News & Events - Winter 2018

A nice December salmon, caught by angler Anthony Lombardo

     The recent Arctic blast put an abrupt end to salmon fishing in Connecticut. It had been productive right up until the changeover. The last salmon I hooked was on Christmas Eve. By Christmas day, it was unbearably cold and the river was on its way to freezing up. Unfortunately, we lost my favorite month of the season this year (October). Despite that, fishing was still good, although we had to resort to late season tactics virtually the whole time. Both guiding and fishing, tubes were the most successful flies for me this season, the best ones being the German Snaelda and the gold body Willie Gunn. Other successful flies were the Ally's Shrimp, Dirty Water Dog, Green Spey, Out to Lunch, Picasse, Golden Shrimp, and Orange HKA Sunray/Bismo. As you can see, mostly tube flies...

Interesting color, especially for a holdover trout

    The salmon fishing was fun, but the highlight of the season was the number of larger-than-average brown trout in the river this fall. They were a nice bonus and were just as welcome as salmon. The fish pictured above took a big Out to Lunch in high, dirty water. I rested the pool for as long as I could allow, which was only about 30 minutes. I went back at it and caught him again, this time while reeling up a Dirty Water Dog! Based on his color, I suspect he was spawning and highly territorial. He wasn't a wild fish, but still a nice surprise. 

     Now it's time to tie some flies, clean my gear, and get ready for the March thaw. If recent trends continue, it might be an April thaw this year. In any case, I'll probably hit the Naugatuck again when the time is right. Spring can be very productive some years, so it will be interesting to see what is in store for us in 2018. 

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Sunray Shadows

     Next Wednesday, January 10, I'll be leading the fly tying night at the Bear's Den in Taunton, Massachusetts. It will be an introduction to tying tube flies. We will be tying the Sunray Shadow, a deadly fly for virtually all species of fish. It is one of my go-to spring flies for salmon, trout, sea run trout, smallmouth bass, striped bass, and anything else that will eat it. It is a simple fly and a great way to learn about the benefits of tube flies.

     On February 3, I will be tying flies at the Connecticut Fly Fisherman's Association 48th Annual Expo at Maneely's in South Windsor, Connecticut. I have no plan to tie anything in particular at the moment so, if you have anything you might like to see tied, let me know. You can comment on this post or contact me here. It's a great small show and one not to be missed. Stop buy and say hello!

Jock Scott 

Naugatuck Report - Early November 2017

Small, but always appreciated

     After some major setbacks, courtesy of the city of Waterbury, the fall salmon season on the lower Naugatuck River is finally underway. I was optimistic about an early start this season. How wrong I was. Now we need to make up for lost time. 

     I went out for a couple hours while my son was at preschool. The river was 53º and the air temperature was 48º. The river was flowing at 319 cfs, making the two handed rod viable, which is a welcome change from the past couple of seasons. I fished with a Sage TCX 11'9" 6 wt. with a Scientific Anglers triple density Scandi head (float/hover/intermediate), and a 9' mono leader. The leader was 6' of 20 lb. mono and 3' of 16 lb. mono. I am giving Rio Salmon/Steelhead mono a try this season. It's sort of like Maxima Ultra-Green. So far, so good. 

    I scurried through three pools before I had to drive back to Guilford. I lost the first salmon I hooked, but quickly landed another two. All three took a #5 Picasse. The first salmon landed was small (pictured above). The second once was about 5 lbs. or so. I tied on an orange Bismo and stripped like crazy in my last pass through the pool. A fourth salmon nailed it, but I lost the fish after a minute or two. It was a good way to spend a couple hours. 

     Lately, I have been suffering from social media burnout/overload. I probably won't be posting updates regularly like I have in the past. The archives of this blog has a lot of helpful information, so search through old posts for good tips here and there. Also, never hesitate to contact me if you have any specific questions. I will be on the river as much as possible, both fishing and guiding, so I'll have my finger on the pulse of what's going on. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water!

