End of the Trout Drought: Jan 2, brown trout on green wooly bugger, Farmington River, under ice lip, stripped across very slack current. (Church pool). In the nose.
March Madness:
2 browns, one brook, browns on a white with black polka dots mepps or roostertail spinner. Brook on a black and silver streamer with red head. All three fished across current stripped and jigged in moderately fast current. Some took on the slow side of the seam.
1 rainbow on spinner the next day while daughter caught another three or so browns/rainbows/brook . This one shook the hook at my feet as I reached down.
April foolish fish:
1 brook trout in the seam of a very fast current, drift/swung down/across, a Royal Coachman variant. Left fly in fish. In the nose?
3 brook trout in very slow moving current, all on Royal Coachman variants that were more purple. Cast as a dry downstream, then towed under, left to drift and occasionally twitched. Two of three damaged lips and were harvested.
May and the flies are out.
Rainbow out of the quiet pool with all the fish, on a white/olive feather streamer that looks like a baitfish. Streamed across the current.
Brook trout on the Muddy, on a royal coachman towed under. Got off fly at my feet.
Big lunker on Muddy stole my favorite black/silver steamer.
Another brook trout on the muddy, on the bigger version of the favorite: fished with heavy weights lobbed up current and allowed to drift downstream. Essentially a high stick nymph job.
That's 12 caught and fought in close, and 10 in hand. 2 eaten.
Seems that the streamers are about equal/better than the coachman but not by much.
that's 10 landed 12 caught
Streams I've been skunked on:
Shetucket
Latimer
Farm
Chatfield brook
Fall:
2 Brook trout in the Muddy. One a male native in breeding. 1 More lost at my feet.Both on hoppers. One I caught was downstream cast over and behind a rock--so into an eddy behind a rock but "blind."
Other one cast upstream.
3 rainbows in Chatfield Schreeder Pond--all on the famous Salmo sinking lure in dace colors.
1 Rainbow in Hammonasset Green Hill (eaten)
4 more in Hammonasset. Green Hill.One was a rapala. The others were flies--wooly buggers mostly--one was my own. And a 5th too, also on wooly bugger.
2 more in Hammonasset Chestnut Hill, eaten. One with Sarah, gut hooked a WB, and the other I got myeslf after 2 others fought and lost at the bank, one a bit farther out. two on my candycane buzzer. The other on the flash brown wooly. Ate this one with Mom and George.
And another in Chestnut Hill, on the small candycane, deadrift wet fly with 1g shot at bloodkmot. Released.
And yet another (the 6th so far) from the green hill pool Dec 5--on #16 candycane with 3g shot at bloodknot, deadrifted across and down current, hooked up downstream and across after drifting. Stomach was empty except for a pebble. A couple days previously watched trout following wooly bugger and hooked one but lost it.
Dec 7th on #8 hook candycane under a strike indicator, Chestnut Hill pool. That's my first ever successful bobber hookup. released
Dec 8th on a #16 candycane, wet fly on the swing, BB shot at tippet knot, far side under bridge in seam, Green Hill bridge. released.
Monday Dec 11, #12 winged candycane/golden pheasant tail. Green Hill pool. On a drift. 1g shot. No bobber. Small rainbow. Also a pickerel on same fly.
Wed 13 Dec, self-tied #2 (or was it 8?) grey ghost. Green Hill. battenkill? See photo.
Dec 23rd. self tied black "egg" #10 with red head. Green Hill actually thought this was Chestnut Hill.. 3 weight rod.
Dec 27. self tied black #16. Green Hill. #3 rod.
Need to go back check flickr dates.
2018:
1. Shiner live/dead bait. Upper pool at Green Hill. Harvested. Jan 27 or 28
1.a. 3 strikes at Chestnut Hill Pool the following week. No luck actually catching.
2. Rt 80 on Hammonasset walkway pool. Minnow imitation streamer. Rod: 6'6" Battenkill. Line #6 WF Sci Anglers Lefy Kreh. Caught, fought, then cam off. Superbowl sunday.
3. Same as above, a day or 2 later. Under the waterfall. Tugged and got off. Shakespeare 4 wgt and DT sci anglers 1973 on Hardy.
4. 9 Feb. Same waterfall. Cast from below rater than dropping down like previous two. 4th cast. Using little pink bodied "nymph" like thing with no added weight. Caught and released from net. Battenkill, hardy with 1973 line.
12 March: caught two. One on white 1/16" roostertail, the other on green flashy twirlyworm yum on 1/16 oz jig. Also had two chase and jump.
14 March: caught one on spinning lure (sexychad) and then lost the fish. Hammonasset nearly upper pool. Then had a trout chase and hit white roostertail.
