Author Archives: Steve Culton

A good night to give a wet fly presentation

Had enough rain yet? I can only imagine what your favorite trout stream looks like. One of those neither man nor beast nights, so I was astonished to see such an impressive turnout at the Thames Valley Chapter of TU meeting. “Wet Flies 101” was the topic. I can’t say enough good things about this group: we had projector difficulties, hardware interface problems — just about anything that could go wrong, did. That is, until several chapter members pitched in and pulled it all together for me. My hat is off to you. Thank you for having me, thank you for helping me, and thank you for being such an attentive and curious audience.

It was also nice to see so many familiar faces. You know who you are.

We could use a little sunshine breaking through the mists.

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There’s cold in them thar hills

You get a day like today and it’s easy to think that finally, winter is over. But last week when Grady Allen — owner of UpCountry Sportfishing — and I ventured over the hills and far away, there were constant reminders that winter’s grip can be tenacious.

We fished River X in the Berkshires. I had never been before, and the first thing I noticed on the drive up was that there was still white stuff on the ground. The banks of the river were a patchwork of earth, snow, and ice. Frozen shelves still extended from the shore, and while clear, the water was high from runoff. Even more telling, its temperature was a bracing 34 degrees. In April. Not so good for the fishing. Grady took one lonely brookie on an ICU Sculpin, and your humble scribe wore the collar. Here are a few photos from our adventure.

“I’ll have a block of ice with my boulder, please.” Must have been some winter up here.

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Grady working an upstream seam. We only managed one cigar each this morning; we cut the trip short for lack of a bite. (I always like to fish with people I consider to be better anglers than me. That way, if we both blank, I don’t feel like such a loser.)

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Amidst the hoary streamscape, a green totem of spring.

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No. Not yet.

Just when Mother Nature gives you permission to believe the stripers might be there (peepers for several days now, first daffodil showing some yellow, temperatures actually in the low 60s) she slams the door with cruel finality. I mean, mean-like. See ya, sucker.

You know it’s bad when the all the spin guys leave before you do.

Here’s what I can tell you: bright, sunny day. Water with good visibility, albeit still well below normal (ten lashes for me for forgetting my thermometer) temperature. Wind honking in my face at 15 mph (with gusts up to 20) that made casting a large diameter floating line difficult. Not a touch for me or any of the other four guys who wisely packed it in before I did.

Everything is late this spring, and the stripers are no exception. April 10 is the farthest I’ve gone into April without a bass. But, there’s good news.  It’s got to start sometime.

It’s like the birds are saying, “Follow the arrows to find the stripers.” If it were only that easy.

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Thank you, CFFA

“How many flies did you actually tie?” It was Ben Bilello, salmon fly tyer extraordinaire, who was doing the asking. “Two-and-a-half,” I said. “I only did one,” countered Ben. That’s kind of how these things (Fly Tyers’ Roundtable) go: lots of talking, very little tying. But, as the Al Franken-voiced Stuart Smalley might say, that’s OK.

Many thanks for the CFFA for inviting me to tie. Just as many thanks for everyone who stopped by my table to talk fishing, tying, and especially those who indulged me with tales of fishing glory.

I switched it up last night and tied some striper flies. These are Crazy Menhaden flatwing/soft-hackle hybrids.

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Appearances, articles, and other nifty stuff

April is shaping up to be a busy month at currentseams. Fishing-wise, winter looks like it’s finally decided to vamoose, the stripers are on the move, and before long, we’ll be hearing rumors of sightings of those big mayflies with the three tails.

I have three more appearances scheduled this month:

Wednesday, April 9th, I will be tying at the CFFA Tying Roundtable. 7pm, Veterans Memorial Clubhouse, 100 Sunset Ridge,  East Hartford, CT.

Tuesday, April 15th, I will be presenting “Wet Flies 101” to the Thames Valley Chapter of TU. You can get details at thamesvalleytu.org.

Thursday, April 24th, I will again be presenting “Wet Flies 101,” this time to the CT/RI Coastal Fly Fishers. While the presentation is freshwater-centric, many of the rigging and presentations cross over nicely to striper fishing. connri-saltfly.com

Not yet. But soon.

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My Word-o-Matic article writing machine has been going full bore. Look for a piece on matching the hatch with wet flies in the next issue of American Angler, one on the Farmington River Survivor Strain in the spring issue of The Drake, and a small stream wet fly article in an upcoming Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide.

