I had a lot to do today, but fortunately was able to cram it all in.
On the way down, my non-angling job was to drop off flowers at the family cemetery plots. Mission accomplished.
I arrived at Granby Road (above the Davitt Bridge) about 9 AM and fished from the bridge up to the dam for the next three hours.
It was mostly sunny and warm (probably got up to 90 degrees by the time I left) and the stream levels were quite low for this time of year.
In the horticultural department, I noticed that the lilacs were blooming (when I left home in the morning) but the mulberries were not yet bearing (on the trees where I enter the river).
There were a lot of fishermen, but, as far as I could tell, none of us had any luck in the shad department.
Everyone I spoke to said that the run has petered out unusually early this year, probably due to the unseasonably low water levels.
I tried a variety of methods from shad darts, to a Mepps spoon (which, ironically, is what I caught my only shad ever on last year) to night crawlers (my go-to solution for most fishing situations).
Although I didn't hook into any shad, I did land a couple small mouth bass (one 14" and one 16") below the stepped water falls in between the bridge and the dam before breaking for lunch.
For the record, I caught both small mouths on the Mepps lure.
My luncheon menu consisted of a ham sandwich on rye bread (with water cress, dandelion greens, tomato, banana peppers and sri racha sauce), a container of pumpkin spice ramen noodles (which, I have to confess, I was extremely skeptical of, but tasted surprisingly good), a small bottle of homemade amber wine (a blend of dandelion, peach, pomegranate and strawberry) and an apple. I ate it while reading my newspaper.
Then I tried another spot further downstream (below the railroad trestle) for another hour or so, this time without any success.
F/W/I/W - - I did see a lot of geese plus a couple of great blue herons (which I generally regard as a good harbinger).
I also saw a surprisingly large (5 man) party boat - - which had evidently worked its way up from the Connecticut River - - that I never would have expected to see that far downstream on the Chicopee. But they didn't seem to be doing any better than I was.
Next up, a side trip to Arnold's Meats to purchase some exotic meats not readily available closer to home: rabbit, goat, alligator and catfish.
Then it was homeward bound.
On the way, I stopped in Cummington to fish the East Westfield by the stone bridge (where "the other" Swift River enters it), and was lucky (given the unusually low water levels) to reel in a 7" brook trout.
After making it home and dropping off the provisions that I had bought, I headed back out to fish the South Hoosic for about 45 minutes, from the Old Stone Mill to the Adams Laundry and Drycleaning Company ("ALADCO").
By this point, it was mostly cloudy and a bit cooler (about 80 degrees).
I didn't have any action until I reached ALADCO, at which point a 16" rainbow swallowed my hook and gave me a helluva battle before I was able to land him, cut the line and release him unharmed.
Then it was back home again, to unpack and eat a light supper.
