Category Archives: Fly Fishing

Good news for the Deerfield River brown trout

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Background:  Wild Brown Trout Spawning Studies conducted by the Deerfield River Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited (DRWTU) volunteers, under the guidance of Dr. Michael Cole, of Cole Ecological, Inc. of Greenfield, in 2017, and Dr. Erin Rodgers, of Trout Unlimited, in 2018, documented that brown trout were successfully spawning in the upper Fife Brook section of the Deerfield River.

But the studies also revealed that winter conditions were destroying many of the eggs during periods of minimum flow. The irrefutable results in these studies convinced MA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that the damage to wild trout from Fife Brook’s winter flow regime needed to be addressed. Thank goodness, the DEP declined to authorize the Water Quality Certificate – mandated in the FERC re-licensing process – until this issue could be resolved.

The outcome was an Agreement negotiated between DRWTU (under the umbrella of Trout Unlimited, Inc), MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, MA Division of Natural Heritage and Endangered Species, Brookfield Renewable Power and MA DEP that will benefit the wild brown trout as well as other aquatic organisms in the river. It is noteworthy that DRWTU was the only non-governmental agency that signed-on to be an Intervenor in the process.

An Agreement with Brookfield Renewable Power Company will allow for increased minimum winter flows from their Fife Brook Dam and Bear Swamp Pump Storage Operations on the Deerfield River. The Agreement was approved by MA DEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg on September 27. The Agreement is part of DEP’s Water Quality Certification process, which is directly tied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Re-Licensing of Brookfield’s Fife Brook Dam and Bear Swamp Pump Storage Operations. In late 2025 or early 2026, the winter minimum flow at Fife Brook Dam will increase from 125 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 225 cfs for the period from November 1 to April 15 every year going forward.

The Agreement also provides for a $125,000 fund, paid by Brookfield Power, for ecological projects on the Deerfield.

“This is a huge victory for the ecology of the river,” said Eric Halloran, president of the DRWTU. “We know from our spawning studies that the lack of water during minimum flows was killing off nearly 40 percent of the trout redds (nests) and eggs over the course of the winter. The eggs suffered as a result of being de-watered, exposed to the air, and frozen. The minor increase in river flow negotiated in this agreement will keep the eggs covered with water throughout the winter and allow more eggs to hatch in the spring. More trout will hatch and increase the number of wild fish in the river.”

Picture provided by Deerfield River Watershed TU

“Achieving Intervenor status gave us a seat at the table and a stronger bargaining position than we could ever have achieved by simply commenting on the outcome from the sidelines.” Halloran noted. “We’re incredibly pleased with this outcome and there were many years of hard work and countless hours of volunteer time that led to this moment.” Halloran specifically praised Springfield attorney Christopher Myhrum, who specializes in environmental law, for volunteering his services to lead the negotiation effort. Halloran also thanked former DRWTU President and Vice-President Kevin Parsons, Esq., and Christopher Jackson, a veteran fishing guide on the Deerfield, for pushing DRWTU’s agenda in the re-licensing process for 10 years.

DRWTU hopes that this historic achievement will be a crucial step in creating the Commonwealth’s first Wild Trout Management Area, where an improved ecosystem will allow fly fishers of today and tomorrow to appreciate a healthy population of wily, wild Brown Trout.”

Personally, I am particularly proud that our local chapter of TU (Taconic Chapter) helped in this effort by contributing funds and volunteer hours during this process. Well that they should, for many local anglers fly fish that river.  But the bulk of the work was conducted by the DRWTU volunteers.  Congratulations fellow anglers for the job well done. You have made Massachusetts’ premier trout river even better.

Time to bone up on our hunting laws

Now that many of the hunting seasons are open, hunters are (or should be) aware of the various regulations governing them.  Laws governing such subjects as daily harvest totals, hunting tags, the type of hunting tools allowed, hunter red requirements, etc. are generally known by hunters and are abided with in order to stay out of trouble with the law.

But tucked away in the abstracts are other not so obvious regulations which can also get you into trouble if violated. Let’s review some:

Tree Stands: Written permission of the landowner (on either public or private lands) is required to construct or use any tree stand which is fastened to a tree by nails, bolts, wire, or other fasteners that intrude through the bark into the wood of the tree, or that is fastened or erected in any manner and is emplaced for a period exceeding 30 days. This includes hang-on tree stands.

Landowner permission:  Hunting, fishing, and trapping are permitted on private land that is not posted against trespass; however, some towns have bylaws that require written permission. As a courtesy, ask the landowner for permission in advance. If you plan to use wildlife/trail cameras on private land, seek permission for that activity as well. Landowners with posted land may provide (written) permission for individuals to access their property. Written landowner permission is required to trap on posted land.

Hunters should check for relevant town bylaws pertaining to any written permission requirements and restrictions on discharge of firearms.

Landowner Liability: Landowners permitting use of their property for recreation without charging a fee are not liable for injuries to recreational users of the property except in cases of willful, wanton, or reckless conduct by the owner.

Careless and negligent use of firearms:   Fines of up to $500 and/or 6 months imprisonment and loss of license for 5 years.  In some cases, licenses could be revoked for one year in addition to other penalties; fines of up to $1,000, restitutions, and/or one year in jail.

Use of handguns:   Handguns are not allowed for deer hunting and may not be in your possession while deer hunting.

Animals tagged for research: Some bear, deer, coyotes, and other animals may have ear tags or radio collars. It is legal to harvest them. If you find or take one of these animals, contact MassWildlife’s Field Headquarters (508) 389-6300 immediately. You will be asked for information that will help biologists determine the source and status of these animals and you will be asked to return the equipment to MassWildlife.

Hunter harassment:  No person shall obstruct, interfere with or otherwise prevent the lawful taking of fish or wildlife by another at the locale where such activity is taking place. It shall be a violation for a person to intentionally (1) drive or disturb wildlife or fish for the purpose of interrupting a lawful taking; (2) block, follow, impede or otherwise harass another who is engaged in the lawful taking of fish or wildlife; (3) use natural or artificial visual, aural, olfactory or physical stimulus to effect wildlife in order to hinder or prevent such taking; (4) erect barriers with the intent to deny ingress or egress to areas where the lawful taking of wildlife may occur; (5) interject himself into the line of fire; (6) effect the condition or placement of personal or public property intended for use in the taking of wildlife; or (7) enter or remain upon public lands, or upon private lands without the permission of the owner or his agent, with intent to violate this section.. A person who sustains damage as a result of any act which is in violation of this section may bring a civil action for punitive damages. Environmental protection officers and other law enforcement officers with arrest powers shall be authorized to enforce the provisions.

This section shall not apply to the owners of the lands or waters or tenants or other persons acting under the authority of such owners of the lands or waters.

Wanton Waste:  And, of course, there is the recently enacted Wanton Waste laws where it is unlawful for any person while hunting or trapping to waste an animal. Each retrieved animal shall be retained or transferred to another until processed or used for food, the pelt, feathers, or taxidermy.

Flyfishing Trip to Labrador was a great success

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A couple of years ago 3 local fly fishermen and their friend Bill Waite (from Westminster, MA) started planning a trip up to Labrador. The local anglers were Attorney Michael Shepard and Craig Smith from Dalton and me.  We planned to float plane into a remote area up there known for having some of the largest brook trout in the world.  Bill, Mike and I had fished there before out of the Minipi River Lodge.    Readers may recall that trip chronicled in this column in September 2016.   This year we were going to fish out of the Igloo Lake Lodge. This would be Craig’s first trip up there.

Well, Covid came along and for the next two years curtailed our plans.

This year, things opened up and we were good to go.  Airline tickets were purchased, proper equipment was purchased and practiced on, booze orders were arranged to be sent in, and in my case, I was walking 2 miles a day to get into shape. It was to be a 10-day trip with 6 fishing days.

All systems go.  Mike and Craig would fish together and me and Bill would be the other team.  Each pair had a guide.

About a month before our departure, a surprise health issue arose with me, with treatment precluding me from going on that fishing trip.  Talk about a kick in the pants.  C’est la vie!  (Such is life). On departure day, I saw the guys off with a heavy heart.

They drove to Montreal, took a flight from there to Goose Bay, Labrador and then float planed in a Borealis Airlines twin engine Otter into Igloo Camp, an island on the Igloo River, which is on the headwaters of the Eagle River system.72 miles South East of Goose Bay near the 53rd parallel. On the way in, they “really enjoyed” all the stories about the 2 float planes that crashed in the past, one of the bodies was never found. Igloo Camp outfitters lease 2 acres of land from the government which gives them access to the various areas.

