HOUSTON...We have NO Problem!!

And then there were four...No one in America, likely anywhere in the world could have selected this incredible Final Four matchup!  Certainly for UCONN fans we couldn't have dreamed this up back in November.  A remarkable, stunning run of 9 wins, 8 over ranked teams in 19 days, has the Huskies in solid position for an NCAA title!

PUT YOUR FLY FISHING PLANS ON HOLD!!  The ending to this, maybe college basketball's greatest story, is yet to be written.  GODSPEED Huskies...bring home the championship!

                                          The Commander and his crew!!

CHAMPIONS!!

No words can describe the UCONN HUSKIES performance over the past 5 days. The nation's most outstanding college player in 2011 literally put a young team on his back and carried them to the championship of the Big East...the toughest college conference in the land. NBA players moan and whine about playing back to back games in which they walk it up, shoot it up and saunter back to what they call defense. Please...

Kemba Walker's drive down the lane in the final seconds past Louisville defenders on legs he couldn't feel, totally "gassed" as he admitted later, finding the outstanding freshman Jeremy Lamb on a dish and a slam capped off a performance for the ages.

I was in the Garden, the mecca of college basketball, just off what was to be the winning end, for the Pittsburgh game. All 19,000+ knew the drill with 8 seconds on the clock. Off a brush pick Walker was isolated on McGhee; no match, no hurry. With a step back, he rose and fired, the red light surrounding the backboard glowed as the buzzer sounded...you know the rest!

So put aside the Jimmer talk, the Ben from South Bend shtick, this young man is a champion in every sense of the word, not just for his record breaking individual performance, but for his cool, confident leadership. Indeed there is no "I" in team and no "I" in Kemba Walker either. On to the NCAA's...anything's possible, we just witnessed that!

Year 'round trout streams in Eastern CT

The following TMA's have no closed season and offer some early season opportunities:


Willimantic River TMA
Moosup River TMA (in CT, not RI, see my previous post)
Merrick Brook TMA
a bit farther south...Yantic River TMA

Look for early season small black stoneflies. With the runoff, most are running a bit high and I hope to have a condition update soon.

Check out what looks like a great reel at flyfishing benefactors. Beautiful fit/finish, sealed drag...will have review as soon as I can get on the water!! The Snake I, large arbor, lightweight.

BACK TO THE BIG EAST...I'm still on Notre Dame's bandwagon! My choice to win the BE tourney at MSG. I'm hoping UCONN gets to Thursday's quarterfinal, with nice seats at the Garden for all 4 matchups! They'll need a big turnaround from the post players...huge disappointments down the stretch.

My case for Kemba Walker as BE player of the year:

UCONN would very probably be at 14-15 wins without his presence and tremendous individual effort. They would simply be out of the post-season picture. NO other team in the BE features a scenario where a post season berth depends so much on one player.
AND...that's what it's all about...getting to the show! Hansborough, great player, reminds me so much of McNamara at Syracuse of the past, but ND gets there regardless of his play; they're solid. Should KW not be the man, Dwight Hardy should be. His play has energized the Johnnies and they'll be in the field for the first time in a long time.
Friar's Brooks a great shooter, but the team's a mess and I can't see his selection.

March Madness...in one flyfisherman's opinion, the best sports event of the year!
More later on my Final Four picks!!

CT Trout Stocking Program

Waiting for spring in eastern CT...the 2009 trout stock lists are good reading. Wondering if those smaller streams and brooks are stocked? The list doesn't change much from year to year and lists the species and distribution. Enjoy!

http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/fishing/general_information/fishdistributionreport.pdf

Good winter read: Fishing the Film by Gary Borger, concentrating on emergers on the surface and just under....check it out

East Branch Delaware River

September on the East Branch.

Know Your Rights...Wading and River Access

Not long ago, while fishing an Eastern CT trout stream, a fishing partner of mine, while standing midstream, was confronted by an adjacent landowner and told, "this is private property." This was despite a DEM posted sign stating that the public were entitled to access within 10' of the river bank. The landowner arrived streamside in an ATV of some type and wore a holster with a visible sidearm. The fisherman explained that he was within his legal right, below the high water mark, and not on private property. When the landowner asked to see his fishing license, my friend asked if he was a DEM or law enforcement official and did not produce his license. The verbal exchange ended and the landowner continued to sit streamside in his vehicle while my friend continued to fish for an hour or more. A phone call to DEM and to the resident state trooper the next day resulted in a visit to the landowner, with a caution not to harass anglers in this particular section of the river. The landowner on several other occassions continues to "visit" his property streamside when anglers are present, however without verbal exchange.

Wading fishermen should not be intimitated by such encounters and should know their legal rights: http://www.nationalrivers.org/us-law-public.htm This link is an excellent discussion on the subject.

While no one advocates confrontation, knowing your rights will lessen the intimidation factor that many of us have likely encountered as we search and wade our streams and rivers.
Drag Free!

Eastern CT and the Farmington River

The heat and low flow has ended fishing on the Natchaug and all other streams in Eastern CT.(northeast area at least). While you may find a few deeper cooler spots on the Moosup River, fishing is not advisable until the water cools and the levels come up. The Natchaug fished very well into the 3rd week of June as sulphurs, ants and black caddis were the go-to patterns.

The trout are struggling for oxygen and have been seen podding up in cooler flows on both rivers. Not a good time for Eastern CT opportunities. The only game in town becomes the Farmington. Despite the heavy pressure, the upper TMA and above on the West Branch of the Farmington may be the best lower New England has to offer. Patience, choosing some of the less pressured areas, and being willing to make frequent fly changes will lead to success. Oh, and you better be on 7x at this time as the water is crystal clear, a bit low, but perfect and the trout are very picky!

We managed some fine fish on the Farmington just recently, as the above video will show. With the water clarity excellent, I witnessed at least 5 fish throughout the day, rise to my pattern, open its mouth and at the last second, nudge it and reject. In another case an 18" brown who showed in a small riffle, absolutely crashed a winter/summer caddis size 16 without hesitation.

You just never know! You'll be tested at this time of the year but the rewards are unbeatable!

An aside; ran into an angler who proceeded to tell us how he "slammed" them all day upriver as he was entering Greenwoods with no rising fish and a falling rain in the early evening. First question, why leave "upriver?' The fishing on the Farmington is challenging and technical at this time of year for the dry fly guy. If you're going to nymph with an indicator, so be it. But you will NOT "slam 'em" on top. I'm personally tired of the war stories and bragging boards throughout the fly fishing community. You'll not see brag numbers posted here. I'd rather tell it like it is and keep it real ... Drag Free!