Connecticut Fish Hatchery Victim to Budget Cuts

Taken from Pg 194 of the 2014 & 2015 proposed budget

The beginning of every year brings around the typical state budget issues and discussion that are sure to include items close to the sportsman's and sportswoman's heart and the recent proposal holds true.  Last year it was the states pheasant stocking program and while looking over the 2014 & 2015 proposed budget it looks like the state fish hatcheries are the target this year.  The proposed cut show a savings of $299,820 over two years  from closing one of Connecticut's state fish hatcheries, which realistically amounts to the tiniest piece of sand in comparison to the waste of state government.

Look, I'm tired of giving up more of my paycheck to support the overly fat programs that are part of our state spending and I agree cuts need to be made and making those cuts are never easy, but to me when they target outdoor related expenses they are relying on two things.  First is the uproar that the sportsman and sportswomen of Connecticut will most surely have and the hope of these sportsman groups proposing some type of license increase or new stamp to fund the program to keep it from being cut.

Considering that the majority of the money Connecticut sportsman pay out  each years ends up in the general fund, raising the licenses or creating new stamps are NOT something many of us would support.  If these new increases or funds where put directly into the programs and budgets they are meant to support, well many sportsman would most likely reluctantly agree.

Some numbers on effects of Recreational fishing here in Connecticut.

•  251,000 state residents take 5.4 million fishing trips and spend $198 million per year

•  51,000 non-residents take 457,000 fishing trips and spend $45 million per year in CT.

•  Recreational fishing supports over 4,400 jobs in CT. • Trout are the most sought after gamefish species in Connecticut attracting approximately 2.1 million fishing trips per year and generating ~$50 million per year in annual expenditures having a net economic impact of $67.5 million per year.

•  Approximately $2.8 million in annual license revenue is generated by trout anglers in Connecticut.

•  Approximately 100 lakes and ponds and over 200 rivers and streams are stocked annually with trout.

•  The overall benefit to cost ratio for Connecticut’s Trout Program is 25 to 1. 

The savings created by closing the hatchery in this case would be minor to the potential of costs in the future to reopen said hatchery or improve and grow others.  Also the loss or reductions in these outdoor programs will most certainly result in lost revenue as more and more sportsman stop spending the money on them or go spend their limited funds in other states that are more sportsman friendly.

No matter what side of the fence you are on with these budget issues, it is extremely for everyone to express your views to your elected officials.   Send an email, make a phone call, write a letter it doesn't matter as long as you do SOMETHING!  You can find your legislator and his contact information by visiting the CT CGA website or using this link:  Find Your Legislator

Back away from the Fly tying bench

Well I've been MIA for the past few weeks but I haven't been far.  I decided to take advantage of the lack of major snow storms to get caught up on my preseason fly fishing prep.  Don't worry, we still have close to 3 feet of snow on the ground but we are making progress with it's departure.  In the meantime I have been putting in time on the bench tying some flies and experimenting with some new tying techniques, well new to me at least.

My local  trout stream is still un-fishable with all the ice and the recent rain will only hurt more than it helps but it won't be long now before I am back on the water and working on my nymphing skills.  I am looking forward to spending the spring working on some short line Czech and long line Euro nymphing tehcniques that I started learning last year - read my Introduction to Euro Nymphing post from last may and you can see why I am excited about this technique.

I recently received Aaron Jasper's European Nymphing DVD which just came out this past January and it really helped put everything together that I experienced last year and everything I've been reading and learning.  The video does a great job breaking down the basics of both short and long leader nymphing and includes a section on tying, knots and leader creation.  If you have been thinking about getting into Euro Nymphing styles then Aaron's DVD is a must.





So when I am not scouring the internet, or bugging my local Fly guy Steve Babbit up at JTs Fly Shop or watching Arron's video again, I am at the tying bench trying to make some head way on some flies.   I've only been tying flies for just about 2 years now but most of my ties have been buggers and streamers and some nymphs like the tried and true Pheasant tails or Hares ear nymphs so I had to expand my horizons to fill up my box in preparation for all the flies I will be fishing losing this spring.

Some of my recent ties - Bottom middle and left are woven flies

I am not a fan of dubbing flies and I'm sure it is just because I stink at it so I decided to try creating some woven flies just so I don't have to deal with my crappy dubbing technique.  Weaving flies basically consist of taking two pieces of material either floss or wire in contrasting colors and weaving them along the body of the fly to create a different color on the top and bottom of the fly.  It is a challenge for sure but once you get the hang of it there is no stopping.  I've been using DMC 6 strand embroidery floss from the local craft store.  It only cost about 37 cents a color and it is available in what seems like a gazillion possible color combinations.  

Just a sampling of some of the colors of floss I purchased.

There are a couple of tricks to weaving and the first is separating the six strands into 3 which is pretty easy to do.  The second is to use some empty thread spools to wind the floss on so you can use your bobin when weaving.  Do a search on your tube or goole and you will find plenty of video tutorials and step by step procedures like this one from Loren Willams Woven Polish Nymph Tutorial.  Lorens Website is a must have link for anyone who ties their own flies or looking to start.  Here is a short clip from Trout Predator Online that I used to help with my weaving. 



When I am not tying at the bench lately I am working on my knots, tying up some leaders and some coiled strike indicators and I can't wait for that bicolor strike indicator material that I ordered to show up so I can make some bicolor "Slinky" indicators.  I also purchased a new rod for nymphing and can't wait to get my new 10' 4wt Greys Streamflex out on the water rigged up with some of those flies I've been tying. 

So I apologize for being away the past couple of weeks but as you can see I've been busy preparing for the waters to open up.  I know this for a fact.  I will lose some flies and I will catch a few fish and I'm sure some will succumb to the net just because they are laughing so hard.  Either way old man winter will be gone and I will be on the water.  Life will be good.

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.