As soon as they arrived, they began catching huge brook trout.  I repeat HUGE.  Some days they would wade flyfish the river, while other days they fished Burton Pond out of canoes. (They lost one day due to bad weather at the camp).

That brook trout fishery is unique in the world, with trout exceeding 9 lbs.  And the outfitters intend to keep it that way – flyfishing only, single, barbless hooks, catch and release only.

Craig’s large trout

Of course, Craig Smith out-fished the others, cleaning their clocks nearly every day usually with the most and largest fish.   Going by the guides estimates for weights he caught over 16 trout between 5 and 9 lbs, another 15 -20 in the 2-5 lbs. range and endless amounts of smaller fish. He caught one 4 lbs trout with talon marks (from an eagle?) on its back. He mostly fished the river but the majority of the real big fish came from Burtons Pond.  But he did catch three 7-8 lbs. fish in the river.

Look at that beauty that he caught out of a canoe.

He may not have caught the largest trout on this trip, though, for Bill landed a trout that his guide estimated to be around 9 lbs.  He said that it was the largest brook trout that he had seen this season and he had previously measured fish in the eight-pound range.  He said that this fish was bigger, between 8 and 9 lbs.  Look at that fish!  Just think, it could have been mine!

Bill’s 9 lb brookie

Bill caught it out of a back stream at the base of Mealy Mountain using an 8-wt flyrod with 3x leader. It is a little inlet to a stream with a water depth of only about 3 feet. He caught it on a size 12 Stimulator fly.  The fight began as a very gentle sip, but then it got wild. “The fish put up “a hell of a fight” and he thought they were going to capsize the boat at one point.  “In that small area, the big fish was running all over the place”.  They don’t jump at all, except on the original take.  It was a wild fight and he was very excited to catch that fish.  He never caught such a big fish on a dry fly before. He also caught quite a few other nice sized fish.

Mike’s big brookie

So how did Mike do?  Well, it was a tough trip for dry fly guys and Mike is a dry fly fisherman. To his joy, he saw lots of size 6 or 8 large hex (hexagenia limbata) mayflies all over the water, but the fish weren’t feeding on them.  The traditional topwater bite was almost non-existent. But he quickly figured it out, changed dry flies and began catching them in great numbers on a large green drake fly (Ephemera guttulate.)  As the picture clearly illustrates, he caught some bruisers, too.  That one in the picture topped 6 lbs.

The guys also caught quite a few pike some around the 40” mark.

All of the weights were estimates as the guides at Igloo do not usually carry scales with them.  They allow you to hold the fish for a picture and then immediately release them.

Craig used a variety of flies including big ugly 4”- 6” long streamers, leech imitations and nymphs. Black and white were the best colors. A rod size 9’, 6wt was his go-to rod, but he used his 10’, 7-wt on the lakes.

Mike and Craig said wading was treacherous as the boulders seemed to be that size that are perfect for losing your footing, and they were extremely slick. “The trek into Burton Pond was the worse 2 miles of walking you can imagine. Imagine walking for 2 miles on top of a waterbed covered with a saturated 12” sponge. Throw in mud, roots, holes, and stumps and endless waves of mosquitos, blackflies and no-see-ums in your eyes, nose, and throat. An occasional cigar helped clear the air.” said Craig.

The longest walk to the river was also about 2 miles to “Archies Hole” and Mike and Craig made this hike twice during the trip where they encountered endless roots, stumps, mud, and logs, always wet and slick as glass and thick black spruce on both sides of the trail. Though they never saw any bears they were graced daily with big piles of bear poop at multiple locations along this trail.” I’m sure they were watching.” Craig said.

Craig lost both of his felt soles to the mud bog but fortunately found them coming out and he was able to screw them back onto his waders for the rest of the trip. “If I had a dollar for every time Mike and I ended up on our asses walking into fishing spots,” he said, “ I could probably pay for another trip up there.”

But he would do it in a heartbeat because the fishing was phenomenal.

They claimed the lodge itself was beautiful. All the rooms were modernized single rooms and they had three very good meals a day.

If you go there, you will need very good raingear and layers of warm clothes. Be prepared for anything.

Cost of trip? Fortunately, they had discounted vouchers. Otherwise, one might have to pay around $7,000 which includes tips for the outstanding guides.

Sounds like they had a fantastic trip.  Wish I was there.

Massachusetts Gun Law Seminar 

 

The Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club, located at 24 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, is hosting a Massachusetts Gun Law Seminar entitled Separating Fact & Fiction on Wednesday, August 31 at 6:00 pm sharp.

 

The 3.5+ hour long seminar explains State and Federal laws and regulations, in layperson terms, pertaining to definitions, purchase, possession, transport, record keeping requirements, buying/selling, interstate transport, interstate purchase, ammunition storage and best practices for gun owners.

 

Seminar lecturer Jon Green has been the Director of Education and Training for Gun Owner’s Action League since 1999. He served on the NSSF Range Advisory Committee for 4 years and has owned and managed FFL 01 businesses. He has conducted similar classes for thousands of citizens, hundreds of MA State Police BFS Certified Instructors, MA Hunter Education Instructors and MA EPO’s.

 

Fee: Contributions appreciated.  To Register: robmcdermott@verizon.net 413-232-7700.

Steve Sears elected as Acting Chairman of the MA Fish & Wildlife Board

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At the last Fish &Wildlife Board meeting which was held on Monday, July 18, Board member Stephen Sears of Dalton was elected the new Acting Chairman.  He replaced Joseph Larson who served as Chairman since 2017, when he replaced the late legendary George “Gige” Darey of Lenox upon his retirement.

Sears, who replaced Gige as the Western District representative, was first appointed to the Board by Governor Baker in 2017.

His selection as Acting Chairman comes as a delightful surprise to area outdoor sportsmen and conservationists.  Ironically, the day Sears was elected, the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen (BCLS) sent a letter to Governor Baker requesting that he be reappointed to the F&W Board.

“There are many reasons for our request”, the letter stated, “We believe he has done a very good job in his first 5 years on the Board representing his western Massachusetts constituents and those across the state.  Fellow members on the Board, the Department of Fish & Game and the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife appear to respect his opinions and have appointed him to serve on several very important subcommittees of the Board”.

“He is knowledgeable in the field of conservation and proper management of our natural resources. He enjoys the outdoors not only as a hunter and fisherman, but also as a hiker, bird watcher, nature photographer, mountain biker, skier, and more.   His lifelong love of all aspects of the outdoors comes through very clearly and he is a staunch supporter of many conservation measures.  And because of that, his opinions are respected.”

“He is approachable. Environmentalists, outdoor sportsmen, farmers and others are comfortable approaching him expressing their concerns.  They know he will take time to evaluate them and, if reasonable, will act upon them. During the recent covid pandemic, the general public was able to sit in on the F&W Board meetings via Zoom and they had a chance to see Steve follow-up on their requests. He then follows up with the people.”

“He communicates with his constituents.   Steve attends the BCLS monthly meetings and informs the delegates of recent activities of the Board, Department of Fish & Game and the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.  He keeps us in the loop with their activities.”

“His leadership and/or affiliation with such organizations as the Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation, Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, Local Committees such as Notchview Reservation, The Trustees of Reservation makes him a very important member of the Fish & Wildlife Board.”

 

Robert (Bob) Durand was selected as Acting Vice Chairman of the Board.  He replaced Michael Roche who has served many years as the Board’s Vice Chair.

 

No stranger to the Berkshires, Durand has been an avid outdoorsman and conservationist his entire life, and in 2011 was recognized as such by the Board when it awarded him the Francis W. Sargent Conservation Award. Prior to forming Durand & Anastas Environmental Strategies, he served four terms as State Representative for Berlin and Marlborough, where he lives. He followed that with four terms as a state senator for the Middlesex and Worcester District, during which he chaired the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee, and four years as Secretary of Environmental Affairs, under former governors the late Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift.

During his career as a public servant, Durand forged new bonds between the outdoor and sporting communities and environmentalists, bringing these advocates together to support initiatives that strengthened both.

