we have been dealing with low flows on the quinnie since the start of the year, it seems as though we are starting to get back to some normalcy for this time of year. Flows right around 100 CFS and with today's snow
and probable near future rain and warmer temperatures, I imagine we'll be looking at 100 CFS for some time. Warmer weather and steady flows in March means the same thing to every angler in MA - spring trout stocking. No need to disclose where they'll be, because you can catch fish everywhere on this river - everyone has their spots. With that being said, let me ask you this, where will you go on the first 50 degree day of April?

NC

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Stoneflies in the Snow


If there is one sighting on the quinnie I enjoy the most, it might be early stoneflies hatching from the snow. Tons of them, ranging from light tan to black, from 1/8" to 1/2" littered the snow covered banks this past weekend. Its ONE of my first signs that spring is on the way. I fished from the closed river rd section to about a mile upstream for 4 hours or so. No rises, but I did manage a few small bows (including the 9" one pictured), all coming to a caddis nymph (my quinnie special). Cant wait to head out this weekend, but if the weather permits, I may head out west to the Millers, or even north to the Nissitissit. Wonder how this river holds up over the winter?

Monday, February 11, 2013

Go-To Flies

About a month ago, the central mass chapter of TU sent an email asking you to imagine being restricted to only five basic patterns on your favorite trout stream. They compiled the results by ranking the fly that showed up the most. The results weren't surprising, but it got me thinking (as it is fly tying season) what would be my 5 go-to flies for the Quinnie? The results they got are as follows: A total of 34 different patterns were mentioned. The numbers in parenthesis represent the number of times the pattern was mentioned. 1. Elk hair caddis (18) 2. Wooly bugger (17) 3. Pheasant tail nymph (14) 4. Adams (12) 5. Hare’s ear nymph (7).

If I were to do this for the Quinnie specifically, I think I'd go:

1. Wooly bugger
2. Caddis pupa nymph
3. Elk hair caddis
4. Hares ear
5. Light Cahill

Now this list doesn't necessarily represent the 5 best hatches or 5 best flies on the Quinnie, but rather, if I were to hit the quinnie at any time of the year, and could only choose to bring 5 flies, those would be the flies I choose. They are also somewhat of a personal preference, for instance I've had such good fortune with the Cahill on this river I just couldn't leave it off the list, yet many would probaly choose the Adams over that fly.

What did I miss for the quinnie? Any other good go-to flies? What about other rivers?



Sunday, January 20, 2013

Put and Take? I don't think so!

Very few fisherman practice catch and release on the quinapoxet river (or any stream for that matter), but to those who do, THANK YOU. I haven't kept a fish in 9 years, coincidentally corresponding to the time I started fly fishing. The Quinapoxet river, the pride and sole of trout fishing in Central MA, is considered by many as a "put-and-take" stream, meaning the DFW boys put the fish in, and people take them out. Well, I'm here to tell you that this river still fishes well in even after the torrid summer and cold weather months, thanks to all of you who practice C&R. This brightly colored, 16" spawning rainbow was caught at "my spot" yesterday around noon on a green-headed black wooly bugger. This fly works wonders on this river. I plan to hit another spot of the Quinnie tomorrow, hopefuly it will be as rewarding. There is nothing better than hitting the river on a cold morning, all by yourself, admiring the wildlife and beauty of the stream. It only takes one fish to make it more than worthwhile.