October-November Guiding Updates

 Hey folks! It's fall, right? Spastic weather aside, it is, I guess. We're in drought conditions, streams are very low, and the leaf hatch has commenced. So despite the temperature aggressively flip-flopping and the disappointing lack of good storms, it is indeed fall here in southern New England, and that brings a few changes to my guiding program. This late summer/fall transition period certainly wasn't unproductive though, with a few really cool highlights. I did as many big river floats as I could, and they all had their moments even on the slower days. Though smallmouth were the primary headliner, pike and stripers made plenty of showings as well. 

Greg with a nice one on a soft plastic

Barred up aggressor for Andrew

Schoolie for Dar... we were seeing a few much bigger than this!

Javier's pike put on a good show waking off the bank.

And of course there were plenty of good carp too. Late summer often gives up a few really good ones and this year was no exception. Winner goes to JK with this record breaker:

The carp are, of course, still going. It isn't as predictable at this point in the year, so I wouldn't recommend trying to book for them unless you have some flexibility with your schedule. Warmer days, especially after warmer nights, will be much better. 

In the salt, I'm still plugging away at the multispecies trips. They've got a heavier weakfish bend this year than last, they're becoming even more widespread and abundant. We're getting them both in daylight hours and at night, and some pretty nice ones are showing this year too. That's keeping me around the creeks and rockpiles. There are bonito and albies around as well, and when on anchor at rockpiles it's not at all out of the question to get shots at them from the canoe. Tautog season opens October 10th and I'm more than equipped to put you on your first fly rod blackfish! I do light tackle jigging for them as well, both shore and canoe based in shallow waters taking an approach very few others are. It's an interesting game, if you care to try it!

Jason with a good fly rod tautog

Jonathan's lifer weakfish.

And its salmon season again. Just like last year we're in drought conditions and the Shetucket is quite low, so it will be walk and wade trips only for the foreseeable future. This low water does provide shots to catch them on dries though, and that's always fun. If you have a flexible schedule, it's always best to try to hit an evening window or a cloudy or even rainy day, that's when we do our best, but conditions aside I can always put you in front of a salmon with the best flies to get the job done. I'll be taking Salmon bookings right into winter, and if we do start getting water enough to float I'll be doing float trips in the NRS, so look forward to that! 

Mark with a late season salmon from a productive float.

Aside from those saltwater and salmon targeted trips, there are other options coming up as well including kokanee, stillwater trout, and a continuation of the warm-water floats for bass and pike. I love this season, it's one of those times when there's just so much that can be really good it can be hard to decide what to do any given day. I love the fall but it does go fast. Don't let it slip you by!

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 Truman for making Connecticut Fly Angler possible. If you want to support this blog, look for the Patreon link at the top of the right side-bar in web version. 

August-September Guiding Updates

 

I love the latter half of summer, I just do. I know some people fret over the days getting shorter and things getting a bit dry and low, I don't really. I love August and September. They provide a kick butt variety. particularly, though, I'm growing more and more fond of late summer smallmouth floats on big water. It's visual, the fish can be fickle enough to provide a challenge but also so absurdly aggressive at times they make it impossible to screw up. I just love them, they have such attitude and aggression but not so much so as to make it too easy. And there's always a chance to put one in the air that's over 22 inches. 

Stephen from Kismet Outfitters with a good one that hammered a Sid at the surface.

Right now, the water is still a little on the warm side for pike, but nights are gradually getting cooler and longer again. That'll change things, the pike will eat better and I'll feel better about hooking and fighting the as temperatures drop well below 80 again. The smaller ones are moving now, most days one or two will show themselves, often leaving us with a fly-less leader and couple of muttered cusses. A few even make it to hand. 

Ed with a 20 incher

Some days, I've taken to beaching the boat, getting out and wading, With the river very low now, this makes for a nice break to cool off a bit on the hot days. It has also provided some shots at some carp and schools of roving, shad fry feeding bass.

And of course there's the salt. Stripers, though? forget it it. Terrible, miserable, no good, bad. If you ask for them, I'm sorry, unless something changes dramatically I just can't. They aren't here like they were just a few years ago. BUT... some things are that weren't, and it's a great time to just go rack up species. Weakfish, scup, fluke, spot, maybe even a cownose ray? It's a good time out there in the marshes and coves, and my canoe is the perfect craft to cover the shallows. Sure, you could go book a guide on a trout stream and slug it out in tough, low water conditions for a few trout... or you could use some of the same tackle and tactics and catch a plethora of weird and wonderful salty characters. 

