Choosing blog post titles is always fun for me! Over the years I have mentioned this many times I’m sure. But today’s title? It’s a little more than might meet the eye.
This morning after coffee I decided to out in search of some Swifties. No not Taylor Swift fans, although I suppose I might have found some in town. There’s probably a few in nearby St. Regis Falls but seeing as I was headed to the river close to Santa Clara, the odds were pretty slim that I would encounter anyone, let alone any Swifties. An explanation seems in order right about now I feel.
For me, Swifties are fish. The ones you find in fast moving water below waterfalls and rapids. The heavily aerated water is a great place to find feeding fish during the hot summer months. The places where you will catch the fish will often amaze you actually. Just how they manage to stay in position in the currents is a bit of a mystery to me. Perhaps they hide behind rocks out of the stronger sections of current. It certainly makes sense. Face upstream and wait for potential food to come into striking range. Sometimes catching fish involves trying to think like fish.
I don’t always overthink everything and trying to understand all there is to know about Swifties really isn’t necessary to catch them. It’s just something that I learned a long time ago. Fast moving water holds fish more often than you realize. And hooking Swifties in that fast current makes for some memorable fish battles! So when you are in the mood for something out of the ordinary? Go search for Swifties!
Becoming a better fisherman has taken me years to achieve and I never stop learning. Getting better equipment was a big part of it I was to learn after spending my early years with mediocre spinning rods and reels. Bait and tackle also make a huge difference too. Time of day matters also but if you’ve ever done much fishing then you know this already. Being in the right place,at the right time, at the right depth, etc. will often make the difference between success or failure. Good thing I don’t claim to be an expert!
Today’s fishing destination was a section of the St. Regis River near Route 458 in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. The St. Regis River is very new to me and I am trying to gain some knowledge about what species to target. There are several branches of the St. Regis River here that all converge in locations as yet unknown to me. Studying maps has been helpful but there’s a big area to explore.
This morning’s target area was close to the house. Only a few miles to drive to a parking area then a short walk down an ATV trail to the river. Gracie was eager to go with me so I loaded her into the car to join in my little adventure. It was already getting quite warm by 9am and I realized that I should have gotten an earlier start. But this was a probing mission mainly. There was no need to make anything high pressure or stressful. Isn’t that how fishing is supposed to be? I had taken a Quebec trout out of the freezer for dinner so fish was guaranteed. My goal was to make the trip ultra fun!
My destination was know to me as a beautiful waterfall viewing spot. We’ve visited it several times in the past. Even in the winter! After reading about trout living in sections of the St. Regis River branches, I was curious if I could catch any below the waterfall. I’m not a fly fishermen so I would be using a worm, small hook, split shot weights, and a tiny pencil bobber attached to a spinning rod. It seemed like a nice way to break the proverbial ice!
I reached my destination after a nice hike through mostly bug free woods. I got my rig set up and baited next to the river where I would try fishing from some rather jagged sections of bare rock. The recent heavy rains had swollen the river and the falls were roaring lustily. The water was brown and brackish appearing. Not so different than many other Adirondack waterways. Very clean and still quite cool.
I cast into a swirling eddy where there seemed to be a sheltered pool at the edge of it. At first nothing happened but I suddenly felt a small biting tug on my line. I continued to work the area and was rewarded with additional bites before suddenly hooking a small fish. A trout as I hoped? No. It was a tiny scrappy smallmouth bass. But a fish nonetheless. I continued working the area and caught a small rock bass soon after. Two more tiny smallmouth were caught before I decided to move further downstream to a new location.The worms seemed to be working for bait so that was encouraging.
After fighting my way through some thick brush I emerged on another set of jagged rocks but managed to find a flat spot to toss a top water floating lure for a change of pace. No fish bit at first so I moved even further downstream to a new spot where it was even flatter. It was a nice looking spot for potential Swifties! The river split into sections around several large boulders offering sheltered pools below them. I was covering a fairly large section of the river from my vantage point. I tossed my jointed Rapala behind one of the boulders and was rewarded with a solid strike! Fish on! A big one too!
I soon got a look at my prey as I slowly fought it up out of the deep dark water of a pool where it was attempting a run downstream. A very powerful smallmouth bass was giving me a workout in the racing water. This was what I was after! A large Swiftie and a fierce fight to get it to my rocky perch. There was one major problem. I had left my net back with my tackle box out of reach. I worked the bass closer and closer while trying to decide how to grab it. The treble hooks were making it difficult to grasp the bass by its mouth. I made the mistake of getting it too close to a rock that it rolled up onto and with a mighty heave the bass freed itself and swam away. Damn the folly of leaving the net behind! Amateur mistake for sure.
Soon after I decided that I could possibly rock hop out to one of the large boulders for an even better place to cast. It was tricky but I made it. After getting no further action on the jointed Rapala I tried a few other lures. Nothing. I went back to the worm, hook, and bobber setup which brought results immediately. I began to catch fish. Several tiny smallmouth, another rock bass, and then a fish that I didn’t know. It wasn’t a trout. It looked like a very large minnow actually. Close to 12” long with large silver scales. I remembered catching them on a lake in eastern Quebec years ago. Zane had nicknamed them “ Chain Mail” as they resembled the armor once worn by soldiers in Europe. We had never kept them in Quebec as we weren’t sure what they were actually. The locals there had a French name for them and said that they were mainly baitfish that the walleye and pike fed on.
I caught three of the Chain Mail before running out of worms. They looked big enough to eat but I let them all go. In a survival situation I would definitely have kept them that’s for sure. It had gotten very hot despite the breeze which coursed down the river over the rapids. The air was heavily laden with the scent of balsams and it was truly an Adirondack moment for me. The roaring of the waterfall, the scent of balsam, a fishing pole in my hands, and a small degree of success with some Swifties. I would count my time as a total win I decided.
As I gathered up Gracie from her shady bed near the river, I knew that I would return here to fish Swifties again. The spot held potential I felt. I would bring bigger worms and bobbers to try. And maybe come in the evening when the smallmouth bass become more active. One thing was certain. Searching for Swifties invokes fond memories for me. Ones from Quebec last summer where I spent time fishing in a couple different rivers in fast moving water. I caught walleye,pike, and bass there. And there have been other places over the years. A couple memorable trips up the Indian River near Black Lake where summer Swifties waited in rolling water of the rapids for us. We fought a good bunch of battles there that’s for sure.
We leave for Quebec soon. Our July trip is getting closer now. It seemed so far away but now it’s not. I probably don’t spend as much time fishing as I could but I can change that can’t I? It’s a decision like many others I make. After Quebec I will need to return to the St. Regis River for round two with the Swifties. Until then the river will flow as it always does. There’s something very profound in flowing rivers and the days of passing time. But that is another story. ✍️