Fly Fishermen Encounters in the Berkshires: Often?

[wintershope]

;DThis should be an interesting story for those of you who fish the hoosic river ,I want your input Mr.Billings on this.What I mean is Have ever saw this be before.It was a couple of years ago when a friend told me that in back of his house that these monster trout were riseing in the late after noon and they were huge. Well how do you know they are so big if you havent caught one? I said. Well I can see there snouts comeing out of the water and there backs rolling over. Well I thought to my self that this guy dosnt know what the hell hes talking about.That many big trout in one spot and this early in the year..I said casually,call me when it happens agin and come over and check it out,I mean ,what the hell did I have to lose and he coulnt be lieing ,because he dont know enough about fly fishing to be a good llair,yet.Well , a couple of days went by and my wife had just got home from a bowling tour and the phne rang.. Trout are riseing all over,in an out of breath voice,,I cant catch one.Ive tried all the flies in my box..Well I jumped in the car and drove to the friends house as fast as I could.He grabbed me by the arm in excitment and we got to the river in no time..Now,what am going to tell you is no fake nor made up and if I had to prove it I could.There be fore my eyes,were maybe 13 or 14 of the biggist trout I have ever saw riseing to a late after noom midge hatch. This peteculier part of the river was all silt and thats the perfect set up for midges.

[wintershope]

;DWell any way to get back to the story.In due to all my hurry to get to hte river I forgot my dry flies at home,So I said to my buddy,lets see what flies you tried.He showed me some real big wuffs and some other drys that were all to big.So I took one of his big Adams and clipped all the hackles off and the tail.I greased her up good and let her fly.Well,To make a long story short,when I left the river that day I made some Hoosic river dry fly history and my arm was real real sore.ya sore from catching monstor browns.Ive been back to that same place in the river in the spring,but never have I seen that same thing happen agin..Paul Gigliotti

[Uplander]

Oh, I believe it wintershope. I don’t fish the Hoosic, but a buddy of mne lives along it and catches monster Browns right out his back door.

But, he says the torrential spring rains, and near flood-stage water levels it produced, completely altered the river bottom and flow structure where he used to fish. Only time will tell how the river behaves in the near future….

[JoeOverlock]

Plus what's left of the spawners in the Treet Cleaners basin are being destroyed by the bait fishermen.

[Uplander]

joeoverlock said:

Plus what's left of the spawners in the Treet Cleaners basin are being destroyed by the bait fishermen.

Guys have been bait fishing that pool since Day 1.

I don’t think the trout population in one pool will make or break the entire river. There should be populations of “spawners” throughout the length of the river, each individual population restricted, but thriving, within the sections bounded by dams….

[JoeOverlock]

I think the point I was tying to make was that their poor fishing practices are making it harder for the river to rebound.

[wintershope]

; I want to let all you fly tiers out there that not this monday ,,but the following monday we will be tieing flies at the liebrary in Adams from 630 to 830. use the side door...Paul Gigliotti WINTERSHOPE

[JoeOverlock]

Paul,

You should create a new post in the Fly Tying section to announce it. That way everyone will be able to see it.

[timbill]

Many times I have seen that happen! They start on the emerges and even just take the eggs the flyes are laying sometimes no kidding! I have an old fiyfisherman mag. That tells all about trout taking only eggs.
I will be fishing and all of a sudden their are so many big fish rising I wonder ware they all came from! Last year I saw it once on the Hendrickson hatch just before dark.I went over the next nite and the flyes were all over but not a fish was rising at all. I go over and look all the time just to see if the trout are razing if they are I run across the street thought on my boots and I am in the river in just a few minuets it is so nice to have such good fishing rite across the street!
One time when I was a kid on the Battenkill they were
rising for something and their were big browns jumping rite out of the water 2 to 3 feet in the air! I could not figure out what they were rising for but I have never seen them do that again We used to have a permanent site on camping on the Battenkill in Arlington Thats weir I got my Flyfishing Education I fished every day all summer after I got out of school I stayed till I had to go back in the fall wen they were building the new Drury high I even got to stay an extra two months that was cool! Them fish were smart back then! Still are I guise!
Hope I see it happen this year! all the time! I can at least dream of it!
Tim

From out of the depths they came from ware I do not Know!

