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Author Topic: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch  (Read 1622 times)

bogtrotter

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Lowaccord came up from CT today, so I squired him around my neck of the woods, showing him the North and Main Branches of the Hoosic.

We met a little after 6 AM in Cheshire, and began fishing a little before 7 AM.

We started on the North Hoosic in North Adams, and over the course of the next 4.5 hours or so fished from the Natural Marble Bridge State Park all the way down to below the Eclipse Mill dam.

It was sunny, but relatively cool when we started (57 degrees around 6 AM), although the temps gradually rose as the day went on.

The stream levels had clearly risen since the last time I'd been out, no doubt due to all the rain we've had the past couple days.

Long story short, we did very well on the North Branch, with me catching about a dozen trout (all rainbows - - biggest 13"), while Lowaccord landed about twice that number (biggest 16" by Old Glory Rock), with a couple small browns thrown in.

Then we picked up stakes and headed to the Main Branch - - where we tried four spots: the Central Radio basin, the Treet Cleaners basin, the Ashston Avenue bridge and behind the Spruces park. 

There,the results weren't quite so encouraging - - no doubt due in large part to the warmer temperatures of both the air (which was 85 degrees by this time) and the water (which tends to be warmer after passing through the flood control chutes).

Lowaccord still managed to pull in a small brown or two at three of the four spots we tried (all but at the Treet Cleaners basin), but I got skunked.

Tuckered out by the heat and seven hours of fishing, we called it a day around 2 PM.


ActiveTrapChecker

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #1 on: Aug 01, 2020, 04:32 PM »
Sounds like a beautiful morning in the outdoors. Thanks for sharing!

manitron

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #2 on: Aug 01, 2020, 06:24 PM »
Nice work men.

westernmas

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #3 on: Aug 02, 2020, 05:49 AM »
Great job guys
AKA-PMaloney86 on the shanty
AKA-westernm@$$hole prior to a mod change
Instagram @Patsquatch413

zwiggles

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #4 on: Aug 02, 2020, 10:47 AM »
Nice report!

lowaccord66

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #5 on: Aug 02, 2020, 12:15 PM »
Had a great time.  I like those technical stretches of water.  The rainbows were particularly healthy.




icefisher47

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #6 on: Aug 02, 2020, 09:49 PM »
Great report, Thank you for sharing.
Take a kid fishing

Steve H.

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #7 on: Aug 03, 2020, 09:33 AM »
Nice report!  Great pic of that pretty bow.  So if I understand correctly, the fly outfished the crawler segment? 
It is understood that fishing licenses, gas, bait, etc., all cost money, but try not to let a limit of trout be your only gauge for success. – Ben Nugent, (NH F&G) Regional Fisheries Biologist

westernmas

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #8 on: Aug 03, 2020, 10:06 AM »
Nice report!  Great pic of that pretty bow.  So if I understand correctly, the fly outfished the crawler segment?

And the presentation makes a big difference.  Doubt most people would get those numbers on a WF floating line unless they are really good w an indicator and/or masters of mending.  I got skunked twice fly fishing this weekend  :'(  Saturday on the Swift was pure madness with the amount of kayaks, rafts, boats, etc on the water.  However, just seeing the fish there is pretty awesome.  The bows were mostly in the 2-4lb range, brookies up to 16 inches (prob bigger in there) and I saw one brown at about 6lbs.
AKA-PMaloney86 on the shanty
AKA-westernm@$$hole prior to a mod change
Instagram @Patsquatch413

bogtrotter

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #9 on: Aug 03, 2020, 02:26 PM »
Nice report!  Great pic of that pretty bow.  So if I understand correctly, the fly outfished the crawler segment?

Yes, I'm afraid so.

Steve H.

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #10 on: Aug 03, 2020, 02:42 PM »
Saturday on the Swift was pure madness with the amount of kayaks, rafts, boats, etc on the water.  However, just seeing the fish there is pretty awesome.  The bows were mostly in the 2-4lb range, brookies up to 16 inches (prob bigger in there) and I saw one brown at about 6lbs.

Yeah, the Swift is an interesting place.  I love it and I hate it at the same time, it seems.
It is understood that fishing licenses, gas, bait, etc., all cost money, but try not to let a limit of trout be your only gauge for success. – Ben Nugent, (NH F&G) Regional Fisheries Biologist

lowaccord66

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #11 on: Aug 03, 2020, 08:32 PM »
And the presentation makes a big difference.  Doubt most people would get those numbers on a WF floating line unless they are really good w an indicator and/or masters of mending.  I got skunked twice fly fishing this weekend  :'(  Saturday on the Swift was pure madness with the amount of kayaks, rafts, boats, etc on the water.  However, just seeing the fish there is pretty awesome.  The bows were mostly in the 2-4lb range, brookies up to 16 inches (prob bigger in there) and I saw one brown at about 6lbs.

For what its worth Pat,  that trip I fished FIPS compliant fly line with a leader comprised of 40" of 20lb maxima chameleon then 25" or so of sighter, tippet ring and then the appropriate amount of tippet.  So it wasn't my normal mono rig.  I'd also argue (and happy to demonstrate) how fishing a wf fly line can be equally productive.  Euro nymphing is not specifically tied to mono rigs or competition fly lines. I did it with a WF 5w line the first time I fished with Jim and enjoyed similar results.  In a smaller stream like where we were you shouldn't need more than maybe a ft of fly line off the tip of the rod if your leader is appropriately sized.

I think the issue people have, at least the ones I've seen, enjoy casting a wf line too much...even nymphing.  I get that, its fun to through long casts...but most times it is unnecessary and detrimental to a good dead drift.  Once I waded more and cast less, I caught a ton more.


westernmas

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #12 on: Aug 04, 2020, 08:34 AM »
Jon, I'm always happy to share a run with you.  However, I think you and many others have demonstrate how well a euro setup works, especially for heavily pressured fish.  Its exactly why you tend to go to that setup more than your others.  Its a proven fish catcher.  I have no problem with it.  Its just not my style.  Its essentially tenkara fishing but with a much more expensive setup. There were 3 guys nymphing the Farmy Sunday morning but nothing seemed to be working.  I think I like the Farmy more in the afternoon/evening.  Seems like there's more bug activity.
AKA-PMaloney86 on the shanty
AKA-westernm@$$hole prior to a mod change
Instagram @Patsquatch413

lowaccord66

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Re: Banner Day on the North Branch - - M'eh on the Main Branch
« Reply #13 on: Aug 04, 2020, 08:41 AM »
I think we're on the same page Pat.  What I'm saying is you can accomplish the same with 5w line and a 9ft rod.  (As I did)

 



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