Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:09 pm Post subject: Hockanum River 07/09
mep21 (aka Mark) and I decided to kick off our weekend fishing extravaganza on Saturday with an afternoon/evening trip to the lower Hockanum River. We figured that we could fish and catch the Hartford fireworks after dark. We planned to launch into the Connecticut River and paddle up the mouth of the Hockanum, but the Hartford and East Hartford police had blocked off all of the nearby access points. We decided to try and launch into the Hockanum Reservoir, but on the way there, Mark spotted a sign for Hockanum River Linear Park in East Hartford:
We carried our kayaks over a berm and down a hill to the west end of the wide open area of the river that you can see to the north of Route 84 on the east side of the Connecticut. We finally got on the water around 4:15 pm. There were several groups of people fishing from the shore, but we were the only boats on the water. It was warm and sunny with a light northeast wind. We decided to paddle across the open area and up the narrow part of the river. On the way there, I trolled a perch patterned Rapala SSR-5 and Mark trolled a Zoom Horny Toad. When we stopped to explore an inlet that runs along the south shore, I reeled in my lure and got a hit from what was either a little smallie or a trout. All that Mark and I saw was a fish leaping two and a half feet in the air and spitting the lure when it hit the water. Man, I HATE treble hooks! The entire open area appeared to be shallow, maybe four feet deep on the west end and two feet deep on the east end. The water was murky on the west end and got clearer as we approached the east end. There was surprisingly little surface vegetation, although there were submerged weeds near every shore. When we got to the shallows on the east end, I landed a fish with my wacky rigged five inch Senko:
It was a small keeper largemouth bass, but it was pretty chunky. As we entered the narrow section of the river, the current grew stronger. It was too strong to fish laydowns without beaching your boat on the bank. I spooked quite a few fish in some calm water shallows off of the main channel, but am pretty sure that they were all carp. We went about half a mile up the river, but didn't get any bites. We had to push ourselves over some laydowns and under some others. We gave up on our Apocalypse Now adventure and rode the current back onto the open area. Mark began throwing a perch patterned crankbait and finally landed a fish:
It was just a little cannibalistic yellow perch but, hey, a fish is a fish. We worked our way along the south shore and the inlet as darkness slowly fell. I landed a couple of short largemouth bass with my wacky Senko before the fireworks began at 9:30 pm:
We got off the water shortly after the fireworks ended. Although the fishing was slow, I wouldn't mind going back sometime and exploring the mouth of the river between the open area and the Connecticut. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
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The entire open area appeared to be shallow, maybe four feet deep on the west end and two feet deep on the east end. The water was murky on the west end and got clearer as we approached the east end. There was surprisingly little surface vegetation, although there were submerged weeds near every shore. When we got to the shallows on the east end, I landed a fish with my wacky rigged five inch Senko:
