2013 Connecticut Trout Stocking has Begun

March is the traditional time here in Connecticut that most trout waters are officially closed for fishing and trout stocking for the upcoming season has begun.  There are plenty of opportunities to trout fish through out the year by visiting one of the open Trout Management Areas - TMAs.  Make sure you review the regulations for the body of water you are planning to fish before heading out.

This is directly form the CT DEEP Inland fisheries division, sent out yesterday, 2/28:  http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/fishing/weekly_reports/fishreport022813.pdf

 
SPRING TROUT STOCKING HAS BEGUN-  DEEP Inland Fisheries staff began the 2013 spring trout stockings this week. Among the areas scheduled to be stocked sometime in the next two weeks are many of the state's Trout Management Areas (TMA's). Note that early spring stockings are very dependent on weather and site conditions. 

2013 CT ANGLER'S GUIDES - The full print version 2013 CT Angler's Guide will be published and distributed in early April. An electronic version of the 2012 Guide continues to be available online at www.ct.gov/deep/anglersguide. There are no new regulations in effect for the 2013 season at this time, all regulations found in the 2012 guide remain in effect. 

FISHING SEASONS-Anglers are reminded that the fishing season will close after today (Thursday, February 28^th) on many rivers and streams and at a number of lakes & ponds. (Please refer to the  CT Angler's Guide for complete regulations). All sixteen of the state's Trout Management Areas remain open year round (and all are catch-and-release fishing during the winter and early spring). Class I Wild Trout Management Areas (WTMA) are also open year-round for catch-and-release fishing,

Warmer Then Normal Winter Equals Bigger Fish

There are advantages to the warmer winter that we have been experiencing here in Connecticut according to CT DEEP.  The warmer temps and no snow means that the waters are warmer then normal and the fish in the hatchery are more active through the winter giving DEEP Staff opportunity to feed more often making for larger fish to stock this spring.  It also means the streams are getting stocked earlier then normal with over 12,000 fish stocked already.  Normally we don't see a stocking of the Trout Management Areas (TMA) until early March.  All this is good news for those of use looking to take advantage of the weather and get some fishing in.  Most of the lakes and streams here in CT that have trout are closed to fishing from the end of February until opening day, which is the third Saturday in April.  We are fortunate enough to have many trout fishing waters open year round and with the lack of winter there is good fishing to be had by all.  I feel bad for the hard water ice fisherman, but I am excited to get out on the open water and maybe hook into one of these extra fat stockies.

Here is a video clip from Channel 3 WFSB from their report on the recent trout stocking.




Reminder:  There is still time to get in on the PTO Sharing the Passion giveaway.  Check it out here:  http://passinthruoutdoors.blogspot.com/2012/02/pto-celebrates-two-years-of-blogging.html

Willimantic River TMA outing 5/29/11

I had the pleasure of fishing  the TMA on the Willimantic River with none other than JT from JT's Fly Shop Saturday morning.  We met at the abutment pool at 6am with a plan to get a little time on the water before the family woke up and the honey do list took over.  JT and I started out swinging wooly buggers with me at the top of the abutment and JT at the end.  The wall of mosquitoes was brutal but we fought through them and made our way into the water.

Had this stretch all to ourselves

There were plenty of bugs around but no signs of fish until one popped up out in front of me which was his first mistake.  The second was him taking the olive/brown bugger that I dead drifted his way – Fish on.  I LDR’d this brown but it felt good to get back at it seeing it’s been almost 2 weeks without fishing for me.
JT quickly hit his stride and had a fish on which turned out to be another brown.  It wasn’t long after that and he was locked again and a river dace came to hand.  Hey a fish is a fish, right?!    I hooked into another fish and once again I lost it during the retrieve.  What the heck?  While I was contemplating what I was doing wrong, JT continued to bring fish to had.  yup he caught a blue gill and a calico bass before finally catching another trout which turned out to be a nice little rainbow.  We got thinking and figured he only needed a small mouth bass and a brook trout to round out his catch.