15 March: caught rainbow in lower plunge pool Hammonasset TMA on brown yum twirlytail spinning rig.
24 March. Fished tidal waters H with no luck but stocked fish there.
25 March: again tidal--14 trout! Innumerable hooked up and lost.
26 March again tidal--1 brook trout on Creme spinner
27 March tidal: 3 trout: 1 brook and 1 brown on olive woolybugger flyfishing. 1 brown on roostertail yellow/black. 1 other hooked and fought then lost on first cast with my own tied jig--chartreuse with red-brown middle. Same pattern as the "buzzer" fly except a jig and a maribou tail. Even has the nutty oblique flatwing.
28 M:
29 March tidal: got a touch using my chartreuse jig in about 10 minutes. Then hooked up and fought 3 on the yellow/black countdown rapala in just half a dozen casts. Landed the last one--it was a small brown. Also skunked same day on rt 80 Hammonasset and on Quonnipaug.
30 March. Another 7 brown trout same spot, all spinning, 4 on my jig, three on rapala. Then Will gets his first trout (brown) on the rapala!
I'm already past 30 trout this year!!!
Some skunkings. At least two. Maybe three.
7 April. Stocked brook trout H. TMA near lower entrance. My wooly bugger. 3 wgt with 6wgt SciDT
8 April. Holdover Rainbow H TMA just a bit up the path. My mini wooly bugger with grizzly hackle. 3 wgt with 6wgt SciDT
9 april. Skunking chasing browns in the dark on tidal Hammonasset.
1 brief attempt night fishing skunked.
13 April. Hamm TMA. Under Ch H Bridge. Got a hit but didn;t set, on a flashy olive streamer I tied. No takes on large candycane nor on tiny candycane. Went to #16 red headed brown maribou and got a 14" rainbow. Then hooked up another but lost it. 5 wgt three forks, 6wgt sharkskin line.
21 April. lower H hook up twice, lose, then break my net later in dat.
21 April: Green Hill Road bridge, brown trout, 10.5" stocker, on 1/16th oz brown maribou/grizzly hackle, silver tinsel jig, 5 wgt rod / 4# using spinning reel. Harvested. Stomach had real insects. Was actively feeding. Found insects in throat. Caught under nose.
22 April: Chestnut Hill Road, same pattern as yesterday except #12 streamer hook, 5wgtsharksin 6wgt line, skated on current off bridge, "auto fished." Small lean rainbow about 9 or 10 inches. Caught under tongue. released. In the dark.
23 april. Skunked. had something hit a Royal Coachman at Chatfield where brook meets pond. Had 4 takes in Hammonasset but got impatient.
26 April caught 4 bluegill at Bauer
27 April 1/2 hour and skunked trout fishing
28 April skunked 1 hr. trout fishing
29 April skunked Muddy 2 hours.
4 May, redbreast sunfish on 3wgt rod Fawn Brook Green Hill bridge. Mickey Finn. Water almost 60 maybe more. 5 days warm changed everything.
5 may. 3 hrs on Hammo lower and green hill. skunking. Dunking. Sprain foot. Sucked. No fish in this river. Done.
10 May. Private pond. Caught one on my green / gold tinsel wooly bugger using 5wt carbon, 6 wt sharksin. Then I lost it! I had 6 other bona fide takes from trout. But I landed three small LMbass and a read breast sunfish.
11 May. Fat Brown trout at Chatfield. Carbon 5 wt with sharkskin. jig streamer with gold flash body and olive hackle tail. Same fly caught an 11" brook trout in Hammonasset River at Chestnut Hill.
See youtube and blog for last couple fish,
May 31, large rainbow trout at Green Hill Road. On bait! A piece of largemouth bass actually! Lost the fish as unhooking it.
Jun 5: 3 char, Chestnut Hill Road--see vids and photos, used 6 wgt DT.
June 6, one char, one rainbow, chestnut hill road. Bunch of sunfish too in 4 places. First was caught on a hopper floated downstream to a rise and swung at the end when it took it in near darkness. The rainbow came after dusk on the black litebrite. No video had no camera with me. did I harvest the second fish--the rainbow? I think that was the holdover we ate that was good and stomach packed but need to confirm.
June 7 I think, Will got 7 searobins and Sarah her first striped bass--on a fly!
8 June something, oh yeah, a sea robin at the beach.
9 June, caught tiny bluefish on fly in AM and then 3 trout in afternoon at Chestnut Hill. 3 weight with 4 wgt line, one brown and one rainbow to my #12 black litebrite with red head. One rainbow on #1 maribou in yellow-green. Red head. Daylight afternoon. Experimented with magenta streamer and they t-boned but would not take it.
13 June, caught two char at Ch Hill road pool. Harvested the 2nd--it was a stocker and worn fins 11" long. Both took my new #12 grizzly hackle fully palmered dry--but 2nd was in the film whereas 1st bona fide dry--cast just up as in inches, from a rise, and the fish came back and took it.
