FinFollower Archives - FinFollower.com

Fish Per Minute

August 20, 2016 by Leigh 6 Comments

Or at least it seemed that way. With temps still in the 80’s, I decided to give the trout a break and focus on Housatonic smallies with streamers. I was not disappointed. The bite was on from the minute I arrived. Often they were hitting the streamer as soon as it touched the water, acting […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Connecticut fly fishing, FinFollower, fishing with flies, fly fishing gear, fly fishing product, fly fishing stuff, fly fishing tools, Housatonic River, river fishing, river fly fishing, smallmouth bass, streamers, Summer Fishing, woolly bugger, wooly bugger

Ankle-Deep

June 19, 2016 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Sometimes turning right or left makes all the difference. In this case it was a left. I pulled off the main road on to a cul de sac side street. A gas station, multifamily homes and a two-story commercial building lined the sides of the well-traveled path. A half mile downstream is a TMA, regularly […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: brown trout, Connecticut fly fishing, dry flies, FinFollower, fishing with flies, fly fishing sites, fly fishing stuff, Fly Tying, rainbow trout, river fishing, river fly fishing, Shepaug River, wild brown trout, wild trout

On The Fly Show #7: Open House at Angler’s Den

March 3, 2016 by Leigh Leave a Comment

This was our second on-location shoot at Angler’s Den in Pawling, NY. Each year it just gets better. It was another great day and a well-attended event, with much milder weather. This year we spent some time watching great fly tiers at work, including Frank DeGrazio, Nicole Seymour and “Steelhead” Steve Yewchuck. We also learned about Art […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Anglers Den, Art Palmer, bamboo rodmaking, FinFollower, Fly Shop, Fly Tying, Frank DeGrazio, Mouse Patterns, Nicole Seymour, nymphs, On The Fly, Steve Yewchuck, Wet Flies

Product Review: Fishpond Buckhorn Sling

December 23, 2015 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Had a chance to review the Fishpond Buckhorn Sling for the past few weeks. I’ve used other Fishpond products before, and find them to be well constructed with plenty of useful features. Here are a few of the specifics from the product spec for the Buckhorn Sling: Cyclepond Fishpond fabric YKK Aquaguard #8 external water resistant zippered […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: buckhorn sling, Connecticut fly fishing, Fall fishing, fall fly fishing, FinFollower, Finfollower product review of Fishpond Buckhorn Sling, Fishpond, fly fishing gear, fly fishing product, fly fishing product review, fly fishing stuff, fly fishing tools, river fishing, river fly fishing, slingpack

Did I Catch One Fish or Two? A Sad and Tangled Tail

December 13, 2015 by Leigh 3 Comments

Took advantage of one of the last mild days in December and hit the Housatonic River for an afternoon. Had the water to myself. The solitude was welcome. I soaked in the beautiful day, which felt more like October than December. The train was one of the few interruptions. My olive and tinsel streamer connected […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: brown trout, Connecticut fly fishing, FinFollower, fishing with flies, fly fishing sites, fly fishing stuff, Housatonic River, river fishing, river fly fishing, streamers, wild brown trout, wild trout, winter fishing, winter fly fishing

A Fall Day on the Housatonic

October 9, 2015 by Leigh 2 Comments

This is the time of year when you’re reminded that the remaining comfortable fishing days are few, and you better get out and enjoy them while you can. During my drive to the river, I heard on the radio that the number of daylight hours in CT is now less than 12, and falling. The […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: brown trout, Connecticut fly fishing, dry flies, dry fly, Fall fishing, FinFollower, fishing with flies, fly fishing gear, fly fishing product, fly fishing sites, fly fishing stuff, fly fishing tools, Fly Tying, nymphing, rainbow trout, river fishing, river fly fishing, small flies, wild brown trout, wild trout

Product Review: Redington Hydrogen Fly Rod

September 28, 2015 by Leigh 1 Comment

Had a chance to test out the new Redington Hydrogen fly rod. Although marketed as a trout rod, I used it in few different situations and it performed exceptionally. Offered in sizes 2 wt to 6 wt, I chose a 9′ 6 wt because I wanted to see if the rod could handle smallmouth and […]

Filed Under: Gear, Member Trips, Places to Fish Tagged With: brown trout, Connecticut fly fishing, dry flies, Farmington River, FinFollower, fishing with flies, fly fishing gear, fly fishing product, fly fishing stuff, fly fishing tools, Housatonic River, Hydrogen fly rod, kayak fishing, nymphing, pond fishing, rainbow trout, Redington, Redington Hydrogen fly rod, river fishing, river fly fishing, smallmouth bass, streamers, Summer Fishing

A Morning Smallie Run to the Housatonic

September 2, 2015 by Leigh Leave a Comment

September has started off unusually warm, offering us an extra week of summer-like conditions. While not entirely undesirable, the hot and rainless days have given us lower river flows and water temperatures that may not be safe for trout fishing. With 6 wt in hand, I headed to the Housatonic for a morning smallie session. […]

Filed Under: Gear, Member Trips, Places to Fish Tagged With: Connecticut fly fishing, FinFollower, fly fishing gear, fly fishing product, fly fishing stuff, fly fishing tools, Housatonic River, Orange Blossom Special, river fishing, river fly fishing, smallmouth bass, streamers, Summer Fishing

Chasing Housatonic Smallmouth

August 23, 2015 by Leigh 1 Comment

This weekend I had a chance to get out on the Housatonic River and chase smallmouth with members of Mianus TU. They’re a great bunch of folks and their events are always fun and well attended. Overall the fishing was good. I stuck to streamers, and brought fish to hand using an olive woolly bugger, […]

Filed Under: Gear, Member Trips, Places to Fish, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Connecticut fly fishing, FinFollower, fishing with flies, fly fishing gear, fly fishing product, fly fishing stuff, fly fishing tools, Housatonic River, Mianus Trout Unlimited, Mianus TU, river fishing, river fly fishing, smallmouth bass, streamers, Summer Fishing, woolly bugger, wooly bugger

Summertime Smallmouth on the Housatonic River

August 16, 2015 by Leigh 1 Comment

Sometimes a change in plans turns out to be better than expected – Sometimes. Today I headed out to the Housatonic River for what I thought was going to be a chance to chase trout with dry flies. I arrived to find the river clear and low, with better wading conditions than I usually experience. […]

Filed Under: Gear, Member Trips, Places to Fish, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Connecticut fly fishing, dry flies, FinFollower, fishing with flies, fly fishing gear, fly fishing product, fly fishing sites, fly fishing stuff, fly fishing tools, housatonic, Housatonic River, river fishing, river fly fishing, smallmouth, smallmouth bass, streamer fishing, streamers, Summer Fishing, woolly bugger, wooly bugger

Morning Kayak Trip and a Bass on a Homemade Popper

July 20, 2015 by Leigh 1 Comment

With daytime temps headed well into the 90’s and humidity to match, I left early for a kayak fishing trip on a local pond. I usually fish this water regularly, but this year I’ve decided to spend more time prospecting new lakes and ponds in the area. It was overdue for a visit. There was […]

Filed Under: Gear, Member Trips, Places to Fish, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: bass, bass on a fly, bluegill, bream, FinFollower, homemade popper, kayak fishing, kayak fly fishing, morning fishing, panfish, pond fishing, popper, spring fishing, Summer Fishing, sunfish