Willimantic River Brown Trout

I picked up one more brown trout at the Abutment before we both decided to head down stream.  JT decided to switch over and do some indicator nymphing while I stayed stubborn and worked my buggers.  JT headed down to the pool just above 84 and I worked from the abutment down to him.  I picked up a couple more dace and rolled a couple of trout one of which broke me off.  This was the second break off in two weeks within a few feet of each other.  I now have 2 trout with my buggers stuck in their face.  I want my buggers back!
I made it down to JT just in time to see him lock up on a another brown.  He was working hard for that SMB and Brookie but he just couldn’t produce.  IT was now 10:30am and it was time to head out.  It’s amazing how fast 4 hours goes by when you are on the water and no one is around.

JT Working over the Bridge hole

The Willi was in good shape this morning however a little low for me.  Temps in the mid to upper 50s and fairly clear with a little color.  I did see a caddis or two come off but that was about it.  It was good to get out and on the water especially with the man himself.  JT definitely had the hot hand this mornign and I’m sure he will be manning the counter at the shop bragging about his skills and the spanking he gave me.    That’s ok because I plan on sending him a picture next week of a large Penns Creek wild brown trout.

Now it' off to Central PA to fish some of those famous limestone creeks.  According to the reports the flows are high and looks like we will get to witness our first Green Drake hatch.  I hear it is something to witness.

Tight Lines!

Great way to Spend the First Day of May

With the past two weekends consisting on bad weather, a successful youth turkey and a holiday I haven't had much time on the water to chase trout so the outlook for this past weekend was sunny but wet and I don't mean wet with rain.

I spent most of Saturday working around the house and getting chores done instead of Turkey hunting. I know, what was I thinking, right. Stuff had to get done and seeing I had already planned on fishing all day Sunday Saturday was get stuff done day. I did get stuff done and still managed a few hours that evening on the water over at the Willimantic River TMA but there was no sign of life at all. Few bugs and few signs of fish. I finally connected after switching over from nymphing to using my trusted woolly bugger but I ended up losing a nice fish. and then proceeded to miss two more and called it an evening.

Sunday morning I was up early and off to the bait shop to pick up a few offerings to use at a fishing derby and then to pick up my brother and my nephew. We started out at a fish and game club's derby in Colchester, CT where we spent a few hours fighting the tangles that come with a large crowd around a small pond and managing to catch a few fish in between, well two trout a bass and 2 blue gill to be exact. We visited with some friends, had a few burgers and then packed it up and headed off to the Salmon River TMA for some catch and release fishing.

The Salmon River offers up some great water for all types of fishing and produces some nice hatches for those toting the long rods. The weather was just incredible with clear skies, bright sun and temps in the 60s with a light wind. I planned on using the fly rod and doing some euro nymphing while my brother and nephew would start out using trout magnets and bait if necessary. While I was still at the car gearing up, my nephew decided to get the jump on me headed down to a big rock and started casting and on the 3rd cast he hooked into a nice brook trout. I had the only net and I didn't want to let his first Salmon River trout get away so I ran down and netted his fish for him. We tried to take some pictures of the fish before releasing him but as we found out this day my nephew has a hard time holding on to a wiggly trout and his first Salmon River trout was gone in a splash. No problem, he picked up the rod and was right back at it.

I finally got all rigged up and headed to a small pocket just above my nephew and brother and it wasn't long before I hooked into a trout and the count was tied up at one a piece. We went back and forth each catching a fish before I jumped up by two trout and then the gloves came off. My nephew quickly realized he had no chance at out fishing me from the bank so my brother gave him the okay and in the water in went - no waders just his clothes. Game on he said. My brother was a little smarter and grabbed my other pair of waders before joining his son in the water. Once my nephew got in the water he was able to reach a few of the hiding holes that were just out of reach from him on the rock and he began banging fish again. And once again we tried taking some fish pictures but they just kept slipping out of his grip and back into the drink. Looks like trying to get the hero shot of my nephew holding a fish was going to take extra hands or a net.

