CTFishTalk.com: Farmington River - Spoonville Bridge to Rainbow Res. 8/28 - Connecticut River Reports ( CT River Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

I hit the Farmington River today with Phil and it was a beautiful day for a paddle. We got on the water at about 5:45am and were off at about 12:15pm. We launched from under the Spoonville Bridge (187) and first headed upstream and fished that pool for a bit. There didn't seem to be much going on. I landed 3 rock bass and 1 LMB. Here's a picture of the monster I caught...

It was the smallest LMB I have ever landed at a hair under 6". He was trying to eat the 3" crankbait I was throwing Very Happy

We decided it was time to head downstream and little did we know we were in for an adventure. We hit the small rapids (as Phil said they were class 1/2 rapids) under the bridge and it was pretty uneventful. We hit the first island and decided to head to the left and we ended up hitting several areas of shallow rapids that were only a few inches deep so we turned around and headed back up stream. The water level was several feet below its usual depth. At one point we had to get out and drag our yaks over the rocks to get back upstream to the other side of the island. We finally were able to get back in the boats and head down stream again. Then we hit a few more class 1/2 rapids on the way down to the Res. One of which Phil got stuck at the top of. I decided not to take a picture. Once we finally reached the Res the water was calm and as I said before down several feet from the norm. Here's a pic of Phil in his yak which shows what the area was like...

We finally got to an area in the Res where the water got deep enough to start fishing again. We came across a few guys in their kayaks and they mentioned an area near the old wooden dam that held some fish. Since we weren't catching much of anything we headed down there. I stopped to fish a laydown just before the dam while Phil went on ahead to the dam. I ended up catching a 13" LMB, 7" LMB and a rock bass. I moved on and caught up to Phil along side the dam stone piers. Phil was throwing his wacky worm and pulled out a nice smallie. It ended up being a 14" I believe.

All my previous fish were caught off a shallow diving crankbait but I was throwing the wacky worm just hadn't hooked up with anything. That is until I threw one near the stone pier and hooked up with this nice 17.5" (2lb - skinny) SMB. Catch & release...

That ended up being the last fish of the day and luckily Phil was smart enough to have his better half meet us at the Rainbow Res boat ramp. So we paddled down there. I estimate we ended up paddling 3 1/2 miles or so when all was said and done. It was a beautiful day...

It looks like on 9/7/10 the Res will be drawn down again for a month for some dam repairs that need to be done. I'm sure Phil will fill in the blanks when he has a chance to get on.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Derek said we were going to go fishing this morning. Little did I know that we were going on a one-way whitewater kayaking excursion, instead. Here's a map of the area we covered:

It was still dark, and cold and misty when we arrived at the Spoonville Bridge on the Farmington River. After we launched, we fished the area upstream from the bridge. I threw a wacky Senko and a 4 inch tube, but got just a few hookless nibbles. As Derek said, his 3 inch crankbait was definitely the way to go up there. There are shallow rapids that begin just upstream from the bridge and run downstream underneath it:

We decided to run the rapids and head downstream. I actually had fun bouncing over the rocks underneath the bridge. We spotted a bicycle on the rocks just below the bridge that looked like it had been thrown off of the bridge. At the junction below the bridge, which is really part of Rainbow Reservoir, we realized that the water level was extremely, extremely low. We had to choose between the rapids on the left or the rapids on the right of the island that's right below the bridge. We chose to go to the left, but after crashing over the rocks for about 50 yards, we knew that we wouldn't be able to make it down to deeper water without quite a bit of wading. So we decided to power paddle back up to the junction and take another look at the right side. After a short portage (and a treble hookectomy from Derek's shorts Embarassed

) we decided to give the rapids on the right a shot. Derek's inflatable kayak slid fairly easily over the rocks, but my hard-shell SinK hung up on a big rock at the top. It took me a couple of minutes to shimmy my way off the rock and down the rapids after Derek. As we worked our way down to deeper water, I realized that I had been on the same stretch of water with Phish in his Ranger Reata fish & ski boat, which has a V-hull, earlier in the summer, when the water had been at least 4 feet higher! As we finally made it past the island, we paddled into deeper water:

There was no wind and very little current, so the water was like glass. We began pitching lures at both shores and the center of the channel, which was only 3 feet deep, and got nothing. I think the highlight of that stretch of the river was when we heard something crashing through the trees for a few seconds before a turkey burst out of the woods and flew across the river immediately behind us. As we worked our way further down the reservoir, we spoke with a kayaker who told us that our best bet for finding fish in the depleted reservoir was the old wooden dam, which is marked by a partial wall on the south side and a piling on the north side. On our way there, we passed this bass boat:

It wasn't until we reached the old dam that I finally caught a rock bass in the center of the channel. And shortly after we began fishing around the piling that I caught my smallie, which was 14-1/2 inches long and weighed 1 pound, 7 ounces. However, it wouldn't stop wiggling while I had it on the scale, so the weight is a little suspect. Later, Derek caught his smallie.

