Category Archives: General Ramblings

A little bit of this and that, and Farmington River book tidbits

We’re preparing to host a big family reunion, so no fishing for me today. I hope you’ve been able to get out — I have, and the cooler weather this week has been a welcome respite from the relentless cycle of heat and humidity.

To the salt: A shout out to The Saltwater Edge for their Local Singles Program. Even if you’re not a spin angler, you can take a lesson from its energy — reducing striped bass C&R mortality — by mashing down the barbs on your flies. It really makes a difference. Earlier this month on Block Island, I deep hooked two bass on Big Eelie patterns. in both cases, the hook came out with ridiculous ease, with no blood nor visible damage, because I was fishing barbless. Come to think of it, it’s getting close to time to tie up some…nah, we’ll wait…

The Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River book project process continues. I’ll be out on the river a lot this week, both guiding, fishing, and shooting photos. If you see me, please come say hello.

Writing-wise, I’m working on the hatches section, and choosing flies to match. It just occurred to me that most of what gets the attention this time of year is either large or yellowish. Then I remembered, how many times have I seen tiny BWOs (20-26) in the air? How many times has a fishless outing turned because I started fishing a Tiny BWO parachute? The answer is: many. Tiny BWOs may not be the sexiest hatch in midsummer, but they are important. Now, let’s also not forget the attenuata…or the egg-laying caddis…

Catch ’em up.

Managing the hot weather on the Farmington

Summer is here early, and with a vengeance. The good news is that we have solid summer flows coming out of the dam at a favorable temperature:

However, note that the water temperature spikes five degrees by late afternoon, just from the release of the dam down to the measuring point at the bridge in Riverton. It doesn’t take a math whiz to reckon that once the river reaches Collinsville, the water is going to be significantly warmer.

This is where you and a good water temperature thermometer come in. If you don’t have one, you should get one. (I use this IR wine thermometer, $30 from Amazon). There is some debate about what the cutoff temperature for fishing is; 67-68 seems to be the number. My present policy is to call it at 67; that is, if it’s 67 or higher, I won’t fish for trout.

Also note that evening, night, and early morning are going to be your best times for find favorable temperatures; what’s more, those coincide with low light periods, which are generally good times to fish.

Finally, this time of year sees explosive feeding activity, starting around 7:30pm and building exponentially into dark. Don’t make the mistake of leaving the water at 8:15pm. You’ll be missing the best dry fly fishing of the day.

Happy Monday and the book and Currentseams and fishing.

As I write this, I am ensconced in my new writer’s cave (non-cave actually, what with the long, tall windows that allow voluminous amounts of sunshine to spill into the room). I’m wrangling sprinklers on our newly hydroseeded lawn — sod to come tomorrow for other areas. This whole watering thing takes several hours a day. And then there are all the other new-house things on the to-do list…

The book is keeping me busy, too. I should be out fishing and taking notes on the river and hatches and then taking photos and so dammit, that’s what I’m doing tonight, and tomorrow, too, after my afternoon lesson. My current goal is 7,000 words per month, which I didn’t quite reach in May, and now one-third of the way into June I’m lagging for this month, too. Not that I’m complaining! It is a privilege to be writing this book, and I’m taking every step to make sure that I do it right.

So I’ve come to the realization that the new normal for Currentseams is probably going to continue in the catch-as-catch-can mode for the foreseeable future. I will of course try to keep you up to date on my fishing experiences and other must-have news, but don’t be alarmed if in any given week there’s only a couple — or one — posts. I appreciate your patience and your readership. And of course, please keep the questions coming.

No. Not here, not now.

Speaking of the Farmington River, right now is a great time to be out fishing. The summer hatches are beginning to ramp up and we have good flows. I’ll try to get a report up on Wednesday. Hope to see you on the river!

Farmington River Flow Bill 5355 Passes!

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.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Steve Culton is Writing a Book!

I’m super-excited to announce that I just signed a book contract with Stackpole. The working title is Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River. This will be a comprehensive resource for the West Branch, from the river to trout to maps to access to hatches to how-to-and-when. I plan on including information from local experts and guides, as well as a selection of must-have fly patterns. If you have any of Stackpole’s “Fly Fishing Guide To” river books, you know the level of detail I’ll be delivering.

The final manuscript isn’t due for over a year, so it’s going to take some time for this to get to press. In the meantime, please wish me luck as I set off on this big adventure. As always, I thank you for your support and readership, and of course I’ll keep you updated as the project progresses.

Coming soon to a bookshelf near you! While this isn’t the working title or cover shot, the description is spot-on.

Farmington River Flows Update: Public Hearing Friday March 8, and we need your help now

The CT State Legislature is holding a public hearing on the Farmington River flow situation this Friday, March 8. All interested parties are invited to submit oral or written testimony to be entered into the public record. The deadline to register is Thursday, March 7 at 3pm. This is your chance to make an impact!

The following is taken from the Farmington River Anglers Association website and has everything you need to know. Let’s get to it, people!

“Establishing an optimum flow regime in the Upper Farmington River remains one of our top priorities.

To this end, House Bill 5355 – AN ACT CONCERNING CONSERVATION OF CERTAIN WATERS OF THE UPPER FARMINGTON RIVER, will receive a public hearing on Friday, March 8 starting at 11 a.m. I encourage you to submit written and/or oral testimony. If you testify orally (in-person or Zoom) it should be accompanied by written testimony. The deadline to register is Thursday, March 7 at 3 pm.

Submit oral testimony here.

Submit written testimony here.

(Make sure to pick date March 8th. Then In the Bill field pick Bill HB05355.)

