Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 12:10 am Post subject: Connecticut River - Salmon River 11/16
Yesterday, I called NWDarkcloud (aka Bob) to tell him that I felt like a lazy ass for not going fishing on such a beautiful day. To avoid feeling like that for another day, we decided to fish the Connecticut River, today. The weather forecast called for north-northwest winds up to nine miles per hour, so we figured that we'd shelter in the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Plant Canal after launching at the Salmon River Boat Launch. We launched at the ramp in The Other Woman, Too at around 10:00 am. High tide was forecast to be at 1:18 pm, so the water was fairly calm and deep at the ramp. The water temperature was 43 degrees and didn't change all day. We motored directly to the cove at the end of the canal. Unfortunately, the cove didn't provide much relief from the wind, which exceeded the forecasted nine miles per hour for most of the day. However, we got to enjoy a little bit of sunshine before the clouds rolled in and completely snuffed it out. We even spotted a sun dog (i.e., a rainbow fragment) in the sky:
We also enjoyed a flyover by a helicopter that appeared to be inspecting the power lines that run into the cove from over the hills to the east. The helicopter passed very low over us, almost directly overhead. We saw the pilot through the glass in the nose of the helicopter and he flashed his landing lights at us. I didn't manage to get my iPhone out to take a photo until after he had looped around to head back up the hill:
The first lure I tried throwing was a white five inch slow sinking Sebile Magic Swimmer, but I didn't get any action with it, so I switched to my crappie rig, which is a Pearl Silver 2-1/2 inch Berkley Gulp! Minnow on a 1/16 ounce round jighead. At 11:40 am, I finally got a bite and slowly worked a 14 to 15 inch long largemouth bass up from the bottom of the canal to the surface. I thought that I would just lift it into the boat, but when I tried, it shook itself free. Sheisse! Bob was very sympathetic:
What bass? I didn't see a bass. After that, 1-1/2 hours passed before I finally got another bite and boated a black crappie:
And, five minutes later, I got another:
As you can tell from Bob's ever increasing amount of clothing, we got colder and colder as the day wore on. We both shivered for several hours as the wind sucked the heat out of us. The bite died for a while after my second black crappie, but we enjoyed watching what we now know is an American mink circle the shore in the cove:
Is that your little friend, Steve? A little while later, we watched it dive into the water, swim around underwater while trailing bubbles to the surface about two feet from the shore and climb back onto the shore with a four inch long fish:
After it finished eating the fish behind a rock on the shore, it dove back into the water and caught another one! Yeap, it was mocking us. "Nyah! Nyah! I can catch fish and you can't!" At about 2:45 pm, we finally decided to let the wind push us back down the canal. I continued to throw my crappie rig for a while, but didn't get any action with it, so I switched to a Perch Rapala Jointed Shad Rap JSR07. As we drifted down the canal, Bob and I spotted a few solitary deer feeding on both sides of the canal. At 3:20 pm, I was watching one of the deer when I felt a tug on my Perch JSR07. I knew that it was a largemouth bass by the way it tugged on the line and, this time, Bob netted it for me:
Whoo hoo! It was a 14 inch keeper. 40 minutes later, the Perch JSR07 got me a 15 incher, too:
Shortly after, the sun began to drop behind the trees, so we packed up and motored back to the ramp. The air temperature drops really fast as the sun goes down. We got on the road after the sun went down, but before darkness fell. Unfortunately, Bob caught his third skunk from the back of my boat. Combined with the 0-fer that bass tracker (aka Greg) got, my non-boater score is now a perfect 0 for 4. Hopefully, I'll be able to break that streak on my next trip out. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Last edited by PECo on Sat Nov 17, 2012 6:19 pm; edited 4 times in total
Joined: 29 Mar 2011 Posts: 413 Location: Manchester
Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:13 am Post subject:
Looks like a fun day! Your new boat looks great... funny, I saw one of those rainbow fragments on the way to work this afternoon.. I've never seen one before, only thought they showed up after rain fall.
Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 3:36 pm Post subject: CT River
Nice job Phil, guess that perch color lure is working for you. There must be something wrong with the back of your boat, no way there should be 0-fer's back there, just have to keep trying to fix that!
Joined: 07 Jun 2011 Posts: 655 Location: Central, CT
Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 9:36 am Post subject:
Yep Phil that's definitely the little guy I saw last time! Same spot too lol. This year I have seen a lot more wildlife than I have in past years. Couple weeks ago we saw a huge beaver in Keeny Cove. _________________ Steve
we both thinking on further reveiw of data and images that it was most likly a mink _________________ I Love to fish......Not a big fan of sitting in the boat alone ....the Conversation and the company make it perfect
Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 6:34 pm Post subject:
SAP284 wrote:
Yep Phil that's definitely the little guy I saw last time! Same spot too lol.
We spotted him again, today, but a little bit further down from the cove, where the channel jogs over to the east. He must live along the canal. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
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Bob was very sympathetic:
After that, 1-1/2 hours passed before I finally got another bite and boated a black crappie:
"Nyah! Nyah! I can catch fish and you can't!" 
At about 2:45 pm, we finally decided to let the wind push us back down the canal. I continued to throw my crappie rig for a while, but didn't get any action with it, so I switched to a Perch Rapala Jointed Shad Rap JSR07. As we drifted down the canal, Bob and I spotted a few solitary deer feeding on both sides of the canal. At 3:20 pm, I was watching one of the deer when I felt a tug on my Perch JSR07. I knew that it was a largemouth bass by the way it tugged on the line and, this time, Bob netted it for me:
It was a 14 inch keeper. 40 minutes later, the Perch JSR07 got me a 15 incher, too:
