Spring Highlights, Updates & Guiding Schedule

 This has been quite a whacky, wild, rollercoaster ride of a spring thus far. The weather has been pretty much bananas, with wild temperature swings and swaps back and forth between dry conditions and more normal, wet spring weather as well. The fishing has been more hit than miss, though by my personal standards it has been a bit frustrating. In terms of prolonged flooding, this spring has been a bit of a dud. The Connecticut is still up currently but did not get all that high for all that long. Turns out, and average snowpack in CT, below in most of MA, and average in VT and NH coupled with a quick early melt in March and inconsistent rains in early April do not make for the perfect floodplain season. This doesn't ruin the carp fishing, but it does deprive me of some of my favorite spots for one season. Believe it or not the lack of flooding has bigger ramifications for my early season smallmouth fishing, which was good but not great this year. The bigger impacts on carp fishing quality came from the temperature swings and wind. There were a lot more one and two fish days than I typically like, but my standards for carp fishing are also pretty high anyway. Here are some highlights....

The first properly netted fish (we had one throw the hook and get out an hour prior) of the season was Dar's big and super long barble-d fantail. Not a bad way to start. For a couple weeks he'd be the only one putting fish in the net, including on a couple good high numbers days (9 one day, 7 another.) 

Most difficult conditions bested goes to Ben, he got a modest wind one day then and absolute howler the next with fish in a very neutral mood, but still managed to put good carp in the net. 

 Weirdest catch goes to Dar with a one-eye blind common on his 6th session with me this spring. Again, fish were in a neutral mood this day after a very cold night, it was a tricky bite. 

Mike picked a day perfectly, as the air temperature sky rocketed and fish went into a very aggressive feeding mode, he ended up with a perfect bunch of commons, mostly bubblers. 

The next day Joey stole the title for most fish landed with a perfect dozen, mostly scrappy mid sized commons with one epic little fantail for variety. The fish began early spawning activities that day but most were still feeding. 

Spawning behavior made things trickier for the Idaho guides team of Jack and Luke, but Luke managed his first carp- a beautiful slot machine bubbler fantail -then another perfect common. Jack fooled a fantail on day one and a monster common for the flooded woods on day two. Jack has managed to bring the big fish luck two years in a row, tow commons early in 2025 were some of the biggest floodplain fish I've ever netted and his fish this year was no different. You know they're big when holding them up off your knee makes your arms shake instantly.

As for smallmouth, both Dar and Dave caught their personal biggest with me this season, and Art got the job done with some aggressive chasers. 

My schedule has a few holes I can fill in the coming week or so, the water is still up and the carp are still back in the woods for now. If we get rain enough, this can persist well into May, but that isn't particularly likely this year in my opinion. So we're likely to transition into my typical flats and river edge late spring and summer fishing, which is still very engaging and in my opinion does offer shots at some much larger fish. We're also coming into prime time for post spawn pike, smallmouth streamer trips, and soon enough, bowfin. I've been seeing a few bowfin already but none have stuck around long enough to provide shots. Soon, though, they'll be all sorts of rowdy. Flows remain fairly amicable for trout float trips in the larger rivers and any shots of rain could put the Salmon, Willimantic, and others in play as well. I have to keep a couple fairly large blocks of time open in early May, but I do have availability in the latter half of the month. June only has a handful of booked dates and is primo for anything and everything on the warmwater front as well as Farmington floats when flows allow. Let me know if anything piques your interest! 

brwntroutangler@gmail.com 

Thank you to my Patrons; Erin, David, John, Elizabeth, Brandon, Christopher, Shawn, Mike, Sara, Franky, Geof, Luke, Noah, Justin, Sean, Tom, Mark, Jake, Chris, Oliver, oddity on Display, Sammy, and Cris & Jennifer, Hunter, Gordon, Thomas, Trevor, Eric, Evan, Javier, Ryan, Dar, Eric, and Collin for making Connecticut Fly Angler possible. If you want to support this blog and access more informative content, look for the Patreon link at the top of the right side-bar in web version!

April Patreon Setlist

 Fun stuff on the way for Patrons this month! Continuation of the Semotilus saga, forecasting sneaky spring fronts, and all sorts of other goodness....

