There’s still time to sign up for the class in Marlborough and Edison.
Here are all things wet fly that I’m doing at both shows: Marlborough Saturday, January 21: Classes With The Experts, 8:30am-11:00am, Tying and Fishing Wet Flies. You must pre-register for this class. 2:00pm, Destination Theater Room A, Modern Wet Fly Strategies.
Edison, Saturday, January 28, 9:45am, Seminar, Strike Room,Modern Wet Fly Strategies. 12:30pm, Main Show Floor, Featured Fly Tier,Spiders, Winged, and Wingless Wets. 2:00pm-4:30pm, Classes With The Experts, Tying and Fishing Wet Flies. You must pre-register for this class.
A shout out to these two local groups for feeding me and hosting me this week. It doesn’t matter if it’s pizza and beer or a sit down dinner, your hospitality is very much appreciated. I’m already looking forward to next time.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled breakfast…
And yes, I’m all fired up and rarin’ to go! I’m hoping you’ve blocked out some time to attend the weekend of January 27-28-29 — and of course, that you’re planning on seeing me speak — or better still, taking one of my classes. As always, talks and demos and seminars are included in the price of your admission ticket. You have to pre-register for classes, and you can do that here. If you’re from parts north, the Marlborough, MA show is now just a week away. Please come say hello.
I have two speaking engagements this week with local TU Chapters and you are cordially invited to attend (Thanks, groups!) The first is Wednesday, January 11 at 7pm at the Candlewood Valley Chapter of TU. I’ll be presenting The Eastern Brook Trout — Connecticut’s Wild Native. The talk covers the species from habits to habitat, and of course we’ll discuss tactics and strategies for fly fishing for these precious jewels. The meeting is at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, CT. You can get more details here.
We could all use a little bit of some wild brook brook trout. What a stunner, this one!
On Thursday, January 12, 7pm, I’m at the Hammonasset Chapter of TU. The talk is Wet Flies 2.0, and it takes a deeper dive into this ancient and traditional subsurface art. Matching hatches, using wet flies as searching patterns, tackle, presentations…we’ll talk about stuff like this and much more.The meeting takes place at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association building in Meriden, CT. You can get more details here. If you’re not a member of the group, I think they want you to get a free ticket online, which you can do here.
Come see “Wet Flies 2.0” and you’ll be one of the few anglers in the U.S. who knows the secret of Smut No. 1….
And I’m getting all fired up! It’s a busy show schedule for me this year, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Here are some details on what I’m doing. Finding Small Stream Nirvana is a new presentation; I’ve only done it once, at Edison last year during a blizzard to a small, dedicated audience. It covers the basics of small stream fishing, and goes into gear, tactics, and even how to find your own little slice of thin blue line heaven. My Featured Fly Tyer appearance, Presentation Flies For Striped Bass, will cover some basic patterns I use that create the illusion of life even when at rest. Sparse, impressionistic, and proven, every one of them. I’ll go into that topic in far great depth, including tactics and gear, at my seminar, Beyond Cast and Strip. I debuted that one last November at the International Fly Tying Symposium, and if you want to start catching more (and bigger) striped bass, this one is not to be missed. All of these are included with your show admission.
In Saturday’s class, Tying and Fishing Wet Flies, we’ll tie three basic patterns and talk about presentation and tactics. You must pre-register for this class, and you can do that HERE. If you want to become a dangerous wet fly machine, this is a great way to start. As is my 2pm talk, Modern Wet Fly Strategies, a deeper dive into the ancient and traditional art of catching dozens of fish.
Sunday’s 8:30am class, Presentation Flies for Striped Bass, also requires pre-registration, and you can do that HERE. We’re going to tie and talk and get you on the path to catching the stripers that everyone else can’t. We’ll wrap things up with Hot Bronze: Wade Fishing for Smallmouth. Pound-for-pound, smallmouth are among the most belligerent, obstreperous things that swim, and I’m beyond addicted to catching them.
When I’m not teaching (or sitting in on other’s talks) I’ll be walking the show floor. Please come say hello!
2023 is spread out before us, an immense blank canvas upon which we may paint glorious fishing pictures. Yeah, OK, there will be some blanks and some crappy conditions and days where it just doesn’t go our way. Whatever. It all beats the crap out of sitting at a desk.
To start: don’t forget to get a 2023 Connecticut license. (I only mention this because someone who looks a lot like me did.)
There are some new inland sport fishing regs for CT, too. You can get all the fishing regs from the CT DEEP website, but the one that is most meaningful to all of us is that there is now no closed season for fishing on all lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. That means if you want to fish for trout on an off-the-books thin blue line in March, have at it. A great change and a long time coming.
I had a brilliant plan to fish the Farmington yesterday, but it turns out I probably picked the wrong day. Wednesday would have likely been better, with warmer temps, total cloud cover, a little higher and more stained water, and no cold front moving through. But I couldn’t fish Wednesday, so there it is.