Catching Up

My first fish of 2017 betrayed how well this spot would wind up fishing.

     It has been a long time since my last post here. I've been busy with family, work, and fly tying. That's one excuse. Another excuse is how miserable spring fishing was for me this season. The most likely excuse is that I just haven't felt the urge to write much. In any case, I wanted to document how this season has gone so far, if for no other reason than to have a causal record on which to look back.

     I wanted to get out during the warm winter stretches, but something always ruined it. Come March, I was getting irritated and decided to ride it out until the spring runs started, when I would make up for lost time. My first trip, on April 20, to my favorite spring spot yielded one schoolie, which is better than most first trips to this place. Based on that, I figured I was in for a treat this season. 

Stripers on nymphs

     How wrong I was! This river has been fishing worse and worse every spring. Not only didn't I see a sea run trout, but didn't hear of any caught or seen, either by anglers or state sampling crews. The striper run wasn't too great either. That schoolie was the biggest striper I caught there this season. There were a ton of dinky stripers around though. After a while, I decided to get goofy and tried to catch them on nymphs and a trout rod, which wound up working great. That was only fun for an afternoon or so. The best thing to happen to me all spring was driving off with my net on the car roof, not losing it, and having it crushed by an 18 wheeler (like I did last spring on the Naugatuck). I got to Target, did my shopping, then saw it on the roof of my car. That's about as lucky as I got there this season, so I think it is time to move on and find a spot with better spring prospects. I have one in mind, but will have to wait until next spring to see how it pans out. 

 

The highlight of my (former) favorite spring spot

     Fishing in the salt yielded similar results for me. Lots of tiny fish. I was always in the right place, but just a little too late. Rowan L. (CT Fly Angler) had sympathy for me. While my spring river was fishing worse than ever, his was fishing better than ever. He took me out one night and the place was absolutely loaded with stripers. Finally, I was in the same place as some keeper-sized fish. I hooked two and lost them both!

     American shad fishing was OK for me, but not nearly as good as it had been for me the past two seasons. I broke one of my favorite switch rods on my first shad of the season. It was a bonehead mistake on my part. Extreme frustration was beginning to kick in, so I decided to take a couple weeks off and regroup. 

An order of orange Caribou Bombers for trophy brook trout fishing in Labrador

     I had a late wave of salmon fly orders to tie, so my break was the perfect time to catch up. I am happy to hear that the flies have been doing their jobs. I love tying. I really enjoy it. But, after a couple weeks of hardcore tying sessions (and a new chair born out of necessity...ouch), I was ready to fish again. 

A wild, small stream brown that was one of my first of the season

     I figured I needed to change gears, so I dusted off the trout gear. My first solo trout trip of the season happened much later than normal for me. I think it was sometime in June. After teaching some drum lessons, I stopped by a small stream that has been good to me in the past, but that I had not fished in a few years. I was surprised that the water was as low as it was and it made me uneasy. Getting charged by a pit bull made me even more uneasy. Luckily, he just wanted to play. Thinking the pool was spooked, I flipped my caddis downstream. To my surprise, my first trout of the season was a 12" wild brown! Unfortunately, he didn't want his picture taken. There were way more downed trees than the last time I fished here, so that made fishing a little more challenging. I wound up having a really good evening and caught many more trout than I had expected. In years past, I would pull a brookie or two from this river, but it seems like there are fewer than ever in this section of stream. Maybe they move around, or maybe it has become too warm for them. I'm not sure.

Farmington River Yellow Drake

     It was about time for my favorite evening hatches on the Farmington River, so I moved my operation over there. My first day on the Farmington was a sulfur bonanza, with several hour of consistent dry fly fishing. I stayed in one pool for about six hours. There was no incentive to move. My next trip, I decided to focus on the big bugs of summer, the Yellow Drakes. It was a successful trip, other than being warned by the police not to stay after sunset. I've fished this spot for years, mostly into the night, and this was the first time I've been warned. It was a successful trip, so I decided to push my luck...

