Semper on the Fly: Pittsburg on the fly

There was a time when fly fishing the Connecticut River in Pittsburg meant nymphing with indicators, split shot, Copper Johns, Princes and Pheasant Tails. As the years went on, we began catching trout and salmon on streamers, mostly Golden Retrievers and Wooly Buggers. A few years later we started picking up a few on dry flies. Fast forward to 2024, and this year 90% of all trout and salmon caught were on dries, a few on streamers, and none on nymphs. Funny how that goes...

Marc and I headed up for three nights at the Buck Rub and hit the river ahead of the 4th of July holiday. Last year when we fished the river, we saw the largest crowds ever on the river, nearly every hole had someone fishing, and it made for a less than enjoyable outing. Surprisingly other than a few cars/trucks at the dam, cemetary and bridge, the crowd was manageble and we were able to fish all the runs and pools we wanted.

I began with dries - tying on a Purple Parachute Adams #14 and was soon into small salmon on Day 1. We both caught several more that afternoon and I lost (sounds familiar) a big, really big salmon in the Ledge Pool on an ugly home-tied Black Crystal Wooly Bugger after the fish made multiple airborn leaps.

The next day we travelled down to what had been one of our favorite native brrok trout streams, but after about an hour and no fish, something just wasn't right about the feel of the water. Hmmm?

We fished the Connecticut in the afternoon again and again all action was on dries, mostly working from the Judge and Jury Pools up towards the dam. A mix of rainbows, brookies and salmonbent our rods - no brownies on this trip.

Our last day was more of the same. Watching and talking to other fishermen on the river, they were all in nymphing mode as we once were. And though they were catching the occasional trout, none of them (including those with river guides) had the action we did. As it was raining, I started my day nymphing with no success. In betweeen the raindrops, Marc was picking up several nice rainbows and salmon so I switched and was soon in the game. I was amazed that the bite was on with dry flies in the rain. Tuck that lesson away for the future. One quick sidebar - I was fishing the Judge Pool and swooshing over my head from upstream was a bald eagle that exploded into the Jury Pool, wings a flutter, and popped up into the air with a nice trout firmly nestled into its talons. The eagle's wingspan had to be 6-8 feet -- a huge magnificent bird.

About 4:30 pm, Marc headed back to the lodge for a couple hours of rest before the evening hex hatch. I stayed on the river and fished a couple more hours. Turns out if was the best dry fly action I'd ever experienced on the river. Twelve salmon and trout were brought to hand, and I lost (I seem to do that often) a big rainbow that I horsed in too quickly (I caught him in the exact same hole I hooked this rainbow from last year. Same fish maybe?

A Parachute Adams #14 seemed to be the best fly in all the pocket water as I worked my way upstream. Although I spent about an hour in the Judge Pool working a number of rising trout. They didn't want the adams, nor it seemed anything else bigger or smaller in my arsenal. I caught one of the real flies that was popping off the water and it resembled a Green Drake... I big fly that I've never caught a single fish with in my life. I had one drake in my box, tied one on, and as it typically goes, the very first cast in the same area I had placed a hundred other casts - boom - a nice rainbow brought to hand.

I love fishing the Connecticut. The river can break your heart, frustrate the devil out of you, and make you question if you even know how to fish. You can go several hours without so much as a bite... and that happens fairly often. But when it's on, oh my gosh, that river and the fish in can bring more fulfillment and joy in a split second.