Lastly, many thanks to those of you who have asked me to be your guide. With two jobs, two kids playing on a total of four travel sports teams, and a spouse who travels for business, my schedule is under constant attack by the time-space continuum. Thanks for your patience, and I’ll do what I can do to make things work.

Many thanks to the TU Naugatuck Pomperaug Chapter for hosting “Wet Flies 101”

I learned two things tonight. One, it’s hard to find pizza by the slice in Naugatuck. And two, the guys of TU Chapter 281 are perfectly willing to share a couple slices of their own.

A fed guest speaker is a happy guest speaker, and thus fortified I presented “Wet Flies 101.” Another receptive, friendly group, armed with lots of good questions. I am truly fortunate to be able to do what I do. Thanks again!

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In other news, I have some more videos in the works, and a currentseams exclusive interview with striper legend Ken Abrames. Stay tuned.

 

 

How to tie the Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet

The Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet is a fairly easy tie that uses readily available materials. Best of all, it is a real fish catcher. I couldn’t possibly tell you how many trout I’ve taken on the Dark Hendrickson over the past few years. Match the size to the naturals on the river, pick out a rising trout, drift or swing the fly over its position, and hold on.

Farmington River report 3/21/14: It didn’t feel like spring

A sunny day  in late March can be misleading. On Friday, any warmth generated by the sun was fleeting, captured and quickly dispatched by a chilly, gusting wind. The water was only 34 degrees, well below normal for this time of year, lightly stained, and running at 450cfs in the upper TMA. There’s still plenty of snow on the ground that has to melt and become part of the ocean; until that happens, expect cold water.

So, to the fishing. Well, it was what we in the trade call a slow day. Even the guys I spoke to who were fishing shiners were having a tough go of it. I jumped around the river, dedicated to the streamer cause, and the only trout I managed came by accident. I was messing around with the streamer, an articulated white and chartreuse bunny/bugger thing, to see how it looked in the water. Right in front of me, about ten feet away, and this brown rose from the depths and stomped it. Rather lucky than good, but we’ll take it.

Cased caddis everywhere in the last spot I fished. I’m still amazed that a little wormy thing can build a house out of sticks. Please appreciate this photo. My hands and forearms were still cold about a half hour after I took it.

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An occupant. Sorry, little guy, for putting you out on the street. 

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The Hackled March Brown Spider

“March Brown” is a name you see attached to a lot of different wet fly patterns. Some of them are caddis; others, mayflies. This spider is intended to represent the latter. I discovered it on page 116 of Sylvester Nemes’ Two Centuries of Soft-Hackled Flies. It was originally published in 1936 in an English book, Trout Fishing From All Angles.

The Farmington River is not known for its March Browns; while we do experience that hatch, it’s not on the level of, say, Hendricksons or Sulphurs. But we do have a good showing of Isonychia, and I have taken to fishing the Hackled March Brown spider in the late summer to represent those substantial mayflies.

Last August, I was fishing a snotty run that was studded with boulders and pockets. There wasn’t much going on hatch-wise, and I had the Hackled March Brown spider as the point fly on my team of three wets. The hit was one of unrestrained violence and brutality, such that it ripped the line from my hands. The trout went immediately on the reel; I never saw it until I was able to coax it into the shallows. Over twenty inches long, it was my biggest trout of 2013.

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Hook: Wet fly, size 12
Silk: Orange Pearsall’s Gossamer
Tail: Grey partridge fibers
Body: Hareline Dubbin Rust (HD23)
Hackle: Brown partidge

 Tying notes: A straightforward, simple fly to tie. The original calls for a body of “hare’s ear dyed red ant colour.” I have settled on “rust,” and the trout seem OK with it. You could make the body a little buggier than I have here, but I like this fly with a thin profile. There are a multitude of brown feathers on a standard partridge skin; they’re located along the back of the bird.

The Hackled March Brown Rogues’ Gallery:

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Steve Culton has a great face for radio

The press release might read “Catch Farmington River guide and outdoor writer Steve Culton on this week’s Yankee Fisherman program on HAN Radio. Steve talks about all things wet fly fishing, covering topics from wet fly styles to presentation.”

Also appearing on the show is my friend Steve Zakur from CVTU. Thanks so much to host John Kovach and HAN Radio for having me on. As its title suggests, Yankee Fisherman focuses on the ample fishing opportunities found in the Connecticut area.

Here’s the link to the show: or http://www.hanradio.com/category/news/yankee-fisherman/

Episode 3.

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