[PECo]

I planned to fish the mouth of the Farmington River from the Connecticut River at Linear Park in South Windsor, today, but when I got to the narrow road down to the park, it was closed for some utility work. I drove up the eastern shore of the Connecticut in search of another place to launch all the way to the Dexter Coffin Bridge, but the water is so low that it isn't worth launching up there. It's hard to see in this cellphone photo, but you could almost walk across the river underneath the bridge (check out how high the waterline is on the bridge pilings):



After wasting more than an hour driving around aimlessly, I gave up and decided to launch from Wethersfield Cove. I ended up fishing the Connecticut north of the cove from 10:45 am to 2:45 pm. It was sunny, but nice and cool, with a slight breeze from the south that got stronger and stronger throughout the day. It got noticeably stronger around noon and was blowing pretty briskly by 2:00 pm. I would not have been able to handle the wind in my little sink today. I pedaled my Hobie a little over a mile upriver from the cove. Here's a map of where I went:



I threw a Texas-rigged Ol' Monster worm for a while, but got no hits. I also threw a white spinnerbait and a Bomber 3 inch blue and silver lipless crankbait, and also got no hits. However, a wacky-rigged purple/emerald flake Senko dragged over the bottom near the east bank got me a 13 inch smallmouth bass:



I ended up catching three more smallies, each of which was 12 inches long. The first two were caught on wacky worms, both purple/emerald flake and pumpkin/red flake, and the last was caught on a trolled Yo-Zuri 2-1/2 inch white lipless crankbait. The trolled white crankbait also got me my first ever striped bass:



It was only 13 inches long, but it was my first. I got really excited when it hit the crankbait, because at first I thought it was a little northern pike. Shortly afterward, I caught my second ever striper, which was a little bit bigger at 16 inches long. Unlike the smallies, the stripers didn't put up much of a fight after they were hooked. But man, oh, man, did they hit the crankbait hard! I caught two little stripers and I'm already looking forward to striper season next Spring. I gotta get me a 40-incher!

Pedaling my Hobie felt easier today than it felt last Saturday. I took two Aleve this morning, so that might have helped, but I'd like to believe that I'm getting into better pedaling shape. Salmon Cove, huh, Flipper? I just might hit that next.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

[Bluegill Terminator]

Congrats Phil on the stripers they are a blast to catch.

[PECo]

Thanks, Pete. Spring can't come soon enough for me, now.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

[DirtyDawg10]

Nice job Phil! I'll be out there hitting the stripers with ya next spring.

[Flipper]

Salmon Cove is a nice little spot out of current and wind, plus there is a free boat launch right there. A yakker could get way back in there, too. I have not been that far back in that cove but I have seen maps that show the channel getting much deeper once you get in there.
There is also Chapman Pond a little down stream and I have it on good authority that the pike fishing is good there too. I can't get in there w/ my boat but it is taylor made for a kayak.
Congrats on the striper! In early spring, I forget about everything else and live on the river. I used to fish the Windsor - Windsor Locks area religously untill the last couple of years since Holyoke got greedy and kept all the water for themselves. The CT river from the Farmington up is useless for most of the year now. All the shore fisherman around me are even having a hard time just catching cats and carp - which was commonplace.
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Go big or go home!

[SkeeterRon]

Great report as always
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Sleep...Eat...Fish!!!!! Then do it all over again.

[Flipper]

Phil - forgot to tell you there is a free boat launch on Palisado Ave just downstream from Dexter Coffin bridge. It is behind a resturant called Madeline's or something. Not much use this time of year, but keep it in mind for the spring. If you hit that stretch of river for stripers, do it early - like April 1. The run used to go from May-June but I found out this year they were catching them much earlier. By the time I started the water was too low and the fish were gone.
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Go big or go home!

[MSRiverdog]

Fun to hear about the Striper's in the spring, gotta go after them then.

[SkeeterJim]

Nice job Phil. Now you gotta join us out on the Sound off Old Saybrook with Mark (Just4Fun) and I. Then you'll be catching stripers about 20" longer than the ones you just caught.

Jim
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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]

I can't wait, Jim. My Hobie legs are getting better every day.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!