The big Cream Variant was the winner. 

     I tied up some big flies for the Drake hatch and decided to go with a friend (who shall remain nameless in this case!). I asked him to drive in case we got caught. Since I never had a problem in the past, I thought it might have been a fluke. We fished, the hatch was pretty good, and I nailed one of the hardest fighting Farmington browns I've caught in a while. The fish was perfect and had no elastomer tags. He freaked out every time he saw the net. I suspect that trout might have been a wild fish. He absolutely nailed a sz. 10 Cream Variant, which is such a fun fly when it works. I was riding high until two police cars stopped us on the way out! Quickly, I stashed my hat and glasses under the seat. It worked, and we got off with a warning. Another friend wasn't so lucky and was actually ticketed.

     I went back once more, but set my cell phone alarm to get me out before sunset. It was a rainy day and the fish were taking olives and I managed a few browns from a very fussy pool. The drakes hatched early and I hooked (and lost) one nice trout before I had to go. As I packed up, an officer drove by to make sure I was leaving. What a drag...that spot fishes best right before sunset and into the night. It's a shame it's now regularly patrolled and off-limits. Oh well, I'm happy to have done as well as I did there in my few trips. 

Wild Farmington River rainbow trout

     A Farmington River first for me was the wild rainbow trout (pictured above). To my knowledge, it's only the second wild rainbow I've caught in Connecticut. Wouldn't it be great if there were a lot more of them...and bigger? It makes me wonder about some of the fish I have lost...

Finally...a carp! Small, but I'll take it. 

     The past couple of weeks, I have been focusing on carp fishing. Rowan L. was kind enough to show me the ropes. It took three trips and a couple of blown hook sets to land one, but I managed to land three on my third day. They were all small, but we have our sights set on something much larger...possibly the largest exclusively freshwater fish that swim in our state...But they are so difficult to hook....hopefully more on that later...

     So, that's about it. Luckily, the summer has been going much better for me than the spring. With the rain and mild summer, I'm cautiously optimistic about good fall fishing this year. I will be doing more frequent posts than I have been and will be doing some prep work for the upcoming Connecticut salmon season, so check back often.

Late Summer/Early Fall Update 2016

A Blue Metallica for the Gaspé Peninsula 

Fly Tying

     Sorry for the lack of recent activity here! Though I have been delinquent on the blog front, I have been tying flies like crazy all summer long. Summer is usually the time I tie an inventory of flies for fall broodstock Atlantic salmon fishing in Connecticut. Last summer, I didn't have time to tie for fall. My free time was spent writing my ebook "Flies for Connecticut Atlantic Salmon: How to Tie and Fish Them." I figured I'd have time this summer to build an inventory for fall, but destination fly orders have been coming in left and right. 

     I will be offering a couple of fly assortments for the fall season. One is a basic assortment of a half dozen flies in various sizes. The other is a slightly expanded assortment with a dozen flies. The sizes and patterns will be selected based on the conditions we're likely to see this season. Of course, à la carte fly orders are always welcome. Check the Fly Shop page on my website for a sample of what's available. I hope to add more pics in the coming weeks. 

Conehead Ally's Shrimp Tubes for Norway

Connecticut Broodstock Atlantic Salmon Season

     We're getting into what is usually my prep period for the upcoming salmon season. Unfortunately, it's another drought year, this year even worse than last. It looks like this will be the fourth low water autumn in a row. Low water can be a drag in some ways, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the fishing will be poor. 

     Historically speaking, fall of 2013 was a low water year. The fishing was the best I've ever experienced, however. I remember feeling uneasy going into that season but, despite the low water, the fishing was off the charts. The temperatures were fairly mild that fall and we got an early start, seeing the first salmon in mid-to-late September. 

