www.

Join author Tom Keer inThe Virtual Flyshop ChatRoom, Febmary 7 atnoon EST.

f l yshop .como'w'

IELDERF

oNDE

TOM KEER

HEN ANGLERS rerx about the Deerfield River,they discuss its trout-filled stretches inwestern Massachusetts near the Vermontline. But the river's headwaters flow offtheGreen Mountains of southern Vermont.

- and few anglers are aware of the wild-troutrebirth going on there. Better water and fisheries manage-ment are creating rich rewards on three tailwaters, and flyfishers are finding excellent fishing on river stretches thathave been dewatered for over 50 years.

It's called the "upper Deerfield," a manmade hydro-electric water system that runs from its 400-square-mileVermont drainage basin in four river branches: the mainDeerfield, and the East, North, and'West branches. Theimproved watef management on the these upper sec-tions since 1998 has provided the Deerfield with con-stant flows, and its newly rewatered reaches now havesome of the best fly fishing for wild trout in the state.Some stretches of the upper Deerfield for the first timehave constant, reliable flows of cold water below threebottom-flow-release dams.

How has the upper Deerfield changed from the lifelesssummer frogwaters of old? It was made possible by thenew water flows required bythe Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission (FERC) under itsrelicensing of the dams. Thereare no more flushes followedby manmade drought whenthe dams are shut of f l ikefaucets. The steady flows havecreated a fabulous bottom-flow-release river, tributary,and lake fishery in and belowthe Deerfield's three upriverreservoirs.

Betueen three talluaters and seueralproductiue tributaries, Vermont'sDeetfield ptot tides morc altematiues forqua@ -fly fisbing for utild trout thanarry otber dminage in Nan England.

i

m

x

E

{=xrm

!q

The newrcgulatedflows have changed the East Branch ofthe Deerfieldfrrom the Somerset Dam to the Searsburg Dam.The 3.2-mile "Searsburg Bypass" habitat from SearsburgReservoir to Harriman Reservoir has been "rewatered"under new federal minimum-flow requirements. Vermonthas stocked this stretch with brook and brown trout,enhancing a precxisting smelt-based fishery in HarrimanReservoir. kndlocked salmon and rainbow smelt also runftom the reservoir into the Searsburg Bypass str€tch.

And dur ing the past two years the Vermont

Department of Fisheries and rVildlife, using an innova-tive trap-and-transfer program, helicoptered wild troutfrom the Deerfield and West River headwaters into theReadsboro stretch of the Deerfield below HarrimanDam to help restore a wild brook-trout fishery. Iast fallthat rewatered and restored two-mile stretch of waterprovided excellent fly fishing for wild brookies.

Starting in the HeadwatersIN rry-rrsurNc TERMS. THE Dnnnrrnlo flows almost from the

Orvis Company in Mancheste! Vermont, to the Thomas& Thomas rod company in Turner 's Fa l l s ,Massachusetts. It covers some 40 miles from its south-ern Vermont origins, then runs along the Mohawk Trailthrough western Massachusetts before i t jo ins theConnecticut River below Turner's Falls.

The main Deerfield (see map) runs south out of theSomerset basin, parallel with Forest Service Road 71,the dirt access road leading to the Somerset Reservoir. Itjoins the East Branch, which runs from the base of theSomerset Reservoir Dam to the Searsburg Reservoir.The main s tem o f the Deer f ie ld then f lows f rom

Aquatic insects flourisb once again in tbe Searsburg Bltpass (abotte)section of the Deerfield, uthere batcb matching is important for tak-ing brou,tts and rainbou,s (right). Tbe East Branch trailbead(bebu) rnarks tbe beginning of from 5 tu 6 miles of prime bike-inbrookie fisbittg.

Searsburg Reservoir south to the northwestern end ofHarriman Reservoir (Lake Whitingham). It continuesout o f Har r iman Reservo i r sou thward th roughReadsboro, joining with the

'West Branch to flow into

Sherman Reservoir. (The Massachusetts/Vermont linedivides the reservoir.) The North Branch runs from VestDover along Route 100 through Vilmington, where itenters the Harriman Reservoir.

The Vermont Deerfield has dozens of small tr ibu-taries, most containing populations of native brooktrout. They include Black Brook and the nearby EastBranch north of Somerset Reservoir . Both can bereached from the Kelly Stand Road out of East Arlingtonor \fest Wardsboro and, from the south, along ForestService Road 71, which runs from Route 9 to SomersetReservoir and the Kelly Stand Road.

The lower North Branch has poor fishing for brook-ies, except in spring in its lower reaches and in ColdBrook. Vilder Brook on the western side of HarrimanReservoir has good fishing for small brookies.

On these strearns, where there are few hatches to match,small streamers and bucktails fished downstream on short

56

DEERFIETDT.A.C.T C

HE VERMONT FTSHING sEASoN opens thesecond Saturday of April and closesthe last Sunday of October. In the

early season when snowmelt and rainrunoff elevates the water tables, stream-ers and nymphs fished deep can taketrout. Smelt patterns are popular justupstream from Harriman Reservoir, asrainbows, browns, and the occasionallandlocked salmon move in to skinnywater to feed.

S

water flows stabilize, from mid- to late-May, emergers and drys are key.Compara<Juns and Compara-nymphs in avariety of sizes and colors are excellentmayfly imitations, and IaFontaineEmergent Pupae imitations @right green,tan, or brown) work well for caddis.

Standard Catskill ties work well formost dry-fly situations, and parachutepatterns that sit inthe film fool difti-cult fish. Elk-wingand GoddardCaddis drys are hotwhen the caddisaction is in fullswing, and largegolden or blackstonefly nymphsand Stimulators

work later in the season when stone-flies are abundant.

Jim Knabe, owner of Taddinger's, afull-service fly shop in Wilmington,Vermont, and guide Butch Granger favoremergers and parachut€ drys over stan-dard Eastern drys. Carry some bug repel-lent for the early-season; the no-see-umscan be thick.

also buy am p at the ranger district headquarters there.Somerset Reservoir is a three-sqllare-mile lake, owned

by the New England Power Company and formed by a456-foot earthen dam. It can be fished by boat, but flyfishers will find few hatches and fewer fish rising in itsrel:rtively barren shallows.

The reservoir's cold, fertile East Branch emerges from

! the lake through a discharge pipe at the base of the dam. Itj mns from five to six miles south to the Searsburg Reservoir

$ -d provides superb stream and beaver-pond brookie fish-

$ i"g for those willing to hike. Under the new fisheries man-

{ agement, the East Branch will remain a native brook-troutt

fishery under Vermont general fishing regulations (12

brookies per day limit, bait and artificials allowed).You can reach this stretch of the East Branch by driv-

i n g F o r e s t S e r v i c e R o a d 7 | t o t h e u p p e r e n d o fSearsburg Reservoir and the Deerfield Trail and parkingthere. A swinging bridge crosses the Deerfield; hike onemile until you reach a second swinging bridge and theEast Branch. Some anglers combine fishing with back-pack ing. They se ldom encounter o ther anglers , butsometimes see black bears in this wild area.

The Deerfield and Searsburg ReservoirTHs MerN BRAN{;H, which runs along Forest Service Road71, is deceptively pretry water, but its acidity and warmsummer flows make for poor fishing. The good news is

Continued on page 85

Leech and dace patterns tempt reluc-tant browns, and attractor bucktails areexcellent choices for brook trout. As

rods during the early-seasonrunoff are solid choices, and#16+18 Royal

'Wulffs, Trudes,

and Humpies work well duringthe midseason. The teacoloredsmal l streams f ish better inspring and fall, when you canpick pockets through their boul-dery runs, pools, and riffles.Vermont general fishing regula-tions prevarl-a l2-brookie baglimit per day (no size l imit),with bait and artificials allowed.

