The days are getting short and the nights long and cold as we enter the heart of fall. Things can be a bit touch and go at this time of year with so much fluctuation across the fishery, but there’s still plenty of bites to be had!
On the Deerfield, flows have generally been low (around 125 CFS) save for a few brief releases here and there. A continued lack of rain should maintain similar conditions looking forward, especially considering that white water rafting/kayaking/tubing have wrapped up for the season. While this may not be the best news for those on drift rafts, wading anglers should be pleased with the current conditions.
As far as approach, these lingering warm days are presenting the last gasps of dry fly opportunity for the year. On warm days, relatively significant rising activity has been observed in some of the river’s slower pools and margin water as trout get after midges, blue-winged olives, and the odd caddis or two on the surface. If you luck into a group of risers, you’ll generally want to go pretty small on fly selection. CDC and poly-wing emergers in sizes 20-24 have been winning tickets along with small caddis imitations in sizes 18-20. If you’re finding a lack of success at the surface and especially if fish are keyed in on midges, consider dropping a small weightless nymph like a black beauty or tiny pheasant tail off your dry fly/emerger. This being said, cooler conditions on the horizon will likely put a damper on surface opportunities so be wary of forcing the issue.
Despite the advancing cold, many fish are still pulled up into fast, turbulent water where they are eagerly feeding on subsurface forage. Nymphing tactics like indicator and contact/tight-line rigs will be winning tickets especially as less and less fish are looking towards the surface in many areas of the river. Remember, the main key to successful nymphing—regardless of specific approach—is to deliver flies down to depth quickly and efficiently. There are a million and one ways to skin the cat when it comes to nymphing approach so play around and see what works.
A solid bet for indicator fishing is to use a 9’ tapered leader outfitted with either weighted flies or unweighted bugs paired with split shot, although shot may also be necessary with weighted flies. Remember that line diameter affects sink rate and drift so do what you can with rigging to ensure that the indicator is affixed below the taper point on the leader and use lighter tippets (4x-6x), both of which will help your flies get down faster and drift more drag-free. Indicator selection is a bit up to personal preference, but we’ve been doing good work with a New Zealand-style yarn indicators, which are great in the low water. Firm body options like Oros or Air-Lock can be used effectively, but consider how loud they are when landing, a fact which can easily spook fish in the low flows.
As for the complex world of contact/tight-line nymphing, rigging up can be confusing to those who are new to the technique. When in doubt, go with time-tested approaches and formulas. Below is Troutbitten’s—one of the technique’s biggest names—standard contact nymphing rig formula:
- 24 feet — 20 lb Maxima Chameleon
- 2 feet —12 lb Maxima HV
- 12” — 12lb Red Amnesia or 12 lb Sufix Neon Fire
- 12” — 10lb Gold Stren(Backing Barrel with tag, attached here)
- — Tippet Ring (1.5 or 2mm)—
- 14″ — 1x Rio Two Tone Tippet Material(Optional)
- 36″ — 4X Fluorocarbon Tippet
- — Tag for upper nymph —
- 20″ — 5X Fluorocarbon Tippet
- — Nymph —
Aside from the rig, you’ll ideally want to be running a rod and reel specifically geared towards contact nymphing. While the technique can be accomplished on standard 9’ rods, it can’t be understated how much more you’ll feel and how much easier it will be with a dedicated contact stick and well-balanced reel. In store, we like the Echo Carbon XL Euro nymphing series at a lower-level price point and of course the incomparable Thomas & Thomas Contact II at a more premium cost.
When it comes to fly selection for both indicator and contact nymphing, an interesting concept to keep in mind is the idea of sampling. Unlike dry fly fishing where we’re typically trying to match a specific hatch that fish are feeding on, our goal with nymphing is to offer a presentation that looks enough like typical forage or appears interesting enough for fish to simply sample it. Remember that hatch is limited at this time of year, so trout are generally feeding on random larva which get dislodged from the bottom up into the current. Under indicators, rubber-legged stonefly imitations, pheasant tail variants, hare’s ears, caddis larva, etc. are all excellent representations of the many food options that will buzz past a trout’s feeding lie on any given day. Sampling is doubly important with jigged nymphs used for contact nymphing, most of which are extremely impressionistic if not flat out tied exclusively towards the ends of drawing curiosity. The Walt’s worm, perdigon, Frenchie, blowtorch etc. are all great, well-performing examples. Also remember that jigged nymphs generally have a faster fall rate than those tied on standard hooks—and also ride hook point up—so don’t be afraid to add them to indicator rigs as well.
As for streamer fishing on the D, reports have reflected that the bite is pretty tough right now, especially with such low flows. Although current flow conditions aren’t exactly ideal for streamer fishing, the silver lining is that the river is much more maneuverable allowing for ample back-cast space and the ability to target areas of the river that would otherwise be off-limits in higher water. With low, clear water, it’ll generally be best to stay relatively small with streamer selection; some options we like in store are the Strolis mini-avenger, bank robber and of course the classic woolly bugger. In any conditions, streamer fishing can be a bit fickle so make sure to experiment and play around. Try downstream swinging, slow and fast strips, jerk strips and rod action, pauses and varying speeds and remember that every fish is different, you never know what kind of action will punch the ticket.