Water conditions were 540cfs in the PTMA and a very slight stain. I didn’t take a water temp, but I’m guessing about 40 degrees. I hit three marks in two hours, and blanked in all of them. A measly single bump would have been nice, but so goes the winter streamer game; it’s either on or it’s not, and this was an emphatic Not day. The first mark was a popular, large dry fly pool; the second another popular spot, albeit on a much smaller scale; then back to another large, popular dry fly pool for the third. I fished my full sink tip line with a 3-foot leader of 8-pound Seagar Red. I started with a Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow then switched to a Hi-Liter. I know I was fishing deep and slow enough because I brought over a dozen leaves to hand. Yes, I did switch up retrieves, varying from swing to dangle to slow to short, jerky and fast. I covered water, actively moving though each mark. Not happening.
At least I’m warm now.
No shelf ice yet. This is a Sparkle Minnow, which is a good all-around generic flashy streamer.
If you’re looking for a gift for the fly fisher in your life — even if that’s you! — look no further. Whether you’re buying for yourself (or showing this post to your significant other — hint hint) I got you covered.
A Half-Day Guide Trip/Lesson with Steve Culton. If you’re planning on heading out with me next year, this locks you in at the 2022 rate. I highly recommend the four-hour slot. To purchase, please call 860-918-0228 or email me at swculton@yahoo.com.
My client Jake with a lovely wild Farmington River brown from last April.
Classes with the Experts at the January 2023 Marlborough Fly Fishing Show. There are two options. The first is Saturday, January 21 8:30am-11am, Tying and Fishing Wet Flies with Steve Culton. This is mostly a tying class, but we will also cover some fishing aspects. You must pre-register with the Fly Fishing Show. Here’s the link. The second is Sunday, January 22, 8:30am-11am, Presentation Flies For Striped Bass with Steve Culton. This is mostly a tying class, but we will also cover some fishing aspects. You must pre-register with the Fly Fishing Show. Here’s the link. The cost is $90 per session.
Or, for a great stocking stuffer, you can buy Marlborough show tickets in advance direct from the show. Here’s that link. Note that I will also be appearing in Edison, NJ, the last weekend in January on Friday and Saturday, but I do not yet have my schedule.
Happy gift giving, and have a safe and wonderful holiday season.
A shout out to the Squan-a-Tissit Chapter of TU (northern MA) for virtually hosting me last night. We Zoomed and boomed and I presented The West Branch Farmington River: Southern New England’s Blue-Ribbon Trout Stream. A reminder to all the long and longer-distance fly fishing clubs out there: Zoom is great way to get acquainted. If you”re in charge of booking speakers, here’s a link to my current presentation menu.
The question of the day is certainly a fun one. I don’t think I’ve ever had this one before last night. You may find it tongue-in-cheek, but I took it seriously, and there’s a little bonus wisdom in the answer. Q: What’s your favorite fishing cigar and do you find that certain brands help you catch more fish?A: Without getting into specific brands, I like fuller bodied cigars that have a lot of taste complexity. I’m an espresso/dark chocolate/spicy/earthy flavor profile kind of guy. Now, this next bit is true. If I’m having a tough go when I’m fishing wets or streamers (or striper fishing), sometimes I’ll tuck the rod under my arm, leave the fly dangling in the water, and get out a cigar. Several times a year, I hook up when I’m lighting the cigar, doing nothing else. That’s clue #1. Clue #2 is that sometimes when you’re dealing with a riser that won’t bite, rest the fish. Take out a cigar, cut and light it — or, if you don’t partake, take couple minutes to organize your box — and then make a cast and see what happens.
It takes a rare talent to enjoy a cigar while you’re doing battle with a steelhead. OK, not really, but I do enjoy the connection between partaking and hooking up. Sometimes it seems that the cigar is the wild card that gets the bite going. I can’t explain it, but it happens an awful lot.
I guided Jon yesterday from late morning to mid-afternoon. We had abundant sunshine, the air was crisp and chilly, and we had a bit of a breeze to contend with. But by far the most challenging part was the sheer volume of leaves in the water. It was never-ending. Still, the trout have to eat. The trick is to keep at it, and I like to use flies that offer some contrast to all the yellow and orange and red in the water. We fished four marks in the lower river, which was running about 225cfs, a very respectable height, and far better than the double-digit CFSs we’ve had to suffer though in the Permanent TMA.
So: Jon is a beginning fly angler. We spent the session drop-shot nymphing under an indicator. Jon did a great job sticking with it despite all the infernal flora. And what do you know? The indicator dipped, the hook was set, the battle won, and…Jon’s first Farmington River trout was wild brown! Way to go, Jon!
Sparse spotting, lovely halos, perfect rays on the fins, no edge damage to the fins, intact adipose — and a stubborn unwillingness to come to net — all hallmarks of a stream-born wild brown. It was especially gratifying to find this fish in an area of the river that got torched this summer. Nature finds a way (again). A tremendous first Farmington River trout for Jon.
currentseams.com 