Flies with a Twist

It was a pretty chill outing at the Farmington yesterday. There have been fewer anglers, bugs, rises, and landed trout with each passing week. And, yesterday, that trend continued.

I threw wets (again) to test some new flies and saw a modest volume of fish. I think we’re in the fall “shoulder season,” as most big bug hatches are over and there aren’t yet eggs in the drift. The best fish were a decent brookie and a double of browns.

Friend of the Blog, Damon Matus, saw my parked car and texted me. He and I grabbed lunch with UpCountry’s Torrey Collins, which was fun and educational, as always. Torrey had a lot of insights on techniques and flies. I really think he should write a book!

Damon and I fished in the afternoon, worked hard and had a few fish apiece. I saw a bunch of trash and decided to do a good deed. I collected a full net of detritus.

It was still a good day. There’s nothing like being on the water and connecting with friends.

My two cents, and feel free to ignore. If you’re going to head out, make sure you have flies “with a twist.” The fish have seen everything at this point. The flies that worked today all had a slight wrinkle: a stonefly with tinsel, a midge with a tuft of Glamour Madeira, and a spider with red thread.

Go, Patriots!

286 views

3 thoughts on “Flies with a Twist

  1. Thanks for your “Environmentally Conscious” mindset and Stewardship. Got into a few LL. Salmon, this past weekend on the Swift. Appeared to be, staging for spawning and uncaught from last Seasons Spillover. Took some videos and got one great photograph. Catch and Release Fly Fishing rocks, unwilling to divulge the location. Due to extreme bouts of “Fish Hawk” behavior and my disgust for such practices.

    Best

    William D. Flack

    PS again, nice to see another fellow Angler. Showing such environmental respect for our Fly Fisheries. In Western Massachusetts. Respect?

    1. Love your style and approach! Thanks for the kind words!

      I avoided the Swift this fall after seeing many anglers foul-hooking salmon. I’m sure much of it was accidental, but that kind of scene wasn’t for me, and I walked away after accidentally foul-hooking one fish myself (and, breaking it off so I didn’t exhaust it).

  2. Will share the photograph, if that’s cool with you?

    Best

    William D. Flack

    PS just let me know, how to send it? Simply marvelous Hen?

Leave a Reply to William D. Flack Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *