Connecticut River Fishing Update: 9/5

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend – it was stunningly beautiful here in the north country last weekend, and was perfect for getting out on the water.

Don Eigenbauer and I had a great drift down the Connecticut River yesterday with Bill Bernhardt from Lopstick Outfitters, as we got in to quite a few rising fish (mostly browns and brookies, but with a few nice rainbows as well) and one lounging black bear by the riverside.

The bear wasn’t too concerned with us, as it witnessed Don cast to, then hook and land the best rainbow of the night, a solid 14″ fish. He even hung out after Bill netted and released the fish, and witnessing that was certainly a first for me.

While we tried throwing some big streamers early on in the drift, we switched over to dries when it became fairly certain that there were more fish looking skyward for their dinner than otherwise. Bill quickly got us set up with a couple of different rigs (mine was a classic “hopper/dropper” combo), however our trail flies were the same, and boy did they work.

It was a Parachute Purple Haze (think of a purple Adams, and you’ll get the idea) in size 14 – 16, and the trout were taking them willingly, with the proper drift, of course.

A brief moment of excellence  for me happened when two trout were on my rig at the same time – that was wild, but, alas, only one was brought to the net …

I always enjoy going out with guides when I have the chance, and I’m lucky that a few of them call me up when they need some comic relief for the boat (or maybe it’s the cigars?).

We’re also fortunate here in northern NH to have quite a few excellent guides, with decades of experience on the waters up here, and Bill certainly falls in to this category. He is full of information and opinions, and is constantly looking for answers to questions about the fish and fishery where we call home. Many philosophical discussions ensued …

Unfortunately, we have just over five weeks left in our fishing season – unbelievable, and the sun seems to be sinking faster and faster these days. Last night, it went down so fast that we rowed out in the dark for the final hour, with only a star filled night sky to light our way. Still pretty cool though, casting big streamers again to the banks, hoping to tie in to one of those lunker brown trout that call this part of the Connecticut home. No luck.