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| Yes, they will take dry flies. |
Whew! If I provided a fish-by-fish account of today, this post would be way too long! I can't even remember all the details. "Pandemonium" is the best way to sum it up.
Fish were all over the same sz. 10 Almost I used to catch my last salmon. In fact, I hooked five salmon on that fly today. I landed all but one. They pursued it very aggressively. It was really intense.
Better still, I managed to hook and land two on dry flies. One absolutely exploded on a sz. 8 Grizzly Bug, then went totally berserk, cartwheeling all over the pool. The other took a sz. 6 Split Wing Bomber (green w/brown hackle). That fish also went nuts, though the take was a little less explosive than the first.
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| This Almost is ready for retirement. |
The grand total was seven salmon hooked and six landed. Interestingly enough, only one took the fly on the first pass (the smallest fish). Every other fished showed anywhere from one to five times before finally taking. Both dry fly fish initially showed for the Almost.
I pricked a couple others on dries, but did not connect. I rose one early in the day on a sz. 10 Cascade, but could not get the fish to come back. I had my hands full today!
The details...air temps topped out in the mid-to-upper 60s. The water was 58ºF. Flows are still excruciatingly low, around 80 cfs. Sometimes the fish can overlook the low water, I guess.
Today's action aside, the water is so low, I've found it difficult to get into a rhythm while fishing wet flies. Because of this, I have been fishing dries more often lately. I hear a lot of anglers say that, in order to catch these salmon, we must fish deep with heavy flies and/or sinking lines. While that can be true under certain conditions, there are times when they are willing to take a fly from the surface. Not every year is conducive to good dry fly fishing. Right now is the time to fish dry flies. Get in on it while it lasts!
My ebook "Flies for Connecticut Atlantic Salmon" provides tips on when, where, and how to fish dry flies for broodstock salmon. Check it out!
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| Today's trio of winning flies |
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That is awesome! I really gotta get my butt over there soon.
ReplyDeleteI hear the Shetucket has been fishing well, if that's easier for you to get to.
DeleteAwesome report, Ben!!!
ReplyDeleteReally glad you got em on top!
Although, I'm still trying, I can't seem to get them to comit to a dead drifted fly.
The hitch on the other hand, has been good lately.
Keep up the excellent work!
Thanks, John! These fish don't really like dead drifted dries either. They seem to like them dragged, skated, and/or occasional tugs. Still trying to get one to take a hitched fly or tube. They show for them, but don't take.
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