So that's the short of the long of it. This has been a good summer so far, with a lot of great clients. So far this August, and it'll take something pretty special to give it a run so attempt to de-throne him at your own peril, fish of the month goes to Collin Steadman with this ripper 27.3lb common carp. What a monster! Thanks as always to everyone who has made it out with me so far this year, it keeps the good times rolling. 

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 and Dar for making Connecticut Fly Angler possible. If you want to support this blog, look for the Patreon link at the top of the right side-bar in web version. 

Photo Essay: Lavender Tidal Marsh Fish

 

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, and Sammy for making Connecticut Fly Angler possible. If you want to support this blog, look for the Patreon link at the top of the right side-bar in web version.

Weakfish

A steady east wind rustled my sweater as I waded into the choppy, muddy waters of a western Long Island Sound bay. It was early June, and I was late. The squeteague had been in for weeks already and I was behind the curve. Weakfish, squeteague, tide runners... the only regular visitor to these waters of the Cynoscion genus, enter estuaries to spawn in the spring in numbers much diminished from their historical highs. A good eating fish, anglers still routinely harvest weakfish. It should not be legal to do so, these fish are in worse shape than striped bass. I seek them for other reasons. The few times I've been so privileged to be in the presence of a weakfish, I was stunned by their beauty. And, like many of the most beautiful things, they don't come easy. I love a challenge.
So there I stood on a chilly evening in the wind, having horseshoe crabs try to mate with my wading boots, waiting for something magical.

Unlike most times I've made this pilgrimage, that magical moment came to be. In the waning light at the tip of a curling bar, I came tight at the end of a long cast. The fish was fighting uniquely, and even though it jumped and showed his trademark characteristics my mind wanted to believe I'd hooked something else. But no, it was a weakfish after all. A quite small one, but only my second ever, and two years after my first. I couldn't be more pleased. That I'd caught this one by deciphering where a pile of them might hold in this bay on a very non-traditional tide was no small factor.

As the sun dropped and the tide quickened it's pace, fish began popping, splashing, and jumping in the rip. I hoped I just might convince another weakfish to take my pink and olive Popovics Jiggy. I was. And though it was even smaller than the first, my third ever weakfish brought a huge smile to my face. 

I thrive on variety, and to an extent New England's depleted saltwater fisheries deprive me of the chance. Winter flounder, cod, pollack, tomcod, and other species that were once so abundant here no longer add to the variety, and weakfish or even bluefish aren't as reliable as they once were. Each weakfish I catch stands as a lavender, chrome, yellow and blue glimmer of hope. They aren't gone yet, and if we stop killing them, and the habitats they require, maybe they'll still be around after I'm gone. I doubt it, but I do hope so. Though I doubt it and I think weakfish, like many other species I love, will be locally extirpated if not wholly extinct in my lifetime, I won't go down without a fight. Take me kicking, screaming, and biting if you have to... I'll fight all the way.

Don't kill weakfish anymore. It isn't right.

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.

Thank you to my Patrons; Erin, David, John, Elizabeth, Brandon, Christopher, Shawn, Mike, Sara, Leo, and Franky for supporting this blog on Patreon. 

Thank You for the Places You Took Me

Thanksgiving rolls around every year and I always have a lot to be thankful for. But this year I'm just feeling thankful for having broken into saltwater fly fishing three years ago. Since then, I've chased striped bass, bluefish, and false albacore from Jersey to Maine. These fish have taken me on an incredible journey, and I am so blessed to have been witness to some of the most spectacular displays of life in the world. These things go on right under the noses of millions of people who just don't know about them, and yet I get to experience them on a near weekly basis. It's been a remarkable three years. Here's to many, many more. Morone saxatilis, Euthynnus alletteratus, Pomatomus saltatrix, Cynoscion regalis, Sarda sarda... thank you. All of you.  And every single person who enabled me to get to experience these fish.

 May you never stop running. 

(35 moments of zen) 

Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

If you enjoy what I'm doing here, please share and comment. It is increasingly difficult to maintain this blog under dwindling readership. What best keeps me going so is knowing that I am engaging people and getting them interested in different aspects of fly fishing, the natural world, and art. Follow, like on Facebook, share wherever, comment wherever. Every little bit is appreciated! 
Thanks for joining the adventure, and tight lines.