Go Time

It's the eve before our favorite trip of the year and even Mother Nature's belated April fool's joke of snow this morning could not spoil it. The traditional opener of Connecticut's trout season is just days away and we are going to celebrate on the banks of the Farmington River the best way we know how, by camping, fishing, eating and drinking with good friends and family.

It's funny the way anticipation for this trip always builds weeks in advance--time seems to slow to a helgramite's pace just before we leave and then shifts to warp speed when we're actually there. To set the table for another memorable celebration of spring, here are some posts from the last few Opening Days: 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010.

Tight lines!

What it's all about!

Eat Like Kings

One of the most anticipated things about Opening Day weekend is the top-shelf food consumed in camp. For three nights and four days, if we are not fishing or sleeping, we are eating or preparing the next meal. It's three square meals a day all weekend, but it's broken up into two breakfasts and a monster dinner. We forgo eating lunch to fish during the bulk of the day, then go to town on appetizers and the main course late into the night.

Breakfast sandwiches and bowls of Cheerios with bananas are always on the morning menu. The dinners and appetizers are where we change it up a little bit from year to year. This Opening Day consisted of paella (a Spanish rice dish) served with clams on night one. We kept it simple on night two in the pouring rain with natural casing hot dogs topped with kraut. Then the grand finale was the classic steak with baked potatoes.

Fresh seafood made up most of our apps. This year's sampling included clams from Long Island Sound, oysters from Point Judith Pond and sea scallops form George's Bank. Of course you can't overlook the serious cheese spread that was cut up each night.

A little excessive for a camping trip?  Probably, but then again Opening Day isn't just any old camping trip! All this food and camp talk has me already looking forward to next year...

A nice cheese spread with my late Grandfather's KA-BAR.

  

Top neck clams fresh from Long Island Sound.

Clams on ice waiting to go down the hatch.

My uncle preparing his famous roasted oyster dish.

Big boy steaks over an indian fire with potatoes baking in the coals.

 

Kurt prepping ingredients for the paella dish.

Sea scallops wrapped with bacon held together by tooth picks whittled in a pinch.

Slicing up natural casing hot dogs before they go over the fire.

What It's All About

Like many anglers, I am big on traditions, and the grandaddy of them all in my book is Opening Day of trout fishing season. It's been nearly two decades since my first Opening Day celebration, which has grown and morphed over time into what is easily my favorite trip of the year. It is a tradition, God willing, that our crew will continue recognizing until we are physically unable to do so. The hope is, when that day comes, a new generation will pick up the torch and carry it on, but they need to be shown the light first. This year's trip brought us one step closer to that reality, as we introduced new blood to our cherished Opening Day rituals.

Max, my 13-year-old cousin and youngest son of the trip founder, experienced Opening Day weekend in all its glory this year. Between the sampling of weather, camping, incredible food (which deserves its own post), camaraderie and fishing, it couldn't have been drafted up any better--just a textbook Opening Day like we'd been doing it for a while or something. The kid was absolutely blown away like I was for my first time about his same age. Everyone in the group took their time to teach Max the "right" way to do things, from whittling walking sticks to mending a fly line. I may be biased, but he is a natural with a fly rod. We all caught ourselves shaking our heads on the riverbank just watching his nearly perfect casts and drifts. And when he fought and landed his first feisty rainbow trout on the long rod, there was a well deserved photo shoot, high fives and smiles all around.

Every Opening Day is special and looked forward to, but this one was on another level and rightly so. A new member has been sworn into our crew and another ambassador to the sport has been created. We were treated to a glimpse of the future of Opening Day and I'm proud to say the future looks bright. 

It always starts at the woodpile.

Derrick spinning flies under lantern light.

Chef Aaron mans one of the Coleman grills.

A meeting of the minds about fly selection.

If the rocks around this firepit could talk...

 

A fine looking campsite.



Gearing up before a full day on the water.

Learning from the master.



Enjoying the show from the bank.

Max's first trout on the fly!  I can't tell who's happier.

He's getting "the look" down now.

Dad showing son what the stocked trout grow up to be.

The obligatory group shot with a new addition.