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Ankle-Deep

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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 stocked and easy to wade. But today I chose to seek out some new water.

Driving into the empty parking lot of the commercial building I noticed that the river was less than fifty feet away. Well shaded by the old oaks along its banks, it was thirty feet wide at best, with clear, lightly stained water. With some effort I could probably find spots that were knee deep, but the run I focused on was directly behind the building, sixty feet or so in length, with good flow and only ankle-deep at best.

Within a couple minutes of standing in the lot, rises appeared. It was after 7 pm, so sulphurs would be coming off soon.

I walked to the head of the run and began casting a sulphur gnat I had tied the night before. Within the first few casts I had this feisty little brown on the line.

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For those of you that tie, here is the fly I used. I really enjoy Jim Misiura’s videos and have made many of his patterns.

I traveled upstream and found some slow-moving deeper water, but there were no rises. I tried streamers and nymphs with no luck. Again I returned to the ankle-deep pool. I switched to another sulphur pattern and shortly felt a strong tug on the line.  I thought this was mainly a small wild trout stream, so I was surprised to find this 14″ rainbow giving me a fight in the shallow water.

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As the last remaining glimpse of sunlight left the surface of the stream, I packed up my gear and headed back to the car, happy to have found some new water, and knowing there are more trout to be had in an ankle-deep pool.

Hope you’re getting out to find some new water. Enjoy!

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

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Took advantage of one of the last mild days in December and hit the Housatonic River for an afternoon.

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Had the water to myself.

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The solitude was welcome. I soaked in the beautiful day, which felt more like October than December.

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The train was one of the few interruptions.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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A Fall Day on the Housatonic

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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.

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The temperatures have dropped by about 10 degrees in the past week. With the daily highs only reaching the low 70’s, it makes for some very cold water and enjoyable fishing.

Both the Housatonic and the Farmington are fishing nicely, and there are many new reports touting the quality of fish caught. This post is no exception.

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Yesterday afternoon I met up with a friend on the Housatonic.  We stuck to an area that we knew held both rainbows and browns, and on occasion produced some nice smallmouth as well.

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Thanks in part to the state’s stocking program, I picked up a number of rainbows and browns. Although I don’t think all of these came from a truck, I’m guessing most did. The mix of caught fish was about 75% browns, 25% rainbows. The browns looked really good, but the rainbows had some of the scrape marks associated with stocked fish.

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While I would like to say that I took most of these on dries, the truth is I watched a number of dry fly anglers walk away frustrated while I continued to catch fish on a nymph rig. I did pick up a couple on a Usual, but they really wanted small BWO emergers. We just couldn’t go small enough to satisfy them.

The browns were especially aggressive, and I found that my nymphs were in shreds after 2 or 3 hook ups.

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Another noticeable difference was that the most of the fish were caught in the early afternoon – not the evening. Usually the fishing picks up around dusk. While we did see quite a few fish sipping emergers, they were not as active or aggressive compared to the early afternoon.

Although I didn’t realize it at the time, the markings on the fish in these pics vary dramatically, proving that some of the best fall colors are not always on the foliage.

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Hope you’re finding time to get out and enjoy some fall fishing and the colors that come with it. Enjoy!

 

 

 

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Summertime Smallmouth on the Housatonic River

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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. Best of all, I had the water to myself.

The temperature was forecast to reach almost 90 degrees later in the day, so I knew this would be a morning session at best. The water was cool, which made it comfortable inside my waders, and let me know that I probably wouldn’t be stressing the fish either.

I tied on one of the dries recommended on the local fly shop’s web site. Rises were only sporadic, but there were rising fish.

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After a half hour of casting with no takes, shakes or refusals, I decided to switch up my offering. Usually I go to a double nymph rig, but today I chose an olive woolly bugger. It was a bit heavy for my 9′ 4/5 wt., but I was mostly dead drifting in water that was 4 ft. deep with a reasonable current.

Within minutes I had a fish on. But it wasn’t a trout. It was too wide and too green. I initially thought it might be a bream. But it didn’t fight like a bream. It fought like a trout. Or a bass.

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And so began an 4-hour stretch of catching smallmouth on streamers in the middle of the day in severe clear conditions. I stopped counting at a dozen, which coincidentally may have been when I started to feel some tightness in my arm from casting, fighting and stripping them in.

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None were trophy size, but they all put up a good fight, easily comparable to trout. All were caught on woolly buggers – mostly olive, but black worked as well.  I did test dries, nymphs and wets without success. It was clear that streamers were on the menu.

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So has my trout spot disappeared entirely? Luckily the answer is No.

I did catch one 14″ brown on the olive woolly bugger. Much to my dismay, it broke off before I could get it into the net for a picture. To add insult to injury, or more accurately, injury to insult, I fell while returning the net to its holder. The water was only knee-deep, but it was enough to get inside my waders and drench me thoroughly.  Any other time I would’ve complained and headed to the car for a change of clothes, but the cool water felt good on such a hot day. By the time I left the river, I had almost completely dried.

While it didn’t go as originally planned, this truly turned out to be a great trip. I learned more about catching smallmouth, and in the process, worked on my streamer technique. I don’t typically target smallies, and rarely use streamers, but this will change.

For juvenile smallmouth, my 4/5 wt. performed fine, although it was a little weak for tossing streamers. A 6 or 7 wt. rod is probably a better choice, especially if the smallies are over a pound.

Whether you’re going for trout, bass or something else entirely, remember the sun is at its hottest this time of year. Drink plenty of water and apply sunscreen frequently when you’re following fins.  Enjoy!

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Catskills Fly Fishing Center & Museum Summerfest 2015

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This was the third year that I attended CFFM’s Summerfest. It’s always a great day and a good time to get out and meet new and old friends. This year I wandered the grounds with Walt and Leighanne of Rivertop Rambles, and met up with my  friends from Ridge and Valley TU, based in northwest NJ.

The main field is usually filled with booths and vendors, and there are a few planned activities throughout the day. There’s always a casting competition, which I was told draws participants from as far away as Japan.

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If you’re lucky you might get a few pointers from Joan Wulff.

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Each year there is something new to see. This year there have been significant additions to the bamboo rod building shop, located below the Wulff Art Gallery. If you’re interested in learning to build your own bamboo rod, the museum offers classes.

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I am not a bamboo rod builder, but I was told that this Everett Garrison rod building bench is a key acquisition, highly valued and very popular with those who come to the rod building classes. There were also some great vintage bamboo rods on display as well.

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The grill seemed to be a popular place as well.

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This year we also stopped for a beer tasting and presentation on brook trout in the Wulff Gallery.

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I always find something new in the gallery. This year it was the stained-glass panels that hung in many of the windows. If you’re interested, they’re available for sale.

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Last year Walt and I got out afterwards for a nice evening of fishing. This year we had an interesting situation. The Beaverkill was too warm to safely fish, with water temps in the mid 70’s. In contrast, the Delaware was much too cold, with a thermometer reading of 43 degrees. We attempted the Delaware for about an hour before packing it in and heading home.

As a parting gift, Walt gave me a copy of his book, River’s Edge, A Fly-Fishing Realm, available from Wood Thrush Books.  I’ve just started it, but the book is described as “a celebration of trout streams in northern Pennsylvania an upstate New York, as well as the landscape through which they pass.”

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This area is steeped in trout fishing history, and I’m interested in learning more about these streams, so it sounds very intriguing. To get your copy, connect with Walt through Rivertop Rambles, find it on Amazon or contact Wood Thrush Books.

If you have a day to spend up in the Catskills, CFFM’s Summerfest is definitely worth it. Enjoy!

 

 

 

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