Naugatuck Report - October. 27, 2016 - Hell Seemed to Freeze Over Today

This fish creamed a sz. 6 Butterfly.

     Snow? Huh??? It's not like October snow is all that unusual, I just wasn't expecting it. I was expecting heavy rain, which we also got today. Actually, it snowed, then it changed to rain, then changed back to snow, and finally back to rain. I was cold, wet, tired, and sore. I was hungry enough to stop fishing at one point. I lost way too many flies by doing dumb things. It seems like everything I own is drenched. Despite all of that, it was a tremendous day.

     I'm too tired to give a play-by-play. I'll sum it up briefly. When the river is rising, there seems to be a window of time when the salmon turn on. It usually ends when the water gets dirty. Today, the river rose, but very slowly. The window, which is usually fairly brief in heavy rain, lasted almost all day long. 

     I fished my 9' 7 wt. Sage One with my Islander IR4 reel. I used a floating line, mono leader, and unweighted flies. On paper, it shouldn't have worked this well on a day this cold (air between 33-36º, water 48º). Sometimes these fish defy logic, however. Everything I hooked, I landed. I pricked a couple of others and moved a couple without hooking up. Here is a rundown of the flies which successfully hooked and landed salmon:

1. Mickey Finn (#10)

2. Mickey Finn (#4)...worked this fish 40 minutes and got it up 6 times before he finally took

3. Same Thing Murray (#8)

4. Butterfly w/Green and Red Butt, red Krystal Flash tail (#6)...biggest of the day, about 7lbs. 

5. Butterfly w/Green and Red Butt, red Krystal Flash tail (#6)

6. Ally's Shrimp (#6)

7. Ally's Shrimp (#6)...crazy fish!!!

     Salmon #7 went totally berserk. I wish I got the fight on video. My reel was screaming and the fish cartwheeled all over the run. It wasn't just jumping, but flinging itself through the air with reckless abandon. It was a good day. I'm going to bed. 

Let it snow (but only if fishing is going to be really good)