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

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

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?

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?

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.