The East BranchTHr rRrpsroNE Eesr BRAN{rH,which enters the northwestend of Somerset Reservo i r ,has native brookie f ishing ashort hike from the trailheadpa rk ing l o t on t he Ke l l eyStand road via Forest ServiceRoad 383. The fish run fromfou r t o t en i nches i n t h i ssma l l , eas i l y we t -wadedstream. When conditions areright, fishing the river's com-bination of pools and pockets can be excellent.

Black Brook, which has excellent fishing for small brook-ies, is crossed by Forest Service Road 71. You should con-sider camping and hiking to investigate its Llpstream fish-ing as well as other nearby headwater streams and beaverponds in the Green Mountain National Forest. You canreceive an excellent map of the area by sencling $3(includes postage) for the Green Mountain Nation'al Forest(southern hal f ) topographic map. Contact the U.S.Department of Agriculture/Forest Service, 231 North MainStreet, Rutland, VT 05701-2417, (S02) 74747OO, or writeto the Manchester Ranger District, 2538 Depot Street,Manchester Center, W 05255, (802) 362-2307. You can

LaFtmtaine Deep Sparkle Pupa

S t o c ki tt 14-u, i ng C ct clcl i s

Ext e ncle d B r t d1, C r nnp et rerclurt

) /

ExstreamExstream',s ViruStatPurification (andfiltration) Systemuses a three-stageprocess that themanufacturer saysremoves sed i -me n t , bac te r i a ,p r o t o z o a , A n du i ruses . A p re -f i l te r e l iminateslarger pathogensa n d s e d i m e n t s .The purifying ele-

,\*,*"-*'_-_".. ment is the EPA-registered ViruStat purifier

cartridge that uses iodinated resin thatonly releases iodine when coming intocontact with pathogens. A postfiltert akes ca re o f any res idua l i od ine ,odors, and tastes. Exstream offers twosport-flask systems-the Orinoco (fitsi n to s tanda rd bo t t l e r acks . 26 oz .capacity, dry weight 7.45 oz., 639.95),and the MacKenzie (one-liter capacity,dry weight 7.95 oz., $44.95). Treats 26gallons of water; replacement systemcosts $29.95. For more information,contact Exst ream, (800) 563-6968,www. exstreamwater. com.

TFO GatekeeperThe TFO Gatekeeper fil-tration system and capis an extremely smalldev ice that you canscfew onto most com-mon water bottles andmost flexible hydrationsystems. TheGatekeeper canalso be usedwith TFO's col-laps ib le F lex i -Flask water bot-t le, which rol lsup in to a tube.The manufacturersays that thethree-stage filterd r a s t i c a l l yreduces bacte-r i a , p ro tozoa ,and indust r ia lcontaminants.

The filter and one-liter Flexi-Flask cost $ 13.99 and havea dry weight of 1.3 oz. I t tretts 25gallons rnd a replacement filter costs$11.99. L ike the safewatef system,you can add iodine to the water tokill viruses; the Gatekeeper will filterou t mos t o f t he i od ine . Fo r moreinformation, contact TFO's distr ibu-tor Spr ingbrook, (800) 638-9052,www.sbm-mangrove.com. -G.

THE NEW DEERFIELD .

Continuedfrom page 57that the fishing improves dramaticallysouth of Searsburg Reservoir (the EastBranch), on a 4.Z-mile stretch of river run-ning along Route 9 (the Molly Stark Trail).The reservoir's stored water flows coldfrom the bonom of Searsburg Dam, and asmaller portion is diverted through a pen-stock, re€ntering the East Branch at thegenerating station on Route 9, a half-mileupstream of Harriman Reservoir.

In the past, the lower East Branchdried up in summer and supported onlya small population of brookies. But witha more constant, cold (58 degrees F. lastsummer), regulated flow coming out ofSearsburg Reservoir, browns and rain-bows have taken up permanent resi-dence and aquatic insect hatches haveflourished. Area guides report that thesewild trout provide excel lent spring,summer, and fall fishing.

