CTFishTalk.com: Southford Falls State Park, 6/2/2014 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

Dan · Joined: 07 Jul 2012 Posts: 41 Location: Hamden

Myself and fellow CTFT member Mattyk182 (Matt) decided to hit Southford Falls State Park after his return from a year and a half living in Kentucky. So, collectively, our first report here.

We had a relatively productive day given the amount of time we spent there; we arrived there around 4:00pm (obviously not ideal, but, hey, we're fishing and Matt went to Cabelas with me yesterday and bought a brand new rod and reel yesterday, so we wanted to get out there) and started after the two main pools in the area where the waterfall flows.

We both started using giant mealworms, on size 8/10 hooks. A few casts in, Matt pulled in a ~9" brook which he promptly released; shortly after, Matt pulled in a smaller stockie rainbow with some really nice color and defined stripe.

We both had a hit or two in that spot, but things started to rapidly cool down. We decided to move further down and found a really nice pool where things were settled a bit more, but still had some nice action to the water and quite a few promising locations to throw.

I bought some Gamakatsu snelled circle hooks (size 8, line 4) to try out and decided to start using those. Matt managed to pull in another brook (not sure about the size). And I finally pulled in my first trout, a 9" brook which I released. Another few casts in, I hooked the largest catch of the day, a 12-13" brook with some beautiful spots to it which I also released back in.

We both got a few more hits including a couple we failed to land due to poor bait hooking. Things cooled down again and we headed back up to the main pools. We both fished them, I didn't get so much as a nibble, Matt got a few small hits but ultimately, neither of us landed anything and left around 6:30pm.

So, in all:
Matt: 3 trout (1 rainbow, 2 brook)
Dan: 2 trout (2 brook)

As always, we practiced catch and release for all fish.

Matt had always been a fan and tried to get me there before he moved, but never made it there. We'll definitely be back. We both had a great deal of fun with a short, but relaxing trip.

Since I took some rare weekday time-off from work this week and Matt is off from work, we'll be heading up to Salmon River in Colchester near the TMA if anyone wants to link up (shoot either of us a PM). We're expecting to hit there tomorrow around 9:30am near the covered bridge.

clinteastwood · Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 87

I haven't been there in years. When I used to fish for stuff like brook trout I used to squeeze the barb down so I didn't hurt them. Nice to see but I always let them go. I have to get back out there some day if I ever get a day off from work that is.