FinFollower Archives - FinFollower.com

Nothin’ But Gnat – An Evening On The Housatonic

June 8, 2018 by Leigh Leave a Comment

My first trip of the year to the Housatonic River is a mix of anticipation and trepidation. The hour long ride through northwest Connecticut is relaxing, and the back roads remind me what a beautiful state this is. The scenery becomes lush and canopied, and the car’s outside temperature gauge drops by a few degrees. […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: brown trout, Connecticut fly fishing, dry flies, falls village, FinFollower, fishing expedition, fishing report, fishing spots, fishing techniques, fishing with flies, Fly Fishing, fly rod, Fly Tying, flyfishing, housatonic, Housatonic River, Jim Misiura, river fishing, Sulphur Gnat, Summer Fishing, trout, trout fishing, west cornwall

A Night for Bass

May 27, 2018 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Spring has taken its sweet time coming to the northeast. Between cold, rain and most recently tornadoes, there has been little time to fish. After a full day of playing catch up on yard work and chores, I had roughly 2 hours to fish. Traveling to a decent trout stream would take about half of […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: bass, bass on the fly, Connecticut fly fishing, FinFollower, fishing report, fishing spots, fresh water fishing, kayak fishing, largemouth bass, Memorial Day fishing, panfish, pond fishing, poppers

Renewal

December 31, 2017 by Leigh 1 Comment

It’s 11 degrees outside as I write this last post of 2017. The pellet stove runs nonstop. Tippet wears a sweater and completes her outside breaks in record time. I’m usually covered in some combination of wool, down and fleece before I step outside. In short, winter is here. The amount of daylight is much too […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: brown trout, canoe, Connecticut fly fishing, FinFollower, Fly Fishing, Fly Tying, kayak, kayak fishing, lake fishing, mexican trout, pond fishing, rainbow trout, river fishing, Rivertop Rambles, small stream, stream fishing, Tippet, trout, trout fishing, Trout in Mexico, Walt Franklin, winter

Fishing Dog

October 6, 2017 by Leigh 1 Comment

Nothing like sharing your love for fly fishing with your pet. They don’t try to get in your spot, second guess your fly selection, and rarely comment on the size of the fish you caught. In short, they are great fishing buddies. About a month ago, I adopted Tippet, a rescue dog. She is a […]

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: brown trout, Chihuahua, dry flies, fall fly fishing, FinFollower, FIshing Dog, herons, Housatonic River, rainbow trout, rescue dog, streamers, Trains

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