Saturday, May 8, 2021

The Ugly Takes One: Post-Frontal Wild Brown Trout

 We needed rain here in CT, and suddenly we got a whole bunch of it this past week. Having not done all that much trout fishing lately I decided it was time to take a drive and look for some sizable wild brown trout in small water. The rain had certainly given the flow a nice big boost, which was fantastic. The stream I was on tends to fish very poorly in most other conditions. With bright fresh foliage providing shade and the flow and turbidity perfect, my hopes were high. This seemed like idea streamer fishing conditions. 

Two hours later, I was wading upstream dejected, irritated, and completely vexed. I'd had a couple half-assed flashes- fish that never even touched the fly -but that was it. I switched to a two nymph rig for a while and that did nothing either. Then I put on the Ausable Ugly and wham: on the first cast a 17-18 inch wild brown trout took and went airborne. The fish had eaten the Ugly high-sticked, as I often fish it in high and murky water conditions. The fish put up a hell of a battle with a few more leaps and some serious digging. Usually I get some of my best trout fights at this time of year. The fish are well fed and the water temperature is ideal. 

Thinking that was the start of a hot tighlining bite, I proceeded to carefully work every likely high-water spot. I missed one more fish, but that was it. The fish I had caught was a stunner but it kind of mirrored the rest of my local wild trout fishing this spring: tedious and frustrating, and lacking in both numbers and size. A few friends and I have compared notes, and things seem pretty dismal. A lot of once thriving wild brown trout streams in Connecticut are just trashed now. Angler pressure increases due to covid, as well as multiple consecutive bad water years are definitely huge factors. 


It has been very frustrating to watch the deterioration of many of the fisheries I've spent hours on over the years. It's even sadder to see that the anglers that are actually vigilant enough to notice these problems are in the minority. I really wish that more fisherman would engage constructively in their sport. If that doesn't happen, so much of what we love will continue to be lost. Spots will close, fish populations will crash, regulations will become more strict... this is all already happening. Be a good steward. Pick up trash, don't publicize spots, and treat the fish and their habitats with respect and cautiousness. Please. 

Until next time, 

Fish for the love of fish.
Fish for the love of places fish live.
Fish for you.
And stay safe and healthy.


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3 comments:

  1. Amen, don't publicize spots. I believe covid brought out many 'anglers' who kept everything. I have not caught a brookie yet this year in a stream that used to offer them in ample numbers. I know they travel and maybe they have not made their way back from wherever they spent the dark months.

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  2. A brown like that would make my day. I agree that covid screwed up a lot. Fishing pressure when placed on the resource by those who think they a catching stocked trout, bait barbed hooks ripping lips does not do any good and wild fish although tough can't handle that.
    Trash is out of control. I have said many times how are we going to tackle major issues in our environment when you can't get a slob to throw his beer can or DD's coffee cup in the proper place.
    I fished one of your haunts last week and found is free of trash. It's unusual because that crap flows down stream.

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  3. I share your frustration with trash and abuse of wild fish. I also see all the old mills and dams on our streams and know that the fish have bounced back from worse. My hope is that after the covid crowds have come and gone, there will be a few extra people who will have discovered the natural beauty that remains in our crowded state and who will be around for the long term to speak up in defense of it.

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