Welcome to Chris Jackson Fly Fishing ! I’ve relaunched my website and business formerly known as Fly Fish the Deerfield Guide Service into Chris Jackson Fly Fishing. I’ll be adding content such as fly tying and patterns, technique videos and up to date and accurate fishing reports for the Deerfield River, the Swift, the Westfield, and Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont. Please follow me on InstaGram at jacksonchrisd for the latest images and insights from my many adventures with a fly rod in New England and beyond!
The Deerfield River/Swift River Fishing Report for 5/28/2019:
The Deerfield has been lights out when the water is right and incredibly tough when it’s not. Today we caught a pile of browns in the rain on streamers in olive and brown and some solid rainbows too. There was a good emergence of Hendricksons around 3 in the afternoon with fish rising which was a joy to see, particularly when they’ve been finished in other area rivers for over a week now. I expect the streamer bite to stay hot in the Deerfield as well as indicator fishing. Caddis hatches should be intensifying in the coming days and weeks- have both the pupa/emerger and adult patterns as often times it’s the pupa in the film they are taking-sizes range from 14-20 on the Deerfield with 16’s and 18’s the most common. Over on the Swift River the water is finally dropping and the fishing has been getting hot. Mop flies, tiny pheasant tails, san juan worms, midges and streamers have been getting the nod. There are exotics to be had like Lake Trout and Landlocked Salmon which swam out of the Quabbin (likely following smelt) when the water was high and the spillway was raging. The Salmon will take a well presented smelt pattern with gusto so long as you’re stealthy with your appoach. The lower Westfield is fishing well too. Basically every body of water out here is ready to cut loose- the Connecticut River can be added to the list for shad, big stripers and who knows what!
I have plenty of open dates so give me a shout and I’ll get you in the calendar. Tight Lines!