 

As a legislator, he wrote the Rivers Protection Act and the Community Preservation Act. As Secretary, he protected 150,000 acres of open space, including major bioreserves open to hunting and fishing, helped usher in the nation’s first state regulations on coal burning power plant emissions and oversaw a vigorous campaign to reduce mercury emissions that bioaccumulate in wildlife and people. He also created Biodiversity Days, an annual event that saw tens of thousands of school children from more than 500 schools, fan out across the state to learn about and catalogue plant and animal species, and championed environmental justice and environmental education

Bob has served as the President of the Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation and served on the Board of Trustees for both The Nature Conservancy/Massachusetts Chapter and the Massachusetts Environmental Trust.

 

Earnest Foster, from Scituate, MA was elected Acting Secretary of the Board.  He replaced Bonnie Booth who served on the Board for 13 years.  Foster is heavily involved with outdoor sports and conservation organizations serving on the Board of the Plymouth County League of Sportsmen, a Level one Instructor for National Sporting Clays, Membership Secretary for the Scituate Rod and Gun Club,  President of the Ruffed Grouse Society Boston/South Shore Chapter, Past President of the Minot’s Ledge Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, member of The American Chestnut Foundation, Trout Unlimited, Old Colony Sportsmen Club and volunteer for various land trusts.

I’m sure you noted that the three individuals were elected as acting officers.   Once all the newly appointed Board members settle in, it is expected that a vote will be taken in November or December to formerly elect them as officers.

New State Record Smallmouth Bass caught in NY

A new state record fish has been established in New York State. On June 15, Thomas Russell Jr. of Albion reeled in an 8 lb. 6 oz. smallmouth bass from Cayuga Lake (Seneca County) while fishing in a Finger Lakes Open Bass Tournament. The smallmouth was caught on a drop shot rig using a soft plastic minnow. After being weighed on a certified scale and getting witness verification, the record-breaking fish was safely released.

Thomas Russell, Jr.

In case you are wondering, the Massachusetts state record for a smallie is 8 lb. 2 oz. and 22 inches long cought out of Wachusett Reservoir by Barbara Sasen in 1991.

The world record smallmouth bass came out of Dale Hollow Lake, a reservoir that straddles the border between Kentucky and Tennessee back in 1955.  It weighed 11 lb. 15 oz. and was caught by David Hayes.

Amazon Smile

The Lee Sportsmen’s Association’s (LSA) Board has recently announced that it is registered on Amazon Smile.  Never heard of it?  Me neither.

According to its news release, if you already buy items from Amazon, you can now use the AmazonSmile website (smile.amazon.com) and have a donation sent from Amazon to the LSA.  This donation doesn’t cost you, the buyer, anything.

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support the Club every time you shop, at no cost to you.  When you shop AmazonSmile, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to LSA.

For information and set up procedures go to: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-2691563, and then the next time you want to make a purchase from Amazon go to: https://smile.amazon.com/ to do your purchasing.   “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages.

Fishing the Collection

The American Flyfishing Museum in Manchester, VT has a new film series entitled Fishing the Collection.

 

In this new film series, they’re taking vintage rods from their collection and putting them in the hands of modern anglers. As they travel to various locations, bamboo rods of yesteryear are put to the test in both salt and fresh water, and anglers share their take on what it’s like to fish with classic equipment. You might find the results visually captivating and educational, allowing the observer to reflect on how far we’ve come in the development of equipment while also honoring the beauty and style of the past. Featured in this episode is a 1973 Orvis Battenkill, 8′, 8wt, 2-piece rod. Click onto https://www.amff.org/fishing-the-collection to see the film.

They plan to release Episode 2 and 3 in the coming weeks.

Readers may recall previous articles in this column where fishing buddy Paul Knauth of Hinsdale and I always took along a vintage bamboo fly rod when we fished the fabled Ausable River near Lake Placid, NY.  Its true, one does get the sense of beauty and style of these rods and think about the anglers who once fished with them in bygone days.

Eagerly awaiting the return of our friends

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Well, it won’t be long before our friends show up again.  Some of the Stones are already here and the Gordon’s will arrive shortly.  The Caddis’s are already here and the Hendrickson’s are probably here too.  They will be followed by the Foxes, Drakes, Cahills, Duns, Adams, Wulffs and others.

Aha!  I’ll bet the fly fishermen are already onto me.  They know that I am not writing about snowbirds returning from Florida but rather aquatic insects, the various mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies.

Two of the earliest aquatic insects to appear each year are the Little Black Stoneflies which are part of the Capniidae family (probably Allocapnia granulata) and Little Brown Stoneflies which are part of the Plecoptera family.   They crawl out of the water to the snowy bank edges to hatch and become adults. Different species of stoneflies hatch from early spring into the summer.  They are the Stones to which I referred above.  The Caddises mentioned are caddisflies from the family Trichoptera,

The Gordons, Hendricksons, Foxes, Drakes, Cahills, Duns, Wulffs and Adams are all mayflies. (Mayflies are aquatic insects belonging to the order Ephemeroptera).  The flies don’t just hatch out in May, but basically from April through October, depending on the species. The Gordon’s I referred to are usually known as Quill Gordon (Epeorus-Pleurali), probably the first major mayfly to hatch in our waters. They are followed by the Blue Duns/Blue Quills (Paraleptophlebia), Dark or Light Hendricksons (Ephemerella Subvaria), Grey Foxes (Stenonema Fuscum), Green Drakes (Ehemera Guttulata) Light Cahills (Stenenoma), Yellow Drakes (Ephemere Varia), Golden Drakes (Potamanthidae), Slate Gray Drakes (Isonychia) and others.

Over 3,000 species of mayflies in 42 families and over 400 genera are known worldwide, including about 630 species in North America. There are approximately 14,500 described species of caddisflies and 9 North American families of stoneflies with approximately 3,500 species (700 of them in North America north of Mexico).

Fly fishermen should not only know what the flying insect is, but what phase, sub-imago or imago as well as what their nymphal stage looks like.  Sub-imagos are called duns by anglers and the imagoes (or adult flies) are called spinners.  A good fly fisherman knows when each occurs and what they look like (color, size, characteristics, etc.). Mayflies morph from nymphs, hatch into duns and then morph again into spinners. In a way, fly fishermen have to be entomologists.

Certain aquatic insects live in different types of waters.  For example, the Green Drake, one of our largest mayflies, like slow moving, sandy or muddy waters, whereas others like stoneflies prefer just the opposite.  The successful fly fisherman needs to know this.

Obviously, all of this can be overwhelming to the beginning fly fisherman, but thanks to our predecessors, the numbers of families and species that are most common have been narrowed down considerably, so that we now know what species hatch in our areas and when they are in certain rivers and ponds.

To save money and for the enjoyment, many fly fishermen tie their own flies imitating the above aquatic insects and others such as dragonflies, damselflies, midges, etc.  They tie terrestrial insects which are also important foods for trout such as grasshoppers, beetles, crickets, etc.  They also tie imitations of crayfish, leeches, small fish (called streamers) etc.  Yes, they are called flies, too.

After seeing the scientific names for the aquatic insects, one can understand why anglers refer to their common names. Heck, many of us can’t even pronounce the scientific names. Besides, if we did use the scientific names, we would probably be labeled as elitists or snobs.

Many imitation flies such as the Quill Gordon, Hendrickson, Adams and Wulff patterns were actually named after their inventors or their friends.

For example, the Quill Gordon was designed by Theodore Gordon, an American writer who fished the Catskill region of New York State in the late 19th century through the early 20th century. He is often called the “father of the American school of dry fly fishing.

The Hendrickson was created in 1916 by Roy Steenrod.  One day he was fishing the Lower Beaverkill River in NY with his friend A. E. Hendrickson, and saw bugs popping off the water. Roy named the imitation fly after his buddy. Its body is comprised of “the urine-stained underbelly from a vixen red fox”.

The Adams fly was designed by Leonard Halladay from Mayfield, Michigan in 1922, at the request of his friend Charles Adams, an attorney and judge from Ohio who was an avid dry fly fisher.

Some flies were named after rivers such as the Ausable Wulff.  Now that’s an interesting fly.    It was created and tied by the late Francis Betters who lived on the banks of the Ausable River in Wilmington, NY. He designed his fly using a pattern created by the late legendary fly fisherman Lee Wulff. Its body calls for cinnamon colored Australian possum. Incidentally, it’s my favorite fly.

