TEAM 7x had a great time teaching several new fly fishermen the basics of casting on 4/21, opening day of trout season in CT. Our next session is scheduled for May 5, 9 to 11 am. Per usual, the Natchaug was crowded with spin fishermen, the trout pooled up in deeper holes and heads of pools in the extreme low water conditions, and the annual massacre was on! Recently stocked nice sized trout dragged on the rocks, hooks ripped out, stringers attached...not the norm for catch-and-release anglers, but to each his/her own, I suppose. Today's rain will have little impact on the river; it is LOW and one must search for holding water. We did see spinners and caddis on the water late around 7:00 pm and rose several fish on those patterns in some of the deeper pools in the lesser fished parts of the river. The afternoon was windy and except for midge, the hatches sparse on this day.
Earlier we did a little searching under rocks at stream side and found some great specimens of the insect life prevalent on the Natchaug.
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Natchaug dark stonefly nymph
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| March Brown nymph |
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March Brown nymph
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There were numerous cased caddis and mahogany dun nymphs on the underside of stream side rocks as well. It won't be long for the March Browns to make there appearance, based on the size of the nymphs we witnessed. The suprising find was the huge dark stonefly nymphs clinging tight to the streambed rocks. Stonefly nymphs fished deep should certainly take the deeper lying trout. The water clarity and low flow make it easy to observe the trout and their feeding patterns. If you haven't invested in the fly fishers MOST important piece of equipment, it's time to do so!
POLARIZED SUNGLASSES...good ones! Absent the mayhem of opening day on the Natchaug, hopefully we'll be able to do some stream side work at our May fly casting sessions at Charlie Brown Campground.
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