Sunday, March 19, 2017

First Solo Trip out to the Swift

        I fished the Swift for the first time on my own Friday morning. I had previously fished it over Thanksgiving Break with Ken Elmer, a guide who often fishes the EB, Millers, and Swift, in order to learn it better. Back when we fished it, the brookies were staged up in skinny water on spawning beds. This time, the fish were more spread out. The brookies were done spawning and most of them  had made their way downstream to the deeper water below Cady Lane. Seeing that it was winter and no fish were surfacing, I turned to my most reliable winter fishing technique: nymphing. I fished a #14 cream scud trailed with a #20 glass midge. I fished from the pipe to the gauge pool and Bondsville in the time that I had and only landed one bow (not pictured) at the pipe on the scud. Most of the rest of the time, I was trying to figure out how not to get the nymphs caught in the weeds while staying close to the bottom. To make matters worse, I had to deal with various equipment failures and human error including losing my case of tungsten putty between the pipe and the gauge pool, torn waders (which cut my day short), and frozen reel and guide earlier on. Overall, I struggled hard on a  tough river and it affected my confidence. Hopefully before my next trip out there, I can adjust my set up and learn more about that river. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks for the read.

If you want to book a trip with Ken, you can check him out here: http://millersriverflyfishingforum.blogspot. He knows a great deal about the Swift and can give you the right flies to succeed on this river. I found out my first time that the flies you use here greatly influence your success and once you properly present them, you will be shocked how well they work. 

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