Fly Fishing Western MA

Swift River and Millers River

Presented to TUNoreast Chapter

About John Black, GuideI have been working with the Orvis Company for

3 years and have been the Fly Fishing lead/instructor for one year.

Private guide in Western MA waters.Natural Resource Conservation Major at UMASS

Amherst with a focus in natural conservation.Minor in FilmUMASS Amherst Men’s Soccer

Places I have Fly fished:New Zealand, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming,

North Carolina, New England and New York

Subjects Covered• Types of fish• Seasons• Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

• Hatches• Flies

• Maps• Access, when and where to fish

• Techniques• Nymph rigs, Euro Nymphing, dry fly rigs,

streamer rigs

Swift River

Swift RiverFall:Brook trout spawn (Oct- Early December)

Stratification (fall turnover) of the Quabbin Reservoir changes water temperature released on the swift. Warmer water will push out of the Dam throughout the winter.Where to fish:Above Rt. 9 bridge, Duck pond section, Gauge run down through the pipe and tree pool, Caddy lane, Bondsville down to Jabish brook tributary, Jabish Brook

Hatches:Caddis, BWO’s, MidgesCaddis nymphs can be very effective throughout the day and will come off the water at sunset/nightfall Flies (Fall):Partridge and Orange (#14-18), Pheasant Tail soft hackle with hot spot (#14-18), caddis pupa (#16-18), cased caddis (#16-18), Serendepities (#18-22), Midges (#18-22), Fry patterns (#10-14), san juans (#8-12), Eggs (#16-22), BWO’s (#16-20)Other flies (Fall):Hares ear, jailbirds, emerger patterns and soft hackles, silver doctor, Maynards Miracle, wooly buggers, minnow streamers, frenchie soft hackles, small streamers, nymphs (#16-20)

Techniques (Fall):

swing soft hackles, Indicator Rig, French and Euro Nymphing, High sticking.Streamers can be dead drifted or stripped with various speeds. Dead drifting streamers (small fry patterns) in riffles is very affective. Streamers can also be swung through the riffles, pools and runs with no strip or with an increased stripping pace. Up and across and directly upstream in various types of water will also produce takes. Winter:

Rainbows will start to “attempt” reproduction in early December and will continue all the way through to February sporadically. Brown trout will also move up from the lower part of the river and attempt spawning.

Where to fish:

Bubbler, Y-pool, above Route 9 bridge, pipe, tree pool to caddy lane, caddy lane. Below Bondsville Dam

Fish will move into warmer water and into slower water. Fish become more dormant and rest on the bottom. Fish can be found throughout the river year round. GO EXPLORE!Hatches:

Midges, BWO’s, winter caddisFlies: (Winter):San Juans (#8-12), Eggs (#18-22, Early winter), Midges (#22-28), minnow streamers (#6-12), Partridge and Orange (#16-18, early winter)

Other Flies (Winter):

Small nymphs (#18-24), stans miracle midge (#20-24), swift serendipity (#18-24), small winter caddis flies. Flies with pink and white perform very well, flashy midges can also be a game changer.Techniques (Winter):

Euro nymphing (tail outs of moving water and riffles), indicator rigs, high sticking, streamer fishingStreamers should be fished slower during this time of year in slower parts of the river and in various different ways.

Spring:

Quabbin reservoir will again perform stratification (Spring turnover), the water temperatures coming out of the reservoir will push cold water out of the bottom release dam as the air temperatures warm. Where to fish: (Spring):

Bubbler, Y- pool, above Route 9 bridge, Gauge run, tree pool, pipe, caddy lane, Bondsville dam, below Bondsville Dam to Jabish Brook, Jabish BrookFish will be moving out of the prime winter lies and looking to reenergize in feeding areas where a lot of food sources are available. Hatches: (Spring):

BWO’s, MidgesFlies (Spring):

Partridge and olive (#14-18), Midges (#16-24)

BWO’s (#18-24), pheasant tail soft hackles (#14-18), small nymphs in natural colors (#16-24), san juans, jailbirds (#16-22), small streamers (#6-12), minnow patterns (#6-12), wooly buggers Techniques (Spring):

Tandem dry fly/emerger rigs, high sticking, euro nymphing, french nymphing and czech nymphing, streamersEarly spring is a great time for streamers, fish are very hungry following the spawning, dormant months and looking for high protein snacks to regain energy, waiting until the water warms up to 40 degrees + is crucial because fish wont be able to chase down larger and faster sources of food if water is still cold.. Once the water temperatures increase, so will the trout’s mobility and eagerness to chase down larger food.

