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Phish · Joined: 22 Aug 2008 Posts: 454 Location: West Hartford

Nice afternoon on the river with PECO

Location: From Wethersfield Cove to Keeney Cove
Water temp: 71-73
Clarity: 2-3 feet
Tide: Incoming to high tide
Weather: 70 degrees, overcast, windy as heck (NW 15-20)

Phil and I launched from Wethersfield Cove at 2PM and went straight to Keeney Cove. Strong incoming tide ripping through and lower water levels than I have seen in my few times in there. Lots of weedy mats so it didn't take me long to put down the spinnerbait and buzzbait and start throwing the frog (Spro, black with yellow). Not long after switching to the frog I got hammered and landed a hard-pulling 19" LMB in about a foot and a half of water. One scale read 3-13 and the other was more like 4 pounds. My PB on a frog, my PB on the Connecticut River, and I think that is my biggest CT largie as well. She blasted through the mat and I didn't have to wait on the hookset because the Diawa procyon 7'6" was already bowed on contact. Nice fish. Phil's got the photos. I missed a couple of smaller blowups then landed another 13" LMB on the frog. We both threw spinnerbaits and various other things at times but not much else worked. Moved into the main river between Keeney and Wethersfield and worked the western shore grass beds. While it looked like smallie heaven, the best I could get was a follow on a crank. Phil was able to get his first Northern Pike hookup on a black spinnerbait. It came off literally on the side of the boat. Palm Beach release. Counts for me. Congrats, Phil. We'll get a bigger one next time and get that photo. We moved into Wethersfield Cove and worked east to north shore. I picked up a healthy 1.5 lb. largie on a Lobina Rico popper in albino. Awesome popper, by the way. I have never not caught fish on that thing.

slimecoat · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 1576 Location: Newington, CT.

Nice report Phish, sound like a fun outing on the river. You did ok, because the river has been a tough bite from Hartford south the last few weeks.
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

It was a blustery afternoon. The sky was overcast and the air temperature hovered around 70 degrees, but the NNW wind made it feel chilly. I kept my PFD on the whole time we were out on the water; not for floatation, but for warmth.

It didn't take long after we were in Keeney Cove for Jed to hook up with the lunker largemouth bass. We were in the channel, which was bordered by a narrow strip of weeds and scum along the shore on the E side of the cove and a larger field of weeds and scum on the W side. Jed was throwing his frog at a log in the weeds on the W side. He didn't hesitate at all before setting the hook; the fish hit the frog pretty hard. When the fish emerged from the weeds into the channel, I caught a glimpse of it and thought that it was maybe a 16 incher, but after Jed fought it out from under the boat and hauled it over the side, I would have sworn that it was over 4 pounds. I was surprised when it was only 19 inches long and my Berkley digital scale said that it was only 3 pounds 13 ounces, because it was an NFL lineman of a fish:

It looked bigger to me than the 21 inch, 3 pound 13 ounce largemouth bass that Fishface (aka Tim) pulled out of Bantam River last weekend. But I guess that's the difference between an active Connecticut River fish and a lazy Bantam River fish. Other than when a fish turned my 10-1/2 inch Texas-rigged worm into a 7 incher, I had no action in Keeney Cove. The fish wanted nothing to do with my green and yellow Spro frog, but I think that I might have been fishing it too fast. Jed said that a 5 count after his black and yellow Spro frog hit the water seemed to help. The cool thing about the 13 incher he also landed in the cove is that he had missed it earlier and went back to get it.

After we left Keeney Cove, we spent a few minutes pitching lures at the E piling of the Route 3 bridge. Jed threw a crankbait and I dragged a jig over the bottom. We didn't get any hits and the wind made fishing difficult in the middle of the river, so we didn't stick around long. I finally got several hits on a black spinnerbait while pitching it into the clear water along the W bank of the river and dragging it across the weedbed that runs parallel to the bank. I hooked up with a fish that I dragged through the weeds to the boat. As it got closer, I yelled to Jed, "Is that an eel?", but when the wriggling fish threw the weeds off and banged against the side of the boat, I saw that it was a small northern pike, maybe 14 inches long. But, somehow, it threw the hook. I must have hooked it just on the spinnerbait's trailer hook. Hey, Turtlekiss, I almost landed my first pike! Confused

When we got back into Wethersfield Cove, we fished the very shallow waters (i.e., mostly around 2 feet). I didn't get anything, but Jed's largemouth bass absolutely swallowed his popper. The entire thing was in it's mouth and it was hooked with both trebles. Without forceps, we would have had to rip its gills out. It swam away with just a little bit of bleeding from it's gills, but if there were any pike in the area, I'm sure that it was a goner.

We got off the water as it began to get dark, around 7 PM. I've never been a topwater guy, but I'm definitely going to pick up one of those black and yellow Spro frogs.
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DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Nice report guys. Great looking LMB Jed!!

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

Great job guys, Jed congrats on the PB its always nice to be able to keep improving our best with the max effort required, I know Phil was excited about the Pike congrats Phil.

Tim

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

Nah, Tim. I want a BIG pike, not a little one! Very Happy

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Phish · Joined: 22 Aug 2008 Posts: 454 Location: West Hartford

Thanks! Big largies in Connecticut have eluded me. I've caught a bunch of 3's and plenty of 2's but just haven't gotten any true hogs. I seem to have better luck finding big ones further south. My total PB (6-12) came in Texas.

SkeeterRon · Joined: 01 Jun 2007 Posts: 1173 Location: Newington, CT

Nice report guys.

Good day on the water.
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SkeeterJim · Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2219 Location: Newington, CT

WTG guys and congrats Jed on a nice CT River bass.

Jim
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SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi!

Great report guys!
Glad you had fun!

SeaDog1

Phish · Joined: 22 Aug 2008 Posts: 454 Location: West Hartford

Hey Gary,

How far north can I get in my boat (Ranger Reata 186)? I've never tried going much past the train bridge in Hartford, and being a relative "newby" when it comes to the river, I'd rather not just venture up too far without someone familiar with the water on board or at least a good idea of where to really start looking for it to shallow out on me. I've had my boat in some really skinny water, but I'm not looking to push it on a fast moving river with a rocky bottom.

Jed

troutbum · Joined: 15 Aug 2010 Posts: 18

Good report Nice fish

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Phish · Joined: 22 Aug 2008 Posts: 454 Location: West Hartford

Thanks, Sea Dog.

TurtleKiss · Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT

Nice fish Jed, and wonderful report from you & Phil as always. Now you know why I love to throw the frog so much. Smile

The Spro is best for mat, but please try the Stanley Ribbit garlic frogs (with the Stanley Double-take hooks) when the pads are a bit more sparse. They kick through the water like a buzzbait and they'll work in places where there's no pads at all.

5-10 seconds is a good time to wait after throwing a Spro. Then a series of slow hops...you want to make it sound like a frog jumping across pads. When it lands in the water, keep the rod twitching and the frog moving. Any bass who's been paying attention to the noises should be all over it. Cut a good portion of the legs off to increase the hookup ratio. You can also add rattles or weights to the body (makes a louder THUD that sounds like a fatter frog,) and I use a sharpie to color about 1" - 2" of braid & the exposed hardware black.

You and I will both catch monster pikes soon, Phil! I'm sorry, but the fish doesn't count if it didn't make it onto the boat & there's no photo. I know there will be pike all over the Wethersfield Cove in a few weeks...I have no problem using chunk bait or live bait if that's what it takes. I'll bring the net and you bring the lip grippers. Smile

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