Given the long drive to the Westfield River’s East Branch section, I fish it only a few times a year. And, today was one of those glorious days.
I awoke at 3 am and made it to the river just after sunrise. The water temp. in the morning was 72 °F and flows were quite low. It felt like August out there, particularly as the air temperature rose. Boston hit 95 °F.
None of that really mattered as I walked down the dirt road. I’m happy as a clam when I’m at the Westfield. It’s just beautiful.
With the sun so bright and the water so low, today’s tactics emphasized stealth. That meant going into the river, keeping a very low profile, walking slowly, and trying to creep up to the trout from right below them. It also meant tightline nymphing with light nymphs (to avoid splashes) and trying to cast 40′ or so. I slipped quite a few times, even with cleats on my wading boots, but avoided getting too soaked.
Thankfully, it all worked. I went 11-for-15. The 11 fish were all very good-sized rainbows, which surprised me. I think Mass. Wildlife is stocking the river differently this year. The fish seem much, much larger.
The ones today looked and acted just like the monster rainbows at the Swift River. I’m talking jumps, belly flops afterwards, powerful runs, and mammoth head shakes. The trout today were all long and heavy, and some about 15″, which made for a lot of fun. It’s a big step-up from the 10″ to 12″ fish that seemed to predominate the river last year
There were many shucks on the rocks. Based on some online research I just did, they look like shucks from dragonfly nymphs.
Families and dogs were out in force by 12 noon and swimming in some choice runs, and so, I headed home a little bit after that. I stopped for lunch along the Mass Pike. A Big Mac tasted incredible.
Best wishes for a safe holiday weekend!
5/29/16 edit: The best fly for me was a stonefly. I tie a variety of them, one being the Pat’s Legs version. I guess it makes sense now, given the plethora of dragonfly nymphs in the water. The second best were size 20 emergers and larvae. So, they wanted something substantial or small. It also was a day for cherry picking the water, going for deeper runs, seams, and riffles and skipping the rest. Let’s hope for more rain soon!
Those do look like dragonfly larval cases – without having one in hand I'd venture a guess that they are Gomphidae. Also, that second picture of the rainbow trout's head is really cool.
Ah! That might explain why a stonefly imitation was the killer fly for me.
Lots of dragonfly's on the Westfield. In fact a good choice for a nymph pattern, or try a Sparrow.
Thanks for that comment. Will take a look at the Sparrow fly. Have never heard of it before.
I fished the Westfield yesterday too. I was fishing just down from B&G Sports and had some luck at two of the spots along the way. I'm coming from Blackstone, MA so I have a one and half hour drive too. I was surprised at how low the water was and was concerned about it. I was at the river at about 7:30 and fishing just after 8:00, it takes a while to walk in to the spots I'm familiar with. At first I had a chub on and since I was using a brown woolly bugger I thought I wasn't going to get any trout because of the low water and the heat. A little while later though I had a good hit and the fish broke off my fly so I was confident there were still trout in there. I kept at it and was able to get 2 nice trout on a black woolly bugger. This was between 10 and 12 which kind of surprised me because it was so hot yesterday. I had something to eat and kept at it until about 1:30. I had no hits in the afternoon.
I hope we get some rain. Usually I fish around here until June and then go out to the Westfield but with the way it was yesterday I don't know how long the fishing will last. I've also fished the EB and was impressed. It's almost like Northern NH !
Way to keep at it! Have never fished the main stem of the Westfield, but I hear there are some big fish there.
If you want to catch a dragonfly emergence, get on the water right before sunset. Fish until after dark and use an olive woolly bugger with bead chain eyes tied on the top side of the hook so the point rides up. Strip it in slowly toward the shore, standing back away from the water's edge.
Great suggestion. Thank you!