Another one of my favorites is the Gold Ribbed Hares Ear. The body of this fly is created from a course blend of underbody fur, along with the guard hairs from the ear of a rabbit.

An interesting streamer is called the Governor Weld.  (Pictured) The ingredients for constructing this fly are interesting:  It uses a #6, 3X hook which represents the governor’s height (6’3”).  The wing is matched strips of mottled wild turkey wing feather representing the official Massachusetts game bird which was signed into law by Governor Weld.  Wood duck flank feather is used for the shoulder to signify the Governor’s concern for waterfowl conservation.  A silver body is used to represent the bright future of Massachusetts under Governor Weld’s leadership.  Lastly, red thread is used to tie the fly and form the head, representing the Governor’s red hair.

All materials are common to New England and up-state New York where the Governor enjoyed many fishing adventures.

The fly was tied and created by Mike Freeman of Peabody, MA and Paul Nowak of Topsfield, MA. I have a beautiful framed print of it which was produced by Massachusetts artist Ed Snyder, owner of Outdoor Arts.  I don’t know what it is supposed to imitate. I haven’t caught many fish with this fly, but it is sure nice to look at.

The Mad River Special was created by the late legendary flyfisherman, Charles Lahey of Pittsfield.  He named the bucktail fly after the Mad River in Vermont, a river he loved to fish.  The last time he flyfished, at the age of 101, he caught 3 rainbow trout with that fly. Incidentally, Charlie was incorporated into the North American Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, WI in 2009.

Another interesting fly is named “The Butcher”.  It was created in England by G.S. Jewhurst of Tunbridge, Kent, UK. Originally, it was known as “Moon’s Fly,” after a Mr. Moon who was a butcher and tier. William Blacker renamed the fly “The Butcher” in 1838.  It was so deadly that it was banned in some rivers over there.

So, if you are a glutton for punishment, you might consider taking up the sport of flyfishing.  Everyone struggles with the casting aspect of it for a little while but most eventually get the hang of it. Don’t worry, you won’t make any mistakes that millions of others haven’t already made.  I took it up in my 40’s and the only regret that I have is that I didn’t take it up earlier.    It’s a fascinating sport which has provided me many years of great enjoyment.

Trout stockings

The following waters were scheduled to be stocked last week.  The schedule was subject to change: Hop Brook in Tyringham and Lee, Laurel Lake, Pontoosic Lake, Goose Pond, Onota Lake, Littleville Reservoir in Chester and Huntington, Green River – North in New Ashfield and Williamstown, Farmington River in Otis, Tolland and Sandisfield and Hemlock Brook in Williamstown.

Correction

In last week’s column I erroneously wrote that the spring turkey hunting season opened on April 25 and ends on May 22.  It should have stated that it ends on May 21.  Also, the youth turkey hunting day is today, not last Saturday as written.  My apologies.

More good memories on the AuSable River

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Recently, six of us fly fishermen headed to Wilmington, NY (near Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain) to fly fish the world-renowned Au Sable River.  Included in our group were Marc Hoechstetter and John (Burnsie) Burns of West Cummington, Paul Knauth of Hinsdale, Henry Sweren of Lanesborough, Fran Marzotto of Pittsfield and me.  Henry had negotiated a package deal with the Hungry Trout Resort in Wilmington which included a two night stay along with two dinners and breakfasts. The Hungry Trout Inn and Restaurant sits on the riverbank and overlooks the Flume section of the river.

The area experienced dry conditions this year, but recent rains had brought the river water level up to near ideal conditions. Shortly after our afternoon arrival and check-in, we donned our fishing gear, grabbed our flyrods and were off fishing.  We wanted to fish until dark, but the restaurant closes at 8:00 pm, and we didn’t want to miss a great dinner there.  (Their lobster bisque and roasted duck are something to die for). So, we decided to fish until 5:00, go back to the lodge and dine and get back to fishing from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. (That worked well for me because I wouldn’t be eating late and then going to bed only to experience serious acid reflux). We fished in pairs, Burnsie and Mark, Fran and Henry and Paul and me. Weather conditions were a little drizzly and cloudy.  Some guys caught fish that first day and some didn’t.

We returned to the lodge around 9:30 pm, got out of our fishing duds, and congregated at Henry’s room to discuss the day’s fishing and talk some Taconic Chapter Trout Unlimited business. We are all serious, dedicated TU members – of the six of us, four are former Taconic Chapter presidents, one current president, Burnsie, and a board member.  Two of us are former MA/RI Council chairmen with one, Henry, the current Chair. That night, we discussed the demographics of our chapter, the aging membership and the lack of replacement by new, younger members. As most readers probably know, it is a problem experienced by most clubs – garden clubs, veterans’ organizations, sportsmen’s clubs, etc.  MassWildlife is trying to tackle this problem, too, with its soon to be released R3 Initiative (Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation) to counteract the shrinking numbers and increased age of Massachusetts hunters and fishermen.

After an hour or so of discussions, we didn’t resolve anything.  Every suggestion for recruiting younger members or increasing their membership participation had already been tried before.  So, we all returned to our rooms and hit the sack.

The next morning, after a tasty breakfast at the Adirondack Mountain Coffee Café in Upper Jay, NY, we headed for the river. Paul and I went to a spot where we had tried for hours last fall to catch a nice trout.  Readers may recall from my October 4, 2020 column how that fish harassed us by rising and showing itself about every 15 minutes or so all day long.  We never caught the fish.  This time, Paul was determined to catch it and bring this matter to a closure.  During the winter months, he thought about that fish, tied up flies which he believed would work and perfected his Czech-style nymph fishing.  On this trip, he was a man with a mission, to catch that trout.  He snuck up to the hole with gritted teeth and squinted eyes (like a combat veteran with a 1,000-yard stare).  Paul knew exactly where that fish should be and he was determined to catch it.

Not wanting to get in the middle of this, I fished a run a short distance away.  After a half hour or so, I saw Paul kneeling by the riverbank, with camera in hand. A little while later, when we rendezvoused, he told me that after an epic battle, he caught and released a big fish which he believed was the one that harassed us last fall.  He showed me a picture of a big, beautiful brown trout which measured about 18 inches long.  He caught it on a size 16 Gold Ribbed Hares Ear nymph (a tiny fly about ¼ inch long).

The area where we fished was beautiful and the warm, sunny, late spring day just added to our pleasure.  It was exactly the kind of day and place I had pictured so many times while working in an office before I retired.  We sat on a bank, under a tree and took it all in.  At one point while sitting there having lunch some kind of object went flying over us.  We could see its shadow as it passed by.  Incoming!  was my first thought.  It turned out to be a hen turkey which flew over us and landed nearby on the other side of the river.  Once she saw us, she scurried away.  While eating lunch, we commented how our wives would be proud of us for eating such healthy food, like the raw vegetables and dip that we were munching on. Ok, so perhaps there was some cooked Kielbasa there, and maybe some chunks of cheddar cheese, too.

Fly fishing is a sport steeped in tradition and part of the thrill is fishing with old equipment.  In my case, one day I fished with an Orvis Pace Changer bamboo rod that was made in 1968 and an old Orvis Battenkill reel (probably made years ago in England by Hardy).  I don’t know how many people fished with that rod before me, but I was determined to catch one more fish with it, which I did.  Paul fished with an Orvis Battenkill bamboo rod made in 1974 by Wes Jordan and a Battenkill Click Pawl reel.  However; he caught the big fish on a graphite Winston rod.  Henry fished with a Thomas & Thomas Special Trouter which was made in 1978, and two reels, one a 3-inch Hardy St. George and the other a 3 1/8 Hardy Spitfire Perfect, both made in the 1940’s.  He caught quite a few trout with them.

The AuSable River is very slick and the use of wading staffs is recommended.  The river has changed somewhat due to the pounding it took from Hurricane Irene back in 2011. Some of the good holes and runs are not there anymore and it experienced some serious silting in places as a result. But it still is a very good river in spite of it all.  The surrounding scenery including Whiteface and the surrounding mountains is simply captivating.   I have fished this river for over 40 years now, and going there is like a pilgrimage to me.  How well Marc and I remember stopping in to see and buy a few flies from the late Francis Betters, renowned fly tier and author who lived on the banks of the river.  He developed several famous trout flies including the AuSable Wulff, AuSable Caddis, the Usual, the Haystack, and others.   On this trip, Fran caught trout on the AuSable Wulff, perhaps Better’s most famous fly.

