How did everyone do this weekend?

[strbender]

Lets hear it ;D. Myself. I worked Saturday I fished for 2 hours Sunday with 1 hookup (didn't land) Today I need to fix my lawn mower so I can mow the lawn for the first time since the rains .

I hope everyone had a great weekend

[ctroy36]

Was able to get out for a few hours late this afternoon and picked up a couple of rainbows on the Housatonic in Lee. See report in River Reports.

[Uplander]

Didn’t get out fishing over the long weekend. The thunderstorms/rains on Friday night brought the small streams up too high for my tastes. And, I‘m dealing with a 14 week old puppy who requires much time in the forest for simple exercise. It’s beginning to look like most of my 2006 trout fishing and bird hunting seasons will be given over to puppy exercise sessions, and later, bird dog training….

[jskowron]

Fished off the dock with the kids (5 and 2.5 years old) on Sunday at a friends camp in Goshen. They "caught" a perch and a bluegill on their new casting gear (both on crappie jigs). My 5 year old daughter figured out how to cast her push button gear. I let her swing the fly line a few times, but it got a little dangerous. I'll take her to a field next weekend where she can practice without a hook.

I caught dozens of big bluegill and pumpkinseed on a 3wt, using dry flies and poppers. All in all, a perfect day.

[cgill]

Saturday I traveled to the upper Miller's River In South Royalston. It was well worth the hike in and I had a great time, I caught brookies and a rainbow and a salmon. I can't believe I didn't catch a brown for the slam. The salmon was only about 6", I was very surprised. It must have been a Brood stock fish.

On Sunday evening, after switching not quite all my gear to a car with AC, I went to one of my favorite spots on the Housatonic in Lee. I was very surprised to see that not much was comming off the water. I tied on a Green colored Copper John with smaller Prince nymph dropper. I Cast the flies out a couple of times not really focusing on the line while I looked around closely to see if I could see any bugs on the water or in the air. So anyway I get a good strike and set the hook. I could tell this fish was good size. I played it or awhile and when it got close I could see it was really big. Each time it got near me it took off on a run. I eventually got it close enough to net and discovered that I had left the net in the other car. It was not on my vest. Crap.

Well I tried to grab grab the fish but I have small hands and there was no way I could get my hands around his middle. As soon as I gave it the slightest squeeze off he went. Remember the Prince dropper, It became firmly embeded in my left index finger as the trout bolted away. So now there I am up to my thighs in the water, with the rod in one hand, and a fly in the other, in between is the largest trout I have ever come close to landing. I was not sure who was winning, It may not have been me.

I managed to get the rod between my legs. With my right hand now free I managed to get the fly out of my finger. Call it Karma, I try to always remember to crush the barbs on my flies. If that dropper had had a barb on it it would have been a real problem.

I let the fish run a time or two and then got it close enough to slide my hand down the leader and remove the hook from the trouts mouth.

I bet the trout was 21 inches, definately a holdover, it had that brown belly that they get after a winter in the river. The moral of the story: barbless hooks and always bring your net. Double check everything before you leave home.

[strbender]

cgill, OUCH!

A couple of weeks ago I took my 10 yr old niece on her first fly fishing outing. Before we left the house I put on a GRHE. Right after I finish tying the knot my nephew asked me a question. When I turned to answer him I steped on the leader! snapping the tippet and driving the fly into my thumb all the way up to the dubbing Like you I take the barbs off when I tie so I was somewhat lucky. I almost forgot. We got skunked to boot ;D

[ctroy36]

cgill:

Ain't fishing droppers fun? Did the same thing the other day only I got the fly stuck between my index and middle fingers. Again, barbless hooks to the rescue.

Glad to hear about the big brown. Landed one in the same size range last week down there, which proves that some trout managed to survive the unusually hot conditions last summer. I fish that section for smallmouths in the summer and would have bet, based on water levels and temps, that the trout could not make it. That we are seeing holdovers is real encouraging.

[AgMD]

I started out bummin big time that I was not down in Rosco w/ Joe and the boys, and all those cane rods with the lads from Clarks board. What to do? Go Fishin'. Went up to the Battenkill where the water was just high enough to limit some of the wading options. Spent most of the day trying to fish unfishable water. My own fault, I know better. As evening came on I got to one of my favorite spots just at the end of a ceremony to celebrate the Battenkill's sister river in Italy. Two gents from Italy noticed my 7' Orvis and asked if he might cast it. Well -- this guy started to roll cast like I have never seen before. Meanwhile the other guy was translating. Not only did he roll cast as far as I can haul, but he was putting in left and right curves just as pretty as you please. Then he showed me a "spiral" pickup. As the line came off the water it came up in a tight right hand spiral and didn't even jiggle the water. The line just lifted vertically into the spiral. There was a whole bunch more, and I was just mesmerised. Turns out he is a master casting instructor and Director of "Associazione Sportiva Nazional" and his buddy the translator ties salmon flies commercially.
Monday I hit the Hoosic in Pownal and just clobbered 'em. In the fast water they liked a yellow and partrige wet fly. I tried drifting a dry over the same stretch. They liked #14 dries but I couldn't see the flies in the choppy water, so i tied on some #12 Wulf flies and they batted it. They would not take the bigger flies but they would rise to it and even smack it around a bit. I went back to the smaller dries and did pretty well considering i couldn't find the fly half the time. A weird , wonderful, frustrating and satisfying weekend.
AgMD