We started seeing some Hendricksons coming off and the fish turned on a little bit and I picked up 3 quick fish and missing a few which was burning my nephews butt so he moved into my spot and took over but not before I put another on the fly rod and then handed him my 10' greys streamflex to fight a nice brookie. He was over the top with excitement and almost reeled the dang fish right up through the guides but we got him in the net and I was bound and determined to get a picture of him holding this fish and we did. With four hands surrounding the fish there was no way he was escaping this time. Most of the fish were caught on a salmon colored trout magnet drifted under a float or on a soft hackle bead head pheasant tail nymph with a couple coming on a mealworm and a olive caddis nymph. We caught more brookies then rainbows and browns but the one brown was a nice fish that I never came to net.

We caught a few more fish including a nice brown I saw hiding near a rock before we decided it was time to dry off and pack it in for the day as my nephew had soccer practice at 5pm. On the drive home I did my best to rub it in that I out fished him but he claims I was cheating because I was using a two fly setup instead of two. I gave him credit for the argument and the dedication of jumping in the water to compete but I still out fished him and promised to give him another chance soon.

It was a great warm and sunny spring day that was perfect to share the passion and it included plenty of laughs and some cooperative fish. Can't wait for the next trip.

Finally Some Trout - Euro Nymphing Style

Had a little free time to get some fly fishing in so I headed down to the Salmon River TMA in Colchester to try and enjoy some peace and quiet before the season opens next week.   I fished the Fly Fishing only area and it was packed, so much for peace and quiet.

The Salmon River has some great water for Euro Nymphing so that was my game plan and I needed the practice.  The State forest roads were still closed from the winter so it was fish the Fly Fishing are with the rest of the pack or truck up the road and try to find some quiet water.  So I trucked on up the road away from the crowds and planned to fish my way back to the truck.

I have yet to catch a fish on my new Greys 10' 4wt streamflex so that was my rod of choice today.  My long line Euro Nymphing skills need plenty of work and at times I was so dang frustrated I almost went home but I was bound and determined to work out the kinks and get things going for 2011 and it's a good thing I am stubborn.

Typical Salmon River Pocket water

I was fishing just above the patch of water shown above when I got hung up, yanked like mad to free my flies and ended up tangled in the tree behind me.  Yup, this was just a sample of how my early attempts to bring a stupid stocked trout to net had been going.  But remember I am stubborn and as
I stood looking over this pocket of water I just knew there were fishing lying in wait so I refused to pack it in and tied on some new flies.  I decided to break out a woven polish nymph for my anchor fly and a Soft Hackle Bead Head Pheasant Tail, both of which I tied myself which was true about every fly I used on this trip which might say something for my tying skills as well.

On my third cast my mind was drifting a bit and when my coiled sighter stretched I halfheartedly set the hook, which turned out to be a mistake.  It wasn't bottom this time and as the fish came off the bottom and into the flow it turned sideways and I could see it was a football shaped rainbow.  The blood was pumping now and I kept the pressure on with the Greys 10' 4wt Streamflex and I started heading to shore and when I did she came unbuttoned.  Arrrgggghhhhhhh.

As bummed as I was, I was still smiling and was back in the game.  Another two cast in this spot and that sighter twitched and I set the hook the right way and the fight was on.  Another nice rainbow but nothing like the one I just lost.  This fish took the Pheasant Tail nymph and was brought to net to have it's picture taken and released back to fight another day.

Salmon River Stockie - took the Soft Hackle BH PT

Bye Bye Little Fishy

I picked up two more rainbows on the same fly and decided it was time to quit on a high note and head home as I had chores to do.  I was very happy with the new rod and I feel better finally getting the rust off and back into a groove which comes just in time for Connecticut's Fishing Season opener on April 16th.  It's amazing what catching a few stocked trout can do for you.

Finally Some Time on the Stream

The sap was all boiled and bottled, the weather was spring like and my house chores complete, so it was off to fish a local TMA (Trout Management Area) to see if I couldn't get into some open water trout. 

The first stop was my home stomping grounds of the Cole Wilde TMA located on the Willimantic River.  I wasn't sure what condition the river would be in with all the rain last week and the snow melt off so I was prepared for the worst but was pleased with the conditions of the river.  The water was high and it was running fast but much clearer than expected.  I noticed plenty of winter stones fluttering about and scurrying across the rocks but no fish activity.  I was also the only one fishing which was a sign that the preseason stocking hasn't occurred yet.  Oh well, that just meant that I would have to work hard for a fish which was fine with me as I was just excited to be on the water and using my new Greys Streamflex 10' 4wt.

