Tag Archives: brown trout

How to become an instant expert, or: Fun with truck trout

The Salmon River in Colchester holds a special place in my heart. It’s where my dad taught me to fish for trout. It’s the first place I ever fly fished. And, it’s just about the prettiest little big river around. I used to fish it all the time; the general plan was to hit the Salmon early season, then switch to the Farmington by late spring. Gradually, the pull of the Farmington and its bigger, wild trout took over, to the point where before yesterday, I couldn’t remember the last time I fished the Salmon for trout.

The day I chose to make my triumphant return was chilly, breezy, with a mix of sun and clouds. The water was crystal clear, and running about 300cfs, which I consider to be the perfect height for that river. There was a decent caddis hatch, about a size 14-16, and some 14-16 BWOs. And, to my delight, there were piles of fish to be caught. I fished from 12:15pm-3:30pm, all within the Fly Fishing Only section. While catching trout after freshly stocked trout holds a limited interest to me, I decided I’d just go with the flow and enjoy the moments. And so I did.

I had originally planned to nymph, but then decided to try the tight line long leader micro streamer thing. I wasn’t connecting, but I figured there were trout near the bottom of the run, so I tried a little cast-and-strip, et voila! Casting that long leader with a heavy fly is a bear, but it can be done once you figure out how to wrangle the setup. I ended up catching many fish at another mark on the tight-line hop-and-drop presentation, as well as the strip. Rats! I forgot I only had 5x tippet on the rig, and a broodstock beastie surgically removed the fly. Here’s a chunky low-teens brown that gave me a fine battle for a truck fish.
Some pretty nice haloing for a non-wild char. I’d say my action was 50% browns, 30% rainbows, and the rest brookies. (The high percentage of brook trout surprised me.) I supposed a hat trick is worthy of mention, but you know, I was only a dace or a sucker or even a smallmouth away from the salami. Once I got tired of bailing fish on streamers, I decided to rig for wet fly. Unfortunately, surface activity was sporadic and limited, so no tugs were forthcoming. However, Hendrickson time is coming. Thanks to everyone who took the time to say hello. It’s great to be able to put faces and voices to screen names.

Survivor (and then some)

On Tuesday the DEEP collected broodstock for the next generation of Survivor Strain brown trout. The MDC drew down the reservoir to about 70cfs and the collection crews had at it. Normally, I like to give warning of the event (you can still fish, but you need to stay clear of the collection crews) but I missed that boat. However, I’m happy to report that well over 100 trout were collected — and after the challenging summer conditions these fish made it through, you can rest assured that the survival aspect of their genetic material is exceptional.

With cooler days and nights upon us, re-stocking the river will begin soon. Then we can pretend that this summer never happened.

Task completed. Back up she goes! It may take a day or so for the fish to regain their bearings.

Farmington River Report 7/19/20: So many bugs!

From the moment I arrived at the river — about 6:00pm — till the moment I left — about 9:20pm — the water and air above was crackling with mayflies and midges. After enduring several recent outings marked by poor hatches, this was Mother Nature’s make-good outing. As a bonus, this was a working session, as I’d planned to shoot video for a new wet fly presentation I’m building. Conditions could not have been better. First it was sulphurs, size 16-18, then an influx of olives, size 18. Micro midges were everywhere. The fish were still feeding when I left the water.

This is a video still, so the quality is not great, but splashy rises like this were everywhere for the first 90 minutes. I enjoyed some spectacular wet fly action, swinging a team of three (Squirrel and Ginger, Partridge and Light Cahill, and Light Cahill winged wet). I took numerous fish on all three patterns, presenting upstream, downstream, and across. There came a time when the fish no longer took the subsurface fly, about 8pm. That’s when I switched to dries.

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Another video still. I can’t say that I can get too excited about domestic rainbow trout, but the Farmington rainbows this year are in a new class of fun. They’re fat, they’re feisty, they’ll bulldog you the entire fight, and many of them are taking on holdover characteristics like intact scales, deep coloration/pink bands, and well-formed fins. Corpulent mid-teens inches rainbows like this one are in faster water everywhere. Most of the browns I took came after 8:30pm.

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Housy Mini-Report 9/18/19: Like buttah

I intended to fish the Hous for smallmouth, but I didn’t like the cold front that came through the day before. So to hedge my bets, I began in the TMA in hopes of some Salmo action. A brilliant day for fishing! 70 degrees, sun and clouds, crisp autumn-like air. Water 191cfs. Started with a streamer in a popular hole, and had a couple small bumps. Then I noticed some risers, and tied on a white fly soft hackle.  “The Wrong Fly Presented Correctly” Part 1: the fish were on Tiny BWO emergers, but I didn’t have anything close to that in my box. So I went with a swung soft hackle just below the surface. Bang!

Like buttah, a gorgeous mid-teens brown that’s been in the river for a while (look at those pecs). I love how nature finds a way despite low flows and scorching summer temps. 

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Downstream in the TMA I discovered a pod of smutting trout in a placid pool. Again, on tiny BWO emergers and again, only the size 10 soft hackle (and 8-pound test tippet to boot) at my disposal. “The Wrong Fly Presented Correctly” Part 2: the answer again was yes.

Wrapped up the trip with some new smallmouth water recon. Very sexy water, but as I feared the cold front put the kibosh on the action. Not to worry. It’s going to be warm this weekend…and there’s always next year.

 

The State of the Farmington River Survivor Strain Brown Trout

Nature doesn’t always cooperate with mankind’s timetable, and that was the case this fall with the attempted collection of broodstock browns on the Farmington River. Rain, rain, and more rain — coupled with unusually high releases from Hogback — conspired to muck things up to the point where a Hail Mary had to be called. Many thanks to the DEEP staff and anglers who came out Wednesday to collect broodstock. The results weren’t what we’d hoped for, but you get what you get and you don’t get upset (a nod to Mrs. Kawecki,  my kids’ pre-K teacher). Life goes on, as will the Survivor Strain program.

The good news is that the Farmington River browns are in pre-spawn mode, and there’s plenty of water in which to get jiggy. DEEP tells me that the Farmington River wild trout population is doing well, (I can confirm that through personal experience.) What’s more, back at the DEEP reproduction facilities, 16-18″ Survivor Strain trout are also ready to do their thing. Those fish will be released into the Farmington next spring, and their progeny to the Farmington and the Hous.

If you’re interested in reading more about the Farmington River Survivor Strain Program, here’s an article on the subject.

This is why we do it. Not a Survivor Strain brown, but she could be the mother of many.

DCIM100GOPROG0013068.

 

Farmington River Report 9/1/18: Finishing with a bang

Yesterday I guided Pete and his son Scott. They wanted to learn the mystical arts of the wet fly, so we had a stream side mini-class then had at it. The water was a little higher than I’d like (400cfs+ in the permanent TMA, 64 degrees) and the hatch activity was about a 2 on the 10 scale, but we managed to move a few trout in Spot A. Still, not the action I was hoping for. Off to Spot B where I noticed a few risers. They weren’t having the wet (this is the second time in two weeks I’ve witnessed this) so I switched Scott over to an X-leg Hopper Caddisy thing with a wet dropper. Second cast, we had a rise. A few casts later, pay dirt. Many thanks to both Pete and Scott for being such swell company. Weather was great, and the river was far less crowded than I expected.

Just as time was running out on the session, Scott nailed this stunning high-teens wild brown. What a gorgeous fish!

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DEEP Farmington River Sampling scheduled for September 9, 10, 11

This comes from Neal Hagstrom of the DEEP:

Just a heads up for everyone. The DEEP will be sampling the River Sept 9-11th. We will be working from Barkhamsted downstream.

On the 9th Hogback Road, around the Campground, and possibly the drive-in Pool.

On the 10th Halford’s Run, and the Greenwoods – the big brood stock collections at the Wood Shop that pm.

On the 11th Ovation and above Satan’s Kingdom. We hope to get flows restored mid-day on the 11th. 

