Spring flowers are starting to bloom, the skunk cabbage has already popped, and bug life is revving up. I’d say that springtime fishing is going well. There have been some hiccups around opening day with high water and cold temps but since then the water flows have been at a springtime normal and dropping nicely. Plus, here in Eastern Connecticut, we have been taken off the extreme/severe drought listing and are only considered in an abnormally dry/moderate rating- according to the drought portal at Drought.gov. To me those are all pluses ! So I would rate it as a B+ for now.

Winter stones and early brown stones are still around and in most streams that support them with proper substrate and water quality, Hendrickson and Quill Gordons. Add in a few caddis species and I think that the fly-fisherman has enough insect activity to be very happy about. I would also add in that terrestrials are waking up, too !

The wild boys and girls have seemed to fair well in some of our local streams. This particular one came from a Class 1 WTMA.

I follow several social media outlets and have noticed that a lot of people have been complaining about how the state has been stocking. I can assure you that they are stocking as many trout as they can  in as many places as they can but they are hurting just as bad if not more than the rest of us in terms of budget cuts, facilities needing repairs, and loss of employees. Yet, they still are out there stocking hundreds of thousands of fish ! This brown rose to a skated pattern imitating  the early stone that generally is active around noon on most days and streams. So…our streams do have stocked trout in them !

This brookie is a stocked fish. He was caught  on a gray ghost pattern and released for someone else to catch.

These two brookies were also stocked. The one on the left took a royal coachman wet while the right one took another gray ghost pattern. Both were released to be caught again by another angler.

I  have to say though that you do have to put your homework in and find the fish but once you do, they’re still there !

Good luck with your future fishing, springtime action is only going to improve and get better.  Springtime is a great time to pick up a fly rod and explore some of Connecticut’s eastern rivers and streams. It also is a fantastic time for a beginner to learn how to fly fish since our eastern river and streams do not see quite the volume of fisherman as the Farmington or Housatonic- except for the Salmon and Natchaug.

Connecticut has some quality fisheries throughout the state other than the Farmington River and are waiting for you to explore them ! Also, all of Connecticut’s Trout Unlimited Chapters could use extra support, especially Thames Valley Chapter 282 of which I am a member of.

http://www.thamesvalleytu.org/

I’ll end this with a short video clip from the Salmon River. You can’t catch them every time !