I headed back to the Willimantic river TMA hoping that most of the people who had been fishing there the last 2 1/2 months were on to greener pastures. I started at the abutment pool, there was a youger guy there with a kid he was trying to teach to fly fish at the tail out, I moved up to the very head of the pool and after a couple of quick tangles and a leader change, I managed to get 3 casts in a row were I wanted them. On number four a beautiful brown took my szie 16 caddis dry and gave a very good account of it's self.

I then moved down to the flat below the abutment pool and proceded to spook two decent fish with casts that got blown off target by poorly timed breezes. I managed a nice little brookie on the dry a bit later. About this time the sun came out full bore and the fish stopped feeding on top. I rerigged with a czech nymph point fly and a small caddis pupa dropper. I made only three cast and hooked and landed a nice little rainbow a few minutes later I hooked and lost a ncie fish that ran down stream quick. I managed to scape up one more trout from the tail out and decided to leave the two young fisherman to the pool. I drove down stream to a favorite access point to fish the middle of the TMA. I took quick water break and then headed off to the lower Bride pool, I had fished down thru the pool with a pair on nymphs with not even a bump. I then turned around changed the point fly to a sligtly lighter version of a caddis larva and started to work up stream using a yarn indicator( bobber) I had made it up about half way when Carl one of my friends showed up. I slowly fished the rest of the pool waiting for him to rig up. once riggered head fished the head of the pool and got two trout to show interest in a small caddis so I changed to a dry and we fish up under the bridge to the upper pool. we managed several fall fish and dace but not trout. Once thru the bridge we noticed a couple of fish rising just up into the pool. Carl got a quick refusal and told me to give it a try I cast to the spot and the fish took right away, it then proceeded to get me hung in a rock or log and I had to break it off. I retied and we fish up towards the head of the pool. Carl was ahead and to the bank side of the pool that way we could both fish with out crossing lines or drifts. About half way up the pool I noticed very many fish flashing along the bottom so I switched back to the czech nymph and dropper. First cast at the head of the pool I hooked a nice tiger trout and after a short fight unhoooked it, two cast later I hooked and landed a nice rianbow.

I called to Carl to come back down and I let him fish the slot they were holding in. after a couple of missed fish he broke off and deicded to switch to a soft hackle and ant. ( he has a great mthod of fishing ants subsurface). I hooked and landed one more brown and headed down towards the bridge casting then taking a step then casting again. Carl hooked up an landed a nice rianbow from the head of the pool. We worked out way back down under the bridge with neither of us getting any real action. Carl had to leave so I decided I would swing a pupa and soft hackle in the head of the lower pool an head out. an hour later after a couple missed hook sets and a nice fish lost to too much pressure on my end of the line I called it a day. Overall not a bad opening day # 37 if I do say so.
Steve'O

another great weekend

Well yesterday was the spring  fling at JTs fly shop and it was a good day weather wise so the people were out. Got to see some old Friends and made a couple of new ones. we had a lot of our suppliers there to so off the latest and greatest. as well as many tag sale people trying to unload some stuff. Cpt. Jack  from Jack hammer charters was there with his crew. a good time was had by all. Got to try a couple of new two handed rods that I am going to put a serious test to on May 5th at the Spey clave on the Farmington river.

I got a chance to get out to fish today, the flow was way down( no run off and no rain) the fish were there and active. I fished with one of the guys from the shop Lou between us we figured out what they wanted and got a few on a size 16 caddis. I managed a few until I lost the only sz 16 tan elk hair caddis fly I had on me. When I loaded the truck to head to the river I thought to myself I need to add a few boxes of dries and take out the big stones and buggers. I took out the boxes I wanted too and put in my early spring box with Hendricksons, red quills, paraleps and quill Gordons in it and the box with blues winged olives also. While i was int he closet I grabbed my box of caddis to put in the truck bag just in case. guess what they never made it to my vest,they were still on the shelf in my closet. Whenever we were able to get a good drift the fish would Take I struggled for a time trying to find something that would work, but I ended up going to nymphs( not that is a bad thing but the fish seemed to be looking up. I did manage 1 nice rainbow and a big sucker on a Czech nymph. The water is very low for this time of year and I pray we get some rain soon. all in all it was a good day to be out and a few fish cooperated. all in all a good day to be out.

Steve'O

well it is that time again damn it !

Over the years I have tried to stay as positive as possible when I comes to fly fishing, after all it is just fishing. I have been fly fishing for 37 years next Saturday and trout fishing for about 46 years. having a dad who is a trout fisherman I am lucky having been introduced to it early and often. For the last 15 or so years I have been guiding part time and doing some commercial fly tying. 5 years ago a good friend opened up a fly shop and I have been helping him out ever since. We have a great mix of guys who help out at the shop from Passn thru our very own It guru to the bunch of shop rats that gather on Friday nights to tell stories and share the food and spirits. we all pretty much have one thing in common while we all take fly fishing very serious, none of us take ourselves very serious. we all have strengths and just as many weaknesses.
                So this is all well and good but were is it leading. Well in the last 5 or so years with the increase in the ease of creating web pages, many so call guide services have sprung up. nearly all of these are niche services serving a small area of the state or specializing in one water. Of the ones I have met or spoke with they all seem to be good at what they do. But there are a couple that have cropped up in the last year or so that every time I hear the name I cringe. They are all over the web and post all kinds of reports. Now I spend a good bit of time on the waters of eastern Connecticut in the fishing year and I am constantly surprised by some of the s%^& that gets posted and passes as a report. It is far more shameless promotion than any actual info and some times I think they just make the crap up.  A few years ago I was at the Marlboro Mass. fly fishing show with a good friend, we ended up eating lunch with a couple of guys who are full time guides here in Connecticut and work hard to make it work. The conversation was the normal " I had this guys who .............." but then on of them asked what I thought of the idea of licensing guides In Connecticut, normally I am hands of when it comes to government but he had a point. It would actually create a better product for those who use guides. I had forgotten about it until this past winter I bumped into one of them and he said he had been basically put off by the Deep with the idea. too bad I think the resource would have benefited from it.
      well onto another note, not knowing really how many read this stuff, I wanted to put out that this coming weekend is the 5th anniversary of the shop opening and we as we have for the last 5 years will have the spring fling at the shop. Saturday from 8-4 Sunday 8-1 so stop down to JT's fly shop for the specials and to chat.

Steve'O