[Mark Patenaude]

timbill:

It is possible that some of these fish were jumping for flies above the surface of the water, but more accurately they were probably chasing emergers that were making their way to the surface and the fish chased them from below, causing them to leave the water.

I have seen this many times during prolific hatches, at the start of the hatch and before there were a large number of flies on the water.

Just my $.02.

[Joshua Field]

I really do wonder what impact the flood control has on the dispersement of fish in the river... it seems very segmented in terms of fish population due to all of the flood control measures.

I suspect that it may be the case that a portion of the trout population gets washed downstream in the spring and can't migrate back up (which seems to lead to denser populations at the basins just below the roll dams).

I don't see nearly the activity on the north branch of the hoosic that I did as a kid... I used to make a killing in the pool just beyond the the spring on rt 8 (before the country club).

[Mark Patenaude]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the trout being "washed" downstream and not being able to make it back up. They are incredible creatures capable of incredible feats.

I would be more concerned about redds being destroyed (provided the time of year is correct) and the eggs being damaged as they are washed downstream. Even if eggs are washed downstream, they can survive if the environment remains constant.

However, given the river structure, with the numerous roll dams along the Hoosic, there is a good possibility that the trout that are/were washed downstream were pushed downstream from at least one of the dams and now reside there. It would be interesting to know if the catch rates decline in the upper stretches of the river and they increase in the lower stretches, because of this.

[wintershope]

First off,brown trout will not stay in the same part of the river all year. they will go to different spots in the river as the seasons change,And the answer about them getting washed down stream is correct.Ive caught as many as 50 trout in front of my house after a big flood. and theres no way that they are going back to where they came from,unless they can jump 30 foot water falls.Ive caught hundreds of salmon and steelhead in my life on a fly rod and even they cant jump the falls in back of the ole stone mill,in adams.But I have seen them going up the flood chute in norh adams when I worked in North Adams..Think of it this way,,in the old days we had a big fish kill twice a year and some how the trout came back.Nature is the greatest provider..Paul Gigliotti

[Uplander]

wintershope said:

Think of it this way,,in the old days we had a big fish kill twice a year and some how the trout came back.Nature is the greatest provider..Paul Gigliotti

Yes, but now we have to contend with those dastardly bait fishermen. Oh, the horror! The horror….

Sorry Joe, I couldn’t resist.

[timbill]

It is possible that some of these fish were jumping for flies above the surface of the water, but more accurately they were probably chasing emergers that were making their way to the surface and the fish chased them from below, causing them to leave the water.
___________________________________________

Yea thats what I figured but there were no flys hatching
at the time at least that I could see. It was a long time agao mabe 33 years and I had good eyes then. We could see none. I am not shure what they were doing!
Tim
Thats what I thought I sead!

[troutjunkie]

New to this board or any board. I have been fishing with wintershope for many years. He is a very knowledgable person when it comes to the hoosic river. I have seen a decline in the population of brown trout in the south branch of the hoosic river also the size of the trout is very small can anyone explain what is happening to the larger fish?

[JoeOverlock]

Welcome to the board, Hairsear. I've fished with Paul before and can attest to his skill. As for the lack of large Browns in the Hoosic, I blame the worm dunkers and Paul.

