streamers

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 year-old Chihuahua mix, that I got through Sweet Souls Rescue in Newtown, CT. I was told she might have some Italian greyhound in her, but since she came from Charleston, SC, I’m guessing I have about as much in me as well.

Our first outing went well. It was a combination of introducing her to the river with a dog walk, followed by a short introductory session in the backpack, which she didn’t seem to mind. Extra bonus was that she saw me catch some fish.

There is always competition on the water, and the herons seem to watch my casting with a critical eye.

I’m always surprised when I look up and see a train rushing by.

She took to the water quickly. I gave her a couple of on-water breaks just to increase her comfort level.

Some beautiful fish were landed, so I’d say she brought me some luck as well.

At the end of the day, a tired dog is a happy dog.

Hope your fall fishing is turning out to be as enjoyable as it has been for Tippet and me. Enjoy!

Good Friday 2017 and the Joy of a Smaller River

April 15, 2017 by Leigh 1 Comment

It was supposed to be raining. So imagine my surprise when Good Friday turned out to be a blue sky day, with temps in the 60’s. Spring had finally arrived in Connecticut.

Errands kept me busy for most of the morning, but my plan was to spend the day chasing my first trout of 2017.

Recent work and personal commitments left me with little free time. I am way overdue for some time on the water. The real decision was where to go.

The Housatonic is still too high, and the Farmington would be undoubtedly busy, so I chose the Naugatuck.

The Naugatuck is located between the two larger, more well known rivers. It is easily accessible and typically has lower traffic. Like other Connecticut rivers, it has a history of abuse. Today it is healthy enough to hold trout, at least through the spring. For a brief history of the Naugatuck River, click here.

This morning I decided to fish one of my barn find fly rods, an 8′ 6″ South Bend Black Beauty. The label says graphite, but it looks and fishes like glass. The end cap was missing when I got it, so I replaced it with a champagne-style cork pulled from a bottle of Red Truck wine, a favorite of the rod’s last owner. Complete with foam rubber grip and plastic seat, it is probably worth less than the PVC rod tube where it is stored.

Arriving at the river, I parked downstream of the area that is normally stocked. It was surprising to find one angler in my desired spot fishing wet flies.

I walked a distance downstream and waded in. Within a few minutes he left, so I quickly moved upstream. Nothing was rising so I tied on a woolly bugger and began to search for a tug, hoping to find a meat-hungry trout. After about a half dozen casts, I knew I was right. The rainbow below eagerly devoured the streamer, put a healthy bend in the rod and peeled off line 3 times before permitting me to land it in the net.

A few more strips in the area yielded nothing, so I switched to nymphs unsuccessfully. I tried a few other spots, but was unable to land another one. After an hour I packed up my gear and headed off for a hike, happy that the catch of the day made it a Good Friday.

Happy Easter to All. Enjoy!

A Few Streamer Patterns

November 27, 2016 by Leigh Leave a Comment

This time of year the surface action slows and most of us turn to nymphs and streamers.

Here are three streamer patterns that I’ve tied and fished successfully over the past year. All will work in both cold and warm water.

The Guinness Trout – I’m a big fan of Ralph Long of Ralph’s Fly Box. I started tying this pattern in a size 10 because I liked the name, but soon found it would bring both brookies and bass to hand.

The Thinmint Woolly Bugger – From In The Riffle, this has been a great pattern for trout. Try it in sizes 4 – 10.

The Triple Threat Woolly Bugger – This Rob Weiker pattern is probably my favorite of the three because it’s attractive to summer smallmouth as well as large hungry rainbows.

Named Triple Threat because the 3 body materials (schlappen, chenille and dubbing loop) are all wrapped simultaneously, it can be a challenge that will give your rotary vise a workout. I started tying this in a size 4, but also like sizes 8 and 10.

Give these 3 patterns a try as you’re filling in the streamer box. Enjoy!

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 like it was a dry fly. This continued for 2 hours, and I stopped counting at 30 fish.

Bonuses on this trip:

Had the water to myself
Only lost 2 streamers to breakoffs
Did not fall in

Why not give the green trout a try.

Enjoy!

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 with a nice brown on the third cast. But as I stripped it in, the fish became heavy and unmanageable. I knew it was in the 14″ – 16″ range from watching it jump, but it was feeling much heavier. Had my rod started to break down? Was I losing my touch?

As soon as I started to bring it to the net, I realized what had happened. On the retrieve it swam through some leftover line.

Put the net away and began to free the fish.

I was able to quickly untangle the brown and release it unharmed. Then I started pulling at the fluorescent line. This wasn’t a simple case of 10′ – 20′ of broken mono; this was quite a few feet of heavy line, and a marble-sized sinker.

Then I saw what was behind the sudden increase in weight. There was a sizeable long-dead brown, equal to the one I had caught, on the other end. Sorry the quality of the photo isn’t better.

I cut the line at the trout’s mouth and returned it to the water.

What’s disturbing about this is the amount of line retrieved and the size of the fish. Maybe the line broke, but it was really heavy stuff, and a lot of it. The dead brown was at one time a beautiful fish that might’ve been caught more than once, or been the one that got away.

During the year I pick up a lot of bobbers, hooks, lures, mono, containers and other debris left by anglers who enjoy all styles of fishing. No big deal. I also realize that accidents happen, and you can’t save every fish. That said, the line and fish were in water that was less than waist deep, and I used my bare hands to pull it in with minimal resistance.

Hope the last few days of the year are productive, and the fish you pull in are your own. Enjoy!