     In fall 2014, the water was even lower than the previous year. I think temperatures were a little warmer, but not out of control. We got salmon in early October, which is normal. Fall of 2014 was the worst salmon fishing I've experienced since I started fishing the lower Naugatuck River. Of course, there were still some good days, but not as many as usual. Most people I know shared my opinion that it was a particularly tough year. No one knew why. I guess it balances off 2013? 

     If the water was low in 2014, it was a trickle in fall 2015. The water was so low, I was begging for the low water of 2013. Flows of 120 cfs, which would be low for October, were a dream when they happened. This scenario made me really uneasy. In the end, it wound up being a pretty good season overall. It wasn't 2013 good, but the long stretch of warm weather made the river fish well from October into mid-January. It was probably more of an "average" season in terms of catches from October to December, but the extra long stretch of warm weather made for some pretty spectacular days in the late season. Numbers wise, it was second only to 2013 for me. So, we had lower water than ever, yet the river fished pretty well. Go figure. 

     Fall of 2016...we're not quite there yet but, unless we have a really active hurricane season, it's hard to imagine that the river will even be as "high" as it was last year. In fact, the river is at historic lows at the moment. And it has been hot as hell almost all summer. This year, I'm praying that we get salmon at all, which is not a guarantee. The recent cool nights make me optimistic, though. We might have a little later start than usual. Who knows, it might wind up being a repeat of last season. While I miss fishing in higher water (or even seasonably normal water), I won't complain about catching plenty of salmon. 

     In low water years, the silver lining is the availably of dry fly fishing opportunities. Fall of 2011 was a high water year. Although it was relatively productive, I don't think I moved a fish on a dry fly that season. I'm not sure I even tried one. Dry fly fishing can be an exciting way to fish for these salmon. 

     If you want to go out for a day, dry fly fishing or otherwise, check the guiding page on my website. Though most of my trips take place in November and early December, October is my favorite month. The fish are less numerous, but are more aggressive and fight harder while the water is still relatively warm. Floating lines, small wet flies, and dry flies make for very visual and exciting fishing. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I'm always happy to help. 

A small fleet of Bismos for fishing in Iceland

Presentations

     My presentation season is starting early this year. The first one is tomorrow night! If you're free, I will be giving a presentation on Connecticut broodstock Atlantic salmon fishing at the Naugatuck-Pomperaug Trout Unlimited meeting. There are more presentations to come, so check my News & Events page for all the dates and times. If your organization is interested in booking me for a presentation, I have a description of each listed on my website. Feel free to contact me for specific details on each presentation. 

The Green Pearl, headed to Nunavik, Quebec

Blog Updates

     I apologize for this post being one long advertisement! I will definitely be more active here than I have been over the summer. Check back for fishing reports once the fall season kicks off. Also, I have some more tying tips posts planned, as well as some ideas for tying videos, and hopefully an interview or two. If there's anything you might like to see, let me know. Hope to see you on the river! 

LT Special Flamethrower tubes for the Miramichi River

   

Fly Tying Demo and Tube Fly Presentation

Brûlé McSprat (sz. 1.5)
Learn how to tie in the Spey and Dee style at the CFFA Expo

Fly Tying Demo

Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association

Expo 2016

Maneely’s Banquet Facility

65 Rye St.

South Windsor, CT 06074

February 6, 2016

9:00am-3:30pm

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An Introduction to Tube Flies: Fishing and Tying

Hammonasset Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Quinnipiac River Watershed Association

540 Oregon Rd.

Meriden, CT 06450

February 11, 2016

7:00 pm

"Flies for Connecticut Atlantic Salmon - How to Tie and Fish Them" Ebook available now!

Over 300 pages of tying instruction, fly recipes, and fishing tips

Flies for Connecticut Atlantic Salmon

How to Tie and Fish Them

by Ben Bilello

   

    Connecticut’s broodstock Atlantic salmon fishery is the only one of its kind in the United States. For local anglers, broodstock Atlantic salmon fishing is one of the most reliable ways to catch a large fish in fresh water. For anglers interested in Atlantic salmon fishing, this fishery is a great resource for learning and practicing the techniques used to catch Atlantic salmon around the world.

