I went to the Connecticut coast yesterday to catch my first flyrod striper. I figured that there must be enough fish around by now that I would have a good chance at getting one, but all my usual spots seemed barren and I was starting to think that I'd have to ride home with the skunk. By late afternoon it had clouded over and started to rain periodically. I was ready to call it quits, but before going home I decided to check out the area near the Audubon Coastal Center at the mouth of the Housatonic River. I had never fished there before, and after walking over to the beach to take a look I decided to wait and try it another day. I had no idea how to fish the place and I wasn't in the mood for exploring in the rain.
Back at the parking lot I stopped to talk to a fly fisherman who was just heading out. He explained how to get to the river channel and persuaded me to give it a try. I suited up, grabbed my gear and started out towards the channel. The closer I got, the more it rained and the harder the wind blew. By the time I reached the river channel I was cursing myself for being so foolish. Then I tried to cast. More cursing. I couldn't even cast 10 feet. I gave up.
I reeled in my line and went over to the other fisherman to thank him for his help and ask if he had caught anything. He said he caught one and just had another hit, and told me to try to get a cast out far enough so that I could feed line into the current and let the fly drift out into deeper water. I went back and tried a few more casts. More cursing. I still couldn't get my line out. By this time it was pouring and the wind was really blasting. I gave up again.
I reeled in my line and started to go back to the car. Then I noticed a spot where the channel curved just enough so that I wouldn't be casting directly into the wind. I decided to give it a few more tries. It worked! I was able to cast just far enough so that I could feed the line out into the current rather than having it drift right back at me. I dumped most of the fly line and let my fly drift for several seconds before starting the retrieve. After two or three strips I felt a little bump and then a nice head shake. No blistering runs. No bloody knuckles. Just a bouncing fly line and a smiling angler. I decided to put the fish on the reel since there was only a couple feet of slack anyway, and I easily reeled the fish most of the way in. Then the real fun started. The fish was pretty big and I had a heck of a time trying to land it. After several failed attempts I just grabbed the fly line and pulled it in by hand. I had my first flyrod striper -- a fat 27 incher! Not a bad way to lose that skunk!
Suddenly it didn't seem quite so cold anymore. Funny how that happens. I stayed until it was almost dark and managed to catch 3 more stripers between 16" and 18". All fish were caught on an olive/chartreuse/white Clouser.
I think I like this game!
Q
Back at the parking lot I stopped to talk to a fly fisherman who was just heading out. He explained how to get to the river channel and persuaded me to give it a try. I suited up, grabbed my gear and started out towards the channel. The closer I got, the more it rained and the harder the wind blew. By the time I reached the river channel I was cursing myself for being so foolish. Then I tried to cast. More cursing. I couldn't even cast 10 feet. I gave up.
I reeled in my line and went over to the other fisherman to thank him for his help and ask if he had caught anything. He said he caught one and just had another hit, and told me to try to get a cast out far enough so that I could feed line into the current and let the fly drift out into deeper water. I went back and tried a few more casts. More cursing. I still couldn't get my line out. By this time it was pouring and the wind was really blasting. I gave up again.
I reeled in my line and started to go back to the car. Then I noticed a spot where the channel curved just enough so that I wouldn't be casting directly into the wind. I decided to give it a few more tries. It worked! I was able to cast just far enough so that I could feed the line out into the current rather than having it drift right back at me. I dumped most of the fly line and let my fly drift for several seconds before starting the retrieve. After two or three strips I felt a little bump and then a nice head shake. No blistering runs. No bloody knuckles. Just a bouncing fly line and a smiling angler. I decided to put the fish on the reel since there was only a couple feet of slack anyway, and I easily reeled the fish most of the way in. Then the real fun started. The fish was pretty big and I had a heck of a time trying to land it. After several failed attempts I just grabbed the fly line and pulled it in by hand. I had my first flyrod striper -- a fat 27 incher! Not a bad way to lose that skunk!
Suddenly it didn't seem quite so cold anymore. Funny how that happens. I stayed until it was almost dark and managed to catch 3 more stripers between 16" and 18". All fish were caught on an olive/chartreuse/white Clouser.
I think I like this game!
Q