First Fishing Trip of the Year

Hopefully everyone got the email that went out with the introductory information in it yesterday. We had a pretty big flux of new members the next day, so there is a good chance that it will be repeated very soon anyway. In the email I mentioned trying to setup the first fishing trip of the year and figured that would make as good a first post on the blog as any!

To the best of my knowledge last year was the first year Yale has really ever tried to put together a fishing group or club, thanks to Pablo Torres, who joined us again this year. It really just started as a Sageboy posting asking if anyone wanted to go fishing, and a group of four of us decided to try the Farmington River. So as a throw back to last year's magically trip, I figured it was as good a place to start as any.

As of this writing we're looking at the weekend of September 17th. I would suggest the Sunday but we can try to flush that out over the course of the next week or so. The water is always cold so there is no reason to get there super early in the morning, in fact the best bug activity is in the late evening just before dusk, which is when the trout are feeding most heavily. I recommend leaving just after lunch or around 2:00 pm and fishing until dark, or when people are ready to go home.

The Farmington is THE river in Connecticut. It is home to the largest number of stocked and wild trout in the state and is fishable all year round (at least in some sections which are protected under special regulations). I would strongly recommend bring waders along if you have them, although a swim suit works just as well this late in the summer. I won't lie to you, the water is cold, but it's also a beautiful place to just sit on a rock and warm up too.

Depending on where we hit the river we'll be fishing for different species. The northern sections hold the trout, whereas the water just upstream from the dams are the warmest. That's where you'll find the smallmouth if you're looking for them. I've also heard of pickerel in the larger pools, although I've never seen anyone catch one.

The map to the right has all the major holes on it. I would suggest starting, or at least meeting up at the Church Pool. It is the Times Square of the river, and from there we can determine how crowded it is and where people would like to fish. Greenwoods is another very popular and productive stretch as is Central Riffle and the Boneyard. Fish do populate the whole river though so we shouldn't have too hard a time finding something to hook into!

If you're at all interested in going on the trip please shoot me an email (again, zlehmann@gmail.com). The sooner we work out the logistics the better. Feel free to bring along anyone you know who may be interested, especially if they don't mind driving!

Tight lines