Rainy Swift

Hit the Swift last Saturday with a buddy for a guided trip. Fished the flyfishing only C&R section from Route 9 up to the dam. Despite the rain, I must have seen 20 guys over the day in the river. Never saw so many trout in my life - huge rainbows everywhere - sometime in schools of 5-10. But don't get too excited - they are the pickiest fish ever and with the heavy fishing pressure, only the perfect presentation and prefect fly will work. We fished tiny nymphs for 4 hrs and had maybe 2 hookups but nothing to the net.
After the guide, I switched to a woolly bugger and landed one nice rainbow, with another breaking off just before the net.

At least you now know to go back there and try some different tactics. You can't argue with a wooly bugger, they are pretty darn reliable. What color was the bugger?

Green bead-head, with loits of flash.
What's funny is that the fish I caught were in the non-flyfishing only section below the Rte 9 bridge - I guess that's where the not-so-smart fish hang out.

Or the ones above the bridge have seen every fly and can tell the difference

I used to fish the Swift regularly, but now only a few times a year. That water has so much pressure and those fish have definitely seen every commonly tied fly. I developed my own special nymph and emerger patterns that netted me many Swift River trout over the years. My favorite time to fish there is very early morning and late evenings in the summer. That cold water on the legs is so nice during the dog days of summer!