Looking Back

I was very blessed in 2015 between watching my beautiful daughter grow, landing a new job and finishing grad school. While this past year won't be remembered for the most time I've ever spent on the water, I sure as hell made the most of each trip. Below is a look back at some angling highlights from a memorable 2015.

FRESH: The balmy winter weather we've been experiencing lately makes me appreciate 2015's ice season all the more. Friends and I had a blast in the Adirondacks jigging up lake trout and enjoyed great opportunities back home as well, like rare late-ice trips to Connecticut's largest lake. Spring brought with it our cherished Opening Day camping trip, strong mayfly hatches and several quality trout to the net. I also tagged along on a fun carp excursion on the Connecticut River, a pike float on the upper Housatonic and a small stream jaunt in the mountains. In the fall, I paid a few visits to my favorite reservoir for a handful of keeper walleye and hefty smallmouth. To close the year, I floated a river I'd never been to before and hooked (and lost!) a trout that will keep me going back.

SALT: What I'll remember most about the 2015 saltwater season was the copious amounts of menhaden in Long Island Sound and its tributaries. It wasn't limited to adult bunker either; for the first time in a long time, we experienced an incredible display of peanut bunker in our local waters, which helped attract all sorts of marine life from Humpback whales to a memorable run of false albacore. Speaking of false albacore, an unforgettable memory from this past year was catching a late-October albie five minutes from my home, in a shirt and tie before work no less! I also was lucky to witness some amazing bluefish blitzes, land a few nice bass from shore, and catch my first keeper fluke in a kayak. 

 Here's to a healthy and fish-filled 2016!

Not On Our Watch

If this blog post sounds familiar, unfortunately that's because it is. Time and time again in recent years, we as anglers have had to band together to help keep one of three state fish hatcheries from closing. Now, instead of just Kensington State Fish Hatchery on the chopping block, Governor Malloy's new proposed budget would eliminate all three. 

I probably don't need to tell anyone reading this just how ridiculous that sounds. The amount of funding necessary to keep those hatcheries running and their 17 employees working is dwarfed by the revenue they ultimately bring into the State of Connecticut. Millions of dollars are spent every year on freshwater fishing licenses alone, not to mention all the money spent in bait and tackle and fly shops. A large part of that revenue is directly tied to Connecticut's trout and salmon fisheries, which for the most part are dependent on our three state fish hatcheries. Yes, there are wild and native trout populations in our state waters, but not enough to sustain the amount of fishing pressure they will receive if our hatcheries close. 

This is a bad idea and our lawmakers need to hear about it. What can you do? 

• Find your Connecticut legislators and contact them today. Write emails or, better yet, make phone calls. Let them know that you're a constituent, a registered voter and just how important this issue is to you. Here is a fact sheet from CVTU to help craft your message.

• Share your opinion with Governor Malloy. This is where out-of-state anglers who spend time and money chasing trout on the Farmington and Housatonic Rivers or broodstock Atlantic salmon on the Naugatuck and Shetucket Rivers can chime in. These hatchery closures would impact more than just Connecticut anglers! Look no further than the growing number of vehicles with non CT license plates parked along our finest freshwater fisheries. 

• Sign this online petition. It takes two minutes and every signature helps. At the time of this writing, 2,786 supporters had signed on--we can do better than that!

• Spread the word! Tell your fishing buddies about what is going on. If they don't know about the issue, they can't be a part of the solution. 

Just a small sample of what we are at risk of losing. 

Hiking for Halos

The massive oak in my yard dropped its remaining acorns on our roof last week. Facebook nearly crashed when the first snow flakes of the season fell on Sunday. The lingering annuals in my garden died in unison with this morning's frost. And water temperatures in Long Island Sound just fell below 60 degrees. However you measure it, winter is coming. But before she arrives in earnest, there are a few fall fishing traditions I'd like to partake in. A favorite was checked off the list on Columbus Indigenous People's Day Weekend when some friends and I hiked along a thirsty mountain stream in search of eastern brook trout. 

 

Sight Casting to Redfish

Fishing fixes have been in scant supply lately, but I did experience a nice flashback the other day. Business brought me to Tampa a few Octobers ago. It was for a conference on coastal habitat restoration and I was excited to go, but I was even more stoked to sample the local fishing down there. Never having visited the west coast of Florida before, I did some research and booked a highly touted guide, Capt. Nick Angelo of Shallow Water Fly Fishing. 

Nick knows Tampa Bay like the back of his hand and will dial-in on different species depending on the time of year. I learned that October on Tampa Bay is a transition time, but it can be very good for sight casting to redfish and snook, and that's what we set out to do. Nick pulled his skiff right up to a dock within walking distance of my hotel and after a few minutes, the Tampa skyline was our backdrop as we plied mangrove shorelines and sandy flats.

I was all about sight fishing since getting a good taste of it between bonefish in Hawaii, stripers in Cape Cod, and carp and trout locally. This was my inaugural trip with my first pair of Costa sunglasses--the difference between a cheap pair and quality pair of polarized shades is like night and day, and if there is one thing you don't skimp out out on with this type of fishing, it's sunglasses! I put them to the test right off the bat. Nick set me up with one of his rods and a fly of his own creation and hopped on the poling platform. Just as he began explaining what to be on the lookout for, I pointed to a shadowy figure grubbing on bottom. He was pumped that I spotted the first redfish and I was pumped that I spotted one period. Nick coached me on where to drop the fly and I led the fish just a hair and it ate after a few short strips. It put up a great fight on the long rod in shallow water, but we barely had time to bask in our glory.

As soon as I released the fish, Nick sees an unmistakable blitz about 50 yards off the bow of the boat that was closing in fast. He knew straight away that it was a school of crevalle jack heading right for us. I was a little caught off guard yet managed an ugly cast into the fray next about a rod's length from the skiff. I'm guessing these fish would have attacked just about anything put in front of them at that point and within seconds I was tight to a bulldog that dumped line off my spool at a crazy rate of speed. With no disrespect to the beautiful redfish I had just spotted, caught and released, this jack fought a hell of a lot harder. I was having a blast, but my guide was screaming at me to horse the fish in so we can get another crack at the school that was quickly getting away.

After a few wild minutes, I eventually boated the fish but we never got that second crack at the blitz. It was long gone. We did find more reds, nothing huge, but still fun as hell to sight fish for. I also landed my first ever sea trout, which was cool, and spooked a few big snook before I could get a respectable cast off. I was thoroughly impressed with the quality and diversity of the Tampa Bay fishery, which was very close to the bustling downtown area. I was equally impressed with the local knowledge of my guide and would recommend him in a heartbeat to anyone traveling there. It was an awesome day on the water that is still providing me great memories through fishing dry spells three years later!