I decided to do some indicator nymphing using a woven stone fly as my anchor fly and a small black Pheasant Tail nymph as a dropper.  Up until this trip I always used a 9 foot rod and I really didn't think that a 10 foot rod would be much of difference but that extra foot really helps with line control when nymphing.  The Streamflex was a pleasure to cast and handled everything I threw so needless to say i am very pleased with the new rod.  I worked over my favorites runs with out a single bump and no sign of fish anywhere.

I knew some of the TMA's had been stocked as I had reports from friends of their "slamming the stockies" outings, but that wasn't the case on the Willi so I packed it up and headed down to another TMA on the Hocknum River.   Once again I was greeted with a pretty open and easy to access stretch of the TMA all to myself so honestly I was expecting the same results as on the Willi.  The water was moving fast and high just like on the Willi, except it was a little cloudy.  I got all rigged up for some nymphing again and worked about a 200 yard stretch of water with not bumps and not a single fish seen.  There were stones fluttering around as well as what I would gather were midges.  As I was working the last stretch of water by my truck a couple of guys stopped to chat and see how things where going.  Turns out they were just on their way back from another TMA where they said it was like opening day.  Loaded with fisherman and fish.  It was the same TMA that I was getting the "slamming the stockies" reports from my buddy so I wasn't surprised.  We chatted for a bit and I decided it was time to head home.

So my first open water trip resulted in a big ZERO as far as fish count goes, but it was great to be back on the streams and to fish my new rod.  The upcoming weather forecast looks more like winter than spring but that's okay because the rivers and streams are open and flowing so the trout fishing will only improve and what more can you ask for.

My Introduction into Euro Nymphing

For those of you with that kind of mind, please get it out of the gutter as this post is all about a fly fishing technique known as European style nymphing.   Disclaimer - I am in no way an expert in this method, it's origins or concepts but it is something I've wanted to try as a way to expand my fly fishing skills.

As I mentioned in previous posts, nymphing is the technique of presenting your flies sub surface down to where the fish do the majority of their feeding. There are so many methods of nymphing  to choose from and one just starting out could get extremely confused and all turned around.  From Spanish & French nymphing to Czech & polish nymphing, indicator nymphing, high-stick nymphing and ofcourse Euro nymphing.  Many of these techniques have many similarities but there slight differences were most likely born out of fishing on their home waters because of regulations and fishing pressure. As fly fishing has grown into competitions, competition and the rules that go along with them have also caused some type of adaptation and modification to these methods so even if the base concept is the same, the style, technique and even equipment becomes modified for those unique methods.

Because of all the different styles and techniques I thought it was important for me to get some help with putting this all into perspective and into play by enlisting the help of a professional guide and that is exactly what I did by booking my Euro nymphing trip with Aaron Jasper.  Aaron is the co-founder of Trout Predator Online (TPO) which is in my opinion the best site on the web to share information and ask questions about all things Fly Fishing.  TPO is a daily stop for me as Aaron and the folks who frequent TPO have been a huge help in my journey as a fly fisherman and you can find everything from fishing reports, fly tying videos, product reviews and tons of information related to all styles of fly fishing.  Have a question or problem just post it and you will be helped from some of the best people around.  Aaron's full time job as a teacher surely has something to do with how successful he has been as a guide and a fly fishing instructor.   I've had the chance to chat back and forth with Aaron on many occasions as well as attend a presentation on Euro Nymphing that he presented and I just had to book a trip with him and I was glad I did.

My trip started out with a 4am wake up with thunderstorms all around.  I had an hour drive to meet up with Aaron at Upcountry Sportfishing in New Hartford,  where we would be fishing the Farmington River, which by the way is probably one of the best fisheries in the state of CT.   A I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for Aaron a huge flash of lightening and a crash of thunder shook me and my truck and all I could think of was that I must be insane to go out fishing in this weather.  One thing I love is technology and using a few weather and radar applications I had on my Motorola Droid I was convinced we could get this trip in.

