Its been a five year quest for Atlantic salmon in CT and I have come up short every trip I made, until this year. Finally after about seven trips to the river and many hours of tying, planning and reading I was presented with a perfect opportunity. The fight didn’t last very long but it was GREAT to feel the tug of an 8lb salmon at the end of my line. It was landed a couple mins later and released unharmed. It would be three days till my next trip to the river. The water was high and the fish were scattered and hard to find. I entered into a new pool that I have never fished, with little expectation. As I stripped the line from my 8wt Tioga I turned and saw some nice riffles that looked promising. There was a glare on the water that would not allow me to see anything past my boots. I casted across the river so that my fly would swing down and across the riffles. The salmon hit hard and took off. My Fenwick bowed with the tension brought on by the tenacious lunges the salmon made. Soon the fight was over and the fish was in. I was truly lucky, two salmon in three days after five years with no luck. Could this day be any better? The salmon was released quickly and swam off unscathed. I took a deep breath and debated calling it a day. No way. I began blind casting and letting fly swing. Five casts later my line came to subtle pause, I stripped to be sure. Yes! Fish! But the take was so subtle there was no way this was a salmon. As the broom like tail broke the surface and swept across current there was no doubt in my mind this was a salmon, a large salmon. Fifteen minutes passed with little gain on my part. This was a tough fish, the biggest I have seen. I heard a voice ring out to me. Two men armed with fly rods, a trout net, and big grins stared back at me as I continued to battle. “Could you use a hand landing em?” they sounded. “I thought you’d never ask.” It was another ten mins before the fish came close enough to attempt a landing. As soon as they saw the distance between the tail fin and pectoral fin they said it wouldn’t fit in the dinky net. This I knew already but didn’t want to count my eggs. Soon the fish came close enough for a swift tale grab. The Half hour slug fest was finally over and I had the fish I have been waiting five years to land. She was a beauty. I will never forget that day. I couldn’t have done it without the help of two friendly strangers. I had never worked so hard for a fish in my life.
Man, some killer fish tales lately. I really enjoyed this one because it speaks to, what I feel to be, one of the coolest elements of fly fishing .. “the quest.” One persons quest might be a permit, another persons a golden trout, another persons a taiman, another persons a tarpon, another persons a 40″ striper, another persons a native brook trout in a tricky stream, etc.. The point is that everyones “quest” is different and meaningful really only to them. Sure we cross paths and fish with people with who’s quests are similar .. but, at the end of the day .. our “quests” are of a personal nature. And, one of the reasons why fly fishing is so addicting is because I think we are really addicted to “the quest” .. and the sense of accomplishment is often short lived because one “quest” is so quickly replaced with another quest. And, its amazing how a “quest” can be just as meaningful and significan regardless of the fish, the size, the conditions etc.. It’s “the quest” that we are all chasing and the names of the fish, their colors, their sizes etc.. change .. but “the quest” is a universal feeling that we can all relate to. Anyway, buddyfish; congratulations man! Enjoy the sense of satisfaction .. hopefully you get enough time out of it before another “quest” starts tugging at the back of your conciousness .. although, its probably already begun .. Great work! Beautiful fish.
Wow! That is an awesome atlantic salmon, nice work and congrats.
What a great fish tale. I used to read about Atlantic salmon being caught in CT. And also heard of striper fishermen catchign them occasonally. That is awesome that you got one to your hand. What an accomplishment. Congratulations great post.
Wow, great story, great fish. I like the fact that you kept fishing for them even after 5 years of being skunked, and that a couple of friendly fisherman came to your aid. What I am really excited about is the fact that another New England river seems to be supporting a fishable Atlantic Salmon run after years of declining Salmon stocks. Hope that the runs expand and continue to grow!
Jim Ray
I travel long distances to toss a fly over Atlantic Salmon! Who would have thought Con. would have them! That is a great fish, congratulations!!!!!!!!
nice work on the ct broodstocks. i caught my first of the year the other day. sweet stuff.
What a wonderful tale or is it tail…I forget. Persistence does pay off! It is just awesome to read other stories of guys who love fly fishing enough to keep at something that has eluded them for years. And then, one day it all comes together. All you need is one good day like the one that you had, and it changes everything! Next time you’ll have that confidence that comes with being successful….and the walk down to the stream will be different too! You’ll walk with a sense of purpose….one that includes catching fish!
What a holiday bonus for you!!!!…………I love when X-mas comes early!..Congrats
great story i love it! im new to fly fishing and this year my “quest” is a ct broody! just curious wich river.shetucket? naugatuck? i live a few miles from shetucket.you from the area? amazing fish!