Posts Tagged ct. flyfishing

Catching-Shadows
Listen up, get there if you can. Let your voice be heard.

Farmington River TMA ExpansionHearing

Wed., March 16th
… 6:30pm. DEP Hdqtrs
79 Elm St. Hartford.

Here is a pre formed letter for anyone aggreeing with the proposal to extend the TMA area along the Farmington River.  You can take the preformed letter and copy and paste it into an email sent to Mr. Foreman of the DEP whose email is in the letter.  Rich has thing Nailed with the barbless hook law as well.  Barbless hooks are much easier on the angler as well.  I took a Skalka in the thumb last year that I thank God was barbless making it much easier to extract!  Ouch! 

Thanks Rich for the heads up!

     JW

To: Bill Foreman       

DEP Inland Fisheries Division       

79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-5127       

Fax#: 860-424-4070       

william.foreman@ct.gov
           

 Dear Mr. Foreman, I am writing this letter to show my support for the proposed changes in the Farmington River Trout Management Area.  The expansion of the Trout Management Area to the bridge abutments at the tail out of the Whittemore pool, and the changes to the other areas of the river down to the Route 177 Bridge in Unionville are well thought out, and long over due. 
            However, there is one change in the proposed regulations which I DO NOT support.  All three sections of the new proposals relating to the Farmington River require that the fish be released “without avoidable injury”.  And yet the regulations requiring the use of barbless hooks has been eliminated from the proposal.  Barbless hooks allow for reduced handling and a faster release of the fish, thus reducing unwanted injury.  To eliminate this requirement makes no sense.  Barbless hooks in the Trout Management Area have been required since its inception, and to remove this provision at this time would be counter productive to releasing the fish without avoidable injury.  Please consider reinstating the barbless hook requirement in the TMA, and if you wish to standardize the regulations, make barbless hooks required for the entire section of the river in the proposal.  Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
                                                                                    Sincerely,  

Date: 11/30/10
Water flow: 320
Visibility: good
Water temp: n/a
Water conditions: good
Hatches: Winter/Summer Caddis 20-24, are out in good numbers in the early to mid morning. Blue Wing Olives 22-24 mid-morning and again in the afternoon. Tan Caddis 16-18 sporadic throughout the day.

Comments: The Winter/Summer Caddis have been on the water in the early mornings bringing lots of fish to the surface to feed on them. I love this hatch and enjoy fishing it with just a couple of simple foam and CDC pupae imitations. If you don’t fish this hatch…you should! It’s longevity and potency are matched by no other hatch on the river. Most trout will be feeding on this hatch all winter long. Presentation can be tricky but if you take a moment to observe the naturals and how they act and skitter across the surface on their way to the rocks along the riverbank to finish their transformation into adult Caddis. The skittering is the important part for the angler you must make your presentation act like the natural. By observing the pupae themselves you can make a better judgment on whether to use an upstream or downstream approach. I often try both until I find which one is best suited for a particular hole or stretch of water. Don’t forget you can fish the Winter/Summer Caddis Larvae as well! Nymphing with these tiny larvae may intimidate some but these small nymphs fished in an 18 or 20 can really get it done.
     BWOlives have been coming off fairly well at the larger pools on the Farmington. Other smaller areas that I like to fish on the Farmy have seen spotty hatches of the Blue winged olives. Parachute patterns with just a thread body work well on these. I have been catching most fish on 24 BWO wet fly dropper that I have tied off the bend of my parachute dry fly. Fish tend to refuse the parachute and sip the wet fly trailing a short distance behind. On these windy fall days it can be hard to tell if trout are taking these tiny insects, many times they are taking them under the film, and masked by the ripples created on the water. Look closely and observe the shoreline for BWO’s that have been blown into the grass and vegetation along the waters edge. If these little green troopers are a no-show, or I don’t notice the trout taking them in the film, I normally switch to fishing nymphs rather quickly trying some small BWO nymphs instead.
     The fall is a great time of the year to hit these hatches which can be spectacular but remember to have a plan “B” and be prepared to fish streamers or nymphs when they are not producing. Good luck and we hope to catch you out there on the water!
JW

Water Condition: low-water

Access Point: upper TMA

Hatches (in order of importance): winter/summer caddis 20-22 a.m., Needhami duns 22-24 midmorning, Isonychia 10-14 p.m., midges 22-20 a.m.

