Naugatuck Report - January 8, 2016 - Back to the Classics

The old classics still work

Before leaving to fish this morning, I told myself this trip would be my last for a while. It's getting colder, the first reports of ice fishing have be surfacing, and I need to spend more time at the vise. It was a great fall and, so far, winter has been pretty good, as well. Fishing has been consistent from December into early January. Since I figure it's my last trip for a while, I decided to put the tube flies away and fish traditional flies. 

The air was 38º, the water about 36-38º, and the flow was 204 cfs, which is sort of low. It was sunny and the water was very clear. It wasn't the best conditions, but we must fish when we can. 

A variation on Ernest Crosfield's Black Silk

Action was pretty slow for me today. The only grab I had happened in my first pass through the first pool. I wanted to catch a salmon on a classic salmon fly, so I tied on a sz. 2 Black Silk. That did the trick and brought a small salmon to hand. I get a lot of pleasure out of catching fish on old fly patterns. I really should fish them more often. 

So that is that. I say I'm not fishing again until spring. We'll see if I stick to it or not. Fishing season ends, tying season begins...

Not much ice for this time of year, but I think that will change very soon.