Connecticut River Fishing Update: 2/7

Another mighty impressive fish landed by Chuck Degray of North Country Fly Shop yesterday – once again, Chuck’s Gray Soft Hackle Streamer did the trick.

Chuck definitely puts his time in on the river – by his count, he has landed and released 23 trout (mostly browns) in 2016, and by his reckoning he has been scoring one every 2 – 2.5 hours. That’s a lot of winter river hours, and some mighty cold fingers at times!

Things may be slowing a bit however, as the flows were reduced a couple of days ago, and we expect lower flows for the remainder of this winter, if our snow pack remains as low as it is now. This will probably mean a shuffle for the fish to find safe holding water, and they’ll probably be a bit more selective in their feeding habits.

Once again, soft hackle streamers and other smelt patterns will be your best bet, but nymphs could become more important now that the river flow has dropped. Midge pattern nymphs, San Juan Worms, Goomie Worms and small Pheasant Tail nymphs should be in your arsenal. For those of you preferring top water action, the Floating Smelt may be the best option – I landed a chubby three pound brown on one back on Tuesday, and it’s pretty exciting to catch a fish on top in February.

Colder weather coming this week, so it may be a while before some of us get back out there – more time to plot the next strategy …