It is HOT out there! Midsummer has arrived and there’s a lot to be keeping in mind at this time of year so let’s dive in.
On the Fife Brook stretch of the Deerfield, flows have been relatively predictable with low water intervals (130 CFS) being common in the morning, brief releases (usually 800 CFS) in the afternoon into the evening, and low water again at night. This being said, the most important consideration on the D right now is water temperature. Limited rain and extended periods of low water have left the river very warm in many areas, often well above the point where it’s safe to be catch and releasing trout. Keep in mind that water temperatures over 67° are too warm for C&R on trout as dissolved oxygen levels plummet making it all but impossible for fish to recover after a fight. While your catch may swim away strong, keep in mind that the most recent data available shows that most trout will fail to recover and die within an hour of release when water temperatures creep up as high as they have.
This being said, reports reflect that there are fishable temperatures both very early and late in the day as well as during releases. These cooler temps can be found in the immediate area downstream of the Fife Brook dam, however, it will still be of vital importance to carry a stream thermometer and take water temperatures at every spot you plan to fish. Even just a few river miles down from the dam temps can be as high as the low 70s and even higher lower down towards Charlemont. As for the lower stretches, it’s safe to assume that temperatures will be too high to catch and release trout. You may find skinny windows of cool enough water early and late but expect these opportunities to dry up by late morning. We can’t emphasize enough just how important it is for the health of the fishery to leave trout alone in warm water and to be taking accurate temperatures anywhere you plan to fish. The water “feeling cool” is simply not enough to justify fishing, you need an exact temperature; ultimately, the fishery will thank you for playing by the rules.
If you are able to find sufficiently cold water on the Deerfield, your approach will largely be dictated by what flow rates you’re fishing. Much of what we covered in our June report will remain true now. In higher flows, it’s a smart idea to run prospecting patterns like a hopper dropper or a swung streamer. Both of these approaches do an excellent job of covering water and getting your presentation in front of as many fish as possible. In lower water, smaller dry droppers are again great for prospecting, but don’t be afraid to switch to a single dry fly if you’re casting at consistently rising fish. We went into much greater detail about approach in both high and low water in last month’s report, so make sure to check that out if you haven’t already.
In terms of hatch, things are tending to be pretty sparse right now. We’ve received reports of occasional isos (Isonychia) and cahills with a lingering sulphur here and there, but mayfly activity is certainly not at its peak at the moment. Your best bet will be to prospect with an all-purpose mayfly imitator like a parachute Adams or klinkhammer. If you run into risers you can definitely find success throwing such bugs, but if you start to struggle, consider that fish may be keyed on more immature emergers so take that into account in your presentation. There’s still a good amount of caddis around, especially later in the day, but how much fish can actually access these bugs at the surface is up for debate. If you’re seeing a lot of caddis but struggling at the surface, consider throwing a subsurface caddis pupa imitation; in the shop we especially like the extremely buggy looking OCD caddis which is fished well both dead drifted and swung. Lastly, this is definitely a good time to be thinking about terrestrial imitations. Hoppers, beetles, and ants become important forage in midsummer so it’s definitely a good idea to have a good selection of bank bugs in the box. In terms of presentation, consider that a lot of terrestrial forage ends up in the water by getting blown out of the air, so slapping such patterns down with some authority is usually a good approach.
With so much warm water in the Deerfield system, it’s definitely a good idea to turn one’s attention away from trout and towards bass. The Deerfield is amply populated by hard fighting smallmouth bass which are an excellent option when conditions line up as they have. As a basic rule of thumb, smallmouth will generally become both more prevalent and larger in size the further one heads downstream in the system. Smallmouth are voracious predators with a wide diet, so there’s a lot of ways to skin the cat in you approach. Perhaps the most important consideration for targeting smallies is determining where in the water column they want to feed. Early and late in the day as well as under heavy cloud cover, many bass will be willing to take a shot at a topwater bug which is arguably the most fun way to catch them. Poppers, sliders, sneaky Petes, deer hair divers and like are all solid options for this approach.