Cow+ Posts: 

The Secret To Affordable Fibers

Targeting Northern Studfish on the Fly

Videos: 

Crappie Magic

Hunting Giant Creek Chubs

Weekly Posts:

Backdoor Cold Fronts

Mapping Surroundings for Better Casting

Wetflies for Stillwater Risers

Fly Lines for Close Range Carp

Quick Tips:

TBD

Thanks as always to everyone that supports me over there! I understand that this is a difficult economic time for just about all of us, and it isn't lost on me that the service I provide is essentially a luxury service, so every supporter is hugely appreciated. Do let me know if there's anything I can do to make your experience on Patreon better and more educational! Of course, I'm always going to cover topics I find most interesting and relevant, even if they're weird and counter to the classic angling culture and traditional "gamefish", but I'm always open to input. 

A Lyme-Haver's Tick Season Warning

 We all love ticks (he says entirely facetiously). These little parasitic arachnids suck, literally, and if you thought we might get a break from them to some degree this early spring, you are sorely mistaken... at least here in southern New England, where heavy snow has blanketed the ground for most of the last few months. 

The unmistakable and devilish lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum

It is generally understood that  harsh winter kills ticks. Why, then, have I already picked more than one off of my pants? It was certainly colder than average, and though it felt snowier than average it barely was at just two inches more than the statewide average. We've gotten all too used to mild winters in recent years. That snow, ironically, was the ticks' savior. In a dry stretch of extremely cold conditions, it is true that there is a higher tick mortality through the winter leading to a lower number around come spring. When a heavy snow blankets the ground, though, it provides an insulating layer that gives ticks a shot. Think of it like the ticks all having some sort of mega-igloo. They remain alive under that protective shelter, just waiting to come out once things do finally thaw. Yayyy.

Unfortunately, that provides us outdoorsman no hope of a break from tick precautions, something everyone should be taking seriously. I've been diagnosed with Lyme a number of times. Lyme is a nasty disease that takes many forms. Mine came with severe muscle aches, joint pain, and a fever bad enough to spur hallucinations. It isn't worth acquiring Lyme. Lyme isn't alone, though. Powassan, tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and plenty of other diseases all find their way around within ticks. Unfortunately, human activity has worsened this to an exceptional extent. Suburban sprawl reduces predator populations while allowing dear, rodents, and other small mammals that are ideal tick hosts to continue to thrive, not only increasing the total volume of ticks and increasing the odds that humans come in contact with them, but increasing the percentage of ticks that are carriers of these diseases. Climate change has expanded north and eastward the ranges of tick species like lone star ticks, which were not historically abundant in New England. They are becoming increasingly common as the conditions become more similar in climate to their historic range. Since not every tick species is a vector for every tick borne illness, this really does matter. 

So, treat your pants with permethrin and cuff sleeves with tick tape. Do regular checks and pay very close attention to symptoms of potential tick borne illnesses. Medicate your pets and make sure they don't carry any arachnid hangers on home. 

Thank you to my Patrons; Erin, David, John, Elizabeth, Brandon, Christopher, Shawn, Mike, Sara, Franky, Geof, Luke, Noah, Justin, Sean, Tom, Mark, Jake, Chris, Oliver, oddity on Display, Sammy, and Cris & Jennifer, Hunter, Gordon, Thomas, Trevor, Eric, Evan, Javier, Ryan, Dar, Eric, Truman, Collin, and Josey for making Connecticut Fly Angler possible. If you want to support this blog and access more informative content, look for the Patreon link at the top of the right side-bar in web version!

March Patreon Happenings

Over on Patreon this month I'm starting a new Collection (series) on chubs... that's right, something absolutely nobody asked for! I'm here for the needs of the people whether they know it or not, and I've determined that everyone needs more Semotilus and Nocomis in their lives. The first post available to all tiers comes out next month and covers the diversity and distribution of the Semotilus genus within Connecticut, to be out March 9th. One of the two monthly videos will chronicle efforts to catch the largest creek chub I can in Connecticut. Down the road I'll delve into as many chub species as I can with this collection, detailing their biology, identification, and how to catch them on the fly. 

The "Forecasting for Anglers" collection will also be built upon this month, with a cow+ tier post on locations that warm up fastest in the spring publishing later today (March 2nd) and an all member weather analog post later in the month. The other weekly posts include a sunfish ice fishing post tomorrow and a final post to be determined. The other bimonthly cow+ tier post is on targeting early season bowfin, and the other video will be one in the Small Stream Streamer Fishing Masterclass. 

