By now, most of you know me as an impressionist fly tier. That is, I’m not trying to carbon copy the bait. I’m trying to capture size, color, and profile. Most of all, I’m trying to create something that looks like it’s alive and like something good to eat. And that’s the Crayfish Jig Streamer in a nutshell. So many crayfish patterns go to great lengths to reach for the prize of realism. It’s all so unnecessary (see: Woolly Bugger makes a great crayfish fly). Our local waters are populated with the invasive species rusty crayfish. I colored this pattern likewise. The smallmouth approve. And oh, by the way, there are crayfish in the Farmington, too. Downsize the bead, and you’re good to go jigging for tailwater trout!
We just watched “The Hunt For Red October” for the umpteenth time — my guess is that I’ve seen it at least 2 dozen times — so the Countermeasure streamer is currently top of mind. (If you haven’t seen the movie, you really should. It’s damn good.) If you’ve seen it, you may not completely understand why I named this pattern the Countermeasure. But if you have seen it, and you’ve fished the Countermeasure, then you get it with crystal clarity.
Countermeasures are released from a submarine to confuse homing torpedoes. The Countermeasure streamer is designed to fool predator fish that are looking for a target to kill. It’s an exceptionally versatile streamer. You can swing it. You can strip it. You can dangle it. But my favorite way to fish it is to cast it near where I think a fish may be holding, ready to ambush. Land it on the water with a loud splat, and then do nothing. If there’s a hungry fish within 15 feet that’s looking up, it will attack the Countermeasure with urgent, reckless fury. Bang! Torpedo in acquisition!
They don’t look like this perfect after they’ve done battle with a few angry fish.
Let’s clarify: too much rain is harmful, even dangerous. But that’s not what we’re talking about today. We’re talking about a parched state that was experiencing some form of drought for several weeks. Then the rains came. From the July 4th weather brawl through yesterday, the skies were open for a much-needed watering.
At first, even though the rainfall could be measured in inches, there was no visible impact to our two major fly fishing rivers, the Farmington and the Housatonic. Two factors were in play: the ground was a dry sponge, and the trees and vegetation were in full leaf, meaning you had millions of thirsty plants. But eventually, the rivers got their share. The Hous has yet to spike, rising more than double its 350cfs pre-rain mark. The Farmington experience was more of an exercise in moderation. The Unionville gauge merely doubled from 250. The Still River, which meets the Farmington below Riverton, experienced a huge percentile flow boost. However, it was only coming in at a paltry 15cfs, and its spike didn’t even reach 200cfs.
We desperately needed this rain, and I’m thankful for it. But not just from a systemic ecological point-of-view.
Not that dramatic. Nonetheless, much needed and appreciated.
You see, I’m a total weather and stream flow nerd. I watch the River Data app like a hawk. (If you don’t have this app, get it. River Data provides on-demand access to cfs in select rivers throughout the US, and you can bookmark your favorite watersheds for fast reference.) Throughout the season, I eagerly anticipate rain events that will spike rivers — not too high, not too low. I’m looking for elevated river flows that introduce some amount of color to the water — not chocolate milk, but more like tea. This is when you can experience some of the best nymphing, and especially streamer action of the season. What’s more, water spikes shuffle the deck, move fish around, and provide a respite from warmer water temperatures.
You don’t need to wade very far from the shore. (In extreme cases, that may not be possible. Rules of thumb: never wade in water where you can’t see the bottom; never wade in water that you’re not very familiar with; never wade without a staff and spiked boots; never wade alone.) The fish, like you, aren’t interested in battling swift or raging currents. They’re close to shore, in pockets, behind structure, seeking the most moderate flows that will provide cover and food. In particular, I like to fish streamers in these conditions because the news gets even better: cfs and color spikes are when the big boys come out to play. These are often your best periods to up your chances of catching big fish, and sometimes multiple big fish. I like bigger flies, flies that create a commotion, and I will use both bright and dark colors, usually with equal success.