Comments: The winter summer caddis hatch continues to be a spectacle during the a.m. hours. Many fish line up on soft water seams rising to take these tiny Pupae as they row along in the meniscus to the shoreline to finish their emergence on the rocks and logs near the edge of the river. I had one of my best days on the river this past weekend when this hatch came on at 6a.m. and started winding down at 11a.m., we caught trout on everything from foam pupae patterns to french nymphing small winter/summer caddis larvae patterns.

     Needhami Duns are rolling off the water midmorning, their small spinners can drive fisherman nuts. Their small sizes make them very difficult to see on the water. The Duns however can be recognized flying in the air by their long sweeping tails.

     Isonychia have been filling the skies in the evening hours. Trout like these tasty morsels and will move greater distances from their feeding lanes to swipe at this super sized evening hatcher. When these insects start coming off the water in good numbers I prefer to fish a CDC Iso emerger pattern then as darkness sets in I switch off to a larger Iso parachute pattern, which doubles as a big spinner pattern and I fish this into the darkness.

     If you are fishing mid day I would suggest using terrestrials such as small ants, beetles, crickets, and hoppers. For all those fishing nymphs you can’t be beat fishing green caddis larvae 14-18 and Isonychia nymphs 10-14, with golden stone flies 6-12 rounding out the mix. Fishing on the Farmington River has gotten tougher forcing fishermen to take their tippet down to 7 or 8X when fishing smaller hatches such as winter summer caddis pupae and Needhami Spinners.  Good luck on the river. Remember, if you’re fishing into the afternoon hours, bring plenty of water it has been scorching out there on the river after 10a.m.

JW

Action! At Last Light. Stack the deck in your Favor!

Have you ever truly realized the potential of flyfishing in low light conditions? Large trout have a tendency to feed more actively in dim conditions. The cover of darkness is a great way for trout to avoid predators and take advantage of food sources that becomes available under these conditions. These food sources can be comprised of various mayfly spinners in a whole array of sizes. Some spinners can come in very small sizes and can be hard to spot lying flat on the water so keep your eyes peeled and look at the water closely if you are not sure of their presence. Some mayflies hatch right into darkness and patterns that imitate them are excellent pattern choices. Take Isonychia for example, the duns can continue to emerge right into total darkness and throughout the night. I love to fish these bad boys in size 10-12 after dusk while listening to the fish come up and sip well into nightfall. Sipping trout actually make a slurping sound when feeding. Listening is a very effective way of detecting strikes in this night game.

Low light conditions also eliminate many obstacles between fishermen and the feeding trout. First it allows you to use much larger tippet sizes because of the low visibility. The increased breaking strength of a heavier tippet is always handy when trying to land larger trout. Next, fish aren’t as easily spooked by your flyline and leader landing near them. As they feed on naturals and the light decreases, they are comforted by a darkened sky and the natural presence of fewer fishermen. Many have already left the water when the action starts ramping up. Fish typically develop a rhythm of picking off insects as they float in the drift. At times the feeding frenzy can be furious leaving them vulnerable to a well placed fly.

This low light condition is not specific to nighttime, it also applies to early morning when the sun hasn’t fully risen. Fish can feed heavily on spinners in the early morning hours, creating a wonderful opportunity to get on some heavy fish. Many trout cruise pocket water and back eddies during early morning hours slurping up spinners and any insects left from the night before. There’s nothing like leftovers! Some types of Caddis become active in the morning causing trout to opportunistically feed on Caddis larvae and pupae during the wee hours of the morning. These make excellent fly choices.

Often large trout cannot be seen sipping insects from long distances as the light recedes or reappears, causing many fly fisherman to overlook a subtle take from a large trout or simply not see them feeding at all. Don’t let this happen to you. When darkness moves in or the sun is far from rising over the mountains, move quietly and slowly to feeding trout. The goal being to perfectly present your fly at shorter distances with laser like precision; Meanwhile staying ever keen using your other senses to detect the presence of nearby gently sipping trout. The next time your on the water and the sun is on its way up or down put this logic to good use and take away the trouts instinctive advantages over you. With a little luck you will put a few more trout in your net. Good luck!

 JW