As always, if you support me over on Patreon, thank you! It really does keep this whole thing going. If any of you ever has an idea for a topic you'd like to see covered, don't hesitate to reach out and ask as I'm always open to new ideas and it is a lot of work to come up with them on my own. 

Thank you to my Patrons; Erin, David, John, Elizabeth, Brandon, Christopher, Shawn, Mike, Sara, Franky, Geof, Luke, Noah, Justin, Sean, Tom, Mark, Jake, Chris, Oliver, oddity on Display, Sammy, and Cris & Jennifer, Hunter, Gordon, Thomas, Trevor, Eric, Evan, Javier, Ryan, Dar, Eric, Truman, Collin, and Josey for making Connecticut Fly Angler possible. If you want to support this blog and access more informative content, look for the Patreon link at the top of the right side-bar in web version!

Late Winter Update & March Guiding Schedule

 Two consecutive great ice years for Connecticut, what a treat! I've been greatly enjoying putting the hours in to get much better at hardwater pursuits, traveling a little further afield, and putting in as many consecutive hours out there as possible. Noah and I have been ice camping when the opportunity arises, even in some very harsh and cold conditions. It has been extremely enjoyable and I've been very okay without casting a fly into open water in a couple months. 

Lake trout are a fish that is growing on me more and more, both in open water and on the ice. They're aggressive but also moody, capable of producing blitz level feeding windows and long, slow periods just as easily. They're very pretty too, and they don't taste bad at all either... in my limited experience of exactly one laker kept. They're oddly like small bluefish in flavor. Tremendous fish, all around. We just need to figure out big lake wild rainbows and landlocked salmon next. 

On the home front, I've been doing quite well with big bluegills, not as well with crappie as I'd like, not as well with perch as I'd like, and laying into the stocked trout because, well, of course... that never changes. On the crappie and perch front I do have a hard time believing that over harvest and the now limitless regulations aren't at least partially to blame. Time will tell, but there certainly don't seem to be as many big crappies and perch in popular locations as there were even five years ago. This probably isn't an audience to whom preaching selective harvest would make any difference to, but man... I wish people were a little more conservative with their trophy panfish harvesting. 

On to March, though. The mud month is only seven days away, and it promises to be a very muddy March this year. There's a potential blizzard on the way as I write this, and still 2-8 inches of snow on the ground from the big January storm depending where in Connecticut you are. This is good; very good in fact. We went into winter with a big deficit and depleted aquifers, the more snow we get the better. It's good for river health but also good for floating. It looks like March will present a number of opportunities to float rivers, both for trout and Atlantic salmon. March is my personal favorite salmon month during the Connecticut season. Fish are often well spread, can be aggressive, and if you do want to keep one it is definitely the best time to get one that has much better flavor than they do when they're first put in. I'll be doing floats basically whenever the weather allows, as the ice is now leaving and many days in the long term forecast exceed 40 degrees. If you'd like to try it, let me know!

John Kelly caught this show stopper with me back in December.

When the Salmon, Willimantic, and Farmington are floatable I'll be doing those as well. As it stands those aren't, but they should come into form soon. The Salmon is still iced up heavily and at the least the Merrow Rd. gauge on the Willy is reading "ice effected, so for now it's a waiting game. We had a lot of fun on both rivers last year, though, and I'm looking forward to putting the NRS down both again in 2026! The Farmington is the Farmington... if you want to fish it I'll take you. 

Alternately, the carp season is coming and coming fast. Most years we do have great fishing in March, odds aren't bad that the same is true this year even though it feels cold now. April is filling in already. If you want dates in April, reach out ASAP while I still have some schedule flexibility. It's shaping up to be a really tremendous flood plain season. It sort of always is, though. If you haven't experienced that fishery, you owe it to yourself to do so!

Pete with a good un'

Thank you to my Patrons; Erin, David, John, Elizabeth, Brandon, Christopher, Shawn, Mike, Sara, Franky, Geof, Luke, Noah, Justin, Sean, Tom, Mark, Jake, Chris, Oliver, oddity on Display, Sammy, and Cris & Jennifer, Hunter, Gordon, Thomas, Trevor, Eric, Evan, Javier, Ryan, Dar, Eric, Truman, Collin, and Josey for making Connecticut Fly Angler possible. If you want to support this blog and access more informative content, look for the Patreon link at the top of the right side-bar in web version!