    “Flies for Connecticut Atlantic Salmon” has recipes for 75 effective wet, dry, and tube fly patterns, as well as 11 in-depth, step-by-step tutorials. Instructions on how, when, and where to fish these flies can be found throughout the book. The premium edition has embedded links which allow the reader to easily jump between pages, chapters, and a fly pattern index. Other premium edition links allow the reader to examine flies, tying techniques, and fishing strategies found on external websites. “Flies for Connecticut Atlantic Salmon” is a valuable resource for fly tyers and non-tying anglers alike. 

Premium Edition (for Mac OS X, iPad, and iPhone) - $19.99

PDF Edition (compatible with all operating systems) - $14.99

**Click here for more information, to preview, and to purchase**

Classic and Modern Fly Shop Update - Now Live

New flies, like this Temple Dog, are now available.

The Classic and Modern Fly Shop has been updated and is now live. Check it out by clicking here. 

The Paypal cart is gone and all orders will be done through email. Though this seems like a step backwards, more flies and sizes are will be available. Since each order is now a custom order, consider ordering in advance of the Connecticut salmon season for fastest service. 

Thanks for checking out the fly shop! 

Gearing Up for Fall

...and I still feel like I don't have enough

Well, we could be salmon fishing in Connecticut in as little as month from now. Let's hope the weather cooperates. In the meantime, I am getting my fly boxes together, oiling my reels, and making sure all my ferrules are clean. Also, I am going to disinfect my boots and waders, so as not to spread any harmful aquatic species, such as didymo. I suggest you do the same! 

Fly Shop Update

For the past few years, I have kept a small inventory of salmon flies in stock for the CT broodstock season. Because of the time it took to write my forthcoming ebook, I didn't have a chance to replenish my stock this summer. I will still take orders, though it won't be as easy as adding them to your PayPal cart from my website. In the next week or so, I will post pics of flies and prices in the Fly Shop page on my site. If you are interested in buying flies for the upcoming season, just send me an email. Let me know which flies you'd like, the sizes, and the quantity of each. If you need help choosing flies, I would be glad to offer suggestions. 

If possible, get to me early for the fastest service. Once fall gets rolling, I will be fishing, guiding, and doing a lot of performing and recording sessions. 

Book Update

The book is pretty much done. It is being proofread and edited now. After that, I need to submit it to online vendors, which shouldn't take long. I'm aiming for a release date around the first or second week of September, which should coincide well with the upcoming salmon season. I'll be posting more updates as it gets closer to launch, so check back often. 

Still missing Sugerman Shrimps, size 10. Time to get on it! 

New "Flies for Connecticut Atlantic Salmon" ebook Available Soon!

Sorry I have not posted in several weeks, but I have been busy putting the finishing touches on a new ebook. The book, at the moment called "Flies For Connecticut Atlantic Salmon: How to Tie and Fish Them," accurately reflects the working title. Here are some details:

Over 300 pages of fly patterns, tying tips and instructions, and recommendations on how and when to fish each fly

11 step-by-step tutorials for the most valuable broodstock salmon flies (5 wet fly tutorials, 1 dry fly tutorial, and 5 tube fly tutorials)

Over 50 additional pattern recipes 

Extensive breakdown of tying and fishing tube flies

Detailed explanations of salmon wet, dry and tube fly anatomies 

Advice on selecting the proper tools and materials 

Broodstock salmon fishing tips and strategies 

Clickable links to bring the reader to external websites 

Clickable links to navigate to external fly tying tutorials and videos

...and much more!

The book will be a valuable resource for fly tyers and non-tyers alike. It will also prove useful for those who live elsewhere, but wish to learn tying techniques for Atlantic salmon and steelhead. 

