Opening Day on the Natchaug River Connecticut

Brown Trout from the Natchaug River, Eastern Ct.

To start I must say what a crowd! It seemed like everyone went fishing today here in Eastern Connecticut. It was nice to see entire families making a day of it in Nautchaug State Forest. There were barbeques going everywhere and kids with that wide-eyed look of anticipation running up and down the bank of the river. Even some of the women were out trying there luck on fishing. Overall a great day just to be out in the woods along a beautiful trout stream.

For me, I need space to roam the river. I left the State Park area and drove up 198 and came upon an area being lightly fished. That is pretty much were I stayed for the afternoon. After using a roostertail for the first 45 minutes I switched to bait and immediately had bites. I caught 4 trout total, one brookie, a rainbow and 2 browns. None of the other 5 people near me had so much as a bite. Everyone else was using worms as well.

The day was cool as well as  breezy and the Natchaug River was running cold and clear with increased flows from last nights rain. I almost broke out the fly rod today but I was lazy and I just wanted to catch fish.

All fish were returned to the river and are there for the next person to enjoy.

Might try again tomorrow so stay tuned!

Lake Waywayanda 4/16/2013

Hey Everyone,

First off, I would like to begin by saying that my prayers are with the people of Boston in lieu of the horrific and senseless act of violence that has killed and maimed innocent people. I will never quite understand why some people on this planet think that killing innocent civilians is going to lead to some kind of reward. May the victims find comfort and the culprits find hell!

Anyway that aside, I took a break from the Ramapo today and headed out to Lake Waywayanda this afternoon. It was cool and breezy with partly cloudy skies. As soon as I arrived I noticed fish rising occasionally along the shore line to the right of the boat launch area. This lake is trout stocked and they like to stay along the shore by the swimming beach and the docks.

I began using a Roostertail and after a few casts I landed a 9 inch brown trout. About three casts later a very large bass pursued and lunged after my lure and I promptly jerked it away from the hungry big mouth! I did not want to fight a 3 to 4 pound bass on my ultralite as that may have rendered my line a stretched pigtailed mess.

I landed two more browns for a total of three and called it a day. It was a nice change of pace and it did not require waders or a boat.

I'm probably gonna give it a rest for the next couple of days until I get back up to Connecticut this weekend for their trout season opener.

Til then
See ya
Tommy

Good Day on the Ramapo 4/15/2013

Hi Everyone,

Rainbow Trout 4/15/2013

After my past few trips on the Ramapo with catches in the 1 and 2's I finally had a decent day. Today I fished just below the 287 bridge in Mahwah and came up with 4 brook trout and a 15 inch fat rainbow trout pictured to the right.

I will tell you what, its been a long time since I have had a fresh water fish strip line off the reel like that rainbow did. The fish took a worm and upon setting the hook, took off upstream against the current! Now I set my drag to about half the line strength and I had to still run up river to chase after it. Just when I thought it was tired, it made one more made dash this time downstream and once again there I was chasing it.

This time of trout season the state stocks more brook trout then anything else so I am not certain if this was a hold over or just surplus. I did not note any clipped fins. Nevertheless this put a little spice into the day.

All trout were released with minimal harm and are there for the next angler to enjoy. It is always my hope that the next person to catch a nice fish I release will be a little kid just taking his first trip. That helps big time to keep them interested.

Anyway I will be out again somewhere perhaps tomorrow again.

Til then
Keep it Reel!
Tommy

Denied! Trout Season yet to open in CT.

Hi Folks,

Natchaug River at Natchaug State Forrest

So I thought I would be trout fishing in Connecticut today however I was in for a rude awakening. The season is not open until next week! Yep apparently trout season opens the third Saturday in April every year. I guess I missed that the first year I fished these parts as I must've got started in May.  Oh well thats how the cookie crumbles!

 

Anyway I went on a scouting mission yesterday and came up with some really pretty areas along the Natchaug River and I am preparing my plans for next weekend.

 

Connecticut has some of the best trout streams I have fished thus far on the east coast. The Farmington River is the by far the most popular however there are many others that are just calling out to me to be fished. Two years ago I fished the Salmon River and the Eight Mile River both producing plenty of trout with many good sized fish coming out of the Salmon River.

 

This week I will be back in Jersey and of course will be hitting the Ramapo again hopefully with some better results then my previous trips.

 

Til then

Stay Tuned

Rainy Friday Morning

Hello Again,

I headed down to the Ramapo River again this morning after it was freshly stocked yesterday. I only had an hour and a half to fish so I decided to chuck some roostertails. I caught two brook trout at the reservation before the rain started in earnest. Conditions were cold, rainy, windy and just out right miserable.

I had to leave early in order to go pick up my paycheck and get on the bus to Connecticut. I'm certain today I could've  caught some more if I had the time. Oh well there is always next week.

Hope I can get a shot on the Shetucket or the Salmon River here in Connecticut this weekend I will keep ya posted if I do.

Til Then
Caio

Second Trip Ramapo 4/10/2013

Well, what can be said, I'm an addict! Today I went back to the Ramapo to give it another try and I can't say it was a whole lot better then yesterday. Today I caught two brook trout but I was there for 3 hours and that's not much of a bite. This time I fished down at Glen Gray Road and there was maybe three other guys there. The lack of people on a beautiful day tells me that things are still tough.

Anyway tomorrow is stocking day so I am hoping for better fishing. I may try again after 5pm or Friday for a short time in the morning. We shall see!!!

Might fish Connecticut this weekend if my boss pays me so I can purchase a license. Stay tuned!

First Trip Ramapo Reservation 4/9/2013

Hi Folks!

I finally got out to wet a line today and what a beautiful day it was! It was nice to be out without a jacket for once and just enjoy the warmth of the day. Fishing was slow today at least for me. I managed to catch my first trout of the season but that was about it. I hooked and lost another trout later in the day and that ended it for me.

Worthy of note was the stone fly hatch today. There were hundreds of them flying about the river. I spotted several trout rising for them as well. With that kind of insect activity its not hard to imagine why us bait dunkers didnt fare to well today. I'm gonna return to the river tomorrow and perhaps try my luck with the fly rod.

Lastly, I spotted several huge large mouth bass in the slower parts of the river on the north side of the reservation. One of those fish was easily plus 4 lbs. I suspect a crayfish or plastic frog might have gotten their attention. I didnt want to tempt them with my ultralight trout rod today as fighting a beast like that on my ultra-lite trout gear would've resulted in stretched line or a fish swimming away with a broke off lure in its mouth!

Anyway, I will post again after my next outing.

Enjoy
Tommy