The Lowdown On Low Water

The Connecticut River has generally been pretty low this year, and our water conundrum began all the way back last winter with a pittance of the snowfall that we usually get. Unfortunately, we never quite caught up with the water levels this spring and summer, and we have been behind the proverbial “8 ball” all year.

Now, the most important question that those of you reading this (likely anglers) is: “How do the lower water levels affect the trout, and more importantly, my ability to catch them?”

Yes, lower water levels certainly have an impact on the fishing, but that doesn’t mean that catching fish in these conditions is impossible. Generally speaking, lower levels mean fish are more wary, and less likely to make a hasty decision with an approaching fly (something they sometimes do when water levels are up and the current carrying food is swifter).

In low water level conditions, fly choice, gear choice and especially presentation are crucial for angler success, and the lack of any of these may result in failure.

What we have found this season, particularly lately, is that the trout and salmon have become more selective as the summer has gone on, so the correct fly (anywhere from size 18 – 22 nymphs or dries), presented on light tippet (6X is what we have been recommending, but some have gone smaller), with the proper presentation has been working best.

In the Trophy Stretch, less water means that the trout are restricted to the more defined pools and deeper runs of the river. They are not as likely to be found in the riffles between the pools, and the flow, currently at 125 CFS (has been at this level for two months straight) is not too good if you’re a trout looking for a better hiding place from the cavalcade of anglers and predators on the Trophy Stretch.

In short, the best looking water has been hit pretty hard this summer, which is why we have encouraged anglers to explore different water, perhaps stretches of the river that don’t receive the attention that better known spots get.

Even more challenging is the fact that each September the Connecticut Lakes are “drawn down”  (1st Lake Dam, for instance, is currently at 125 CFS, while it usually is at 200+ CFS during draw down), as they are prepared for the annual lake trout spawning that will soon take place. Lake trout spawn in the shallows of the lakes, and if a lake is continuing to be drawn down after the lakers start their spawn, then the eggs will be exposed and die. This is why the river flows are typically higher in September.

This boost in the water flow, among a myriad of other reasons (waning daylight and good ole Mother Nature) results in our landlocked salmon “running” up river from the lakes (salmon love fast water and heavy flows), as they get in to position for their spawning period as well. Salmon are river spawners, and they usually do their thing in late October until mid November. The boost in water flow and resulting salmon run makes for some of the best fishing of the year, and there’s nothing like hooking in to a powerful salmon, full of leaping bursts of energy.

Now, all of this is headed somewhere, and I think you know where that “somewhere” is. I suspect that we may not have as strong of a salmon run this fall, as the lakes (especially First Connecticut Lake) do not have to be drawn down much this year – they simply never had much water in the first place. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that we’ll still have salmon in the river (we’ve had some in the Trophy Stretch all summer), and we could get a boost in the salmon run if our weather cooperates. Solid rain would certainly help, as the tributaries (i.e. Perry Stream) are not controlled – the increase from heavy rains would bring salmon up river. The same would be true for the stretch between Second Connecticut Lake and First Connecticut Lake, as the tributaries there (Big Brook, Coon Brook, Smith Brook) would contribute plenty of water in to the system, if we get rain.

More good news is that as the weather cools as we advance in to autumn, the better the water temperatures will be in the various stretches of the Connecticut River for trout and salmon.

There’s only 37 days left in the season – you might as well fish!