How well I remember the good times we Berkshire anglers had up there.  Some of those anglers have since passed beyond the riverbank over the years, but they are not forgotten.

We dined at 5:00 pm again the second day and went fishing until dark. After returning from fishing, we once again, piled into Henry’s room to discuss the day’s events, carve into my wife Jan’s upside-down cake and have a nightcap.  It was kind of comical, as we all stood up to leave, the room was filled with the sounds of clicking joints and of “oohs” and “ows” caused by achy backs, shoulders and legs.  Hey, none of us are getting any younger, you know.

We decided to get up earlier the next day, check out, fish until 10:30 am, grab breakfast and head home. The successful flies on this trip were golden stoneflies, caddis emergers, yellow sallies, pheasant tail nymphs, gold ribbed hare’s ears, and AuSable Wulffs, to name a few.  (All familiar names to fly fishermen).

It was nice that during the entire trip no politics, insurrections or pandemic whatsoever were discussed.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip, good weather, good fishing (everyone caught fish), good food, good comradery and now, good memories.

Trout study launched on the Swift River

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The Swift River is one of the most unique and popular trout fishing destinations in Massachusetts. In addition to the wild brook trout found in the Swift, MassWildlife also stocks rainbow and brown trout from its McLaughlin Hatchery. Many anglers travel for miles to fish the cold, clear waters of the Swift in the hopes of landing a big trout. But what exactly happens to the hatchery trout once they are released into the river? This spring, MassWildlife launched a study to get a better understanding of the survival and movement of stocked trout from month to month and from year to year.

The Swift is bounded by the Quabbin Reservoir’s Winsor Dam to the north and by the Bondsville Dam about 5 ½ miles downstream. So, while some fish enter the reach from Quabbin or from the adjacent McLaughlin Hatchery and some escape over the Bondsville Dam, the study area is a mostly closed system. This means that biologists can estimate population size and learn about fish survival by conducting a series of mark-recapture surveys. MassWildlife biologists will mark every fish stocked into the Swift and then periodically sample the stream and record information on the fish they catch. This type of survey allows biologists to estimate fish populations throughout the year in an area where it is impractical or impossible to count each individual fish.

The fish will be marked in two ways. Biologists will use Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE)—a dye injected just below the skin—to tag trout and indicate the month in which they were stocked. For 2021, all VIE tags will be placed just behind the left eye and different colors will indicate the month the fish was stocked. Additionally, the adipose fins of fish stocked upstream of Route 9 will be clipped; fish stocked elsewhere will not be clipped. The adipose fin is a small fatty fin on the dorsal surface (back) of the fish. MassWildlife staff will use electrofishing equipment to sample the river about once a month for most of the year. This method briefly stuns fish so they can be easily netted, inspected, and then quickly released. By looking at the combination of markings, biologists can learn when and where a trout was stocked in the river compared to when and where it was re-captured.

Anglers will also be able to use the marking to learn about the fish they catch. A website has been launched with details about this ongoing project. Anglers and interested individuals can visit mass.gov/swift-trout to get a list of VIE tag and fin clip combinations that shows release dates and release location. A schedule of electrofishing sampling dates will also be available on the website.

In time, study results will also be posted to mass.gov/swift-trout. Results from this study will provide valuable details about the short- and long-term survival of stocked brown and rainbow trout.

Trout stocking

 

Last week, subject to last minute change, the following local waters were scheduled to be stocked by Massachusetts DFW:  South River in Ashfield, Swift River in Ashfield, Goshen and Cummington, Stones Brook in Goshen, Hoosic River (North Branch) in Clarksburg and North Adams, Green River (North) in Williamstown and New Ashfield, Mill Brook in Cummington and Plainfield, Westfield Brook in Windsor and Cummington, Housatonic River (Southwest Branch) in Pittsfield, Upper Highland Lake in Goshen, Ashfield Pond in Ashfield, Littleville Reservoir in Chester and Huntington, Laurel Lake, Lake Buel, Lake Garfield, Otis Reservoir, Onota Lake, Richmond Pond and Stockbridge Bowl.

 

Heritage Hub

MassWildlife recently launched a new online portal called “Heritage Hub” which allows users to report observations of animals and plants, natural communities, and vernal pools. The system can be used to report any species and they are especially interested in reports of animals and plants listed under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. The Heritage Hub is replacing the Vernal Pool & Rare Species Reporting System (VPRS) and makes electronic reporting easier than ever. MassWildlife is grateful for the many citizen scientists, consultants, and researchers who have contributed 21,537 observations to VPRS over the years and they are looking forward to the launch of the new platform. Visit mass.gov/heritagehub to learn more and register for an account.

The Heritage Hub is a more user-friendly application, improving the functionality from VPRS and offering several new features, including: Updated plant, animal, and vernal pool observation reporting; a natural community form; enhanced user interface via a new mobile-responsive platform; streamlined account creation, electronic signature capture, and many other features.  Reports made through Heritage Hub help MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program protect rare animals and plants across Massachusetts. The Heritage Hub was built in collaboration with the Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs IT Department.

Drivers:  Watch out for turtles

The following is a message from MassWildlife:  From mid-May to early July, thousands of turtles throughout Massachusetts travel to new areas to find food and nest. You may find turtles on roadways, in your backyard, or other unexpected locations as they move across the landscape to find resources they need to survive. Turtles have a keen sense of direction and may be on their way to wetlands or open, upland sites such as lawns, gravel pits, or roadsides for nesting. If you find a turtle, do not move it far away.

“Adult turtles can live past 80 years. Young turtles and eggs, on the other hand, have a variety of predators and a low chance of reaching adulthood,” says Dr. Mike Jones, MassWildlife State Herpetologist. “This is why it’s especially important to protect older adult turtles from cars, especially during this time of year when turtles are crossing roads more frequently.” Losing any adult turtles, particularly adult females, is a serious problem that can lead to the eventual local extinction of a population.

Be safe. Do not risk getting hurt or causing harm to others by unsafely pulling off the road or trying to dodge traffic. If the opportunity to safely move a turtle from the road occurs, move it in the direction it was heading and off the edge of the road. The turtle is trying to get to habitats and resources it needs and knows. Do not take turtles home or move them to a “better” location; turtles should not be moved more than 100 yards from where they are found.  Most turtles should be grasped gently along the shell edge near the mid-point of the body. However, snapping turtles are fast and have very powerful jaws that can inflict a bad bite. A snapping turtle can reach your hands if you lift it by the sides of its shell. If you must move a snapping turtle, use a broom to coax it into a plastic tub or box. Never lift a snapping turtle only by the tail; this can injure its spine.

Slow down. Watch for turtles on roadways bordered by wetlands on both sides. These areas are commonly used as crossing points. Also, remember areas where you’ve seen turtles crossing in the past. Turtles are animals of repetition and chances are, more turtles will likely cross there or somewhere close by.

Report them to MassWildlife. Information that you provide on the Linking Landscapes online portal helps MassWildlife and MassDOT prioritize transportation projects to help turtles and other wildlife safely cross roads and keep drivers safe. Just as importantly, contact your town Conservation Commission and local conservation partners to evaluate resources within your town to help turtles. Signage, barrier fencing, or seasonal speed bumps help reduce roadkill.

Massachusetts is home to ten native species of terrestrial and aquatic turtles. Six of the ten species are protected under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. Learn more in MassWildlife’s Guide to Turtles of Massachusetts.

Fishing Derby

The Berkshire Hatchery Foundation in Hartsville-New Marlborough is scheduled to have a youth fishing derby next Saturday, May 8 from 9:00 to 10:30 am at its Lower Pond at the Berkshire National Fish Hatchery, 240 Hatchery Road, Hartsville, MA.  Children aged 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult.   These fishing derbies will run once a month through September.  Following State guidelines, masks are required as is 6 feet social distancing.

