Good news from the Swift River

I opened my New England fishing season today on the Swift River.  I am happy to report that all indications point to a strong economy among a$$hole litterbugs.  As shown in the following picture, the lowlife creeps have upgraded their beverage selection.  It used to be that I only picked up Bud Light empties along with the ubiquitous worm containers, but apparently the creeps got a raise and moved up to Shock Top beer, Mikes Hard Lemonade and Vitamin water. I wish I knew what compels some people to crap all over our beautiful coldwater resources.
Today I was happy to be able to try out a new net.  For a few years I have very happily used a wooden net with a rubber bag made by Alan Stevens of the Stevens Net Company in Maine. He makes a beautiful net and I like the fact that it has a rubber net which keeps hooks from being caught.  The only downside is that the rubber net is pretty heavy and somewhat cumbersome to haul around on  your back all day. (They now offer a lighter rubber bag, but I have not seen it.)  Over the winter I learned of The Measure NetTM from JTA Products in Montana. It has an aluminum frame with a foam handle, both of which make for a lighter net, if not as elegantly styled as the wooden net from Stevens. The real unique feature is the zip-on light rubber bag that has a built-in measuring capability.  The combination of aluminum and light rubber mesh creates a noticeably lighter net.  The only downside is that it will be tougher to exaggerate the fish tales told over a round of adult beverages.  My first rainbow of the year taped-out at a smidgen over 13 inches - without The Measurenet I would have called it 12.  I give two "Thumbs Up" to The Measurenet and it is now an important piece of my fly fishing gear.
Swift River report: I stopped at the route 9 parking area and after counting all the cars, I continued down River Road to the Pipe area.  Nobody there.  Since the Catch and Release regs reverted to Hook and Cook downstream of Route 9 as of January 1, trout tend to be scarce as hen's teeth.  I did find a few. After surveying the water upstream of Route 9, there are even fewer fish there. I think another couple visits from the hatchery truck are needed to get things really rolling.  The water temp was 37F so in addition to being scarce, they were lethargic. It won't be long before all the rivers are down to good fishable levels and topped off with fresh hatchery stock. Tight lines!