Naugatuck Report - December 2 & 3, 2016 - Some Water...It's About Time!!

Salmon and Dirty Water Dog

     It rained hard for two days straight. After letting the river fall for a day and a half, I had high hopes for December 2 and 3. The water was cool, about 44º. I predicted 350-400 cfs by the time I was fishing on the 2nd. It dropped to 369...good guess! I thought the water would have been clearer than it was, so bad guess on that one. It was okay, I came prepared. 

    I used a F/I/S2 scandi head with a 7.0 ips Versileader. I lost a Lady Amherst on a snag at the top of the run, which was a drag. I decided to use a larger, but lighter fly. I chose the Dirty Water Dog to deal with the murky water. It paid off, bringing one salmon to hand in the two hours I fished. I was satisfied with how my short trip worked out. 

     Today, the 3rd, was a different story. The river was still flowing at an ok level, 269 cfs. I had four hours to fish today. I had high hopes for today, figuring the water would be clearer. It was clearer, but still sort of colored. I lightened up on my line selection, using a F/I scandi head and a 5.something ips Versileader. 

     Today was a day I felt like I couldn't do anything right. I lost flies. I made bad casts and lots of them. I made a really poor detour choice in Naugatuck and added way too much time in the car trying to get down to Beacon Falls. It was cold and windy. My left leg has been really sore as a result of falling onto some rocks last Friday. I just couldn't dig myself out of the hole today. I figured a hookup might turn things around for me, but it never came. 

     Regardless of results, it was nice to fish a two handed rod again. I've only taken two fish on a two hander this season. The rest have been on a 9' 7wt. That was fun for a while, but I missed throwing a longer line over a wider piece of moving water. Hopefully we've seen the worst of this drought and Mother Nature will start to turn things around. I really miss fishing a two hander in early October, swinging flies just under the surface, and watching a salmon chase a fly halfway across the river before nailing it. The good ol' days!