A Fly Weekend

If this were a typical winter, I would have been drilling through a couple feet of ice on Sebago Lake last weekend. Every February I look forward to the annual ice fishing derby on Maine's second biggest lake. Usually our crew from Connecticut heads up and stays with good friends and old neighbors of mine. It's always a great time with a nice blend of fish, food, drinks and laughs. This winter, however, there was never a real shot at Sebago freezing over. A few of her coves locked up enough ice for trucks to drive on them, but the big bay remains wide open with white caps.

The Sebago derby and the shenanigans that go along with it were canceled for obvious safety reasons. So instead of jigging for lake trout in 100 feet of water, I found myself fly fishing Connecticut streams all weekend. I mixed it up between a small stream and the larger, more familiar Farmington River. Trout cooperated at both locations, but what I gained in knowledge out-shined any catch. I've been fishing the upper Farmington River for nearly 20 years and I still learn something new every time I go. That's just one of the beauties of an ever-changing river and the art of fly fishing.

One of the results of new Farmington River regulations that took effect in January is an expanded Trout Management Area. My friend Todd and I set out to explore the recently added catch-and-release water on Saturday morning. We dropped one vehicle off at the newly established northern boundary and drove downstream to the former demarcation line and fished the 1.5 mile difference. I had seen most of this stretch before, but it had been a while and I had never hiked it all in one clip.

A portion of the Farmington River's newly expanded upper Trout Management area.

Expectations weren't all that high for catching trout, but that's not what this trip was about. If we wanted a better chance at success we would have focused downstream in the more popular winter pools. Instead this day was about familiarizing ourselves with a piece of water. We wanted to take photographs and mental notes of the TMA expansion, which will no doubt improve in trout quality and quantity with no-kill regulations.

Todd and I took our time during the trek upstream, stopping at fishy looking water for the occasional dipstick.  In the 1.5 mile span, six different areas gave us the urge to make some casts.  The river's flow was unusually low for this time of year, which was helpful for getting a good look at the best pools.  We found a nice mix of water types suitable for everything from dry fly fishing to various nymphing methods. As expected, there was an abundant food supply evident by the seine samples conducted in a shallow riffle.

It turned out to be a productive day. We felt confident in our presentations and that fish were in front of us at each stop, yet we couldn't buy a strike. Even without a trout coming to the net, it was a day well spent and will prove valuable down the road on future outings. Unfortunately, the trip ended on a sour note while crossing the river to get to my Jeep.  I unwisely chose a swift, chest-deep section to ford and lost my footing.  The current skipped me downstream a few yards before I could regain my composure with water pouring down my waders in the process. Thankfully it happened when and where it did because I was so close to my vehicle and dry clothes. However, I ruined my trusty Flip video camera in the fray and nearly lost my second iPhone to water damage.  The phone came back to life as I pulled up to a grocery store for a bag of rice to dry it out!  It wasn't my first or last dip in the Farmington River, but it was my first in February's icy waters, but it could have been worse. 

A single seine sample revealed a bounty of trout food from the stream bottom.

The abutments at the tail of Whittemore Pool mark the new upper boundary of the year-round "no kill" zone.

Take Two

Aaron and I had the day off of work on Monday and took advantage of another mild winter day along the Farmington River.  After the lack of action and my soaking on Saturday, it was a pleasant change of pace to spend a day in water I had more confidence finding hungry trout in.  The stretch of river just downstream of where I got skunked Saturday is well known for its excellent catch-and-release winter fishing.  The reports leading up to our outing had been particularly positive there, especially surface activity in the form of winter caddis in the morning and stoneflies throughout the day.  We brought our usual nymph set ups, but packed the dry fly rods just in case.  About an hour into hour trip I saw enough rises downstream to warrant getting them out of the vehicle.  The window was short lived and the gusty wind made things interesting, but I fooled a trout on the surface in the month of February, which I thought was pretty cool.  It was also the first time I brought my usual small stream 3-weight rod to the Farmington.  It's truly a great tool for dry fly fishing. 

Photo credit: Aaron Swanson

Photo credit: Aaron Swanson

Photo credit: Aaron Swanson

The trout were feeding below the surface as well, as Aaron and I found out at each spot we hit that day.  It was interesting to find fish holding in the heads of runs this time of year, but that's precisely where our best specimen came from on Monday.  It was far from lock and load, though we pieced together a good sampling from the river.  With the low and clear flows, a stealthy approach and scaled-down offerings on light tippets were key to success.  A small black stonefly nymph proved to be the "hot" fly of the day and prince nymphs and green caddis larvae also put fish in the net.  It was an awesome outing for me and I even managed to stay dry during this one. 

As I've said before and I'll say it again, it pains me not to be ice fishing in February.  However, when you can experience a great day on fly fishing like we did on Monday so close to home, it helps forget how much of a joke this winter has been.  The Farmington River continues to remind anglers all across the Northeast just how lucky we are and I feel like it's getting better every year. 

Photo credit: Aaron Swanson

Photo credit: Aaron Swanson

Photo credit: Aaron Swanson