anyone tried the Swift recently???

[FredB]

Just curious if anyone has tried the Swift recently (south of Quabbin). I've seen a few reports around suggesting that it hasn't been very good of late (link below), and I'm debating if it's worthwhile to make the 3 hour round trip to find out for myself.

Any info would be appreciated.


Thanks!

http://www.thelowerforty.com/river_r...ver_report.htm

[NatickDave]

I haven't been to the Swift in a while, though I was considering a trip out there soon. But I have to ask, Fred, with all due respect...if you are 3 hours from the Swift, isn't there probabaly a better (or at least more enjoyable to fish) trout stream someplace closer? I am trying to think out the possibilities.....

Dave

[FredB]

I'm in Somerville (used to live in Natick myself), so it's ~ 3 hours round trip. Thw Swift is just about the only place I know of with suitable water temps for trout this time of year, but if you happen to know of anything else worth trying I'm all ears!

And in terms of being able to enjoy fishing the Swift ... suffice to say you'd never see me at the Y-pool!!


Thanks,

[NatickDave]

Ah...round trip. Gotcha.

And your last sentence about the Y pool--well said, my friend, well said.

Today looks like a good day to harrass sunfish with a popping bug, and hope that one of them turns out to be a largemouth.

NatickDave

[FredB]

So where do you fish around Natick? I used to hit Dug pond every once in a while, but never caught anything larger than 14" or so (largemouth). There's some might big carp in there, though!

Ever try Stump Pond? Only time I went there my buddy caught a 6+ pound largemouth ... and that was AFTER he capsized us in my canoe. But that's another story ...

[SPCantwell]

I was on the swift recently after it turn to catch and release.
very, very few fish are around. The state did stock, and did
put some decent sized fish in, but not many of them.

with the recent temps, there has been alot of swimmers in
the rt.9 to Cady lane stretch. try it if you must, but 3 hours
seem like a long way to drive to catch one 16" rainbow.

[NatickDave]

Where do I fish around Natick? The Charles, Dug and Fisk Pond, Ice Pond (in Wellesley) and the like. All are mellow warm-water fishing spots with plenty of action on summer evenings.

If you are feeling like poking around for trout, I really recommend the Wood in RI. Don't know what it is like now, though.

I have also fished the Squannacook, Nissitissit, Millers, Swift, etc., with success, but find that they are usually a letdown for me. Thus I save my true passion, cold-water river fly fishing, for other parts of the world and have fun catching warm-water and salt-water species around here.

Dave

[jackduckhunter]

Used to be that you could spend the whole day at the Swift fishing to risers from Rte. 9 up to and including the feeder stream. Now I can't even find many, if any, fish rising other than the dreaded Y-Pool. Anyone have any ideas as to what's going on?? As far as the suggestion for the Wood in RI. I fished it last week. Caught several at dark on Hexes, but due to the huge influx of canoes on the river, (the state has even made an access/parking area for them), the trout don't rise much during the day at all. Too much traffic.

[SPCantwell]

well, as far as the "Y" pool goes, last fall a family
of otters set up camp there and pretty much cleaned
out what fish were in that stretch. now with the new
managment of the Quabbin area, they are apprehensive
about people below the dam, so the state did not stock
up stream from the rt. 9 bridge all spring. i watched them
twice pull up to the bridge and unload a truck right there
and that was it for the whole stretch. now with the low
water levels in the river, the weeds have become unreal.
slowly that river is becoming choked out with weeds

[FredB]

I have a hard time believing that the otters are the only cause, because I fished the Swift last fall a few times and had some decent days even thought the otters were there. The ones I saw were in the big pool just before the "dam" about a mile down from the rte. 9 bridge.

Given that people have also referred to a family of otters living near the Y-pool, I wonder if perhaps there might be MULTIPLE otter families that have set up shop in the river. Can anyone confirm or refute that theory?

Bottom line, though, seems to be that if you take the impact of the otters and factor in a fair amount of poaching and the increasing weediness of the river, I suppose it starts to make sense that the fishing has declined rather sharply.

I wonder what can be done? Any thoughts?


Thanks,

[SPCantwell]

don't get me wrong, Otters are not the only problem, its
just that they will completely exhaust a food source before
moving. I fished that stream 4 to 5 days a week this spring and poaching was a real problem. personally, i would love
to see that stream go to a year round catch and release.

[FredB]

maybe I'm just being pessimistic about the possible impact of changing the regs, but I tend to assume that people who are poaching now wouldn't be dissuaded from poaching if it was changed to year 'round C&R. Perhaps (and hopefully) I'm wrong!!

any other suggs for places to go for trout within 2 hours of Boston this time of year ... with suitable water temps? I assume the Connecticut, but ... any other ideas?


Thanks,

[BobG]

Man, was it depressing to read this thread.
Personally, I haven't been to the Swift for years. But back while I was in college, and for some time after that (early to mid 70's), I used to fish it all the time.
Had a lot of wonderful days , and many great memories of the place. Very depressing to hear it's gone downhill so rapidly.
I can remember having fish rising all afternoon all over the river in spots. Then at dusk, a masive hatch would emerge and trout would materialize from everywhere.
I always looked forward to returning there sometime.
Sad that may not be the case any longer...