Later in the day and as the sun gets higher, many smallies will turn their attention towards subsurface forage both in the middle of the water column as well as on the bottom. Streamers both stripped and swung are an important presentation during such times, and it will be worth it to give some thought into how you’re rigging for this approach. In higher, faster, and/or deeper water you’ll likely want to be throwing a sinking line of some type in order to deliver flies down to the appropriate depth. In slower, shallower water, an intermediate line is a good choice but you can often get away with just a floating line and a longer leader.
In some situations, bass will be homed in on bottom forage such as craws, a situation in which you’ll need a sinking line to get such imitations on the bottom. This can be a tricky task in moving water so play around with your casting and retrieve angles in order to ensure that your craw fly is maintaining as much contact with the bottom as possible. It’ll also be worth it to study how craws move through the water; usually in quick bursts where they’ll hover a few inches off bottom before touching down again. Lastly, keep in mind that smallmouth often pin craws to the bottom in order to eat them, so if you feel dead weight while retrieving, it may not always be a snag.
Alright, enough on the Deerfield for now. On the Westfield River, flows are pretty low and the river is definitely starting to warm up temperature-wise, so make sure to keep that thermometer close bv. Other than that, most reports we’ve been getting have reflected poor fishing with an outright lack of trout being the major gripe. It sounds like the state will be looking into this issue further, but for now, the Westfield is not the first place we’d send you for trout. This being said, the river does offer solid opportunities for smallmouth, particularly further down in the system near its confluence with the Connecticut. In this case, what we’ve said about smallies on the Deerfield will also be applicable here.
Further east on the Millers River, flows are way down with a rate of 150 CFS as this report is being written. For the most part, the river is running very warm throughout its course. You might find temperatures cold enough to fish for trout very early in the day and higher up in the system, but chances are you’re going to strikeout in this regard. Like the Deerfield and lower Westfield, though, the Millers offers a pretty robust smallmouth fishery. Casting space is notoriously limited on the Millers so now is a great time to get out for some bass while water levels are as low as they are. Once again, what we’ve said about approaching bass on the other rivers will also be mostly true here. One significant outlier, however, is that for whatever reason, Millers River bass tend to be more willing to take a shot at a topwater presentation even later in the day when the sun is high. In such a situation, you’ll want to focus your attention on shade lines near the bank where many bass will push into in order to find some cover from the sun. Poppers tend to be a great choice for this pattern, but don’t be afraid to play around.
Below Quabbin on the Swift River, things seem to be finally turning around in a significant way. At the end of June, they bumped the flows up from around 45 CFS to about 140 CFS which seems to have done a lot to move the trout out of the few holes that the lion’s share of the river’s fish had been holding in. We’ve received reports of solid distribution of fish in the fly-only area above Rt. 9 as well as the stretch from the hatchery pipe through Cady Lane. It also doesn’t hurt that they stocked the river again at the beginning of the month and that we’ve now entered the special regulation period (no keeping, no live bait from Rt. 9 to Cady Lane from July 1-December 31).
The main angle of attack on the Swift will still be sulphurs. Reports have indicated solid activity from these gorgeous yellow-orange mayflies, especially later in the day into the afternoon and evening. In terms of approach for fishing sulphurs on the Swift, the most successful approach tends to be early stage emergers (#18-22) on long, technical leaders. Later stage emergers like parachutes or dun patterns can be successful at times, but it’s usually the most vulnerable looking imitations that do the trick best. In terms of rigging, many will tell you that you need 8x tippet and a 0wt. rod to even get a look, which is, shall we say, a bit exaggerative. In most situations, 6x on a 3 or 4wt. will do just fine and if you find them really feeding (especially in faster water) even 5x can get the job done.
Outside of sulphurs, keep in mind that the Swift tends to get very busy at this time of year as it receives pressure from both anglers seeking cold water as well as kayakers and other recreationalists. The lion’ share of boaters generally remain in the area around the Cold Spring Road boat launch, however, it’s not uncommon to see some kayaks further upriver. When the river gets busy, it’s best to be communicative with other anglers and others using the river to avoid frustration and the possibility of conflict. Ultimately, public land is public land and while it can be annoying, it’s important to share the resource equally. If the pressure is too much to bear, keep the lower river in mind which gets hammered significantly less than the upper.
