Late Farmington River Report 10/15/18: olives, caddis, and cold & wet

I guided Mark and Sandy on Monday and we made the command decision to go for bigger, wild fish. That meant certain areas of the permanent TMA, and our method was streamers. The water was medium/high at 535 cfs, a few leaves, and the air was raw, with showers that came and went. We managed to bump a few brutes, but no hooksets. We fished four different spots. One of them saw a decent caddis (14-16) hatch with a few tiny BWOs in the mix. Even in the high water, there were a few risers on the caddis. We ended the day with some nymphing. In all the wetness, the camera never made it out of its sheath, so we’ll post sexy trout photos next time. Well done Mark and Sandy in some less than optimal conditions.

Maybe you were one of our streamer love tappers?

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Calling all Farmington River fly anglers: help needed Wednesday, October 17. You fish, DEEP collects, big trout are created.

Due to heavy rains, there was no draw down of the Hogback dam this fall, which meant no broodstock collection for the Survivor Strain program. DEEP is going to try to do it au naturel tomorrow — by fishing with hook and line — and they need your help. How much fun is this job? You fish, catch a big one, the DEEP collects it and takes it back to the hatchery to do its thing. Here are details from Neal Hagstrom:

“I wanted to confirm for you that we will be meeting with anglers at the Greenwoods parking lot on Wed.  We will try capturing brown trout to use as Farmington River Survivor Broodstock using hook and line.  I will be there with the tank truck about 9 am and will bring smaller live cars for use in the river.  There are a couple of anglers who will be starting earlier in the day, so I will be at the river early (7am) and have to leave to get the tank truck from Burlington.  I will stay as late as people want.  We greatly appreciate everyone’s willingness to help out. Law enforcement has been notified of that effort.”

A Survivor Strain broodstock brown sulks in the shallows. Quality fish like these — and their wild progeny — are counting on you tomorrow to help keep the program going.

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Thanks SEMASS TU, a frustrating few hours in RI, and Arts of Angler

My apologies for the lack of recent posts. October is turning out to be a busy, crazy month.

First, I’d like to thank the SEMASS chapter of TU for hosting me on Tuesday night. “Wet Flies 101” was the topic. That pizza hit the spot, and we had some really good Qs in the Q&A portion of the meeting.

I made a detour through Rhode Island on the way home. The objective was my October bass on the fly from the shore, but the three locations I fished were all blanks. Hopefully not a sign of things to come, as this was the first time this year I failed on my quest.

The Arts of the Angler is not a weekend-long show in Danbury this year. Instead, they’re doing it the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum in Livingston Manor, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. From the CFFC&M: “Get together with friends, including fellow tyers and vendors, at our home on the Willowemoc, talk about fishing, and help us chart the future of Arts of the Angler! The cost of general admission will be $5, and food will be available for separate purchase.” Unfortunately my schedule doesn’t allow me to be there, but I’ll be looking forward to next year.

Two more presentations this month: “Wet Flies 101,” Wednesday, October 17, Long Island Chapter TU, 7:30pm, Hicksville, NY. Everybody welcome. You can get more information here.

“The Little Things,” Thursday, October 25, Taconic Chapter TU, 6:00pm, Cork ‘n’ Hearth, Laurel Street, Lee, MA. Everybody welcome. You can get more information here.

I really gotta get out for some wild brook trout.

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Farmington River Report 10/1/18: That dull thud

Two-and-a-half hours mid-day yesterday, dedicated to the streamer cause. River was still up (670 cfs in the permanent C&R), very lightly stained, and cool (didn’t get a water temp). I hit three spots and found fish willing to jump on in two. Two of the pools had an intense caddis hatch window, about 15 minutes, and the fish were on the emergers, although most of what I saw rising was small. Fished the full sink integrated line with both yellow Zoo Cougars and a cone-head white/chartreuse bugger; all fish came on the latter fly. Gadzooks, the river was crowded for a Monday in October! Didn’t see anyone else hook up, so I took what I could get on this slow day.

Cast, mend, a short swing, a strip, and I felt that old familiar dull thud of a streamer hit. This Survivor Strain brown looks small; in reality, it was mid-teens class and a strong fighter. Taken on the cone head bugger.