[wintershope]

C.ome on Joe ,ive never kept any wild browns from the hoosac,hairsear can atest to this...thanks alot

[wintershope]

hey Joe we will hook up this spring and I will fly fish with you..Paul

[timbill]

Hay Paul maybe if you hook up with Joe this spring. He could guide you on the Hoosie it will only cost you 300 dollars for a full day!
Tim

[timbill]

Its the live bate fishermen that kill the fish Live bate! Minnows not worm dunker's. I know several worm dunker's that are vary good at not hurting the fish!
Joe if you try to ask the mayer to post some spots He will post it ALL!
He could care less about Flyfishermen! Trout unlimited asked to open the reservoir once to flyfishing only and only electric boats he sead its drinking water not Flyfishing water and he could care less about fishing!
I woudent do it if I were you then we all lose! A friend of mine has Sean people kill vary large browns just to mount them on the wall they got them with minnows in
the spring.I have Sean them fishing in your! hole!
It should be no live bate "Minnow" fishing don't ruin it for all other fishermen they pay to fish to!
Tim Flyfishing Forever! No Minnows

[wintershope]

3oo dollors for a day of fishing and catching shopping carts and basket balls count me in ,,the checks in the mail,,,,Paul Gigliotti

[wintershope]

Ya know the more you guys fight for catch and release,the more people are going to come here to fish your great river..Its a brown trout river and when it gives up its bounty,its good and when it dont ,,its really bad..All brown trout rivers are like that..Even the battenkill,which I also have fished for many many years..And if it is going to be catch and release,which it already is ,because of the pcb,s,,,is it going to be stocked like the hooosey.I dont have a problem with it.,if its dont like the hoosey in conn and Massachusetts.But for this river to become a mecca for fly fisherman,with the fish that are in it now,well then were all in big ass trouble..

[timbill]

Hay Wintershope
Your right not meny people keep the fish anayway!
I havent fished the battenkill in some time! how is it now?
When I was a kid I spent many happy days all summer long fishing around camping on the battenkill and it was Great!
The roring branch was just as good back in the sixties
and sevendies and early eighties it was a blast I maid many good friends.That we went fishing all over the country with.
We had a purminent site site 19 the best one in the campground! Boy do i miss thouse days! Got lots of browns and brookies even cought a rainbow once to my suprise! I think it got out of Orvest ponds or something. Has anayone fished the panobschot in mane we used to fish the big eddy twice a year landlocks in the river brookise near the shore big brookies!
Havent been thear in a long time eather I bet its not as good now! We or at least I do not want the Hoosey
to be a mecca for anyone!!
People don't know when to keep a good thing to them selfs To many people in the kittchen spoil the soup!
I saw it on the Battenkill Tubers! you could not fish in pease in the summer it became a floting river not the Great river it used to be. like i sead I havent fished it in a long time. Plese People don't ruin this Great river charish it protect it and Keep it to Our selfs its the only river I have left The lilttel yellowstone of the east I call it! It is Great lets keep it that way!!!
Tim
Flyfishing The littel Yellowstone of the east! to bad thear are no Cutthrought
The spell checker will not work Dial up Realy sucks forgive my rotten spelling !!!

[timbill]

Sorry hit the button twice
Now it works

[wintershope]

hey Tim,hats off to you,yes the battin kill is only a fraction of what it was when I fished too,but there are still big trout and even more trout on the new york side..but how ever ,dont write it too soon,there is big working going on in the battinkill,remember when all the big browns used to spawn in the green river up there,and there are still brookies in the rouring branch,all the up to kellys stand.If I go there this summer i will call you.

[timbill]

Hay Wintershope I hope they do good work on the "Battenkill" ! I can spell that! I plan to go camping up kellystand this summer you can camp up thear free in the green mountan forest anytime you want spent lots of time up thear! We used to camp and party thear ween I was a kid I had lots of towney frends as they call them! townes wear not wellcome in the campground! We had to take our Keg up thear ween the state boys told us to get out from down by the chipinhook store! Them were the days now they would arest people for that! the brantch is a beautifull spot! Tim Thanks
The spell checker wont work for me again this net conection SUCKS!

[jf5]

[quote author=Tim board=general thread=1140192116 Do not stock the river! We want wild browns not Slugish Stocked fish they will ruin the jean pool !


I agree ;D