Fish still biting despite nor'easter

[Sam]

The lower Housatonic River is still running extremely fast due to the floodgates at the Stevenson Dam remaining open for most of the week. The water is full of debris and the clarity would be best described as "Chocolate Milk."

Needless to say, conditions made fishing the river very difficult over the past week. While conditions were far from ideal, many anglers took advantage of the warmer temperatures and cast their lines. Those who were persistent were re-warded for their efforts.
Stripers were reported from 18-33 inches during the week. These fish were taken on sandworms and 4 to 6 inch shad bodies. Pink seemed to be the hot color this week due to its ability to stand out in stained waters. Jigging the shad body slowly as you let it drift in the heavy current seemed to be the ticket.

On Sunday, many small catfish, Perch (white & Yellow) and American eels were caught along the riverbanks in Shelton. These fish were taken mostly on an assortment of worms fished suspended just off the bottom.
This past Saturday was Opening Day for Trout Sea-son in Connecticut and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day. Over the last few weeks I have over heard many anglers complain about how they do not enjoy Opening Day. They argue that it isn't good for the fish popula-tions, which haven't yet had a chance to acclimate in our rivers and lakes since they are caught and often kept so soon after being stocked. Many would rather see these fish have an opportunity to grow and reproduce in our rivers and lakes.

The also are displeased with the crowds that invade their favorite fishing holes, often leaving their garbage behind and taking their beloved trout .
I see opening day much differently. While I do not fish for trout very often, it has become tradition for me to gather with a small group of my friends and hit the local streams, lakes and ponds in pursuit of trout.
Throughout the day, you cross paths with many other fishermen and exchange stories about the one that got away and the amazing displays of wildlife you witnessed.

It is a day deep in tradition and a day that I look forward to every year. That being said I personally would like to see trout have a better chance at growing larger in our waters, although I am unsure of how this can be accomplished. I do know that the heavy rains of last weeks Nor-Easter forced the stocked trout to spread out through out the rivers. This made opening day a bit more difficult for some but in the end, it will result in bigger fish being caught in our streams later this year!

This past Sunday I participated in the River Clean up at Sunnyside boat launch. The event was sponsored by Clean Sound, The Shelton Jaycees and Friends of the Housatonic River.Forty or so volunteers donated their time to clean garbage from the shores and banks of the river. They picked up everything from bottles to basketballs. Tons of Styrofoam, tires, barrels, toys and other random garbage was picked up and hauled away leaving the park and the beaches as pristine as I have seen them in quite some time.
I would like to personally thank everyone who at-tended and donated their time and effort.

It was amazing to see how much garbage was collected and how in just a few hours such a difference could be made.
The weather and the water are heating up and that means the fishing will be too. As I type this report, I just got word of the first bluefish being caught in Long Island Sound!

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