24: A tale of two outings

May29

I’ve been having a tough time with lessons this year. Not the clients! All have been enthusiastic learners and a treat to coach and teach. Rather, the bite windows have generally stunk (and they really shouldn’t be stinking). Yesterday’s lesson was a case in point. Craig did an outstanding job casting and mending and presenting and hunting and covering water. The last couple hours in particular, you could really see him taking to the wet fly. He never got discouraged, and he deserved a lot better than four touches and two in the hoop. But I’m happy to declare that Craig is going to be a certified Wet Fly Dangerous Machine if he keeps on keeping on! Great job, Craig.

The river was up from the rains, but in the 400s of cfs it was not too high for the wet fly. Weather was perfect, save for some breezy moments. No, I think the main culprit was the almost total lack of hatch activity, and zero visible feeding. I think I saw a half dozen(!) caddis in four hours. This was Craig’s first fish. I thought at first it might be a salmon/trout half-breed, but after closer inspection the maxillary is all brown trout. What threw me off was the tail, but I believe the fork is created by rending of the tissue. Whatever it is, it smacked the fly with gusto, and is a beautiful creature worthy of the wet fly.

I had a window of opportunity, so I decided to try my luck with the evening rise, although, between you and me, I didn’t think there would be much of one. Turns out I was right. Kindof. I wanted to fish the lower river, which was running much higher at 730cfs. It was, to say the least, a tricky wade. I was in the water fishing at 6:15, and for quite a while, absolutely nothing was happening. I started debating the merits of fishing vs. having a couch date with my wife, but decided to stick it out, if for no other reason than scientific curiosity. Then I got into a fish. And another. It wasn’t gangbusters, and still nothing was happening bug- or hatch- or rise-wise, but I was catching trout and having fun. I stuck it out to 8:30. Moments before, I had declared that it was over, when a big wild brown slammed by fly. I don’t usually put fish on the reel, but this hefty brown told me I really should. Final tally was 15 hooked and 12 in the hoop. Not bad for high water and nothing going on.

Of the dozen to net, 9 were stocked rainbows, a few of which thought they were steelhead, with multiple gravity-defying aerials. Three were wild browns: the big guy, a little guy, and this mid-range guy. This is significant because I was fishing in an area that would have been torched last summer in the heat and low flows. Nature finds a way. For those keeping score at home, the big one took LaFontaine’s Diving Caddis winged wet, middle dropper, which you should be fishing right now late afternoons into dusk.

Farmington River Flow Bill 5355 Passes!

May24

Yes!!! Hooray!!! Yahtzee!!! (Or, insert your favorite over-the-top-celebratory interjection here.)

That’s right, folks. Dancing days are here again. I don’t have the specifics on how the dam releases will be managed, but when I do, I’ll surely get them to you. This hopefully puts an end the MDC madness. And may I say to the MDC, with the utmost sincerity, don’t let the door hit your corporate weasel ass on the way out.

Farmington River Report 5/20 & 5/21/24: Creating another Dangerous Wet Fly Machine

May23

I guided Doug on Monday and Tuesday, and the results were fascinating. (At least they were to me.) Doug, who’s from northern Michigan, drove all the way to Connecticut for a wet fly lesson after hearing me talk about wet flies with Tom Rosenbauer on the Orvis podcast. We fished within the PTMA on Monday, and conditions were pretty spiffy: 330cfs, clear, cold, and a good caddis hatch, mostly tan, sz 16-20. The problem was uncooperative fish. We had a few risers to target, but nothing was coming up consistently. It was a struggle to put a couple in the hoop. Like many anglers new to the way of the wet fly, Doug needed some time to adjust to the casting, the mending and presentation, and waiting for the fish to do the hook setting.

**Day one: Doug scores a lovely Farmington wild brown, taken on a BHSH Hendrickson, sz 12. He went out after our lesson and stuck a few more fish. Little did we know he was just warming up for Tuesday.**

We fished the same time frame on Tuesday, 11am-3pm, only this time we headed to the lower river. 565cfs, clear, 55 degree water and glorious 80 degree sunshine. We focused on dialing in his presentation, covering water, and targeting fishy areas in some classic pocket water. What a difference a day makes! Doug stuck nine and landed eight. It was really cool to see him gaining confidence and making so many eat-worthy drifts. Fantastic job, Doug, and he scored a Farmington Hat Trick with browns, rainbows, and a brookie to hand.

MRVTU Awarded the Order of Pepperoni Pizza with Beer-On-Tap Clusters (and Question of the Day)

May16

Tuesday night I spoke to the Merrimac River Valley TU Chapter in Manchester, NH. The topic was the Farmington River, and we talked about that and a host of other fly fishing subjects. What an enthusiastic, attentive group! What’s more, MRVTU understands that a fed presenter is a happy presenter, and so they are hereby awarded the OPP with BOTC, and are entitled to all the privileges of that rank. Thanks again, group.

