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

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

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

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!

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

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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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