A premium, feature-rich version will be available for Apple OS and iOS devices (Mac, iPad, and iPhone). For those who don't use Apple products, the book will be available in PDF form at a lower price. I hope to have the book ready before the start of the Connecticut broodstock Atlantic salmon fishing season, most likely the beginning of September. 

Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks! 

Gray Ghost Bucktail & Good News! (re: Kensington Hatchery)

Blasphemy, perhaps, but it works 

There's not much to say about this one. The Gray Ghost is a classic New England streamer we all know and love. This rendition liberally substitutes both natural and synthetic materials. The way I figure, if you're going to tie a big streamer, it might as well be flashy.

This fly is a small piece of a project I have brewing. I'll post more specific news about that as it takes shape. Until then, here is the recipe...

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Gray Ghost Bucktail

Hook: Daiichi 2271; sz. #1-#2 or Mustad 9672 (R74); sz. #2-#6

Thread: White 6/0 & Black 6/0

Tag: Silver mini flat braid

Rib: Oval silver tinsel (wide)

Throat: White bucktail and yellow hackle 

Wing: Grey bucktail with UV Pearl Krystal Flash (optional); topped with peacock herl

Shoulder: Silver pheasant body feather

Sides: Jungle cock (optional)

Head: Black with red thread band (optional)

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Good News!

Autumn can't get here soon enough

Yesterday morning, I checked the Connecticut River Salmon Association's website like I do from time to time. They are a great organization and I high recommend browsing their site and learning about all the great work they do. Anyhow, I noticed a headline about how the Kensington hatchery has made it back into the state's budget. There is more information about the recent legislative session on the CT River Alliance's website. 

This is great news! Thank you to all who wrote letters, emails and made phone calls on behalf of the Kensington hatchery, its staff and its trout and salmon. It looks like we'll have another salmon season in Connecticut in 2015. Start tying flies now. Fall will be here before you know it! 

The Atomic Dog is a Winner

Hopefully it wins first prize with the fish in a few weeks

The Atomic Dog a winner, but not in the sense that it has caught a pile of fish yet (it's too early in the season for that). But the fly did manage to tie for first place in the Skeena River Fly Supply Snow Runner tying contest. The contest was held on speypages.com. The rules dictated that an original fly be tied with snow runner as a material. I had purchased some snow runner from SRFS to tie this fly regardless, so I figured I would enter it in the contest. I'm glad I did! 

If you haven't checked out Skeena River Fly Supply, I highly recommend you do so. They have some unique materials and a good selection of tubes. Due to their location, their inventory is highly steelhead-centric, but there is plenty for tyers of Atlantic salmon, saltwater, and trout flies. I'm looking forward to getting my next shipment and will post some more flies tied with SRFS materials. Thanks again to Jaap Kalkman and Skeena River Fly Supply for sponsoring a great contest! 

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I can't wait to get out there and try these flies. I think we have about two or three more weeks before the striper fishing turns on. Where I fish, the sea run brown trout usually come in a little after. I think we'll start to see them by the middle of May and they will continue to trickle in through most of June, so long as it doesn't get too hot too quickly. They're phantoms that don't run in real numbers, so the only way to know if they're around is to go out and pay dues (lots of dues)...I love it! 

Black and White Dogs

Atomic Dog (Black)

Thread: Black
Tube: 1" 3 mm plastic tube; 1.8 mm plastic tube,  nested inside
Rear Body: Black flat braid
Weight (optional): Lead tape, wire, or non-lead alternative

Base Wing: Black bucktail tied on top of the front portion of the body
Front Body: UV Black Ice Dub (heavy & loose) over bucktail butts, picked out
Wing 1: Black marble fox tail and light blue Flashabou
Wing 2: Black marble fox tail and UV pearl Angel Hair
Wing 3: Black snow runner topped with micro mirage Lateral Scale

