September Musings

It’s been a while since the last post, and I apologize for that. There’s a couple of reasons for this. Most of my time recently has been spent in the grouse woods of northern New Hampshire and Vermont, getting the dogs and myself tuned up for what should be a very good grouse season … that’s one excuse, and a very good one at that. The other is that water conditions have remained largely unchanged on the upper Connecticut River. In other words, the river is low and the fishing at times has been tough.

Current Dam Flows:

• Second Connecticut Lake Dam: 90 CFS (expect to continue through Sept.)
• First Connecticut Lake Dam: 93 CFS (no idea)
• Murphy Dam at Lake Francis: 172 CFS (no idea)

To give these numbers some perspective, these flows are usually 2-3 times higher in a normal year at this time of the season. Not to be this year, as the lakes are still abnormally low. Unfortunately, the massive rain events that southern New England has received in the last two months have all stayed to the south of us. We haven’t gotten the much needed rain that would have set us back on track for our precipitation this season, so this is what happens when Mother Nature isn’t on your side.

As of today, we are approximately 11 inches of rain below our average. That’s a lot of water not in our lakes and flowing through our river system – pretty much impossible to make up for. This, coupled with our “banana belt” style winter has led to the lowest water levels that we’ve ever seen.

Water Temps

Water temperatures in the No Kill and Trophy stretches were also a problem a week or two ago, rising in some cases to the lower 70’s, but it appears that those conditions have resided – the last report I had on the Trophy was 65 degrees, and our string of cool mornings lately and in the future will get the temp down quickly.

Below Murphy, the water temp is a hunky dory 55 degrees, so there’s lots of happy trout down there, but the low flow still makes them difficult to catch. Whatever the temperature is, try to play fish quickly and keep them wet – it will help them survive to fight another day in this season of less than plenty.

The image above is of one of TTL Fishing Guide Mickey Cunliffe’s recent clients – they worked hard for that fish, played and handled him carefully prior to his release.

The Fishing

The trout are there, and even some smaller salmon too, but conditions like this often call for a change in tactics. Fish the quicker moving, oxygenated riffles where trout thrive in conditions like this. The “pools” on the Trophy Stretch still hold fish, and the fishing should get better in them as the water cools off, but these areas are also frequently pressured, so fishing some of the riffles leading in to these places can be fruitful.

Dries and nymphs remain your best bets during conditions like this. Small flies on slender tippets that are gently presented will probably make the difference in whether you catch fish or not. Those swinging streamers have their work cut out for them right now – not really enough water out there in my opinion, but they have their place if you stumble across a good run.

The Running of the Salmon?

We’re not Pamplona, Spain, but when the salmon make their annual pilgrimage up the Connecticut River for fall spawning, it can be a stampede of anglers looking for them. What will happen this year? I expect a late run of the larger salmon, as they’ll come in to spawn, but often it is the higher flow of water that draws them in early to the stretches, and it is doubtful that we’ll have anything like that this year. Smaller salmon have been present in the Trophy Stretch for most of the summer, but the larger lake salmon seem to have mostly stayed out due to the low flows. We should know soon if my prediction is correct …