It’s hard to believe it, but I’ve been writing this blog for over a year now.  A special thank you to those of you who have emailed me with kind words about the blog.  I’m so glad to hear that it’s been helpful for others.  I started this blog partly to share a bit of the knowledge I’ve learned over the years, and to keep a journal of my fishing trips.  I’m a completely self- taught fly fisherman, and it hasn’t always been an easy road, but I’d like to hope that my rough edges add some character and a bit of unconventional wisdom to the sport.

On to second part of this blog title; I broke a rod tip. My Orvis Clearwater 3 wt rod recently snapped at the tip on a recent fishing trip. Thankfully, it’s guaranteed for 25 years, so I’ll be sending it back this week.  I’ve really enjoyed fishing this rod, so I hope that I will be fishing it again soon.

I also headed over to the Swift this past Sunday.  I haven’t been to the swift in a while, so I was excited to check it out.  There is a huge population of Gypsy Moths around the river right now.  They are an invasive and annoying insect, so hopefully the trout are managing to eat a few hundred of them.  Their flight paths always seem so haphazard, and a couple of the moths repeatedly tried to fly in my face as I was casting.

I only had a short time at the swift, so I spent most of my time just below the hatchery pipe and into the shady pool.  I caught an endless supply of good sized brook trout on a size 22 gold bead head nymph I call “King Tut”.  I’ll post more about that fly later, as it’s turned out to be a success on several outings.  It’s the fly my friend Eric caught one of his brown trout on, and the fly that caught the brown on my first trip to the Housatonic in CT.  They were also taking a size 18 fly that I drifted in conjunction with “King Tut”.  I also hooked into a couple big rainbows, but had dropped my net on a trail (Later I retraced my steps on a trail and found it) and could not get them in before they popped off. I had just as much fun with the brook trout, and I’ve said it a million times, but they always impress me the most at the Swift.  All in all, it was a great summer day.