Posts Tagged fly fishing report

     The river is running extremely high on all fronts.  Morgan brook and the Still river are both over their banks and a recent check today at the tail water below Hogback Dam revealed that it also is tremendously swollen from releases at the dam.  I hope they shut  the water down in time to create some fishing this weekend though it will likely be done in slack pockets close to the shore.   Good luck to all you die hard fisherman  this weekend!  Dont forget your stearns inflatable!  Better yet be safe and stay on the banks.  Your husbands/wives will appreciate it.

Still River

Riverton, CT.

Canal Pool in Riverton, CT.

"Greenwoods", area near the "Boneyard"

I hit the river Saturday morning in hopes that the 35+ degree temperatures would bring some rising trout on the lower end of the Boneyard.  I got down on the river at about 8am, while waiting for a friend to show I observed a nice little hatch of tiny black Stoneflies on Spare Tire Hole.  I couldn’t wrangle any trout on the little buggers but it was nice to see some insect life.  I think we all are getting a little anxious and stir crazy at this point.   I mosied along down to the Boneyard, where I observed several nice fish holding along and near the shore.  I fished some small stonefly nymphs while I waited and the sun never showed.  I vigorously took water temps and they never rose above 34 degrees.   I saw 2 fish rise one time at about 10am and pulled out my other rod pre rigged with a small caddis pupae.  The skies remained cloudy and the water temp didn’t move.  I left the river at about noon I had to get home and wish my youngest daughter Ava a happy fourth birthday.  Just one of those days.

Small black Stoneflies

Snow banks covered with Stoneflies.

The Stonefly mystery remains a mystery, these slack water fish continue to be slackers without the warmth of the sun to get some bugs in motion.

Spawning fish continued to move throughout the river.  This meant a great opportunity to get weighted nymphs in front of large fish in shallow water.  I fished an indicator rig consisting of a San Juan worm with an Isonychia nymph fished off the bend of the worm.  Warmer days with temps above 35 degrees brought up hatches of Winter Caddis in the slackwater pools where fish could gently pick the swimming pupae from the surface.

     November was a great month on the River with lots of big fish aggressively moving about as the spawn is on!  I had a great month fishing on the bottom with nymphs.  Some of my better producers were Isonychia nymphs in size 12-14, and the San Jaun worm tied on a #12 caddis hook weighted with wire. 

     There was a consistent hatches of Blue Winged Olives in smaller sizes #22-24.  The bigger fish have been sitting  in slack or slow rolling water and refusing a vast majority of dryflies, and eagerly take the emerging insects one right after the other. I had great success fishing tiny BWO wets as droppers, off a CDC parachute Blue Winged Olive.  This method addresses the problem with bigger fish seemingly feeding stricktly on emergers.

     October was a wonderful month on the water and I had a lot of time spent there with my two precious partners in crime.  Pumpkin Caddis came to the water in waves to lay their eggs beneath the water in vegitation and under rocks, this was a great time to fish an orange Lafontaine Diving caddis in sizes12-16.  Though it took  a bit of pondering as to why an orange caddis dry fly, was not getting the job done.  As soon as I saw those insect crawling through the meniscus to the underside of rocks and grass bingo the light went on!  Diving caddis.  My children and I had a blast fishing Isonychia’s in the warm afternoon sun.   With a twitch here and a twitch there trout were eager to take our CDC Iso emerger in sizes 12-14.  We spent many evenings enjoying the scenery, the fishing and each others company.  I will forever cherish  evenings on the water as memorable as these.