CTFishTalk.com: Connecticut River - Haddam Meadows 12/08 - Connecticut River Reports ( CT River Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

Typing this, I can't believe that it's already freakin' December 8! Shocked

Anyway, I wasn't planning to go fishing, today, because the weather forecast I saw last night called for rain all day. But my wife was watching The Today Show this morning, and I heard a local weatherman say that the rain was further north and east than he had expected. I began checking to see whether anyone else was free to go fishing and the first person I got to volunteer was my daughter, Jessica (aka Speedbump). I decided to take her to the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Plant Canal, so we drove down to Haddam Meadows. We launched The Other Woman, Too shortly before 11:30 am. Low tide was at about 2:00 pm, so we fished both sides of the slack low tide. The sky was overcast and a slight north wind was blowing a misty haze down the river. We headed downriver and when I turned to enter the canal, I realized that I had overshot it and we were all the way down at the Salmon River Boat Launch. Embarassed

Unlike the parking lot at Haddam Meadows, which had one boat trailer in it (i.e., mine), the parking lot at Salmon River didn't have any. Once again, I had the river all to myself. Cool

We headed back upriver and into the mouth of the canal. We were alee of the north wind and the surface of the water was like glass. The water temperature was 38 degrees. Although it was crystal clear down 1-1/2 feet in spots, it was very murky below that layer. And the further up the canal we went, the closer to the surface the murk got. I gave my daughter a St. Croix Premier six foot ultralight/Shimano Sahara 1000 FD setup that had a Pearl Silver 2-1/2 inch Gulp! Minnow on a 1/16 ounce round jighead tied on eight pound test P-Line Fluoroclear. On her first cast toward the weedline on the west side of the channel, she got a hit. She began to reel in the fish and when I saw that it was an average sized chain pickerel, I loosened up her drag and told her to play it gently to the boat. After several minutes, she was finally able to work it up next to the boat and I netted it for her:

Whoo hoo!

It was a solid 21 incher. I pulled out a setup with a white slow sinking five inch Sebile Magic Swimmer and, only 10 minutes later, got a 23 incher of my own:

Unlike Jessica, I was able to horse my pickerel up to the net, because the Magic Swimmer was on a wire leader tied onto braided line. Cool

After we worked our way past the big laydowns near the mouth of the canal, the wind blowing down the canal began to rise. We decided to motor up to the cove at the end of the canal, hoping to get alee of it. Unfortunately, although we got a little bit of relief from the worst of it, we never really got out of it. The wire leader on my Magic Swimmer broke, so I tied on a blue and white 3/8 ounce Strike King Redeye Shad lipless crankbait. Jessica got a hit on her minnow jig and reeled a small keeper largemouth bass to the surface, but when she tried to work it next to the boat, it was able to shake itself free. Confused

After Jessica hooked the largemouth bass, I couldn't resist the siren's call of the minnow jig and tied a Pearl White three inch Berkley Powerbait Minnow on a 1/8 ounce round jighead onto a setup spooled with eight pound test P-Line Fluoroclear. We drifted around the cove for an hour and a half before I finally felt a tug on it after I twitched it off of the bottom in the center of the cove. When I lifted my rod tip, I felt a large fish on the line. We saw the flash of its huge head before it dove back down into the murk. I yelled, "It's a big pike!", as I loosened the drag on my reel. I played the fish for more than five minutes as it pulled us down the canal, back up into the cove and then back down the canal. When I was finally able to pull it back up to the surface, Jessica, who had the net at the ready, yelled, "It's a striper!" 30 seconds later, we were able to get it into the net:

It was 1/4 inch over 28 inches long and weighed seven pounds, seven ounces. I finally met one of my 2012 fishing goals and caught a keeper striper. Whoo hoo! Very Happy

I told Jessica that she should try throwing a different lure, so I showed her how to work the lipless crankbait parallel to the bank of the canal. I felt a series of tugs on the crankbait that I thought were from a small yellow perch, so I paused my retrieve at the boat and jigged the crankbait vertically. We couldn't see what hit it down in the murk, but the rod bent over a tiny little bit and I pulled up a small sunny that I had foul hooked through the dorsal fin:

As we began drifting down the canal, Jessica took over throwing the lipless crankbait, while I switched back to my minnow jig. 15 minutes later, the minnow jig was picked up by a small yellow perch:

And two minutes later, Jessica caught its wingman with the lipless crankbait:

And three minutes after that, the minnow jig got me a pale, short largemouth bass:

At that point, I began asking the fishing gods for a black crappie but, first, they gave Jessica someone else's crappie setup:

The minnow jig got me one more dinky yellow perch:

But then it got me a few crappie:

At 4:00 pm, we packed it in and headed back to the ramp. Right before we got there, we spooked a flock of swans off of the water and learned that spooked swans skim over the water at 35 miles per hour. Shocked

We got off of the water shortly before 4:30 pm. We didn't see another boat on the water all day. If you haven't put yours away for the season, yet, you should get out there! Very Happy

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SAP284 · Joined: 07 Jun 2011 Posts: 655 Location: Central, CT

Looks like you had a great day with your daughter Phil. Wish I hadn't winterized my boat for the year! I am surprised there are Stripers in that Canal, that's the first I've ever heard of someone catching one in there - sweet fish!
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

JimiChanga · Joined: 04 Mar 2012 Posts: 195 Location: Meriden

Congrats on a fine day with your daughter at the ole CT Yankee.

I recognized that lone tree in the first photo.(The one that looks like it has no bark on it.) Phil you almost brought a tear to my eye with all those photos.

My wife & I used to literally live there on the weekends from late Sept. thru early March when it was still open.
We caught all kinds of critters there except pickerel, go figure that one.
Oh the memories of that place!!!
Thanks for sharing Phil.

John.

P.S. I've caught schoolies there in the middle of January while the plant was refueling,(the water wasn't being warmed up at that time) so they are there during the cold months. Wink

bass tracker · Joined: 17 May 2012 Posts: 84

Nice job Phil, looks like a nice healthy striper.

BT

fishfinder · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 1672 Location: Naugatuck, Ct.

After catching that striper doesnt it make you want to fish for them instead? Thats funny that your daughter caught a whole set up!
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

fishfinder · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 1672 Location: Naugatuck, Ct.

Well to each their own. I just prefer to catch the biggest fish I possibly can with the waters available to me reasonably meaning I know there are sharks out there but without a boat I highly doubt Im going to do good around here. I do want to venture into pike also. Not really interested in the smaller fish anymore, striped bass and big blues spoiled me!
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There's a fine line between fishing....

and standing on the shore like an idiot!

DCAJ · Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Posts: 76 Location: Berlin, CT

Phil, great day for you and your daughter.
I couldn't make it out but the weather looks good for next weekend.

Redneckangler · Joined: 05 May 2012 Posts: 851 Location: Meriden, CT

Nice Phil! Hoping this open water continues. Want to fish there a few more times this winter. Love the CT river this time of year. You'll be able to target some more big stripers on the CTR in the spring.
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Michael · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 3823 Location: Bridgeport

Congrats on the striper Phil! Job well done by your daughter!

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

Nice striper! Glad you got Jessica out there too!

pikePERSUADER1 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 521

Question, did you eat it???lol Nice striper!

Crest Daddy · Joined: 20 Jan 2011 Posts: 994

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