At our first stop Aaron gave me a quick introduction into my setup and the concept of Euro Nymphing and then handed me the rod.  After a few attempts at casting this new rig I thought for sure he would just leave me along side the river and move on, but he didn't and was able to get me corrected pretty quickly.   My first few attempts with the new tools of the trade threw a wrench into my casting and that was the first lesson learned this day.  I had thought and read that you didn't really cast your team of flies, but instead lobbed them along but i can tell you for certain, I did plenty of casting and not a whole heck of lobbing my flies.  Matter of fact I started to lose a little confidence in my abilities but Aaron stepped in and took care of that by explained that this is a learning opportunity and he was goign to put me in positions that would make me learn and I'm definitely not afraid to learn.

This setup consists of a 10 foot 3 weight rod, about a 15 foot total length for my leader which has a butt section connected to some type of inline sighter, which in this case was a coiled sighter (there is a great video on Fly Fishing Reporter that shows how to make a coiled sighter), then your tippet to your team of flies.  In these case we were using two flies on a piece of Fluorocarbon tippet with a larger, heavier fly as our anchor fly and usually a smaller fly as our dropper fly.  The only weight in our setup was built into the flies themselves and this entire setup is designed to get the flies into the zone and down to the bottom as quick as possible.  In simple terms you cast your flies, take up the slack so your sighter is on the water and your rod position is leading your team of flies down stream making for a direct line of contact to your flies.  Because of this contact you can feel everything (unlike nymphing with an indicator) and the coiled sighter adds to the visual detection and makes every little touch of your flies visible.  Just plain amazing.

We didn't catch anything at our first stop and neither was the gentlemen that was fishing just below us so off to spot number two.  First cast into spot number two and I see the coiled sighter twitch ever so slightly and think..hmmm, I wonder if that was a fish...That is about the same time I got lesson number two.  Expect to catch fish on every cast and when just starting out always set the hook at any hint of something different either in the contact with my flies or in movement of the sighter.   I'm a pretty quick learner and on my second cast I watched that sighter twitch ever so slightly and I set the hook and the fight was one.  I knew instantly I had a good fish and seeing I had been losing fish during the retrieve on my last few outings I had prepared Aaron and asked him to be on the lookout for anything I was doing wrong and he was and coached me through it which resulted in Aaron netting my first ever trout caught Euro Nymphing and probably my largest trout ever.  It was a beautiful large holdover Brown trout.  Check out that smile!!!

A Euro Nymphing first for me

19" Farmington River Brown Trout

After taking a few pictures of this bruiser and releasing him back to his hide I new right away this was going to be one of those days.  Yes, Aaron told me it would be before we even started but I guess with the bad weather around I just thought otherwise.  Lesson three - Always listen to your guide and believe in him, heck that is why you hired him.

We continued to work our way along this section of the Farmington River trying to dodge the thunder and lightening and looking for more large trout hiding spots and we found them for sure.  we netted almost 20 fish, many were holdover fish as well as a stocker or two and even a small salmon parr.  There were two bruiser fish lost on this trip and many more missed as I fell out of that ...."expect to catch a fish every cast" mentality on occasion.  I had one incredible hit that caught me a little off guard and I ended up setting the hook like I was Tuna fishing only to snap my leader.  Even Aaron who was standing next to me was in awe at the slamming the fish put on the flies.  What was amazing is that missing fish and losing those bruisers didn't frustrate us for long because there were plenty of beautiful holdover fish to help continue my introduction into Euro Nymphing and here are just a few of them.

That last picture shows me locked up on another bruiser and illustrates another lesson I learned. Just as expecting to catch a fish every cast, confidence is contagious so purchase a larger net.  :)

It doesn't matter if you are an experienced fly fisherman looking to expand your technique and knowledge or just starting out, there is a load of free information available to help you out there but nothing replaces some one-on-one instruction with someone that has the right stuff and Aaron certainly does.

Aaron guides in both CT and NJ.   To contact Aaron Jasper visit either TPO or his Fly Fishing Evolution website and I promise you will not be disappointed.

Next step is to continue Euro Nymphing on my own and I'm sure new success and failures with be found along with plenty of more questions.

