Deerfield Report.....

[sped]

Hit the Deerfield on Sat for the first time ever. Fished both the upper and lower C & R sections as well as the area where the North River empties into the Deerfield. Using both spin and fly I didn't catch anything. Nice weather, nice to cast in some soft water instead of drilling holes, and I tested out the new wader and boot combo that I got for XMas......that's all folks......Sped

[Strat]

How high was the water? I have been keeping an eye on it and looks like it has been awfully high for the last month....

[StrBender]

Thats nut's! I just checked and it's between 1500 & 2000 CFS! (#$119)

[Bob Parsons]

Thats nut's! I just checked and it's between 1500 & 2000 CFS! (#$119)
Time to break out the water water gear.

[sped]

It was high....but parts were nice especially the part where the North empties in.......nice green clean water with plenty of room for a nice back cast.........I guess you just fish when you can......Sped

[Labrax]

If I recall correctly - I think the upper section fishes best at around 350-400cfs. Anywhere near 1000cfs to me is too much water and dangerous wading. At 2000cfs - ohh my...

Nice to get outside though and enjoy a decent mid-winter day.

[teflon_jones]

Sped, what kind of flies were you using? If you ever want any info on the Deerfield let me know and maybe we can trade. ;) I've been fishing the Deerfield for almost 10 years, mostly upriver from the state forest.

Thats nut's! I just checked and it's between 1500 & 2000 CFS! (#$119)
Where did you check? Most (i.e. all) of the info you'll find on the web is wrong! :)

[Labrax]

TJ,

This is the streamflow data that I use - USGS - Charlemont (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/current?huc_cd=01080203&index_pmcode_00065=3&index_pmcode_00060=4&index_pmcode_00062=5&index_pmcode_72020=6&sort_key=site_no&group_key=county_cd&sitefile_output_format=html_table). From my past experience the water info was always a pretty good indicator of what you would find when you got there.

[sped]

Mostly Olive buggers........also threw a few pink mepps spinners on the spinning rod.........It was my first time fishing there ever.....so I'm clueless on the Deerfield......don't know the names of the pools or even where they are......drove all the way up to Fife Brook Dam and fished the decent looking (non raging) spots all the way down to Rt 2........It was more of a scouting mission and a wader and boot test than a fishing expidition.....thanks for your generous offer.....Sped

[Strat]

Umm...the USGS Streamflow graph is taken from a gage. So I would say it's pretty accurate.

Next time you might want to call the flowphone before you go and take your chances. Generally before 7 am and after 4pm are the times to catch low water but this time of year all bets are off. Under 250 CFS is ideal...

[bdowning]

It's been a bunch of years since I've fished the upper Deerfield (C & R) section but it's amazing how strongly the bite is affected by water levels. I remember fishing when the water was moderately high, and you'd swear there were no fish in the river. Then they'd reduce the flow and once the water got below a certain level it was like throwing a switch. Trout surface feeding everywhere in places you would have thought were barren.

Flow and levels are critical to fishing success, at least in that part of the river.

-bd