One of the questions I took involved the concept of the “go-to fly.” I explained why I couldn’t answer the question — at least not the answer the asker was looking for — and that answer is best summed up here.

**I made this one at home, but you get the idea.**

Farmington River Report 5/13/24: Slow. Slower. Slowest.

May14

About three hours into our session, I told Alan that of all the lessons I’d given over the years, if you asked me to pick the absolute worst days for catching, this would easily be in the top three. Or would that be bottom three?

It didn’t start that way: reduced flow (425cfs in the PTMA), warm air, bright sunshine, and bugs everywhere, bugs being caddis and midges. (Also witnessed: crane flies.) The midges floated by in mats and clusters, the caddis emerged and danced on the water and flitted through the air…and nothing was on them. I saw two rises in four hours. And so it turned out that it was a terrible day for catching fish on wet flies.

I leave the why to those who are wiser than I, but among my guesses were high pressure, a sudden change in flow, and (most likely) trout eating the caddis larva and emergent pupa near the bottom and at the mid depths. This last scenario manifested when we took our only fish of the day on a tungsten bead head Hendrickson soft hackle fished on point.

It wasn’t just us. We saw or encountered over a half dozen other anglers, and none of them had hooked up. Some days, the fish win. But Alan kept at it, making hundreds of fish-worthy presentations, and there will come the day when he does that and he’s hooking up on every cast. Well done, Alan!

Salvation comes to us in the form of a lovely parr-marked rainbow. She slammed the point fly on the dangle so hard, the Alan never had time to set the hook. Thanks, you beauty, for doing all the work, and to Alan for his positive perseverance.

A brief wet fly outing on private waters and other notes of interest

May8

On Monday I had the opportunity to fish a private stream, so naturally I jumped on it. This is a lovely brook that wants to be a river, and it’s not easy water. Its banks are overgrown, and there’s often a three foot drop from terra firma to water. The first beat we fished was particularly challenging; a lot of the water crawls along, creating glassy pools where any movement sends the fish into flight toward the nearest cut bank. I was instructed to stay out of the water as much as possible, but when did I ever follow directions when I wanted to do my thing? I decided that I needed to get in, summon my inner stealth ninja, and fish downstream.

Sure enough, I crept up on pool that had risers. The hatch was midges and caddis, and there were a few stray Hendrickson spinners. Some of the takes were more emergery, some gentle sips. I had two fish slam the fly the moment it hit the water, and a few more that required a little coaxing. I took six fish, which I was told was pretty darned good, a nice mix of stocked and wild brookies and some chunky rainbows. All three flies were eaten: Squirrel and Ginger (sparkle variant — more on that soon!), Hendrickson spider, and LaFontaine’s diving caddis, tan.

The second beat was not as kind. It began good enough, with my biggest fish of the day, a rainbow with a dramatic pink band (you can see it on Instagram @stevecultonflyfishing) on the second cast. But even though this mark was far better suited for wet flies, I only managed one more trout (do creek chubs count?), and even with that one, I had to wait a half hour and go back after I missed her the first time. I think the lack of activity was due to the hatches being over, and everyone with fins being well fed. Or, maybe I just stunk. Or maybe it was just fishing. No matter. It was just capital to be out fishing. Thank you. Peter G., for your most generous invitation.

It’s almost never a bad idea to swing wet flies when you see feeding fish, especially during an emergence. However, be advised: if the trout aren’t feeding regularly and rhythmically, and you don’t get hit after three good presentations, you may be in for a bit of a wait…

Meanwhile, nose to the grindstone on the book. As far guide trips go, I am not taking any more dates in May. If you see me on the river, please come say hello.

Then, of course, there’s the new house and vegetable garden, which won’t plant itself. What a wonderful collection of obligations.

Farmington River Mini Report 5/1/24: Back in the New Hartford Groove

May2

It’s hard to believe, but yesterday was the first time this year I got out on the Farmington River — and most of the afternoon was dedicated not to fishing, but errands and work. Poor me, having to spend an afternoon in an office that included shirtsleeve weather, sunshine, Hendricksons, trout, and good company!

Besides fishing errands — new boots and two nets on the item list — I spent some time distributing info sheets on gathering fly patterns and photos for the book. Then I hightailed it to the river to get some shots of guide Steve Hogan with his client. Finally, I spent an hour idly swinging a team of three wets. I’d missed the earlier hatch window, but I stuck a pile of juvy Atlantic salmon and then finally a rambunctious stocker rainbow.