I fished the Swift for about four hours and landed nine trout, all on nymphs. Lost two others. A total surprise, as I had low expectations. Nearly all of the 11 trout took a Hare’s Ear variant, size 18.
I caught fish both above and below Rt. 9. I was the eighth car in the dirt lot above the bridge–people are definitely out on the water. No evident bug hatches, and the water was a cool 38 °F.
Photos are below. The first one is of a trout about 17″ and is a grizzled veteran. Another trout, in a photo second from the bottom, was fat and full of simulium larvae.
Note that the dirt lot at the hatchery pipe area was a sheet of ice, and there were some icy patches all over the trails. So, if you go there, mind your steps. It can be treacherous. Also, I didn’t see many fish in the hatchery pipe area
Jo, nice outing! Make's sense that there are more fish in the C&R section now. I'll be there tomorrow, probably with a lot of others too. Any rising fish? I'm expecting it to be a nymph outing but would love to see some surface activity too. Dave
A well-known Swift angler, who was fishing dries, told me stoneflies were flying around. Black or brown. Size 20.
Well done! I wish I could have gotten out today, but my family insisted on celebrating my 60th birthday instead. Truth be told I would have rather been on the Swift.
Well, happy birthday! Good news is we're just starting to get into spring (stoneflies, warmer weather, etc.), so you have plenty of time before even larger crowds come with the spring stocking.
Sunday was decent for me at the Swift, 4 good size Rainbows all below Rt.9 nymphing plus one "dry" using a pellet around 1:30 (tough to admit but they do work at times). Guides choice hares ear & black stonefly variant nymphs, size 18. Not many fish around so I feel very fortunate to get those fish and I had to wander and fish hard to get them. Tried above rt.9 later in the day but no luck and I didn't see many fish. Still a great day considering it was mid February
That's great! We are in the lean times for sure. Lots of stealthy walking required to spot fish, but that can be fun too if it isn't too cold.