Welcome to Flies by Britton  

Fishing the Connecticut River’s head waters  

By John Springer

Being a member of a club has many advantages, the camaraderie from fellow anglers is one of them. I have found some of the best people in any organization are the volunteers. They give tirelessly of themselves so others can enjoy themselves. Kevin Fuller AKA: Panther Marin tops the list. Panther published our local TU newsletter that won first prize several years ago out of over 350 chapter news letters. He helps with almost every committee they have and still has time to volunteer teaching kids fly tying and fly fishing ten times a year with me. Panther had been talking about his trips to New Hampshire every year to fish for Land Lock Salmon as well as very big Brook Trout.  When I asked him if my friend Mike and I could join him it made my day when he said “sure” and so the plans were made over the winter a date was picked and we went. Panther always spoke of his guide that he fished with every year, Angus Bozeman; I could tell Angus was a big part of his trip so even though Panther knew the waters we agreed to hire Angus to take us out on our first day. It turned out to be a very good move. Five AM comes very early and I was not to excited to start fishing at that hour but was glad we did. At 5:05 AM Angus was in the parking lot with donuts and juice for us, I knew he was my kind of fishermen. In the past when I went out with a guide they would check your leader and perhaps make adjustments. Angus said “I made you guys some leaders, give me your rods I will put them on for you”. I was impressed a second time by this guy in the first fifteen minutes and I had not stepped into the river yet. As we left the parking lot fishermen started to show up, as we all know the first anglers through the water tend to do best suddenly 5 AM was the best time to be there. Angus put each of us into good spots, taught us how to fish without strike indicators and in short order we were all catching Rainbow’s and some Salmon. Over the course of 5 hours he moved us down river and got us into more fish with some of the most breathtaking scenery around us your could possibly imagine. We took a break at 10 AM for Mike’s homemade chili and a nap. We invited Angus to come for lunch and he did, when eating chili you want everyone to eat chili so everyone is equal. Angus took us to a section of the river that has only recently been opened to anglers; we fished dries and caught as many 7-9 inch wild Brook trout as you wanted to. After that he took us to a big pool and we swung wet flies. Panther over the winter showed me the flies Angus used so I made us some, when Angus looked at my flies he said “those are good fast water flies John”. I could not stop laughing and he wanted to know what was so funny. Over 20 years ago when I started to tie one of my mentors would look at my flies and tell me the same thing. One day while reading a fly fishing magazine’s fly tying corner the story said to use your bad flies in fast water as the fish don’t get to see them very long and so they will work.  We all had a good belly laugh over this but Angus corrected me and said he used stiff hackles in fast water so they did not collapse and soft hackle in slow water. My ego was saved. We caught more salmon Mike even caught 3 big suckers on wets, something Angus diplomatically mentioned not many do! At 8 PM we said good byes and got big hug from our new friend Angus. 

We fished 2 more days in the same general area where we put the lessons Angus taught us to good use and we did very well. What we learned from Angus made the trip very enjoyable, could we catch fish with out him? Sure, but would we have learned a new nymphing method and caught so many fish or had such a great time? I don’t think so and the pressure on Panther would have taken away from his fishing time. On my last day when I forgot my camera no less I caught 3 of the largest Brook Trout on nymphs I had ever caught, obviously New Hampshire’s management of this section of the river worked very well.  

We camped at France’s lake campground; this was the cleanest state run campground I had ever been in. The people running it as well as all the campers I spoke to have been there for many years, some of them have been coming for several generations. Panther in the past stayed at Tall Timber lodge. He told us the rooms as well as the food is all good. We went there to get our fishing license’s as well as some flies, they have a very large selection of flies tied for the water your fishing. Coming home we talked about what we learned from Angus, the fish we caught, 3 Moose sightings and our camping experience together. Memories to last a lifetime, and isn’t that what life’s about? If you go and want to make it a very memorable trip hire Angus you can’t go wrong, 603-225-7363.

The Mighty Housatonic River

Captain Adrian Block, a Dutch explorer was the first white man to see the river. In 1613, he sailed down Long Island Sound from New Amsterdam - he called it the River of the Red Hills. The Algonquin Indians named the river "Ousatonic" which meant "the river beyond the mountain". European settlers later named the river Housatonic, the name we know it by today. The river flows 150 miles from it's source in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts to it's entry into Long Island Sound. Structure and character of the upland stretches of this mighty river could easily be compared to western waters. A designated ten mile stretch of Trout Management Area (TMA), boasts large trout with an average of 16"to "18 and bigger.

It is considered by many fly anglers to be one of the best trout fisheries on the east coast. The more popular section of this TMA spans from the covered bridge in West Cornwall downstream along Rte.7 to the Cornwall Bridge at Rte.4. The entire TMA is catch-and-release. The upper section of the TMA is open to all forms of angling. Downstream, just below the covered bridge, the remainder of the TMA becomes fly-fishing-only. Regulation signs are posted accordingly. Well known pools such as Cellar Hole, Spring Hole, Carse Brook and my favorites Corner Hole, The Wall and Church Pool, are just to name a few. Almost all of the spots that the TMA has to offer are easy access from car pull-offs on Rte.7 or from unpaved roads that offer access along the eastern side of the river.

Since the beginning of European settlement along the river, industry, development and eventually the introduction of hydroelectric dams and facilities has left us with a river that has been subject to regulated water releases. Without getting into an entirely separate issue, conservation minded groups along with the state DEP have gone to great lengths to better this fishery. More so recently dam releases are better regulated to give the river a somewhat natural flow. I mention this because higher water releases can shut down the fishing until the fish acclimate. Also wading might be more difficult for those who are not familiar with the river. The river has a newer TMA that stretches from the Bull's Bridge bypass in Kent Ct. downstream to the bridge at Gaylordsville. This area receives a regular stocking of trout and has a fair amount of holdovers. The flows are not affected by the upper river releases unless there is extremely high water or winter into spring run-off. Pools have already been named and the area is being well received. Information on river flow, hatches and where to fish can be obtained from the local fly shops for both TMA's.