Summer:

Summer is an excellent time to fish the swift, the water stays cold, the flows do not drop so the fishing remains excellent and unaffected by drought (for the most part). Fish also who have held over will fatten up and there are often many days where you can have great sections of the swift to yourself. Where to fish (Summer):

Bubbler, Y- pool, above Route 9, Gauge run, tree pool, pipe, caddy lane, BondsvilleFish will be scattered between deep pools and faster moving water where the water is the most oxygenated.

Hatches: (Summer):

BWO’s, Midges, Sulphurs!Flies (Summer):

BWO’s (#18-24), Sulphurs (#14-16), Midges (16-22), San Juans, nymphs (#14-22), ants and terrestrials, wooly buggers, attractor dry flies, small streamers, minnow patterns, wooly buggers, soft hackles.Techniques:Dry fly rigs, nymph indicator rigs, euro nymphing, swinging flies, high sticking

Millers River

Fall:

Fall is perhaps the best time of year to fish this river (depending on the summer). The scenery is nearly impossible to beat along the river with great foliage and crisp afternoons. The fishing can be also be superb and is a great time of year to catch a holdover fish!Where to fish (Fall):

Orcutt pool, Wendell depot, Kempfield pool, Jacks brook (Erving Center), Bridge Street poolHatches: (Fall)

Caddis, BWO’sThe caddis are arguably the most prolific species of insect that emerge out on the millers river, their appearance usually depends on the season which will affect what time of day they will emerge because of temperatures. When caddis or mayflies are not hatching, BWO’s can be a great source of food for trout in different stages and patterns.

Flies (Fall):

Caddis (#12-16, various colors), BWO’s (#16-22, various colors and stages), Partridge and Orange (#14-16), Golden/Black stoneflies (#6-10), frenchies (#12-18, various colors), mayfly nymphs and attractor nymphs (#12-18), mop fly (#6-12), various streamers (#4-10 minnows, sculpins and leech patterns)Streamer fishing can be superb on the millers in the larger pools and tailouts in the fall, extend your drag for much longer and strip your fly all the way in. Fish are much more willing to follow a streamer after a swing in the fall then they are in the spring.

Techniques: (Fall)

High sticking, euro nymphing, dry/dropper, indicator nymph rigs, streamer fishing and swinging wet fly'sStreamer fishing can produce a lot of fish and a lot of fun. Cast up and across and let the fly sink and strip towards you once fully downstream and swung into the hang down zone, change up depths and speeds and presentation techniques.

Spring:

My largest number of trout per day have come during the spring on the Millers. Last year I had 3 or 4 days where I caught well over 40 fish in a day! The spring time is a great time to fish the millers although the season is short. Summer warms the river up and usually is unfishable past Memorial Day weekend unless you fish the late evenings and early mornings. Where to fish (Spring):

Bears Den, Orcutt pool, Wendell Depot, Kempfield pool, Glade sections, Jacks Brook, Bridge Street pool My biggest fish have come out of several pools along the Route 2 section between Erving and Bridge Street pool during the spring.

Hatches: (Spring)

Stoneflies, Caddis (early April-June), Hendricksons (Late April-early/mid May), March Browns (May) (BWO’s, April-June), Sulphurs (early/mid may-June), Cahills (mid/late may-June)Caddis- early morning, late evening hatches. The caddis will get every fish in the river up to feed when they hatch because the water temps are usually perfect and their abundance is prolific. Nymphing with stoneflies and caddis is very productive as well as assorted mayfly nymphs. As spring progresses, mayfly hatches will dominate as the main food source for trout when they begin to hatch in the morning and evenings.

Flies: (Spring)

Golden/Black Stoneflies (#6-10), Shimmer Stone (#6-10), Partridge and olive (#14-18), Pheasant tail soft hackles (#14-18), euro nymphs, attractor nymphs, mayfly nymphs (#12-18), Frenchies (#12-18), caddis (#12-16), comparaduns (#12-16), klinkhammers (#12-16), Mop fly (#6-12), Hendricksons (#10-14, light and dark), Sulphurs (#14-16), March Browns (#12-16), rusty spinners (#10-16), attractor dries, Dun Variants (#8-12), san juans, wet flies, streamers (sculpins, small baitfish and minnows) wooly buggers.

Techniques: (Spring)

Fish late evenings and early mornings as the weather warms up to get catch the hatches, nymphing can be unbelievable in the various different styles and techniques. high flows will push fish into new homes, dry/droppers are great prior to or during a hatch and streamer fishing at the right times can produce lots of fish! Big pools are good places for hatches and fish the moving deeper pools during the day with nymph rigs!

Presented to TU Nor’East Chapter, March 2017

To reach John Black, call or visit him at the Orvis Peabody Store, North Shore Mall.

Orvis Peabody  Tel # (978) 531-0185210 Andover Street, Peabody MA 01960 Contact info: Jeblack at umass.eduCell Phone - 351-201-0688.Link Orvis Peabody Fishing Reports: TU Nor'East Chapter