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This is how we do it

No fishing today, but lots of writing. Polishing an article and starting to build some new presentations. I’m so fortunate to have this job, and it’s all because of readers and anglers like you. Here’s the scene from currentseams headquarters:

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TU 225 awarded the Order of the Triple Jalapeño Burger with Octoberfest Clusters

You know it’s going to be a good night when you sit down at the table and moments later a server brings you a cold, crisp Octoberfest — which you didn’t order, but would have. Sometimes things just fall into place. Many thanks to my good friends at the Narragansett Chapter of TU who demonstrated once again their mastery of the concept of a fed presenter is a happy presenter. Always a pleasure talking fishing over dinner. The topic for the club was “Trout Fishing for Striped Bass,” and we had a some good Q&A afterwards. Now, I gotta make a new presentation for next year!

If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve got. (And if it’s stripers like this, you’re probably doing something right.)

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“The Steel Deal” in the Oct/Nov 2018 issue of Field & Stream

What’s the best fly for Great Lakes steelhead? Nylon or fluorocarbon? How does barometric pressure influence the bite? If you’ve caught the chrome bug, you’ll want to read this. Part primer, part advanced course, “The Steel Deal” includes sage advice from New York guide James Kirkland and Michigan author/guide Matt Supinski — and someone named Steve Culton.

Every year — and day — is different, but last year I did really well on the Salmon River with a fluorescent orange Crystal Meth variant called the Breaking Skein Glitter Egg.

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A Full Slate of Fall Presentations

Fall is booking up fast! I have four presentations in the next four weeks all over the northeast:

“Trout Fishing For Striped Bass,” Wednesday, September 26, Narragansett TU 225, West Greenwich, RI, 7pm. Everybody welcome. You can get more information here.

“Wet Flies 101,”,  Tuesday, October 9, SEMASS TU 241, Middleborough, MA, 7:30pm. Everybody welcome. You can get more information here.

“Wet Flies 101,” Wednesday, October 17, Long Island Chapter TU, 7:30pm, Hicksville, NY. Everybody welcome. You can get more information here.

“The Little Things,” Thursday, October 25, Taconic Chapter TU, 6:00pm, Cork ‘n’ Hearth, Laurel Street, Lee, MA. Everybody welcome. You can get more information here.

Hope to see you there, and if you’re a currentseams reader or follower, please come say hello.

Hightail it to one of these meetings!

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Farmington River Report 9/19/18: Better get out the scale…

I waited two years for yesterday. A day after a heavy rain where the river would be up and off-color but still wadeable; preferably late summer or fall; some cloud cover; with most anglers opting out of fishing. Classic streamer conditions. Huck a bug at the banks, strip away, and wait for that telltale thud from a bruiser brown.

I fished three spots in the permanent TMA, and while all of them produced (including a smallie, the farthest north on the Farmy I’ve ever caught one) the action was slow. Still, I made the command decision to stay away from the recently stocked areas in the hopes of trading numbers for size, and that’s what happened. All trout to net were over 18″, including my biggest of this year.

The method: target banks with a full sink line, a longer (7-8 feet) leader and a deer hair head fly to get some neutral buoyancy going. Black is the classic stained water streamer solution, but they wanted it bright yesterday (nothing on black or olive — they were into white, yellow and chartreuse). Every day is truly different.

The type of trout you measure in pounds instead of inches, this pig was sitting six feet off the bank in a foot-and-a-half of water. Second cast, first strip, and he rolled on it. Right away I could see he was a good fish. Taken on a yellow Zoo Cougar, and a worthy opponent in a 750+cfs flow. Wonder what’s in that tummy?DCIM100GOPROG0013068.

 

 

“I’m Not Dead Yet — The last hurrah for wild Connecticut River strain Atlantic Salmon” from American Angler

A long title, but a good quick read on the last few returning Connecticut River strain Atlantic salmon. “I’m Not Dead Yet” (Holy Grail fans will appreciate the reference) is a tale of ambitious environmental intentions and epic fail. Or, if you want to get biblical, what is a man profited if he should gain an industrial revolution and lose a majestic species? “Im Not Dead Yet” first appeared in the July/August 2016 issue of American Angler.

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“Bring out your dead!” These little guys have long since been eaten.

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