Yellowstone full of beauty, good fishing – Part 2

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Last week I wrote about our 11-day fly fishing trip to Yellowstone National Park. You may recall that four local anglers accompanied me. They were: Paul Knauth and Craig Smith of Hinsdale, Allen Gray of Pittsfield and Attorney Michael Shepard of Dalton. In that column, I didn’t really get into how well we did fishing.
For the first three days, there were just 4 of us. Paul, Mike, Allen and me. On the fourth day, Craig joined us for three days.
On our first day, the four of us fished Slough Creek, a gin-clear, slow moving river. It is very wadable and holds nice sized rainbow and cutthroat trout. The temperatures reached 90 degrees on that bright sunny day.
It was on that first day that I met a Montanan, Bill Sheehan, who had been fishing downstream from me and was now on his way out. He stopped to watch me try to catch a big rainbow trout. Standing up on a high bank, he could see my fly and the trout that I was after. I couldn’t see the fish due to the glare and eddies, but he could and he directed me to where to cast the fly and whether or not the fish was interested in my offering.
After about a half hour, it was obvious that I was not going to catch that fish with any fly I threw at it, and Bill asked if he could try for it. I said yes and after 2 or 3 casts he hooked it. After a 10-minute battle, he netted a beautiful 19-inch rainbow. After releasing the fish, he crossed the river to my side holding something. “Here”, he said, “I really appreciate you giving me a chance to catch that fish. It made my day”. Then he gave me a fly like the one he had used to catch the fish.
I was really impressed with what he did and told him that I would mention the incident it in this column for it was a fine example of stream etiquette. While talking, I could see that he was wet wading (no waders) and he wore knee pads.
Seeing that I was a novice to this type of fishing, he offered me some advice: “Approach the river with stealth and keep your profile low. Otherwise, the fish will see you because the rivers out here are crystal clear and flow fairly slow with little if any ripples to break up the line of sight”.
That explains the knee pads, for they allowed him to cast his fly while kneeling.
We didn’t exactly knock them dead that day. I only got one trout, Paul had a few big ones on but they broke him off. Allen caught a nice cutthroat measuring around 19 inches.
The second day proved to be much more successful. Some beautiful trout were caught that day with Paul having a phenomenal day catching lots of fish. Dr. Charles Wohl, a well-known, superb fly fisherman from Lenox best describes days like Paul had. “The fishing was obscene!” Paul caught his fish on tiny (size 20) blue winged olive mayflies (Baetis). I had a decent day, too, but never figured out what the trout were hitting. I caught a few on a ladybug imitation and also had some success with a gray drake mayfly (Siphlonurus). I don’t believe any of us caught a trout less than 15 inches. Bear in mind, these are wild trout, not stocked.
One day we went to see Old Faithful and while in the area we fished the Firehole River. Instead of water temperatures in the 50’s, this water was in the 70’s due to the nearby geysers. We still managed to catch a few fish there.
One rainy day when we got back to our house in Gardiner, Allen and I fished the Yellowstone River right in back. I got into an unbelievable pod of whitefish that simply would not leave me alone so that I could catch some trout. They are a scrappy fish in their own right. When they stopped rising, the rainbow trout starting rising and Allen caught a half dozen or so in short order. Craig joined us that evening and Allen and Mike cooked us up a tasty meal.
The next day, Mike and Craig took a guided float fishing trip down the Yellowstone River near Livingstone, MT. They hired Yellowstone Anglers (guides) out of Livingstone. They caught some nice fish but Mike took the big fish of the trip, a 24 inch,7 lbs brown trout. He caught it on a size 8 fly called the Night Stonefly. I don’t want to imply anything, but shortly thereafter, Craig managed to impale his fly into the back of Mike’s head, purportedly caused by the strong winds that day. Although tangled in Mike’s hair, the guide was finally able to get it out while still managing the boat as it drifted down the river.
We were happy that Mike caught that beautiful fish for he had not yet been able to get out fishing at all this year.
On that day the remaining three of us fished Obsidian Creek, the Gardner River and the Gibbon Creek. The waters were cold with temps of 43 degrees. Too cold for hatching mayflies.
The following day, Craig and Mike fished Nelson Spring Creek (private waters on the Nelson Ranch in Livingstone, MT). They paid to fish a stretch of that water and caught some beautiful trout.
Having fished in Yellowstone National Park for around 35 years with his father, Craig knew what he was doing and when he joined us, he proceeded to clean our clocks. He caught more fish in his three days with us than we were able to catch in our 11 days, and some of them approached 20 inches.
There was one day when Craig led us on a hike across the prairie for about a mile to fish a stretch of Slough Creek. We no sooner got there when it turned windy and rainy. Fortunately, we had our rain jackets, but it sure got cold. In spite of fish jumping and porpoising, they were extremely selective. The only person to figure them out was Craig. He was using a size 22 or 24 blue wing olive mayfly, not much bigger than a speck of black pepper.
After fishing with us for three days, Craig moved on to fish the Madison River and other streams on the western end of the Park, also having great success
All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip with lots of big, beautiful trout being caught by all.
A couple of incidences did occur which could have made my trip go south quickly. The first occurred in the Minneapolis/St Paul Airport as we were heading west. While passing through security and sending my carry-on bags through the scanning machine, a security person took out my cell phone and tablet and put them into a separate tray to go through the scanner. After passing through security and about to leave the area, a passenger who followed me in line shouted that I had left those two items. Oooh! On that cell phone was my future flight and boarding pass info.
The second incident occurred when we were sitting outside on the deck on our last evening in Gardiner. Paul asked if I had gotten my boarding pass information yet. I hadn’t. While processing the information, he discovered that I wasn’t on the same flight out of Bozeman as they were and that my flight was scheduled 2 hours earlier than theirs. Because we had rented only one vehicle, it meant that everyone had to get up 2 hours earlier and leave for the airport by 7:00 am. We all had to scramble that evening to get our bags packed and ready to travel early the next morning.
If it wasn’t for Paul checking my flight information, I would have missed my flight.
Either of those two snafus could have really messed up my trip. Who knows where I could have ended up. I could have been the second man whose fate is still unlearned, and never will return, not from ‘neath the streets of Boston’, but from up in the “big sky” of Montana.
Fortunately, all ended up well. We all joined up in Minneapolis and flew to Albany on the same flight.
Questions/comments: Berkwoodsandwaters@roadrunner.com. Phone: (413) 637-1818

 