Wing 4: Black snow runner topped with several strands of peacock herl
Underwing: Black marble fox, tied to the under side of the tube
Topping: Black hackle, tied flatwing style
Sides: Jungle cock
Head: Large ball of Black UV Ice Dub, tied loosely over wing butts and picked out

Throat: Fluorescent pink Fluoro Fiber
Collar Hackle: Black schlappen
Cone: Black turbo cone (small)

News, Events & Music - Winter 2015

An Introduction to Tube Flies: Fishing and Tying

News 

The first bit of news is that the Fly Shop is sold out of just about everything, save for a few odd flies. I tie up a small inventory during the summer, mainly for sale in the fall. I'm happy that sales have been good, though it's hard to predict which flies will sell the most before the season starts. There was a lot of demand Ally's Shrimp this fall. I ran out quickly and had to tie a lot during the fishing season. That's a "good problem," as far as I'm concerned! Anyhow, I took down all the PayPal "add to cart" buttons until I can restock. I plan on starting tying earlier this year to boost inventory for next fall. In the meantime, feel free to contact me if there are any flies you need for winter, spring, or summer. They can be flies listed on the Fly Shop page, or something else you might have seen here or elsewhere. Often times, I am contacted to tie flies a shortly before an angler's salmon fishing trip. If possible, a little more lead time would help since I don't tie full time. Spring/early summer and fall are usually my busiest seasons in the music business (see below). I have plenty of time for custom orders this winter, however. Give me a holler now if you need flies for the upcoming Canadian or European Atlantic salmon season, or for any other fishery. 

A new addition to my website is the Presentations page. Information and summaries of each presentation are available on this page.  My "Traditional Techniques for Broodstock Atlantic Salmon" has been well very received at local fishing and conservation club meetings. I'm happy to offer a new presentation, "An Introduction to Tube Flies: Fishing and Tying," which will be debuting next month (see below). I've notice a local reluctance to try tube flies, even when I've given them out for free. This presentation should help clear up any confusion as to how to fish and/or tie effective tube patterns for all species. 

I decided to take a break from tying anything in January and thoroughly clean my tying room (I cheated a little). It was too cluttered for too long and I was beginning to get annoyed with it. I finally took the time to razor the pile of trashed flies that had been accumulating for several years. I'm most of the way through the cleanup and reorganization job now and it's starting to look a lot better. I'll be ready to hit the ground running come February. 

I tend to ignore the gallery section of the website until I have make major changes. I added a few new fishing and tying pics. I will add more to the Fishing Gallery and Fly Gallery throughout the winter.  Check back every now and then! 

Events

I have a couple of presentations scheduled this winter. It would be great to see some of you there! Here are the details:

“Introduction to Tube Flies - Fishing & Tying”

Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited

February 17, 2015

7:00pm

Port 5 Naval Veterans

69 Brewster St.

Bridgeport, CT 06605

“Traditional Techniques for Broodstock Atlantic Salmon”

Candlewood Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited

March 11, 2015

7:00pm

Michael’s at the Grove

42 Vail Rd. 

Bethel, CT 06801

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Litchfield Jazz Festival 2013
(photo by H. Judd)

Music

By night, I am a professional jazz musician. I mention it here on occasion, but I thought I'd plug a good gig I have coming up at the end of this month. 

Ben Bilello, Laurence Hobgood & Henry Lugo

January 30, 2015

8:00pm-11:00pm
$10 cover  

The 9th Note

56 Orange St. 

New Haven, CT 06510

The 9th Note is a great new club and you should definitely check it out. The trio with Laurence and Henry is very dynamic. I love working with both of those guys. Laurence is a fellow fly fisherman, so feel free to talk fishing with him, too. 

As a side note, I am giving a free brush playing clinic before the show. It will run from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. I'll take a short break, we'll run a brief soundcheck, then start the show at 8:00. Check benbilello.com or the9thnote.com for more information. This will be a very exciting show...one not to miss! 

