Fishing Report October 20th

Greetings Compleat Anglers!  Fall is upon us, and with it a mixture of beautiful foliage and beautiful fish!

Here’s the Fishing Report for October 20th!

Fishing in L.I.Sound has been hot of late. There is still lots of bait (bunker of all sizes, bay anchovies, silversides and others) along the coast from Greenwich to Fairfield and points north. We were out with Captain Roger Gendron of Connecticut Island Outfitters ( info@ctislandoutfitters.com) on Saturday around the Norwalk Islands and ran into some nice schools of Stripers feeding aggressively along the shoreline. They banged both flies (Clousers) and a variety of spinning baits. Most were schoolies, but there were a few bigger bass in the mix. And we found most of our fish mid-morning so the time-window of opportunity is definitely widening.  We also ran into some roving schools of Albies outside of Compo Marina in Westport.  They were up and down quickly in small pods and bursts and although we chased them for an hour we were only able to get a couple of casts over them. But they are still around and likely to show up anywhere, so keep an eye out. Also, there are still some schools of blues around (Capt. Roger reported some nice Blues on Monday) , although they seem to be thinning out and harder to find.

In our trout rivers, we are still in the grips of the drought that has plagued the Northeast all summer. It has hit our Connecticut rivers even more severely than the Catskill rivers because the Delaware system rivers are tailwaters and not as subject to lowering waters. (However, even the Delaware system has been affected as well.)  The saving grace is that with the cool evenings the water temperatures have stayed in the 50s and low 60s so the fish are not as stressed. Here’s the trout breakdown:

In the Catskills, the Delaware West Branch has been up and down due to irregular releases from Cannonsville Dam.  Today the WB flow is 767cfs at 58 degrees. While the fishing is slowing down, there still have been some nice fish taken on dries and wets. Key dry fly patterns are Isos #14-#16, BWOs #18-#24, Tan Caddis #16-#20, and Olive Sulphurs #18 as well as terrestrials such as ant and beetle patterns.  Small nymphs such as caddis pupa, pheasant tails, Copper Johns and wets such as the Leadwing Coachman (Iso imitation) also are taking their share of fish. The Main Stem of the Delaware is currently running 1230cfs at Lordville, and is a cool 59 degrees. The East Branch has been low all year due to a tiny release from Pepacton Dam.  Currently it is running 289cfs at 52 degrees. Our advice would be, before you head up for a trip, check out the flow charts to be sure there is ample water to float or wade.

Here in Connecticut, the Housatonic is very low at 116cfs at Gaylordsville. It is so low that there are limited areas that are fishable, and too many anglers trying to fish it. So things are pretty crowded in the key pools at the moment. The Housy was stocked by the State recently with 3000 brown trout through the TMA area. Key dry flies are BWOs, Isos and tan Caddis with small nymphs such as Pheasant Tails, Caddis Pupa, Copper Johns and others accounting for some fish. There have been some nice fish taken, although most of them are the recently-stocked fish. It appears that many of the holdover fish perished in the low/warm waters late this summer. We are all looking towards this coming weekend for rain and the hope that it will raise the level!

The Farmington is also very low through the TMA and below. It is currently running 64cfs through the TMA, although the water temperatures have been nicely in the 50s and low 60s.  Despite the low water, regulars have been taking some beautiful trout from it. Remember to keep your tippets at 6X and 7X for dries and 5X for nymphs.  Key dry flies have been Tan Caddis #16-#18, BWO #22-#26, and Isos #12-#14, as well as terrestrials such as ant and beetle patterns. Streamers have worked as well, along with small nymph patterns (#16-#22) such as Caddis Pupa, Pheasant Tails, Zebras and others.

So get outside and enjoy the great foliage, cool weather and some great fishing. And remember, whatever your fishing needs are, we’ve got you covered here at Compleat Angler. We have a great selection of flies for Stripers, Blues, Albies, Bonefish, Permit, Tarpon, Salmon, trout and anything else you want to throw a line over! And always a full line of boots, waders, rods and reels, along with a great assortment of clothing!  We hope to see you soon!

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