I had a really weird session on the Farmington last Thursday. Despite a robust sulphur emergence — 8.5/10 — the wet fly bite stunk. Turns out it was due to a lack of fish. By my best estimate, this long time favorite pool was holding about 1/4 of the normal trout biomass. I had duns in the air, on the water, cripples galore, then mats of spinners. Instead of a boiling surface, I had….a rise here….and there… and then nothing…and then a lonely rise. It was incredibly discouraging. The feeding was over by 8:45pm, unheard of in these parts. I’m usually picking my way out of the river well after 9pm, crouched over, casting to trout sipping spinners. Not on this night.
On the plus side, I met some very nice anglers, and we shared the water with a most civil energy. Joe was trying to fool this wild brown, but just wasn’t able to connect. When he left, he offered me his spot. Second cast, bang! About 16″. Taken on a size 14 classic Catskills Light Cahill dry.
We are in prime sulphur time, which means you should have some soft hackles in your box. Here’s why:
Sulfurs take a good, long time to emerge from their shucks — and then sometimes, not at all. The trout get a good, long look at the food source as it drifts near the film. I fished this invaria cripple out of the water, and it was one of hundreds that never made it out of its nymphal case. Wet flies and soft hackles are a perfect match and method for this situation, as are dry fly cripple patterns.
I’m going to be writing an article for an upcoming issue of Surfcasters’ Journal. The subject will be the importance (or unimportance) of color in fly patterns. To the keyboard I go!
Finally, I hope to get on my horse and get some info out to everyone who requested a signed copy of the book. I’d like to do that by the end of the month. So stay tuned!
It was cold on Monday for June 1, but today we are firmly in a warming trend with great flows (275cfs). I’m anticipating stronger hatches and better fishing.
It wasn’t that way on Monday. I guided Matt and John for the purpose of teaching them the art of wet fly fishing. They’d seen me talk at the Edison Fly Fishing Show, and we’d had this date on the calendar for months. Sadly, we had unseasonably cool weather and a gusty day that held hatch activity to a minimum. We only got two in the hoop, but on another day both anglers would have easily been into double-digits. Strong casting, good mends, hundreds of fish-worthy presentations — I’m really excited for them to experience wet fly fishing at its productive best in the future. Well done, gentlemen!
Not a sulphur, but a Cream Cahill, size 12-14. They’ve been out in decent numbers on the lower river.
After our session I ventured downstream. Very weird evening. I stuck eight trout on wets but had only two hooksets, and landed neither. It was as if the fish couldn’t make up their mind about eating. At 7pm, I switched over to dry flies, and while there were plenty of fish rising, none of them seemed to be in a steady rhythm. I had my best action from 8pm into dark, using creamy colored dries and one big, honking Iso dry.
I’m back to heavy-duty yard work mode, so this will be my only post this week. I’ll try to get back to normal posting next week. In the meantime, fish on. It’s the most wonderful time of the year….
I guided Jeff, Andrew, and Angelo on Tuesday, and we couldn’t have asked for nicer weather. While Angelo was off exploring parts north solo, Jeff and Andrew headed downriver with me to learn the ways of the wet fly. We began in a snotty boulder field, and right away, Jeff was into a fat, stocked brown. There were caddis and some Cream Cahills in the air, but all of the four trout we put in the hoop took the size 12 SHBHPT. The second mark we hit featured similar water, but we only had one bump in 20 minutes, so we headed north, still in the mid-river, to see if we could find open water. Score! This is a superb run for fishing wet flies, and while the action wasn’t gangbusters, Jeff scored an 18.5″ (taped) wild brown. At this point, Angelo joined us to do some indicator nymphing, sticking one fish. It’s always gratifying to give a wet fly lesson and see your clients rewarded with multiple hits, and having everyone land a trout made it even sweeter. Fantastic job, gentlemen, and it was a pleasure guiding you.
I was downstream with Andrew when Jeff stuck this quality wild brown. Once I saw it was a decent fish, I hustled up with the net so we could enjoy this photo op. Even when you’re in the STMA, you can still find places where wild browns like to hang out.
Last night I fished with surfcaster extraordinaire Toby Lapinski from about 4:45pm into dark, 9pm. We hit the same initial run I took Jeff and Andrew to, and the fish were cooperative. We stuck 8 between us, but I wanted to investigate some favorite water a little bit upstream. We had the entire run to ourselves, and were in position at 5:45pm. The water was significantly lower than Tuesday, 325cfs and dropping, and with the sparse release from the dam, the water reached 64 degrees on the thermometer. The trout seemed to love those conditions. I stuck fish after fish on wet flies, with the runaway favorite being the SHBHPT. I have no idea how many trout I landed — the fishing was that good. The rainbows, in particular, seemed to all believe that they were steelhead. I’ve never had so many fish leap so many times, some of them even after they’d spit the hook. Tremendous sport!
Meanwhile, Toby wasn’t having the same results. But it turns out that he was saving his chips for the dry fly action. At 7pm, while I was still poking around with wets in some faster water, Toby was fishing dries in some more languid pools, and seemingly hooking trout at will. His secret weapon was an Iso dry, and Isonychia were among the bugs we saw (caddis, midges, a few sulphurs, a couple BWOs). I made the switch to dry around 8pm, and once I found some risers, I too got in on the dry fly action. Usuals and Light Cahill dries were my producers.
Thus begins (almost here!) my favorite month on the Farmington.
Stocked brown, but he ate well at the hatchery, and gave me quite the battle. All of last night’s trout were full of piss and vinegar.
Another super simple tie that can be rendered with common materials. You can add a tail if you like. With creamy mayflies just around the corner, the Partridge and Light Cahill soft hackle is a must-have in your box!
When my roses bloom, creamy mayflies are here soon.
As I predicted, this is a full week in the garden and yard. But that’s no reason why you shouldn’t be fishing — or tying. If Gary LaFontaine’s brilliant Diving Caddis winged wet isn’t in your arsenal, you are most definitely missing out. This fly is a must on your late afternoon into evening rig from now though the summer.
Tom is a long-time currentseams follower and an avid fly fishing show attendee and angler. He couldn’t have picked a finer day weather wise for a wet fly lesson: sunny, 85, 210cfs and 52 degrees water temp in the PTMA…and all those caddis! At one point I counted over 2 dozen of them crawling around his legs and backside: tan, black, and one funky darker one I couldn’t ID. Plus: micro caddis. Really small stuff that flitted around my forearms under the Church Pool bridge, enough of them to be a nuisance.
So where are all the trout? Not feeding near the surface. I saw just three rises in our four hour session. We stuck two, landed one, and that was two more fish than seven of the other nine anglers we watched or talked to had. One angler said he did very well nymphing, and so that spring trend has continued into mid-May despite the warm weather. Tom did an excellent job of managing his drifts, and he deserved far better than what the river gave him on this day. But he is certainly a dangerous wet-fly-machine in the making! Way to go, Tom.
Tom scores a lovely wild brown on his last cast — really! — in a top-secret location. The fish ate a size 14 Squirrel and Ginger.
It seems at least once a week, I get the request. “Where can I find the recipe for the Magic Fly?” “Can you send me your wet fly leader formula?” “What was that article you wrote on fishing droppers for striped bass?”
While part of my personal brand is that I’m helpful, I’d rather teach you to fish than hand you a fish. So yes, I’m going to be helpful here. But you’re going to have to be part of the solution, because I want you to learn how to be your own self-service librarian. You’ll be happier. I’ll be happier. Like Hot Chocolate sang, “Everyone’s a winner, baby!” So here we go.
There are two best ways to find stuff on currentseams. Let’s use the example of the wet fly team. The first is to use the search function on the website. On my iPhone, it’s the little magnifying glass in the upper right corner on the screen:
The magnifying glass is your ticket to searching, whether it’s on your phone (above right)….…or your laptop (above left).
Depending on your hardware, you simply tap or click the magnifying glass icon, and a “Search” field magically appears. I typed in “wet fly team” and was immediately directed to multiple articles and posts, many of which had the diagram on full display. How easy is that!?!
Or, you could use your favorite default search engine. Using Google and the “Wet fly team” as an example, the first two hits were direct links to my website. But if you add “currentseams” to the search verbiage, the entire results screen consists of article links and images from my website:
You are now officially cooking with gas! I really hopes this helps, and that you’ll take advantage of the vast treasure trove of material that is currentseams. From its inception, one of my goals for this site was for it to be an easily accessible storehouse of fly fishing information, and in particular an online library for all my articles, stories, flies, diagrams, etc.
So have at it. It’s a great way to spend a rainy day.
currentseams.com 