First fish of 2010

Well I had some things to take care of yesterday morning and decided to skip work and get some fishing in before running out to pick up my daughter.  I packed up and headed out to a local TMA - Trout Management Area - located in Northeastern CT.  The Cole Wilde TMA is located in Tolland and Willington on the Willimantic River.  The TMA starts at the mouth of Roaring Brook off Route 32 and ends downstream at the bridge on Route 74.  This section of water is designated as Fly Fishing only and is also a Catch and Release area meaning all fish caught must be released back into the river.  Many of the TMAs throughout Connecticut are open year round and most are Catch and Release or in some cases limited harvest.  This offers some good fishing opportunities to those willing to brave the cold water and weather throughout the winter.  The majority of Trout waters are closed as of the end of February and open back up for opening Day on the third Saturday in April.

I arrived at the river to find another fly fisherman with the same thing in mind.  As I put on my cold weather waders and prepared my gear I watched the other fisherman and noticed he had hooked a trout which was a good sign for sure.  I was hoping that the I would time my fishing with some sort of bug life hatching so I could work on my "match the hatch" skills.  Matching the hatch basically means trying to figure out what bug life is in the water and in the process of hatching into a flying insect.  The fish will key on the bug life and changes going on under water and start to feed on these insects so our job as a fly fisherman is to figure out what is going on and trying to offer a fly that matches the bugs the fish are seeing and feeding on in the water.  Much easier said then done for sure.  Before i started fly fishing I always thought that it meant drifting a floating fly on top of the water and a fish will just come flying up from the depths and devour it, atleast that is what I had seen on TV and in Magazines.

I've learned so much over the past 3 seasons of fly fishing and one important item is that the majority of a fishes food lives under the surface and actually in the lower 3rd of the water column.  These insects all start out as some type of creepy crawling type of bug normally refereed to as a Nymph or Larva where they spend their time hiding in weeds, attached to rocks, under rocks and sticks, where they remain until they are ready to change into adults.  Some insects even form a layer of protection like a cocoon out of sand, gravel and even sticks such as these cased caddis shown in the picture to the right. These nymphs live on the bottom of the stream until it is time to tun into an adult and they start to work their way to the surface in what is know as as an emerger stage.  During this emergence, the nymphs are much more active as they fight their way to the surface which is what the fish are keying in on.  As they emerge to the surface they actually stop just under the surface and begin to molt into an adult where they will break through the surface and fly away, well that is if a fish doesn't get hem first.


So with all my new found knowledge and having plenty of room to experiment with my fly fishing technique I decided to start out with a technique called nymphing.  Nymphing is basically presenting flies that represent the nymph or larva stages of the bug in the lower part of the water column along the bottom of the stream.  There are many different nymphing techniques so I won't get into much detail.  I was using an indicator - some type of float that rides the surface of the water that is supposed to help you detect when the fish takes your nymph.  Well for over an hour I worked a few small sections of water where I knew there was fish and as far as I could tell, I didn't get a single nibble.  I started to see some adult stoneflys on the surface of the water and even watched a fish rise once or twice.

I only had about an hour left to fish before I had to leave so I switched over to Old Faithful - An Olive Woolly Bugger.  As I have written in another post, they claim there is no wrong way to fish a Woolly Bugger and it is a great fly that represents so much from a baitfish, leeches to nymphs.  It didn't take me long with old faithful to hook and land my first trout of the 2010 season.  It was a nice rainbow trout about 10 inches in length.  It put up a wonderful fight considering the water was barely reaching 39 degrees.  I brought the fish to net and removed the barb less hook from his mouth and took a picture of him and released him back to fight another day.   That one little trout made my whole day and brought a huge smile to my face.  I continued to work the bugger in the same general area.  sometimes I would just left it dead drift along in the current, sometimes I would strip it in to give it a swimming action and sometimes I would just twitch it along as it drifted and swung in the current.  I ended up catching 4 more fish, 2 more rainbows and 2 browns all of which brought a smile to my face and released back into the stream as I thanked them for their participation.   All in all a wonderful day to get a little fishing in.

I did miss 3 fish, but what do expect from a long winter off.

CT DEP Fisheries - FAQ
CT Fly Fisherman's Association