Elsewhere on the Millers and Westfield Rivers, low flows continue to be the name of the game on both. Despite the lack of water, the Millers was stocked at the beginning of October so there’s plenty of fish around. Like the Deerfield, we’ve received reports of some fish rising on warmer days so keep your eyes peeled. The newly stocked fish have now had plenty of time to learn natural feeding habits so much of what’s been said about the D will also be true on the Millers. Reports have reflected that many fish are pushed up into logical areas like soft seams along runs as well as deeper pools. Although the low water has fish on high alert, it also makes for a much easier time navigating the river and targeting areas that are otherwise difficult to hit in higher flows. Like the Deerfield, nymphing tactics will be king among other techniques although small streamers aren’t a bad idea especially given the Millers’ aggressive population of both smallmouth bass and fallfish. As for the Westfield, not much has changed since we last reported. Flows are still very low making for tough fishing, and the river did not receive a fall stock so there’s definitely a limited amount of fish in the system. Frankly, the Westfield is not the first place we’d send you right now but if you do make it out that way, look to target areas of stable depth where many holdover fish will have moved into.
Below Quabbin, the Swift River continues to run a bit higher than average with flows hovering around 130 CFS give or take. The big-ticket item on the river is the quickly progressing brook trout spawn. More and more brookies are filing into gravelly areas like the fly-only zone above Rt. 9 and between grass banks in the Cady Lane stretch where fish have begun to dig redds in earnest. First and foremost, remember to always leave actively spawning fish to their business and never cast to trout occupying redds. There are some really big fish in the mix with individuals up to 20” having been observed, and while it may be overwhelmingly tantalizing, it’s absolutely crucial to leave these guys alone, thereby maintaining one of southern New England’s finest wild brook trout fisheries. Just as important is to be very mindful of where you’re wading to avoid stepping on and destroying redds. The best approach in this regard is to simply exit the water when moving spots and drop in to specific areas that are safe from spawning activity. The added elevation on the bank will aid in identifying both no-go areas and fish that are viable to target.
As far as targeting fair game goes, rainbows and browns often file in behind spawners to gorge themselves on egg forage—usually an extremely productive pattern—however, keep in mind that chains of redds can spread over relatively vast swaths of the river’s bottom. In some situations, you may just need to walk past otherwise viable bows and browns as they move over and attempt to maraud brookie nests. Look specifically for fish positioned away from and usually behind the redds and pay close attention to color contrast on bottom which will indicate the areas that have been cleared out for spawning and those that are fair game to target.
Aside from the spawn, rising activity has decreased over the past few weeks, however, there’s definitely still some fish out there willing to take a look up top. Risers will generally be keyed in on midges (#26-30) and the occasional puff of blue-winged olives (#22-24) with CDC emergers arguably being the best way to imitate both. With such tiny flies and relatively increased flows, you may find the need to size tippet down to avoid drag. Many fish, both rising and not, are still bound tightly to wood structure along the bank, especially in the fly-only area. These groups can be tricky to target in such confined spaces, but don’t be afraid to have a go at them. Wade out slowly and methodically and use structure to your advantage to obscure you from the trout’s view. This being said, it’s also common at this time of year to see rainbows in particular doing the exact opposite, chasing and sparring with each other across the river’s channel. This behavior can be incredibly frustrating as it’s often almost impossible to turn their heads away from each other and towards your presentation. In many of these instances, you may just need to enjoy the experience of watching these big, colored up bows have a go at each other.
As for local small water, not much has changed since we last reported. A continued lack of rain has rendered most creeks a slow trickle as far as flow goes. Fish will almost certainly be grouped up in any stable depth that they can find and will be on high alert in many situations. Be mindful of how much stress you’re putting on already beleaguered creek trout, especially as spawning activity among wild fish has begun to increase significantly in many systems. If you do decide to head out for some small water fishing, of course be very cautious when both navigating and fishing creeks so as to avoid redds. As far as approach goes, the dry fly window is barely cracked open if not shut altogether. You might find the odd fish or two willing to take a look at the surface but nymphing will generally be best. Indicator setups will be difficult to manage efficiently with such low water, so it’ll be best to fish either a dry-dropper or a contact/tight-line rig. If using a dry dropper, consider that surface forage has become very limited so select a dry fly that will not appear too out of place. A small parachute or elk hair caddis should fare well enough but the time to slap some foam down has almost certainly passed.
On the “warm” water front, things can get very interesting at this time of year. For bass, pike, and pickerel, water temperatures dictate a lot in terms of behavior and feeding cycles. While temps remain above 50°, bass will often crash the shallows aggressively as they try to pin bait against the banks. Throwing streamers in shallow water can be extremely productive for this reason; all the better if you can find areas with adjacent depth that bass will move into as the water continues to cool down. Although a lot of aquatic vegetation commonly found in shallow water is dying off, it still presents plenty of obstruction so consider tossing bugs outfitted with weed guards.
Esox species like pike and pickerel also do a lot of aggressive hunting while water temperatures hover around 50°. While the water is still above that mark, a lot of these fish will seek out living aquatic vegetation as they often do earlier in the year, however, as the water cools, many will move onto points and ledges with adjacency to significant depth. For both esox and bass, consider that a lot of fish have the feed bag on as they prepare for winter and are looking for high calorie, easily attained meals. We recommend starting pretty big with streamer presentations and sizing down as necessary. Also make sure to keep a close eye on water temperatures as these “warm” water hunters will move increasingly deeper as temps continue to drop below 50°.
Off the water, we are excited to announce the return of Bugs & Beers tying nights. We’re shaking things up a bit this year and doing two sessions each month. The first will be held at Dirt Church Brewing Co. in Charlemont and the second at Progression Brewing Co. in Northampton. Keep eyes peeled for more classes and events as the “off-season” rolls on. As always, thank you for your continued support from all of us here at the Deerfield Fly Shop and we wish you luck next time you’re on the water.