Beauty and good fly-fishing abound in the Yellowstone National Park

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Last month, five of us local anglers went on a 11-day fly-fishing trip for trout to the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Our group was made up of Paul Knauth and Craig Smith of Hinsdale, Allen Gray of Pittsfield, Attorney Michael Shepard of Dalton and me.
We flew into Bozeman, MT, rented a vehicle and drove to Gardiner, MT, where we rented a nice house on the banks of Yellowstone River (Upper Yellowstone River Retreat, Relax@yellowstoneretreat.us) just a short distance from the entrance to the Park and each day, we traveled to our fishing destinations in it. Yellowstone National Park is 63 miles north to south, and 54 miles west to east as the crow flies. It encompasses 2,219,789 acres; 3,468 square miles and is larger than the states of Rhode Island or Delaware. The park sits on the Yellowstone Plateau, at an average elevation of 8,000 feet above sea level. The plateau is bounded on nearly all sides by mountain ranges of the Middle Rocky Mountains, which range from 9,000 to 11,000 feet in elevation.
While there, we did some sight-seeing of geysers such as Old Faithful and the Mammoth Hot Springs, watched elk munching on the lawns of the park headquarters (formerly Fort Yellowstone), watched the wildlife in the Lamar Valley, and were held breathless by the beauty of the area.
We carried canisters of bear spray wherever we fished, even if we fished the Yellowstone River in back of our house, for there had been recent reports of grizzly sightings there. If you have been following this column over the years, you know that for some reason bears (black and grizzly) have some kind of attraction to Mike Shepard and me and usually cause us some form of consternation. We did a lot of looking over our shoulders while fishing in Yellowstone.
One day, I was totally focused on fishing a particular stretch on the Soda-Butte Creek where I saw that there were some nice cutthroat trout feeding. In order to get to it, I had to cross one branch of the creek, walk across a small island and then fish the branch on the other side. I was totally focused on those trout. Then I thought I heard a sound behind me. It was kind of a low inhaled snort and it sounded quite close.
When I turned around, I was startled to be face-to-face with a HUGE bull buffalo and he was looking at and walking (not rushing) straight toward me. What do you do when a 10 foot, 2,000 lb buffalo approaches you? Why step aside, of course, and that’s what I did. He just walked by me toward the river. He was so close that I could have touched him with the tip of my flyrod. As he went by, he continued that deep, soft snort and I could almost understand him saying, “Darned fly fishermen, they’re everywhere these days. Get out of my way dude so I can cross this river”.
Every day while driving back and forth to the rivers in the park, and we fished several, we saw herds of buffalos (or bison if you prefer). The Yellowstone herd size is estimated to be ovcr 5,000. More times than not some would opt to step out onto the road and just stand there or slowly poke along the center line, holding up traffic and not leaving until they were ready to. They were everywhere, especially in the Lamar Valley and lots of people were parked off of the roads observing them and other animals with their high-powered sighting scopes and cameras.
If you go there to fish, you cannot use felt-soled boots, no lead, the flies must be barbless and the fish should be released. In order to gain access to the park, you must have a pass and a permit to fish in it.
When we returned to our house at the end of each day and sat out on the back deck having a drink, elk would show up on the lawn and eat the leaves off of (and nearly destroy) a young apple tree as well as the green grass that was watered daily via a pump from the river. They showed up nearly every day, sometimes not more that 15-20 feet away from us. There was also a bull elk there keeping his group of cow elk in line.
One day, a buck antelope (pictured) appeared on the other side of Slough Creek from where we were fishing. We had all gathered there at the end of the day before our long trek back to the vehicles. He seemed agitated that we were there and jumped into the river and swam toward us. Climbing out of the creek, he was ready to do battle with us, kicking up dirt with his hoof and his head down. He especially wanted to do battle with Paul and starting approaching him. We told Paul to be careful as those antlers are sharp. But Paul stood his ground, threw his hat down, kicked up a little dirt of his own and shouted “C’mon, let’s see what you got!” The antelope chickened out and walked away.
Yellowstone National Park is filled with all kinds of animals. In addition to the elk, buffalo and antelope, we saw a family of moose, a black wolf with its pups, golden and bald eagles, ospreys, a black bear, sand hill cranes, otters and more. Thankfully we saw no grizzlies or cougars although they do exist there. The scenery is breath-taking.
None of us are exactly spring chickens. Three of us are in our 70’s, a 65 year older and a kid aged 56. Unfortunately, I had the dubious distinction of being the oldest. Our bodies, although having been dinged over the years and sporting some replacement parts, still carried us for miles through the prairies, ever on the alert for gopher holes, to get to good looking fishing spots.
We ate well on this trip with Mike and Allen doing the cooking. After dinner, we gabbed around the dinner table, had a night cap and hit the sack. We didn’t have any television service and quite frankly, we didn’t miss the shenanigans going on in Washington these days.
The weather was unpredictable with 90-degree sunny weather one day and biting cold wind and rain the next. The fishing was just as unpredictable with some days getting skunked or only catching a couple of fish and on other days we had great catches.
So how did we do? So many people have written that fishing is not all about fishing. The most recent words that I read regarding this subject were by Cameron Pierce in the introduction to his new book, Taut Lines. “ …but as all anglers know, the fish themselves are only half of fishing. Finding peace, spirituality or a sense of belonging in nature, the meditative tranquility that settles in the mind and body as you cast into the waters for hours on end, the companionship or, alternately, the solitude; these are some of the things that hook anglers as much as fish”.
How true. Trout live in some of the most beautiful places in the world, surrounded by undisturbed, wonderful sights. Add to that the comradery of the anglers and you have the makings of a wonderful fishing trip whether you catch a fish or not. I tried to convey some of that feeling in today’s column.
Oh yes, by the way, we all caught big, lovely fish. Next week, I’ll tell you all about them.
Local trout stockings
The following local waters were scheduled to be stocked last week: Deerfield River, Littleville Reservoir, Goose Pond, Laurel Lake, Lake Buel, Onota Lake, Richmond Pond and Stockbridge Bowl.
Trout Unlimited Meeting
The Taconic Chapter Annual Meeting will be held at The Cork and Hearth Restaurant, Rt 20 Lee, MA on Thursday, October 10 at 6:00 pm. The guest speaker will be well known Fly Fisher/Fly Tier/Guide Torrey Collins. He will be discussing Great Lakes Salmon/Steelhead fishing. It is free and open to the public and if you wish, you can join them downstairs in the dining room for dinner after the event.

Big pike caught on trout rod

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On May 16, Dan “Durt” Whalen of Berkshire Village was fishing for trout on Onota Lake near the pier. Using his trout rod, his trusty old Garcia Mitchell 300 spinning reel, 6 lb test line and Berkley Power Bait on a size 8 Eagle Claw hook, he was after some trout. It was a cloudy day and he was having decent luck, having caught a couple of Rainbow Trout.
Then he had another hit and when he set the hook, he knew he was into a decent sized fish, perhaps a Carp. He said it put up fierce fight lasting 20 minutes and when he got it close to shore, he could see that it was a Northern Pike. The fish made three runs, nearly spooling him out. Finally, he got it near the shore again but because of the size of the fish, Don knew it would break his line if he tried to beach it (He didn’t have a net). So, he waded into the water nearly up to his waist, grabbed the fish under its gill and carried it into shore.
He laid the fish onto the wet grass and gingerly removed the hook from the fish. He was lucky for it had been hooked on the its skin just outside of its lip, otherwise its sharp teeth would have easily cut the line. He said that when he weighed the fish on his digital scales, it weighed 29 lbs even, was 49 inches long and had a girth of 20 inches.
A man and women were nearby and saw the whole event. Don asked the woman if she would take his picture with the fish using his cell phone, which she did.
Don chose to release the fish and submit an affidavit to MassWildlife attesting to its size. If accepted, he should get at least a bronze pin from the State, perhaps the gold pin, in the Catch and Release category. (A gold pin and plaque are awarded for catching the largest species of a freshwater fish in the state for that year). Don was not interested in keeping the fish to mount as he already has a large Northern Pike hanging on his wall. It was a gold pin fish that he caught in 2001. He said that one weighed 26.9 lbs and was 46 ½ inches long.
Usually pike the size Don recently caught are taken on tip-ups through the ice. It is rare to see one this large taken on a rod and reel. The fact that he caught it on 6 lb test and size 8 hook makes the feat even more remarkable. That and the fact that he caught it on a reel approximately 50 years old.
Good old-fashioned fly fishing
Speaking of old reels and equipment, fishing buddy Paul Knauth of Hinsdale and I recently spent a few days flyfishing for trout on the Ausable River in and around Wilmington, NY (near Lake Placid). This year, we decided to do something different, we would fish with old equipment, stuff right out of the 1940’s and 1950’s.
I chose to use my Heddon Expert bamboo fly rod which was once owned by the late Russell Chenail of North Adams. I purchased it from his niece last year. Out of curiosity, I researched the rod and found out that it was built between 1948 and 1952 and sold by Sears Roebuck. The reel was a Pfluger Medalist Model 1494 ½ which was purchased from Rod Moon’s Sporting Store in the mid 1970’s.

I also brought along my old willow creel that was once owned by my late uncle Alphonse Chague. Lord knows how old that creel it, but I suspect that it is around 80 years old.
Paul brought his Phillipson PaceMaker bamboo rod which was built sometime between 1946 and 1951. Bill Phillipson had been a protégé of Goodwin Granger and then supervisor of the rod shop for the Goodwin Granger Co. up until the time it closed down shortly before World War II. In 1945 he tried to purchase the Granger operation but when that failed, he started his own company, the Phillipson Rod and Tackle Co.
Paul also brought along his creel which was probably as old if not older than mine.
We had a ball fishing with these old flyrods. We are used to fishing with today’s modern graphite flyrods which weigh hardly anything. These rods weigh probably three times the weight of the modern rods. Their actions are quite different, too, they are whippier, and it took a while to adjust to the slower action of these rods. But we did, and we put them through the test of three days of fishing.
What a thrill fishing, catching and releasing trout on a flyrod that was made over 70 years ago. What stories they could tell. In my case, I was fishing with the Ausable Wulff, a bushy dry fly that was created by the famous Wilmington, NY fly tyer Francis Betters some 55 years ago which only added to the enjoyment. Paul was fishing sub surface mainly with bead head nymphs.
We encountered several old timers on the river, one wading and expertly casting away at 87 years old. His wife, perhaps not much younger, was out in the stream fly fishing with him, looking chic in her chest waders. When they and other older anglers spotted our cane rods, they commented on how they used to fish with them in olden times. The sight of the rods appeared to have brought back fond memories for them.
Unless you are used to them, bamboo rods can pose an endurance challenge. As noted above, they are heavier. Our modern-day graphite rods weigh around 1 ½ oz; whereas these rods weigh about 5 oz. I know it doesn’t sound like much weigh, but when you sling these things around for nearly 10 hours a day you feel it. At the end of the third day, my shoulder ached and I thought my casting arm would fall off into the river and drift away.
In spite of the fact that the river was running high due to recent storms Paul and I had a wonderful, memorable trip, filled with nostalgia. We were fishing in a gorgeous area, the foot of Whiteface Mountain. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Thank you to Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops
Recently, MassWildlife staff visited Cabela’s in Berlin, MA and Bass Pro Shops in Foxborough, MA to accept donations of over 100 fishing rods and reels. This fishing equipment will be used by MassWildlife’s Angler Education Program to teach families how to fish across Massachusetts. To find upcoming learn-to-fish classes and clinics near you, check MassWildlife’s Angler Education Calendar.
This generous donation is part of a nationwide effort by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s to get families outside this summer. Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris is challenging families to put down their digital devices and get outside to discover the joys of fishing. To kick off Gone Fishing, the nationwide movement that gets kids and families connected to nature each summer, they are donating more than 55,000 rods and reels nationwide to nonprofit organizations that help kids from all backgrounds connect to the great outdoors.
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s hosted family-friendly Gone Fishing events over the last two weekends. Kids of all ages were invited to catch their first fish with free catch-and-release ponds, take home a “First Fish” certificate and beginner’s guides, and participate in free seminars, free crafts and free photo downloads. The effort is part of the company’s mission to inspire future generations to enjoy, love and conserve the great outdoors. Since the program’s inception, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s have donated 400,000 items to youth-focused nonprofit organizations across North America.