The new flows have also created someof Vermont's best (new) flats dry-fly fish-ing. On summer evenings Trico, Baetis@lue-winged Olives), and caddis hatchesset the table for the trout on the broad,wadeable gravel f lats where the EastBranch empties into Hariman Reservoir.The reservoir trout dimple the lake sur-face with their riseforms and local guidessay fly fishers take and release as many as3O trout on good days.

The water from the generating stationon RoLlte 9 downstream to HarrimanRese rvo i r i s one o f Ve rmon t ' s bes tautllmn fisheries for pre-spawn browntrol l t , rainbows, brookies, and land-l ocked sa lmon , ye t i t i s v i r t ua l l yunknown to most fly fishers. Local guideButch Granger reports that when fishingfrom the reservoir flats upstream to theSearsburg Reservoir, his sports havecaught and released from 15 to 30 troutand small (16-inch) salmon while fishingFlashback Hare's-ear Nymphs, Bead-headPrince Nymphs, LaFontaine Caddis, andred ant imitations.

Vermont stocks the Searsburg Bypasswith brookies and browns, and rainbowtrout enter this stretch from the reser-voir. The lower East Branch (SearsburgBypass) calls for 8- to 9-foot rods, and onthese reaches the trout feed on pre-d i c tab le ha t ches ( see ha t ch cha r t )except during high water or in earlyspring or late season, when Grangerfavors smelt patterns fished on sinking-tip lines. The general fishing regulationsprevail (12 fish) but no more than sixcan be either brown or rainbow troutand only two landlocked salmon of fif-teen inches or longer can be kept.

Harriman BypassTss snenr oF THE uppER DrrrurEro fisheriesproject is the 3.5-mile Harriman Bypass,a recent ly rewatered bot tom-f low-

release, regulated-flow river runningfrom the Harriman Dam south to theRou te 100 b r i dge i n Readsbo ro .Vermont f isheries biologists want totu rn t h i s i dea l t r ou t hab i t a t -w i t hext remely co ld water , r i f f les , runs,pools, and pockets-into a natural ly-reproducing brook-trout river.

The construction of the Harriman Damn I9I2 made this stretch of river virtual-ly dry.Since its rewateringayeat ago, thefertile tailwater's hatches (mayfly, caddisfly, and stonefly) have begun to blossom,but it will be several more years beforewe can pred ic t what the dominantmayfly biota will be. Baetis will almostcertainly predominate in the cold, clear,water, with caddis probably a close sec-ond. As mentioned above, the freestonerhas been heavily stocked with wild fishand should become a picture-perfectwild brookie fishery.

ADD[rrcm.'s is the onty fulleervice ftyshop (and is also an excellent giftshop) in the upperDeerfield arca

and prcvides information, tackle, riverfiraps, hatch charts, and guided trips.Taddinger's: Route 10O, \Wilmington, VTO5363; phone/fax (sozl 464122ttwww.taddingers.com.

The best way to fish this water is todrive to the Harriman Dam parking areaand walk in below the dam. Another rela-tively easy access is from the Readsboroschool parking lot, walking upstream.

While in the Readsboro area, try thepower stat ion to Sherman Reservoirstretch. It can provide good wade-fishing,with large stocked rainbows and brownsmoving upstream from the reservoir tofeed in cool weather. Look along the reser-voir's roadside wadeable shallows for bankfeeders on suflrmer momings and evenings.

Other ActivitiesTunnp ARE MANy ACTrvrrrES in the MountSnow Valley that make a great familyvacation. For more information, contactthe Mount Snow Valley Chamber ofCommerce at (802) 464-8092 orwww.visitvermont.com. -G"

Tou Ksrn is Northeast Field Editor forFry FrssnnpreN and the Virtual Flyshop.He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

tntI

I,w

85