Connie River....

Mike Mackniak & Mike Kaklamanos fishing at sun-up on the
Connectqout River, LI.

Note: Monthly Meeting Site Change
May 6 Monthly Chapter Meeting 7:00 pm at Naugatuck Savings Bank 87 Church St., Naugatuck. The speaker will be DEP Fisheries Biologist Mike Humphries. His narrated video presentation will be the Wild Trout program in Connecticut. There will be a question & answer period following the presentation. The public is invited free of charge.

TU Email Protocol
Send all Email requests to Bob Gregorski or Larry Wolff. See Email addresses are listed on our chapter website under Chapter Information/Chapter Data.

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L-R Dom Falcone, Marty Peterson and Ed Dearborn. Dom and Ed watch expert grill man Marty cooking.
Photo by Bob Gregorski

Fly Casting Clinic -- April 11, 2009
Information reported by Larry Wolff.

Rain, rain and more rain dampened the fly casters who braved the cold, wet scene at the Newtown Bait & Tackle grounds in Newtown. Grill Meister Marty Peterson warmed up many of the hungry and wet attendees cooking and serving hot dogs and burgers on a gas grills. There were representatives from Sage and St. Croix as well as Steve Taggart owner of Troutbound Guide service from the upper Delaware in PA., and provided us with a CD of his services and of the outstanding fishing there. He and the other reps helped instruct as well as Carl from NB&T who seemed to enjoy all the wetness and never said a bad thing about the day. Small packs of flies donated by Larry and NB&T were given to those who were able to cast a fly into one of the floating circles in the pool.

It took a lot of work to sponsor the event. Larry Wolff and Mike Mackniak bought the food, set up the grill area, and manned the information table; Marty, Mike & Larry were there from 9:00 am until it ended. Larry Wolff, Bob Perrella and Bob Gregorski did publicity, Dom Falcone, Mike Kaklamanos, John Ploski, Dan Kenny and Ron attended from N-P Chapter, Adam Taylor from CV Chapter provided salads and helped with instruction, a few CV members made a showing along with a few Nutmeg members; Nutmeg donated the utensils and soda, NB&T owners Rich and his wife Jan came out a few times to greet and thank people. Larry took the tent down Monday morning and now has it the storage unit.

The hope is for next years event to include a few more chapters and possibly a local radio station to broadcast to make it a huge event... sans rain!

Area Events & Programs

Note: See April & May newsletters for details.
April 23 Fly Tying Demonstrations at Prospect Library
April 25 Introduction to Fishing at Prospect Library
April 25 Fishing Derby Bennett Memorial Park Bethel
May 2 Prospect Fishing Derby
May 2 Army Corp Fishing Derby Hop Brook Lake Middlebury
May 2 Naugy River Clean-up 9:00 am at Platts Mill Road Waterbury
May 6 Chapter Meeting 7:00 pm Naugatuck Savings Bank, 87 Church St., Naugatuck
May 9 Kayak/Canoe Race Naugy River
May 14 Introduction to Fishing at Oxford Library
TBA River Bend Park Dedication
May 16 Oxford Fishing Derby
June 3 Chapter Meeting 7:00 pm Naug. Savings Bank 87 Church St. Naugatuck Chapter
June13 Naugy River Clean-up Linden Park Naugatuck 9:00 am

Last February Larry Wolff caught this beauty on the Farmington River.

A Big One Got Away! by Bob Gregorski

As I reeled in my white jighead dressed with a white curly tail up to the stone abutment below me, a large dark shadow darted in and grabbed it just as I was about to lift it out of the water. The shadow turned into a striped bass weighing about 15 pounds. I jerked the rod back and set the hook. The bass didn’t like my action and headed into the strong incoming tide. The drag on my reeled groaned. I managed to steer it back to the quieter water close to the wall, but not for long. It headed upriver. The reel drag screamed. I held the rod high to get as much play out of the tip section. The bass turned and swam toward me with gusto. It moved against the current effortlessly.

I put as much strain on the rod and line as possible. Then the inevitable-“bing”. The bass broke the six-pound test line.

I was disappointed about losing the keeper, but I would never have landed it. I would not have been able to lift the fish seven feet above the water on to the boardwalk, and no one there had a net.

In the previous hour, I had caught and released at least a dozen hickory shad and two schoolie stripers. Six-pound test was appropriate for fish weighing less than five pounds. I was using a willow leaf dropper, which caught shad, and the jighead/curly tail hooked the bass.

While I was reeling in shad, I thought perhaps a large bass would grab one. It has happened several times before. It was just a fleeting thought. The bottom line is – I would have lost a large bass that had grabbed a hickory shad hooked to a willow leaf. If the lure didn’t break, the line would have.

The location was the walkway along the Connecticut River of the DEP Marine Headquarters in Old Lyme. The walkway extends for about a fifth of a mile along the bank of the river near Ferry Point (located on Ferry Road) to the confluence of the Lieutenant River.

It is a popular place. People walk their dogs (must be leashed); observe boat and train traffic and wildlife, do crabbing and fishing. Paddlers often put in at the north end of the property. There is no public boat launch.

There is a grassy area, which included picnic tables and a gazebo. Portable toilets are available in the parking area. There is no charge for using the grounds. When traveling north on I-95, take the first exit as you cross over the bridge. Bear right at end of the ramp; you are on Route 156. The sign for the DEP Marine Headquarters is on the right just a few minutes from I-95.

Stripers love jig heads dressed with curly tails. The bass was released unharmed.
Photo by Bob Gregorski