15 June, night fishing with kids. I caught one, on my black litebrite, fought it under the bridge and then it threw the hook. On the #3 and I think I needed to "set" the hook harder. Then I had two more hookups without a fight--lost quickly, and one tug. All except last on #12 litebrite black.
16 June one skinny brook trout. 3 wgt/4wt line. 3 touches on bl litebrite. 2 touches on black/yellow foam. 2nd caught. 3 more touches, lite brite and the peacock herl streamer. Caught at 2120 in the dark. Chestnut Hill Pool
19 June:
6.5 ft battenkill cane w/ royal reel and WF4F
5th cast got hooked up dry on #12 grizzly with red head no tail. not good hookset lost it.
Then catch small char on same fly twitched underwater preparing for retrieve.
2nd fish comes on #16 yellowgreen streamer with bl body red head and silver wire. 11 in char.
Move up pool cast under bridge break off ph tail grizzly on a goodfish.
3rd fish large rainbow under bridge on #16 black litebrite red head.
Had another take under bridge.
Then a last take on hopper midpool==stripping it! 3 landed total
Tues 26 June, 2 catches, lost both. Then landed 3 bluegill. CH pool. 1 trout hookup on a new wet fly I made recently.
Wed 27 June: 1 take, none caught. CH pool. On new weird streamer #8 5X made of litebrite flash and palmering.
Thurs 28 June: CH Hill Pool 3 wgt. t wtf line royal reel. 1 brown trout. Tie new royal coachman size 8. Doesn't get touched. Go through black with peacock, and little stonefly dries (out of season) and a copper john thing. Finally tie on a mini popper. I rest the pool moving up to the underbridge. Then I see rises again back where I was. I take a downriver cast. Nothing. Rest a few more minutes, do the same thing and wham! Brown Trout takes it on the surface right after it lands. Nice fight and then it sounds deep and snags. I wade out to free it and discover it is a SNAPPING TURTLE holding the tail! It lets go and I take the fish. After dropping it badly on a rock I decide to harvest it.
Baby BAss AT FAWN BROOK!
Super hot all week.
Frid 7 July. Chest Hill pool. 1 brown. 1 Rainbow. 5 wt with sci anglers sharkskin 6+
brown sight fished. Took #16 black with purple head. Swam it upstream and trout followed. There were some follows on casts before the final one. This brown showed multiple scars on peduncle and fwd. Probably a turrtle tussle! Rainbow took the famous little popper. there was a third trout in the swim but it wouldn't react to anything. Even a grey ghost sliding down its back. Also cought a sunfish.
Then caught a Fluke! what an afternoon.
2019 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& 2019
Very little fishing due to Anodyne project in FL.
Fished a total of maybe 10 hours or less through opening day.
Finally caught one brown trout day after opening day. In Hammonasset at the little backeddy above green hill road below the broken old dam.
April 27 Chestnut Hill swing streamer off bridge, caught small brown trout. This was a 2018 streamer I tied that hadn't worked. Now need to tie more. RL thinks looks like a shrimp.
April 28 caught stocked brown in Roaring Brook. Ate it. Hemlock flower in stomach. Took brown wooly bugger.
May 11 caught brook trout in Glastonbury and lost it at my feet handling leader. Also caught brown trout in Vernon.Both were handsome fish. With SSP and RL.
21 May 15" stocked brook trout Hammo lower sectoin of TMA just up from lower access, in a riffle. Fat male. On rooster tail spinner (small black.silver black tail) on the yellow ultralight spinning rod.
Need to fill in blanks.
Trying to remember if anything earlier. Must have been. I think I have some of this out of order.
Journal has the amazing wild brown I caught at Merrick/Beaver when fishing with Will, and then the wild brook trout there a week or so later.
Fall, there was a small one at Chestnut hill, with purple color--I took it because it had a hole in its back.. There was a really big rainbow with orange coloring and a healed scar. There as also a small largemouth same pool.
Late December after the freshet, another pretty orange rainbow at chestnut hill, on the new red lite brite fly.
2020 &%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%&
Pickerel Late Feb
3 trout one day in March: harvest the broodstock and one other. 3rd was in between and too small. Both the latter caught near town campus. Big one caught in lower Bailey.
Chestnut hill pool another couple days success. Both times night fishing. Using my flies. Which ones? Darn it. One day it was two brook trout back to back in minutes. The previous I think was a rainbow.
Some more fill in needed.
Last week April caught fallfish below deer lake.
May 10--caught small brook trout upper Bailey. Wooly Bugger on 1st swing!
May 11. Two rainbows, lower Boily, 4th cast and 15 minutes later.