You can watch the meeting live on youtube here:”

From early June, 2023. The water should be up past Michael’s knees, not just above his ankles. Help us end ridiculously low, unnecessary, harmful flows like this.

TGIF Edition: Speaking at Yale, new Surfcasters Journal article, and exciting news teaser

Happy Friday, and and it’s a TGIF kind of day around currenseams HQ. It was a busier than normal week, what with two road hockey weekday games for #3 son Gordo and all the other stuff I’ve got going on.

On Tuesday night, I spoke and taught to the Yale Fishing Club. The Club is run by my good friend and paddle board angler extraordinaire Sean Callinan, and I’m always stoked to be able to teach the next generation of fly anglers. The subject matter was small streams, something near and dear to me, and we devoted plenty of time to preserving and protecting the resource. We finished by tying the Squirmy Worm Jig, which is both easy and highly effective. Many thanks again to the group for hosting me, and the pizza was swell, too!

Class is now in session!

I’m putting the finishing touches on a new article for Surfcasters Journal. It will be a little different in that it is story oriented, rather than how-to. It’s going to put a smile on your face when you read it. Of course, I’ll let you know when it comes out.

Finally, I just received some very exciting news that’s so big, it deserves its own post. My apologies for the teaser. I’m hoping to be able to share next week. I hope some of you are getting out to fish!

It’s action time! Help put an end to all this Farmington River flow crap.

Get out your email writing hats, folks. State Representative Mark Anderson is requesting that two bills be raised that will give us the consistent flows we deserve. The determination may come as early as next week, so let’s hop to it. You need to send an email to four legislators on the Environment Committee with the power to make this happen. They are:

Joseph.Gresko@cga.ct.gov

Rick.Lopes@cga.ct.gov

Patrick.Callahan@housegop.ct.gov

Stephen.Harding@cga.ct.gov

Representative Joseph Gresko, Chairperson, Senator Rick Lopes, Chairperson, Senator Stephen Harding, Ranking Member, Representative Patrick Callahan, Ranking Member

Here’s a sample letter. Please adjust it as you see fit.  It’s best if you put it in your own words and add as much detail as to how the flow affects your use of the river. 

“Please raise for a public hearing two bills that have been proposed to the Environment Committee to address erratic flows in the Upper Farmington River. This nationally renowned and federally-designated Wild and Scenic River begins below the MDC’s Goodwin Dam in Hartland and flows for 15 miles through Barkhamsted, New Hartford, and Collinsville (Canton). Less than two miles upriver of this dam is the Colebrook River Dam which is a flood control dam owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Currently, the USACE will only release (or hold back releases) when requested to do so by the MDC. 

The first bill requires the MDC to make requests for releases from the Colebrook River Dam, as necessary, to maintain the flow of water in the West Branch of the Farmington River at or above a rate determined to be a sufficient minimum flow rate by DEEP.

The second bill directs DEEP to oversee an update to the Farmington River Instream Flow Study last completed in 1992, which is linked here:

http://www.farmingtonriver.org/application/files/9814/7699/4131/FmgtnRiverInstreamFlowStudySum.pdf

Updating this study will provide information to determine the best flow regime for the Upper Farmington River to support its ecological health and recreational flows in light of changes in climate, as well as recent changes to state and pending changes to federal regulations governing the water in Colebrook River Reservoir.

Thank you for considering these two bills. 

Sincerely, 

Name 

Town “

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go write an email…

Happy Monday and the current currentseams situation

I’ve always tried to make currentseams worthy of your time. My goal has been to make three posts a week, all original content, stuff that you can’t get anywhere else. I know, sometimes in winter currentseams feels like the very big Steve Culton promotional machine, but after all, it is show season, and I like to keep you up to date on what I’m doing and where because you might want to catch a good presentation. It benefits everyone, yes?

So: right now, we’re in the process of getting our house ready for sale. Happy-happy-fun-joy, all the packing and organizing and culling and painting and cleaning we’re doing. As you can imagine, this leaves less time for fishing and writing. But the good news is it’s only temporary. Normally this time of year I get into a writing and content wheelhouse. That’s going into a holding pattern. I’ll still be posting, but it may not be three times a week. My current thinking is that some of those posts may be revisits of good stuff from the archives. I’m guessing that many of my readers haven’t seen some of the older published articles, or some of the wet fly series I’ve done, just to name a couple. If the planets align and I go fishing, I’ll surely let you know. I appreciate both your patience and your readership.

It’s all got to get packed up. And this just the tip of the iceberg.

On a positive local fishing note, the Farmington River is finally down to an angler-friendly level. Moderate weather is forecast through the week, so it’s a good time to take advantage if you’re not stuck inside packing up your house. I would think that nymphing would be the most productive method. Try an attractor like an egg or a junk fly on the bottom with a tiny soft-hackle dropper or midge pattern above. No need to be fishing at first light — let the water temp come up and enjoy a leisurely afternoon on the water. And of course, there’s always the streamer option…enjoy!

A thin blue line and and a thin pink line, or: I just tested positive for COVID

I most certainly picked this up in Marlborough this weekend, either at the show or at a restaurant. And I’m fully vaxxed and did plenty of masking. They say this current strain is particularly virulent, and so here I am in bed. My symptoms first appeared yesterday and steadily worsened today. If you took one of my classes or attended one of my talks, and were in close proximity for an extended period, I wanted to let you know. I hope everybody is feeling well, and I hope to kick this thing’s butt by NFL playoff Saturday!

This just in from the CDC: You cannot get COVID from kissing a steelhead.