Upper Connecticut River Fishing Report: 7/30

Hard to believe that we’re nearly in to August and that we’ve crossed the hump of the fishing season. Still, there are two and a half months of good fishing ahead and our weather over the next month or so may dictate what type of close we have to our season. While south of the notch has been extraordinarily wet in July, we have remained on the dry side in the north country – the Connecticut Lakes are low, and so is the river that flows out of them.

We’re still playing catch up with our water levels, in other words. Whether we have enough water to facilitate a substantial release of water in September to lower the lakes (and get the salmon running) depends in large part on how the August weather plays out. If it remains dry, there may not be much water to release in September to get the lakes down to their desired levels. A lot of rain, while a bummer at times for those vacationing, would get us on track for a larger release in September and expected good salmon fishing as well to finish the fishing season.

How has the low water affected the fishing lately? It seems that there are still plenty of active fish in the stretches of the Connecticut River in Pittsburg, but boy can they be picky at times! I had a particularly frustrating evening a few nights ago, as I went through a plethora of minuscule offerings, all to no avail. I watched fish after fish come up – sometimes sipping and at other times splashing, and there was a smorgasbord of insects floating downstream. I tried all of the likely suspects too that evening …

Nymphs and dries (at times, and in the right hands) remain the best methods to target our fish right now with the low water. Tandem nymph rigs are a must, and the “hopper/dropper” rig for terrestrials and “dry/dropper” rigs should also be employed if it comes to that. In addition to all of the normal patterns that usually work on our waters, bring an assortment of sizes and the 6X or 7X tippet too – did I mention that the trout have been picky lately?

Nymphs: Copper John, TB Prince. Pheasant Tail, Caddis Pupa, TB Dirty Bird, Weight Fly, San Juan Worm, Goomie Worm, Black Stone, Golden Stone, Angus’s Red & Black, Chuck’s BWO Swing Fly, Chuck’s UV Caddis Pupa Olive, Peridon (wherever you can find them), Microstone Beadhead

Dries: CDC Caddis, Double Duck Caddis, Elk Hair Caddis, Sulpher Comparadun, Sulpher Emerger, Parachute Sulpher, Challenged PT, Stimulator, Griffiths Gnat, Purple Haze, Purple Craze

Terrestrials: Foam Cicada, Morrish’s Hopper (Tan or Green), Cinnamon Ant, Beetle, Deer Hair Damsel