Albert Adams catches a big trout

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Frequently this column includes pictures of young kids holding large fish that they caught. There will probably be some more in next week’s column, too, what with the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen Youth Outreach Fishing Derby and the Bateman Jimmy Fund Fishing Derby both of which took place yesterday. Who can resist seeing them with their big smiles. But you know, adults sometimes catch big fish, too.
Albert Adams of Pittsfield landed a beautiful brown trout out of Onota Lake on May 16. It weighed 7 lbs 8 oz on the DFW certified scales. It measured 26 inches and had a girth of 15 ½ inches.
Albert was alone trolling a silver and blue Thomas Buoyant spoon from his boat in about 10 feet of water. The weather was magnificent. When the fish hit his lure, he knew it was a big fish and for a while thought it might be a smallmouth bass or a northern pike. It was when he brought the fish to the boat that he saw that it was a big brown trout. It was at that time that the fish realized what was going on and the battle really began. Albert fought it for a long time and thankfully his equipment held up and he was able to net it. The trout swallowed the lure deep and could not be expected to survive so he kept it.
He weighed it at the Onota Boat Livery, but their scales were not certified. Because the fish might be a State gold pin winner, they suggested that he weigh it at the DFW Headquarters in Dalton. It turned out that the brown trout is the second largest one caught in the state this year so Albert will have to settle for a bronze pin. He was told that the fish was stocked from the Palmer Hatchery.
Albert is having the fish mounted by Greg Gillette’s Taxidermy in Lanesborough.
Trout Stockings
There was only one river scheduled with trout last week. It was the Deerfield River in Buckland, Charlemont and Florida. The rest of the trout stockings were scheduled to take place in the following ponds and lakes: Lake Buel, Laurel Lake, Littleville Reservoir, Onota Lake, Otis Reservoir, Pontoosuc Lake and Windsor Pond.

According to Deb Lipa, Clerk from the DFW Western District Office, the official spring trout stocking season is over. On behalf of all of the local anglers, we thank Deb for providing the up-to-date stocking information for this column. I’m sure It resulted in extra work on her part. And thanks to Leanda Fontaine Gagnon for getting those beautiful trout into our waters. There were a lot of positive comments from anglers as to the size and condition of them.

Well done Mass DFW!

Anglers learn to fly fish through OLLI course

Eight enthusiastic anglers tried out their newly acquired fly fishing skills at the Wild Acres Pond in Pittsfield on May 21.

Marc Hoechstetter teaching Roxanne how to fly cast

They included: Roxanne Suprina, Ed Neumuth, Gail Tardif Frazier, Colleen Budness, Dan Burkhard, Joe Horton, Paul Gniadek and Kevin Boisjolie. They were part of the 14 men and women who had taken a 6 -week course entitled Introduction to Fly Fishing. It was taught by Taconic Chapter of Trout Unlimited board members through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College (OLLI).
Teachers included Taconic TU President Henry Sweren and Board Members William Travis, John Burns, Fran Marzotto, Marc Hoechstetter and Richard ‘Dick’ Bordeau., some of the best flyfishers in the Berkshires.
The course included a video about the joys of fly-fishing. Other segments included an introduction to the gear and equipment, macro-invertebrates, fly casting, knots, fly selection, an overview of watersheds, the various fish species that inhabit them and two segments of fly fishing on water. The flies were tied by the instructors, LL Bean donated 3 rods, reels and lines and Orvis donated a rod, leaders and tippets.
It was a sunny but very windy day there at Wild Acres Pond that day. I expected to see line tangled around people’s heads and torsos, including mine. But to the contrary, the pond is somewhat sheltered from the wind and the anglers did surprisingly well in controlling their fly lines. They all appeared to be having a grand time. One angler told me that he had just retired and was interested in trying fly fishing and meeting other fly fishermen. Another person had fly fished in the past and discontinued it but was planning on taking it up again. A few anglers had never tried it before.
I didn’t see any fish caught but not due to lack of the student efforts or trainer skills. The fish just appeared to be sulking on the bottom of the pond. Perhaps they didn’t feel like eating during that wind. Oh well, the new fly fishers had another fly fishing trip scheduled on a river in a week or so. Maybe that is when they’ll get a little respect from those finicky fish.
Perhaps Gayle Tardif Frazier summed up the sentiments of the students best, “my thanks and gratitude for all of the patience, kindness and humor you have all shared to make this class an enjoyable experience! I look forward to seeing folks out fishing!”
There are new Striped Bass regulations
Lots of folks from the Berkshires travel east to Cape Cod annually to fish for stripers. It is a very popular sport, even for us landlubbers. Please be advised that the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has recently implemented two new striped bass conservation regulations aimed at reducing release mortality
Effective immediately, it is unlawful for any fisherman to gaff or attempt to gaff striped bass measuring less than 28 inches total length, and for a commercial fisherman fishing on an open commercial striped bass fishing day to gaff striped bass measuring less than 34 inches total length.
The prohibition on gaffing undersized striped bass (as opposed to all striped bass) takes into consideration safety concerns associated with expediently removing large striped bass from the water.
Effective next year (2020), recreational anglers not fishing aboard for-hire vessels will be required to use inline circle hooks when fishing for striped bass with whole or cut natural baits. This will include fishing with whole or cut natural baits while in possession of striped bass as well.
This circle hook mandate will not apply to natural baits attached to an artificial lure to be trolled, jigged, or casted and retrieved (e.g., tube and worm). Nor will the mandate apply to any natural bait affixed to a treble hook and fished using the snag and drop technique.
A hook is considered to be an in-line circle hook only if it is manufactured so the barb of the hook is in-line with the shank and bend of the hook and is turned perpendicularly back to the shank to form a circular or oval shape (see image).
In-line circle hooks are proven to substantially reduce striped bass release mortality compared to other hooks (e.g., j-hooks or offset circle hooks) by being far more likely to hook the fish in the lip or the mouth and not the gut or the gills. The circle hook mandate is targeted at private recreational anglers because this segment of the fishery is primarily hook-and-release and accounts for the vast majority of recreational striped bass catch in Massachusetts.
Why the change? Well, the most recent striped bass stock assessment found the species was being overfished. In addition, it demonstrated that release mortality from the recreational fishery is the single largest source of fishing mortality (48%). Accordingly, these actions have been taken to reduce release mortality in our fisheries. It is expected that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will also take action this year to implement coastwide conservation measures for 2020 aimed at reducing overall fishing mortality.
For more information regarding the management of striped bass in Massachusetts, visit the website (www.mass.gov/marinefisheries) or call DMF at 617-626-1520.

Fishing Derby
The Berkshire Hatchery Foundation in Hartsville-New Marlborough is having its next free children’s fishing derby on Saturday, June 8, from 9:00 to 10:30 am at its lower pond. Children aged 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.