CTFishTalk.com: In search of trout on the Farmington River 8/8/10 - Connecticut River Reports ( CT River Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

RobO · Joined: 24 May 2010 Posts: 285 Location: South Windsor

I met up with two buddies of mine and we hit the Farmington River on Sunday morning. Our goal for the day was to hit some new spots on the river we have not fished yet. We figured we might as well start at the top and work our way down.

Hogback Dam:

We arrived about 5:20am. We parked on the side of the road and made our way down a steep difficult path in order to get to the pool. We entered the water in shallow, one foot deep, area and worked our way to the pool that is about 125 yards south of the dam. The water was cold and was very fast moving and slightly dangerous as the bottom was full of rocks with slime covering them. Very slippery. Surprised

My buddy Matt and I crossed from the east side to the west side of the river and found a very deep hole. The hole was very long and the water movement was moderate. We fished trout worms and used 2 pea sized split shots to get the bait down deeper. I caught 1 brown and 2 rainbows all about 12-13 inches. Matt bit better and caught five rainbows all about the same size. The rainbows her hitting the bait aggressively when presented in front of them.

My other buddy Jay decided to try and fish the big pool directly next to the dam. He was not as productive and only caught one rainbow about 12 inches. He said the trout where definitely there as they constantly rose to the surface for the hour he was there.

We were the only guys fishing this pool for the 3 hours while we were there.

I found that this area/pool was difficult to navigate through the fast water and difficult to get too. All trout were caught on trout worms. We all tried meal worms and had no hits on this bait.

We decided to head back to the truck and move on to the next pool that looked promising.

Van’s pool (I think):

We slowly drove down along the FR looking for nice pools. There were tons of fishermen out and we did not want to barge in on their fishing spots. So we found an area that had a nice parking lot and only a few vehicles. We each entered a different spot. I entered in a spot that ended up being a pool. I walked in and then it dropped like 2 feet instantly. I fished from there and was able to catch a 13 inch rainbow on a worm. As I was fishing I look down into the water and see another Rainbow just chilling by my feet. The water had moderate movement. Once again meal worms were ineffective.

Jay and Matt tried a couple of different spots and I think Jay only got 1 rainbow.

Pool name unknown: (anyone know?)

We wanted to try and hit the Hitchcock Pool behind the Riverton Storage facility. Unfortunately there were already 6 fisherman there. We decided to move on and hit it another time.

We ended trying another pool behind a baseball field. It was a nice stretch of river with a slow movement and a moderately deep, very long pool. There were a lot of fly fisherman there, but they were spaced out well enough to allow for us to find some spots. There were a lot of fish rising and I ended up catching another 2 brownies and Jay caught 2 also. The trout definitely were not hitting the flies. I did not see one guy bring in a fish.

The bottom of the river was full of mud and soot. I keep sinking in and a couple of times really had trouble pulling my feet out. Any chance I got I would try and stand on some structure.

It was going on 11:30am and we decided to call it a day and go grab some brunch.
All in all it was a successful scouting/fishing day.

Notes:
Meal worms were not on the trout’s menu. All fish were caught and released to fight another day.

Even though I was successful at Hogback dam, I will not be in a hurry to return there.

I think I will be buying one of those folding walking sticks for the rough water. Embarassed

Sorry about the long winded report with no pictures. Since none of the fish were of trophy size, I did not risk taking the camera out of my vest and dropping it.

Rob
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SkeeterJim · Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2219 Location: Newington, CT

Nice job Rob and excellent report! Wish I could have helped you with the names of the pools but I don't know them myself.

Jim
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Fishface · Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 308 Location: New Britain

Solid report Rob. I been fishing that river for years and I don't think I would be able to name one. If i'm in there there Tim's hole.

Tim

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Tim...no one here wants to hear about your hole Razz

Nice report...there are some great places to fish up there but the weekend is always a bit tougher to find spots because so many fishermen are there. I used to fish early weekday mornings and the fishing was superb most of the time.

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Great report Robo!

davoforty · Joined: 29 Jul 2010 Posts: 32

Good report! Seemed like a good day.

Fishface · Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 308 Location: New Britain

Good one DD LOL

asianfisher · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 920

Yea nice report RobO.... I know all the holes but dont know no of their names neither. I still think that is a great area to fish... If it was closer i would fish it everyday. Salmon are running in upstate already. No where close in #'s at all... Went up there 2 weeks ago to get the camper up and going make sure everythings running properly for the season. 2 lake trout and 2 salmon out of salmon river in upstate NY, 2A bridge down to the trestle. Had to check out the river if i was up there. i got pics will post them when i get a chance to put it on here...

RobO · Joined: 24 May 2010 Posts: 285 Location: South Windsor

Asian,

You let me know if you need a fishing partner up there on a weekend.

I have never fished for Salmon before and I would love to try.
_________________
I'd rather be fishing, than sitting here in front of this computer,,,