I had known that we wouldn't be able to make it back up to where we put in the river at the Spoonville Bridge after we made it down the rapids below the bridge to deeper water, so I had called my wife and arranged to have her pick me up at the Rainbow Reservoir boat launch ramp and shuttle me back to my car. After Derek landed the lunker, we headed the rest of the way to the ramp to meet my wife. Although it was a beautiful day for a paddle down that stretch of the river, neither Derek nor I think that we'd do it again. Rainbow Reservoir is best accessed from the boat launch ramp on the N shore, near the new dam. The fishing on the Farmington River at the Spoonville Bridge is not as good as the fishing on the Farmington River in Tariffville above the Tariffville Gorge and in Simsbury near Curtiss Park.

FYI:

And here's a shot of Derek, who was clearly relieved to have survived our excursion today:

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

See that...I knew you would fill in the blanks. Even down to the detail of the treble hooks in the shorts incident. That's OK Tim had to help me get the hooks out of my shirt the last time we went out. When I'm walking with the kayak I need to remember to put the poles on the opposite side of the kayak...especially anything with a treble hook on it Embarassed

That turkey flying over the river sure was a strange and clumsy sight to see. I never heard an animal make that much noise coming through the woods like that...especially a bird.

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

Nice trip and report guys. Did you guys hear banjos at any point of this trip. Wink

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If I didn't have to work for a living....I'd be fishing.
If I'm not in my Skeeter then I'm in my Hobie!

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Jim

I actually thought that I had spotted you on the water in your Hobie as we approached the Rainbow Reservoir boat launch ramp. I paddled up to a dune-colored Hobie and called out to the guy who was fishing on it before I noticed that the boat wasn't a Pro Angler.

Phil

If you're reading this, Jay, it was nice to meet you. I hope that you had some luck while you were out there.
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SkeeterJim · Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2219 Location: Newington, CT

No it wasn't me. I was on my way back home from Collinsville Canoe Co when going over the Unionville Bridge I saw some kayakers on the Farmington River yesterday around 4:50ish and thought maybe it was you guys out there. No, I won't be using my Hobie again until my new SportsRig trailer comes in from California. Having pain in my arm and I can't continue lifting the Hobie over my shoulders so I elected to get a trailer for it. Another $2300.00 up in smoke, oh well if you gotta have it, you gotta have it! Phil, I haven't seen you using your Hobie lately, what's up?!

Jim
_________________
Eat, Sleep, Fish......I Love my SKEETER ZX225!!!
If I didn't have to work for a living....I'd be fishing.
If I'm not in my Skeeter then I'm in my Hobie!

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

I just took my wife for a cruise on my Hobie. I thought she'd enjoy the lower part of the Mattabesset River. I'll post a report.
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SkeeterJim · Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2219 Location: Newington, CT

Isn't that river a nice paddle. Where were you launching from Phil?

Jim
_________________
Eat, Sleep, Fish......I Love my SKEETER ZX225!!!
If I didn't have to work for a living....I'd be fishing.
If I'm not in my Skeeter then I'm in my Hobie!

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Jim

I posted a River Report. We left from the beach downriver from the Cromwell Outboard Association boat launch ramp. When we came back, I pulled up on the ramp because I didn't want to haul my boat up the sandy beach and the steep hill to the parking lot after my left leg cramped up. One of the members politely told us that the ramp is only for use by members, but didn't otherwise give us too much of a hassle. You're a member there, right? I didn't plan to pull up there and won't in the future, well, unless I hurt myself again. Laughing

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

Nice job guys I don't know if i'm happy I missed this one or not. Just kidding I'm always up for dragging the Kayak around.

Tim

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

Phil, yes I am a member there. They don't really have a problem with you using the beach next to the docks as I have seen other yakkers do. When we get together I'll show you some nice bass spots not far from that area.

Jim
_________________
Eat, Sleep, Fish......I Love my SKEETER ZX225!!!
If I didn't have to work for a living....I'd be fishing.
If I'm not in my Skeeter then I'm in my Hobie!

Lunker Cove · Joined: 02 Apr 2010 Posts: 166

that bass boat is my buddy jimmy's bass boat lol he caught a 8 or 9lb tiger trout out of rainbow

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Lunker Cove

LOL! Jimmy should have pulled it out of the water before the reservoir was drawn down. Shocked

Has the water level risen enough for him to get it out now?

Phil
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