Connecticut River Drift Update

Sorry it’s been so long between updates, friends. That’s what happens when the golf game starts taking precedence over taming trout. 

In a nutshell, the fishing has continued to be very good on the Trophy Stretch and south of town, with flows remaining pretty consistent. We haven’t had a lot of rain lately, so the Connecticut Lakes are starting to get a little parched. Still, expect some swifter flows later this month and in to September as they draw down the lakes further in preparation of winter – yeah, even I can’t believe I just typed that. Oh well …

Drifting the Connecticut River south of Canaan, VT has remained good, though inconsistent at times. We did a full day drift yesterday, with varying results. Hot as a pistol early on: a Pat’s Rubber Legs/Jailbird combination worked best for all of us for a while, but then the weather changed and the fish stopped rising. The “lull” seemed like forever, but there was sporadic action on hoppers (Morish’s Hopper Gold) and spiders as we progressed down the ole Connecticut. We kept switching flies, under Jon’s guidance, but various hoppers seemed to work the best for us. The big brownie in the picture above exploded on my hopper after it clanked off the bank and in to the water – he was a predator for sure – he probably had depleted the local duckling population earlier this summer …

In short, terrestrials still seem to be the best way to target fish on your drifts right now, so take along a healthy supply of hoppers, ants and spiders the next time you’re down there. Pound the banks!!

We’ll have some more updates coming soon for you!