I was back on the Farmington yesterday morning. The sky was a bit cloudy with some breaks of sun, and a nice breeze kept that cool feel, which was very nice. I was armed with another fiberglass rod that I had purchased this winter, and was waiting to give it a tryout. The rod is a Eagle Claw 6'6" Featherlight, I paired it with a Battenkill reel and a 4wt line. I had purchased this rod for small streams but never tried it on one of them, choosing to break it in on the Farmington.
I started on some familiar areas that I know tend to hold brook trout. The set up was a semi- nymph, with a soft hackle trailing about 2 feet behind. It was not long before I had a strike, and a hookup. The yellow stick was awesome in it's debut. Beautiful action with the rod bending like I had hoped for.
Some of the trout took the semi- nymph but most took the soft hackle. These fish were fighters and dogged there way going for the bottom, typical fashion for lake brook trout. Another observation I noticed was the humpback on several of the males I took.
Soft hackle- North Country fly.
"Spikey" soft hackle semi-nymph.
What is it with woody debris and brook trout? Find it in a stream and you will usually find brook trout.
The Featherlight, Not bad for 29.95.
This North Country fly was the winner today. Simplicity to the max. Brown thread body, hares mask for a thorax, and some badger hackle.
As I said before some of the males had a slight hump in their backs. I have seen this before in brook trout in Maine, and one other stream in Connecticut. This one appeared to be getting his new fall suit.
Sorry for the spot on the camera lens. This brookie had beautiful green highlights.
Great outing on the Farmington. A stellar show by the Eagle Claw Featherlight. I give this rod a 9.8 rating. The only thing I didn't like was the ruler on the side of the rod, purely cosmetic, and I can live with that. Fine quality 29.95.
Beautiful fish. I can't wait to make my first trip there this year.
ReplyDeleteRKM
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Kirk, waters fine, and we know there are fish there. Soon.
I'm glad to see you're still the "scourge" of CT brookies Alan..
ReplyDeletepenbayman
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Mike I think they may share your feelings.
Very nice Alan - I rarely find brook trout on the Farmington, but you seem to find them regularly. You must be a brook trout whisperer!
ReplyDeleteMark
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They have made success in their quest to capture some of that beautiful river for themselves. Purely luck on my part.
Gorgeous fish.
ReplyDeleteKevin Frank
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They are starting slowly now to gain their fall colors. The best is yet to come.
Very nice brookies there, Alan. Woody debris makes a good shelter for them. That Eagle Claw reminds me of my first fly rod which bit the dust back in '72. Glad to see they're still available, and easy on the budget.
ReplyDeleteRivertoprambles.wordpress.com
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Walt they have a quality rod, and the fit and finish is good for the price.
Sounds like your day was a 9.8 out of 10. The Farmington is to far from my home or it would have been a 10. 2nd to last photo is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteDrew LooknFishy
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Drew that trout actually spit the hook. I was fortunate that he stayed long enough for me to get a photo.
Alan
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you were fishing some fast water near some of the structure. Were you wet wading or using your waders? How deep was the brook taking the flies? Outstanding colors on the brook trout, thanks for sharing
Bill Trussell
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Bill it runs fast and broken then swings into fast and smooth water. That is where most of the fish were.
I had waders, the water there is just to cold. The semi-nymph brought the flies down to just about 6 inches. The trout seemed to take the soft-hackle just as it started to rise up.
Nice Job Al!!! I have the exact same Eagle Claw rod from back in the day!!! Fond Memories. I think you are just a brook trout magnet.
ReplyDeleteTROUTI
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Pete we are going to have to fish together. You with your glass and I with mine.
Hey buddy you know where to find those brookies on that river. As a matter of fact you should guide.
Pete you could operate out of my sandwich shop.
DeleteYes I would too!!! What a combo!!!!!Thanks!!!
DeleteGreat to see the fun you had out there. Looks like an absolute blast!
ReplyDeleteThat eagle claw rod is sweet. I've not seen one with cork in years. Only with foam grips. That yellow blank brings back memories for sure.
Will
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Will, Yes the cork is relatively new, and the wood reel seat insert is a nice appointment.
Lots of anglers fished Eagle Claw products over the years.
Great to see this rod in action. I was just up at the farmington in one of the locations you photographed and had a great time.
ReplyDeleteI loved all the salmon I was catching. They put a serious bend in the small stream rod. Lost a few sizable fish with my 7x tippet small stream tenkara setup last weekend. Got some reasonably sized fish on the 12 footer but it felt like it was going to break.
Going back with a bigger rod and some 5x tippet next weekend. I'm impressed what you can do with that little eagle claw.
Klags
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Adam, 7x, not a good choice in that river. A real possibility of taking a 20+ inch brown.
The W&M really performed well. Those salmon can battle, lots of speed. It comes from trying to avoid getting eaten by the brown trout.
as always, well done!
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I appreciate that friend.
Hopefully the rain will help you get back on your blue lines, but after this outing I'm not sure if you want to! Love the variety from the colors on the first, humpback on that in the water male, green on the last, and silvery (and big!) one lying on the ground. You can really make a big river small!
ReplyDeleteRI brook trout
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Jonathan the rain will surely help, and I miss the little water. The Farmington is a great alternative.
There are those places where the brook trout favor, even in big waters.
Well done! I have every rod from that series, all are outstanding for the the price. The 7' is my favorite, it is much softer then the 6'6"
ReplyDeleteBrad Hardy
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Brad after reading your blog and some post's you've placed on Fiberglass Flyrodders I'm aware of you love of glass.
I wish there was a dealer who sold these rods locally so I could handle the various rods in the EC line.
$29.95 indeed! I bought my last 2 glass rods for $10 each at a local flea market. I keep finding rods and I need to get back on the Eagle Claw again. I bet those Brookies are a blast.
ReplyDeleteriverwalker34
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Flea markets are a good source of these older glass rods, and a fine gem can be found at a low price.
They were outstanding on that Eagle Claw.
Fiberglass is always so fun to fish with. I used my Shakespeare Wonder Rod up there for brookies and browns a few years ago and had a whale of a time!
ReplyDeleteRM Lytle
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Rowan that Wonder Rod has come up on ebay, and I was looking at it. I love the budget prices on the Eagle Claw. Big bang for the buck.