I fished the Westfield and Swift on Saturday. I was hoping to do one last trip to the Chesterfield Gorge before the water temperature became too low, and yesterday was the day.
I didn’t see any cars parked as I trundled down River Road, making my way down the dirt trail and negotiating the rocks.
I felt incredibly excited as I rigged up my 11′ 3-wt. and walked to one of my favorite spots. I didn’t see any bugs, and so, I got the sense that the fish wouldn’t be too actively looking for food. Water was about 50 degrees, and so, that was good.
I started in some of the usual riffles and runs and was blanked. I suspected that the fish would be saving their energy and hanging out in deep and quiet water. So, I put on a New Zealand strike indicator and did some suspension nymphing. I teamed up a Hare’s Ear with a pupa pattern, size 22. I hooked three and landed two.
I landed about 15, maybe 20? I decided not to count. The highlights were a 12″ brookie and an 18″ rainbow, which was super fat. See the first three photos up top.
The brookie came after I was sight-casting to a good-sized fish that I thought was a rainbow. I was shocked when I saw the orange flash of the belly and the kype. It’s good that the Swift brookies are re-generating.
The 18″ rainbow was a fat beast. It was past sundown, and I decided on “one last cast.” I’m so glad that I did. In retrospect, I threw my flies at the prime area of a feeding lie, where an alpha trout would hang out and bully away other fish.
I stayed until dark. I walked my way back to the car, hoping I wouldn’t trip over a rock. I was very happy. It’s a sort of quiet and deep happiness. A day well-fished is a good day.
Nice fish!
Thanks! Was a fun day. Seven hours of driving in total, but it was all worth it.
Thanks for posting these pictures. I would love to see the flies that were successful for you.
Mike
I will one day. Many of the ideas came from trolling the Internet, looking up flies used at other tailwaters. Also, Ed Engle's Tying Small Flies is really good.
That is one awesome brook trout! That second rainbow is nicely colored as well. Nice going!
Appreciate it–thank you! The thrill of landing fish just never gets old.
Man, those are some awesome trout. Gotta love the colors on the brook trout this time of year! Congrats on the great day.