This assumes that mother nature cooperates and no rain limits our work. Angler’s cooperation on clearing the river during these activities is greatly appreciated because your safety is a primary concern and people in the water affect the efficiency of our operation. 

As always, all broodstock will be returned to the river in early December after they complete their recovery from spawning.

If there are questions I can be reached at the Marlborough Fisheries Office 860-424-4179

Neal

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In case you are unaware, the MDC draws down the flow from the Hogback dam in early September so DEEP and volunteer crews can take their fish census and gather brood stock browns for their Survivor Strain program. As Neal mentioned, it is best to stay clear of the crews while they are working. That doesn’t mean you can’t go fishing elsewhere on the river. However, given the recent stretch of unusually hot weather and a forecast that calls for more of the same, I would suggest that it might be prudent to give the trout a break.

If you’ve never been on a sampling, it’s a fascinating experience. Anyone can volunteer by contacting the DEEP.

Tip of the week: visit the river while the water is way down. Note where the truly deeper holes are. Bank that information for future withdrawals.

A brood stock brown that was captured and bred in fall, 2012, (red elastomer left eye) then returned to the river in December of that year. I caught her in April of 2013. I wonder how many of her kids I’ve crossed paths with?

Big Survivor Strain brown hen

Why I love the Survivor Strain program

Not every big fish in the Farmington is wild. Here is a Survivor Strain brown from a recent outing. Large, well-developed fins, clipped adipose, and some distinctive haloing around the lower spots. I wonder what else is in that belly? The fish’s attack was textbook big brown: hit, hit, then the take. You read so many reports of people catching 18″ trout on the Farmington that I suspect a good percentage of those fish are actually short of 18, what with it being such a nice, round default number. But I can tell you with certainty that this fish was at least 18″, measured against my landing net, which I’m pleased to report had some difficulty accommodating the catch.

Farmington Survivor Strain brown

Farmington River Mini Report 6/7/15: Let the dry games begin

A quick 90-minute session on the river last night from 7:30-9:00. Walked a riffle-pocketed run swinging wets. A couple bumps, but no firm hook sets. I was a little disappointed by the lack of surface feeding activity — there were plenty of bugs (caddis, midges, light Cahills), but nothing on them. That changed once I moved down to some smoother dry fly-type water. Three anglers were just leaving, so I moved in. I witnessed three different rise forms: the showy slash/splash, the subsurface boil, and the spinner sip. Unfortunately, it was one of those evenings where very few of the fish were showing any consistent feeding pattern. Still, I managed to stick a half-dozen browns ranging from nine to about fifteen inches. They liked the Pale Watery wingless (Magic Fly) size 18 and a size 20 Catskills Light Cahill. There was one good fish feeding (spinner sip) in about a foot of frog water on the edge of a impossible-to-mend-across current seam. I had at him repeatedly over the course of an hour. He did not come to net, but getting him to take was the highlight of the evening.

Time to warm up the cane pole for sulphurs.

Farmington River Report 3/13/15: More fun with streamers

Fished the upper TMA for about 2 1/2 hours today. Streamers again (today’s favorite was a slim profile pattern with a gold bead head, and white and chartreuse marabou).  The usual winter setup: full sink integrated line, three-foot leader, letting the fly sink/swing, then a slow, jerky retrieve. The strike pattern that was established on Tuesday’s outing was present today — a swipe by the trout to stun the fly, then the hit-to-eat. Two fat, healthy, sixteen-inch browns to net. One JR Cuban Alternate Cohiba Robusto and a very happy angler smoking it. The water was up a few inches from the other day, but still clear and cold at 36 degrees. A few midges here and there, and the early grey stones came out about 1pm. Snow pack was less of a walking issue, mostly because of last’s night’s freeze. Still, plenty of anglers out for a weekday in March.

Streamer tip of the week: these big browns aren’t eating on the first strike; rather, they’re smacking the fly to stun it. It feels like more of a bump than a tug. Don’t set the hook. Let the fly sit for a moment, or continue to micro strip. The eating strike will come a moment later.  16%22 late winter brown