As for the area’s small streams/creeks, many systems have unfortunately become too low and warm to fish. Most creeks in the Pioneer Valley have gotten above 67° and even some of the higher elevation options too. Your best bet will be to push into the highest elevation water you can find and/or streams that receive significant influence from springs and ground water seeps. If you are able to find sufficient flows and temperatures, a dry dropper will be a smart choice in terms of approach. As we’ve said in previous reports, it’ll be best to select a dry fly that can withstand the punishment of lots of eats and takes minimal maintenance to keep floating. The first instinct is of course a chubby Chernobyl or some other kind of foam body fly, which is a fine choice, just make sure you’re throwing sizes that creek fish can actually get their mouths around, usually #14 or smaller. As far as droppers go, weighted nymphs tend to work best in the creeks. Fly choice isn’t terribly important so long as your selection can find depth quickly, an essential element to fishing dry droppers in the limited real estate most creeks provide.
Outside of trout, this is an excellent time of year for warm water bites of many distinctions. We’ve received reports that northern pike fishing has been productive where they are present, with most fish being taken on larger streamers. The pike in our fishery tend to be pretty wary, so it’s important to take that into account in your approach. You’ll want to be careful with highly visible sinking line systems, especially in fisheries with clearer water. Remember that while pike are unchallenged apex predators where they exist in Mass, they are also keen and precise hunters who are known to study potential pray sometimes all the way back to shore/the boat. While fishing for pike, make sure to fish every cast all the way back and don’t be afraid to give it some final action before going to recast (think figure 8) as lots of pike strikes happen right at your feet.
We’ve already talked a lot about targeting river smallies but it’s worth it to mention opportunities for largemouth as well. Just like smallmouth, the key to successful largie fishing at this time of year is deducing where in the water column they want to eat—off the bottom, middle-column, or up top. During low light periods early and late or under heavy cloud cover, you’ll find many bass willing to take a shot at the surface. Under high sun and/or around midday, you’ll often find fish reluctant to feed on top, a time when fishing bottom-oriented patterns like craws is a wise choice. Time of day and conditions will also determine a lot for where bass will be in any given fishery. Largemouth will often seek out shady cover during the day, especially as daytime temperatures increase. This could be stable wood, grass and lily pad lines, etc. During low light both early and late, though, many bass will leave these areas of cover and actively go on the hunt. As we said before, topwater bugs are often a great choice in such situations and are of course a pleasure to fish, however, pulling a big streamer around open areas adjacent to structure can also be deadly.
Lastly, it’s worth it to mention that carp fishing can be extremely productive at this time of year. Many fly anglers still don’t have carp on their radar which is something that they should change if they know what’s good for them. While exceedingly difficult to both pattern and catch, there are few freshwater fish that will find backing quicker than the humble common carp. In terms of approach, know that carp are very discerning, especially in the clear water that they’re generally found in in western MA. Your best opportunities will come when individuals or groups of fish come close to shore in their feeding efforts. In such situations, it’s essential that you keep a low profile and minimize your movements to avoid spooking fish. Keep in mind that with carp, it’s usually the case that if you spook one of them you spook all of them. When taking a shot at actively feeding carp, you’ll usually want to lead the fish by a few feet, “dragging and dropping” the fly into the fish’s line. In terms of gear, be wary of going too light as these fish can really test the limits of your equipment. A 7wt. rod paired with a floating line, long leader, and 2x tippet or heavier is usually a good rig to run, but don’t be afraid to change around as needed. In terms of fly selection, remember that carp are predominantly bottom-feeders (although they will occasionally feed on the surface) and have a wide array of forage options with everything from craws to insect larva, even berries and other vegetation. Keep a lot of options in the box and don’t be afraid to shuffle around your presentations.
Off the water, remember that we will be holding drop-in fly tying every Saturday starting at 10:30 AM. These are free form sessions so just bring your vise, tools and materials for anything you’d like to tie. Other than that, keep eyes peeled for more programs and events coming soon. 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.
