Merry Christmas

Hopefully everyone is sufficiently stuffed with good food and enjoyed the company of family and friends for the holiday weekend.  Temperatures have been falling into a more favorable range for ice to form and lock up the lakes and ponds throughout the New England states.  Unfortunately in the Portland, CT ten day forecast 3 of those days are showing rain rather than snow as the highs remain in the lower 40's and the lows hovering around the 30 degree mark.  We will have to wait and see what happens in the ice department, at any rate be careful if you choose to venture out on newly formed ice. 

Evan's 26in Broodstock

I was able to get out yesterday to the Shetucket River in Baltic, CT for a chance at brood-stock Salmon.  The best luck I have had at the Shetucket has come during the week of thanksgiving and early December.  The Salmon that are stocked are those that have run their breeding life span at hatcheries from Vermont, they run between 3 to 20lbs, with most being around the 5-7lb range.  There are special regulations for these fish which you can view the complete rules for through CT DEEP's website or the current 2011 fishing regulations guide.  To summarize the rules, the season runs from October 1st through March 31.  Angler's can fish a single fly (no tandem hooks) or a lure with a single free swinging hook (no trebles), and no additional weight can be added to the line above the lure.  The limit is one fish per angler per day after December 1st, catch and release only before December 1st.  Stocking reports are typically published in the DEEP's weekly fishing reports.  These fish are stocked from the Occum Dam in Norwich to the Franklin Dam in Franklin on the Shetucket River.  The fish do surface on occasion especially when hatches are going on which will let you know that they are in the area.  I recommend two lures, for a fly a white zonker minnow about 3" in length with a good sized bead head with silver and red tinsel drifted deep or stripped fast.  For spinning gear a silver/ yellow egg sac casting spoon by Blue Fox cast against deep banks has also proven multiple fish days.  Another thing to keep in mind while fishing this river is the fact that Dam releases change the flow of the river on a daily basis.  Fast deep flows to barely moving water can be fished inside the same day.  Also if you begin fishing during slow water periods, expect a dam release during your outing and make sure you can get back to shore because the water rises quickly.

Broodstock Salmon on Fly

I was hoping to arrive around ten A.M. but my fishing partner's holiday schedule kept us off the water until 1:30PM.  The later arrival on this river makes being able to pinpoint the wade-able areas difficult.  Each side of the river, East and West banks are steep with slopes that rise well above the river basin. Because of this a late arrival to the river means you will be fishing in a constant shadow.  We fished a piece of the river where the Waldo Brook runs in on the East bank.  At the truck we decided to try the fly-rods, however once reaching the river itself the winds were quite strong and made casting difficult.  After half an hour of casting, we decided to move up river towards the dam and change our outfits to spinning gear.  We fished for another hour casting spoons and drifting them with the current.  The cold December water managed to find the leak in my waders which helped in my decision to call the unproductive day short.  A few other fisherman on the river also shared a fish-less day, but it was nice to get out on the water and at least gave us a shot to catch something. 

Season's End, Season's Begin

The thermometer reading 21 degrees this morning offers a good reminder that it is time to take stock in the major investments of my fishing hardware.  From lures and their hooks to rods and reels, all of these things we own as fisherman deserve to be well kept to protect our investments, as well as to ensure our days on the water are as productive as they can be.  Older equipment can still be as good as the newest equipment so long as it is well kept.  As the winter hard-water season approaches it makes a lot of sense to give all of my reels a thorough cleaning and a new coat of grease on their moving parts especially if fished in salt water.

This might seem like a lot of work, but it is worth it.  Sand, salt, dirt, dust, and fibers can foul a reels ability to turn, bails to function, and the longevity of each reel.  The longer they remain dirty, salty, and gummed up with these things the faster they deteriorate and stop working, forcing a premature new purchase of new equipment.  

For about 10 to 15 dollars, reel grease and oil can be purchased to avoid spending the amount you paid for reel to begin with.  During the season I also use a spray oil by Penn that prevents corrosion and as a bonus lubricates moving parts and the line which will add distance to your cast.

As pictured to the left I am doing two things.  First I wanted to reline my spare spools with fluorocarbon, and clean/regrease my reel at the same time.  I have a paper towel to keep grease off of the couch and to hold the small screws that hold the reel together.  The reel pictured is a Shimano Stradic 4000 which is a versatile reel which I use for Pike and Bass fishing to pan-fish.  It has an oil port on the side for easy access lubrication of the internal moving parts (used during the season).  One screw on the rear part of the reel with give you access to the   "worm" gear which will slide out for greasing, and four small screws will allow full access to the guts of the reel.

Pictured to the right are the internals of the same reel, which shows that it has a good seal as there are no signs of sand or other contaminants inside the housing.  If the existing grease inside the reel is black in color means that small particles of the reel's construction due to friction have mixed with the grease (usually white in color).  Yellow grease means that there has been no mixing, but the grease has aged and lost moisture, or has been in contact with salt water.  Here neither has occurred since this reel is relatively new (2 years old) and it is a good construction, thank you Shimano.  However as the grease will still break down despite absence of contaminates, I give the moving parts a light coat to protect the reel's integrity.  A small plastic tie works as a good grease spreader as it can fit into tight areas and will not mark or scratch the metal or graphite surfaces of the reel.

Three Greased and Lined Reels

 As for relining reels without a line station, the first important thing is to make sure you have the correct amount going onto a reel.  For example I picked up two fluorocarbon lines over the weekend.  One that had 200 yards and the other had 250 yards both 10lb test.  Also another thing to note is that all reels give a line test rating and the amount it will hold, which are based on monofilament.  Both braided line and fluorocarbon lines are typically smaller in diameter for their equivalent test line in mono.  Fluorocarbon lines are typically one size smaller, so a 12lb test fluorocarbon will be equal to a 10lb test mono.  Braided lines are much different in size, 50lb braid is about a 10lb test diameter mono.  Also since braided lines are much more expensive it is a good idea to use a monofilament backing so you do not have to spool a reel with fifty dollars worth of braid.

As for actually putting the line on the reel, I thread the line through the guides of the rod and tie a loop with a square knot and pull the line through the loop to form a knot that will cinch down around the reel and not slip.  If the loop this forms is in the wrong direction the line will simply spin around the reel as you try to pick up line.  If this is the case loosen the loop and reverse its direction and it should cinch down and pick up line.  With the new spool of mono or fluorocarbon lying flat on the floor give about ten cranks and if you notice the line is twisting simply stop and turn the new spool of line over, this should take care of the line twisting.  If the line twists during the entire spooling, you will end up with a relentless barrage of rats nests and wind knots.  If this is the case, get in your canoe or boat and let all of the line out in the water during a troll.  The line will untwist in the water, and because all of it is out, there will be good tension on the line as you reel it all back in.  The best part of doing this is that you will be ready to rock come spring.

Warm December

I am beginning to feel the itch for ice fishing, however the weather has not been cooperating.  Aside from the freak snow storm in October that made CT and Southern New England look like it had after Hurricane Irene, there has not been enough cold weather to generate hard water.  Capt. Blaine Anderson of CT Outfitters reported the river being 44 degrees this past weekend.  The weather has been good for work (unfortunately) as I have been so busy I have not fished in over a month, so busy I haven't had an entire weekend off since October.  Hopefully I can wet a line this weekend, and log a new fish-filled post soon.