Hi Guys,
Fishing remains good here in Mass. but you got to dodge a lot of leaves!! The pictures didn’t paste into the report so if you want to see some pics here’s the link…though all the fish pics are on my point and shoot digital that got drowned in the rain!!
http://www.massflyfishing.com/cms/blog.html#A-wet-Westfield
Hope all is well,
Zach
A wet Westfield
10/25/09
What was, two weeks ago, a study in greens and yellows had transformed itself into a background of reds and browns (and even some rainbows) as I headed back to the Westfield River this time with Kevn and Sean. As we watched the weather during the week Saturday’s forecast was not looking good and unfortunately the forecast was spot on, we had steady rain with occasional downpours. Despite the dumping rain we had some good fishing with my digital camera being the only casualty of the lousy weather.
Now guiding Sean and Kevin on the river is sort of like being Tiger Wood’s caddy, you can help with reading the greens and choosing clubs, but when all is said and done it’s Tiger’s swing that gets the job done. Sean and Kevin are excellent fly fisherman and were catching fish as soon as we got on the river, like a good caddy I kept rods in their hands, made some fly selections, and got us on the fish but the two of them took care of the rest with some great casting and wading skills. Kevin and I would look upstream and there would be Sean waist deep in the middle of the current and more often than not fighting a fish. We held our breath a few times as it seemed the rising river was going to beat him but Sean always kept his footing and never lost a fish.
Our plan for the day was to start in a great hole that produced well two weeks ago, pick up a few fish, and then do some exploring before lunch, and for once the plan went off without a hitch. A well presented drag free nymph presentation would get you a fish pretty consistently for the first few hours on the river. We had good luck with Prince Nymphs, BH Pheasant Tails, and later in the afternoon with red rubber legged Copper Johns. Both Kevin and Sean were able to get a bunch of nice rainbows who were all pretty hot, getting into the current and just grinding to get away until we were able to net them. Speaking of nets, my new clear rubber net was awesome…no more hooks stuck in the mesh, and no more smell!! As we explored down river Sean was able to extreme-wade his way to two more fish, one of them being the only brown trout of the day.
Lunch was a bit rushed as the rain poured down and Sean was itching to get back on the water, but the short break allowed me to throw my gloves and hat on, and get some feeling back in my feet, the water temp was 45 degrees.
Post lunch was a bit slow fishing wise though Sean picked up a few more and the rain decided to rev up a bit and we got a few more deluges. All and all it was a great day on the Westfield. Hopefully I’ll be able to hook up with Kevin and Sean again on the Swift. Stay tuned for more pics tomorrow as I try to revive the memory card from my cooked camera, think I’ll be going for a water proof one next time!