Day on the Deerfield River

Posted on November 7, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Day on the Deerfield River

Having just done a post on fishing Vermont’s White River, I thought I would do a post on my Deerfield River angling adventure. Born in the lush Green Mountains of Vermont, the Deerfield River quickly descends into northwest Massachusetts on its 75-mile-long quest to meet the Connecticut River at Turners Falls. The portion I fished lies below Fife Brook Dam near the tiny town of Florida, Massachusetts, home to about 750 people. Yes, that’s right, Florida, Massachusetts—think pinecones, not pineapples.

From here the Deerfield snakes southward by the highest summits of the Hoosac Mountain Range, hugging the Mohawk Trail as it journeys through scenic countryside toward Shelburne, Massachusetts, and beyond. Fife Brook Dam, a bottom release dam, delivers cold water supporting fine fishing year-round. Immediately downstream from it are two “catch and release” sections with a preponderance of wild brown trout, some reaching twenty-five inches in length. 

During our float on the Deerfield, my guide Chris Jackson had me working a team of  nymphs around the current seams. As the river depth and speed changed, he constantly made adjustments to my leader. His preferred searching rig consisted of a nine-foot tapered leader. Below a strike indicator rode a blue winged olive nymph as a dropper, matching a frequent seasonal hatch, while on the leader point was a girdle bug, acting both as an anchor fly and an attractor. Capable of imitating a stonefly, a hellgrammite, or a large terrestrial, the venerable girdle bug fly has proven its worth time and time again over the years. And it is also versatile, easily made to match a variety of situations.

Reach veteran guide Chris at chrisjacksonflyfishing.com 

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Striper Spawning Success is a Disaster

Posted on October 18, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Striper Spawning Success is still a Disaster.

The 2025 numbers are in for both the Chesapeake Bay and the Hudson River. More bad news. The last decent year class in the Bay was back 7 years ago in 2018. Crazy. This year as a crack better than last coming in at a YOY of 4, still far below the long term average of 11.

This flies in the face of the fact that the spawning stock biomass is actually healthy! What the hell is going on here?  Meanwhile the Hudson River reported a good run of spawning striper. Yet the resulting juvenile bass did not mature properly. In fact, the overall spawning success in both locations has been called “abysmal”.

We are in a very dangerous situation, similar to the one we saw back in the end of the 1970s. Worse yet, no one has been able to firmly put their finger on the cause of the present spawning failure. Possible problems put forward include the lack of menhaden and the ever increasing rise in water temperature. The lack of menhaden is something the ASFMC could tackle although, they have often failed to bring the commercial fishery under control. Pray they find the balls to do it! On the other hand, if rising water temperatures are the problem, there is zero easy answer.

If you love striped bass, like I do, you need to be deeply concerned.

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Catching Big Striped Bass with a Fly

Posted on October 12, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Catching Big Striped Bass with a Fly

On this coming Wednesday, October 15th, I’ll do a lecture on how to find and catch big striped bass on the beach with a fly. It will be held at the Hartford Sportsman’s Club luncheon at the Five Corners Bistro in Farmington Connecticut.

During this talk, I offer a strategy based on my many years on the New England coast.  It will cover time of year, moon phases, tides, light levels, wind and forge.

 

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Guide Owen Ward on Vermont’s White River

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Guide Owen Ward on Vermont’s White River

Back in the spring, I took a float trip down Vermont’s White River. My guide was Owen Ward, who at the time was head Orvis guide for The Woodstock Inn. Ward is also a New Hampshire Licensed Guide. Since leaving the Woodstock Inn, he has joined TBC Guide service http://www.tbcguides.fish. You can also find Owen at 781-718- 2231 or on Instagram @freestone_fanatic. If you would like to read the full article I wrote for Estuary Magazine  click here. You can find it was well on my magazine article page.

The trip was postponed several times because of high water. Truth is in recent years flooding has hit Vermont often in the spring, but we finally got in the Owen’s white-water raft and headed down stream, starting in Stockbridge and fishing our way toward Bethel. It was a bright day, under blue skies, perfect for our angling adventure. The scenery was gorgeous.

While we caught small rainbows early, the highlight of the day was catching two big beautiful wild rainbows. Man, they fought like steelhead, jumping several times and making great runs. It proved to be a fantastic float on the White River. I highly recommend Owen Ward to you. Give him as shout.

 

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Striped Bass Public Hearing Old Saybrook 2025

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Striped Bass Public Hearing  Old Saybrook, 2025

Last night the ASFMC held a public hearing in Old Saybrook on proposed regulation changes for 2026. The meeting kicked off at 6PM. Packed house, standing room only.  I’d venture there were about 60 people in attendance.  By the way, the man in the foreground with his hand up is legendary surfcaster Pat Abate. The first hour was a complete run down on the options being offered by the board. If you have been following this subject you know there is a good deal of complexity to these proposals. Many of which are likely unenforceable. The second hour was reserved for Q&A.

In Chesapeake Bay, there has been no meaningful striped bass reproduction success in 6 years. And 3 more years of failures in the Hudson as well. Damn! So the big bass we see right now, are all we have. Without them, there are no bass in the wings. Clearly striped bass are in dire straits, much like they were back in the early 198o’s, when all we have left was one year class…the 1982.  I remember that well. But we put aside our own self-interests and united behind saving striped bass from extinction.

And we did with Amendment 3 to the plan, which had only regulation north to south – a hook-and- release moratorium. Yes, we took the medicine and together became an unstoppable f0rce. Man we were High-Fiving at the docks and up and own the beach. Can’t tell you how proud I was to be part of it.  And best of all, it worked like black magic, sending the Spawning Stock Biomass soaring to over 250 million pounds.  Now we must do again, close ranks, put aside our self-interests, lock arms, and demand a moratorium. Striped bass are worth it! Striped bass deserve it!

Posted in Environment, Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Fly Fishing on a Boat, Fly Fishing On the Beach | Leave a comment