Preparing For Connecticut Broodstock Salmon Season

It's about time to start sorting flies and prepping tackle

I was looking through my notes the other day and realized that the first salmon of last year were stocked in Connecticut waters on September 18. Most years, the salmon went in around the second week of October, give or take. Having an extra three weeks of fishing last season was a nice treat. I have no way of knowing if we'll be fishing around the same time this year or not, but I want to be ready to go as soon as the fish are. You can look through archived blog posts to find details about how to prepare for the upcoming season, but I'll give a few brief tips here, as well. 

My first task is to switch over my fly boxes from the flies I use in Canada during the summer to flies I use in Connecticut in autumn. In Connecticut, only flies with one hook are legal, so I have to remove all flies tied on double hooks from my box. As far as the flies themselves go, I'll probably start the season with a healthy mix of summer flies and fall flies. The biggest difference is the size of the flies. If we have September fishing again, I'll mostly use flies in the size 6-12 range, depending on conditions. As the water cools (and hopefully rises), I'll switch to larger flies, then mainly tube flies at the end of autumn. 

As far as rods and reels go, I'm pretty much ready to go. I use some of the same gear for broodstock salmon as I do for sea run brown trout and smaller Canadian Atlantic salmon. If I had to pick one rod to use all season, it would be my Sage Z-Axis 11' 6wt. switch. For single handers, I prefer my old Sage Graphite II 9' 7wt. Just for kicks, I'm going to try to catch my first salmon of the Connecticut season on my first fly rod, a fiberglass Shakespeare 8' 7/8wt. I bought that rod at Benny's when I was 13 years old. With its foam grip and plastic reel seat, it's about as cheap as a fly rod gets, but I'm really looking to catching some fish with it! 

When fishing with a single handed rod goes, I'm inclined to use a straight piece of mono instead of a tapered leader. I always have a few hand tied leaders with me, but I use them mainly when I'm likely to change fly sizes often. I am going to set up one rod just for fishing the riffling hitch and dries this season. That rig probably won't see anything other than a 7'-11' piece of 8lb. test Maxima.  

Other than that, everything else is pretty much ready to go. I posted regular fishing reports here last season. I will try to do the same this year. Here's hoping we're only a month away...or less!

The L.T. Special and Ally's Shrimp are good autumn flies

I carry a small inventory of flies I sell through my website. If you want a specific fly or size that you don't see listed, contact me and I will try to accommodate you as best I can. Every year, I catch salmon on flies I don't have listed for sale, but what's in the Fly Shop are my main confidence patterns for Connecticut. Get your orders in early...my busiest season for work is in the fall and I can't guarantee a fast turnaround time once the inventory is depleted. 

Also, I will be giving guided salmon fishing tutorial trips on the lower Naugatuck River again this season. These trips are mainly geared towards fly fishers with little-to-no wild Atlantic salmon fishing experience. The tactics I use on Connecticut Rivers are the same thing I use when fishing abroad. The same flies and presentations work really well here. My philosophy is to practice at home so you don't practice on the river while on a salmon fishing trip. This is especially important for those of us who choose to fish without a guide for some or all of their trip abroad. It's not trout fishing and it's important to recognize and react to the often times puzzling behavior of Atlantic salmon. If you don't have an Atlantic salmon fishing trip planned and just want to become a better broodstock salmon angler, I can help with that too. 

Obviously, I can't book dates at the very beginning of the season since we don't know when exactly that will be. However, it is pretty safe to assume the salmon will be in by the second week of October, so feel free to contact me now if you'd like to book something for around that time or later. Visit the Salmon School page on my website for more details. 

For more detailed information on the fishery, tackle, tactics and flies, see these posts:

CT Broodstock Salmon Fishing - Part I

CT Broodstock Salmon Fishing - Part II

CT Broodstock Salmon Fishing - Part III

CT Broodstock Salmon Fishing - Part IV

CT Broodstock Salmon Fishing - Part V