Week of March 5th

Well folks, at the time of this writing, the mercury, for almost the fourth day straight, has broken the 50 degree mark!! Could it be, just maybe, perhaps, that spring may actually be upon us? Fishing on the Housey, now that all the ice has dissipated, continues to produce some nice fish. You don’t’ have to tell the Micinillio Brothers what time it is, they fished the Housey on Sunday. It started out really slow with the water being quite cold. They ended up with 26 fish for the day, with nothing bigger than 23", all caught trolling deep on soft plastic paddle tails. Lots of fish on the depth finder including what seemed to be some very large schools of herring as well.

I got another report from D. Curtis on Tuesday night of some steady action just south of Sullivan’s Island up to 26 inches on soft plastics and Gulp imitations. Kurt D. and Derrick Kirkpatrick fishing from shore late Monday night with the fly rods were surrounded by anglers in the general vicinity of the island as well. Split between half fly rods and have spin guys, everyone seemed to be hooking up on a consistent basis. In fact, although the fish popped the hook right when it was being landed, Derrick felt he had at least a hefty 35-40 inch fish on the line. Great stuff!

The flies and lures of choice will be larger herring patterns as well as larger soft plastics. As we mentioned last week, the herring seem to be abundant just about everywhere. Scattered throughout the Norwalk and Westport area and continuing up the coast towards the Housey.

I also received a report from a client that some nice fish have been taken from Northport Harbor and with another journey over this afternoon, we will keep you posted. These shallower muddier areas of course have a tendency to heat up first attracting bait and thus fish normally will follow. One good indication from a timing standpoint is to look south and west to see what may be coming up the pipe. The Hudson has yet to really turn on and points south have been quiet as well. Most of these fish being caught in places like Northport are no doubt hold over’s, but nonetheless provide some great early season action.

If these temps remain consistent, things may blow wide open sooner than we think. Let’s hope that this warm stretch is not our “January Thaw” just 2 months late! On the freshwater side, it seems as if we may have had some of our local TMAs stocked recently. Justin “the Soul-Man” Solis, reported in of some nice catches in our local streams up to 15 inches drifting some small black stone fly nymphs, as well as ripping a few streamers through the current lines. When fishing in our local TMAs at this time of year, be extra quiet when approaching these fish. They are still very skittish, considering they were in a hatchery less than 24 hours at the time of this report.

In regards to flies, we mentioned last week, that we have made an extra special commitment to giving you the most diverse selection of freshwater bugs in the area. I personally unwrapped about 200 dozen additional flies over the past week. Come on down and have a look. If you can make some time rather than stopping in right before you go out, we can explain some of the patterns that we chose and why for our local waters and beyond and how to properly present these tasty offerings to rising trout!

There has been much debate about the recent introduction of a saltwater license. As of right now, the fee has been brought back down to $10.00 for the marine license. Regardless, there are still a few bills pending. I highly encourage all of you that if you are not satisfied with the current laws that are on the books, for you to write your state reps. For your convenience I have attached below four bills that have been proposed on the house floor to lower the current fee structure.

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/S/201...115-R00-SB.htm
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/H/201...038-R00-HB.htm
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/S/201...082-R00-SB.htm
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/H/201...080-R00-HB.htm

More gear is arriving daily from Simms, Shimano HATCH and many other vendors, including Shimano’s new Baitrunner, a host of new freshwater patterns and much, much more!

With that folks, I will sign off, but it won’t be long now. It’s been a long winter, so don’t get caught once things turn. Bring your rods/reels down for servicing before the fish arrive. Look forward to seeing you all soon!

DON’T FORGET to click onto the “NEWS” tab for our complete list of upcoming FREE seminars!

2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!!

 May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT
 May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT
 June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT
 July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT
 July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT
 August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Eric C. Johnson
Westport Outfitters, LLC
609 Riverside Ave.
Westport, CT
06880
www.westportoutfitters.com
www.allseasonsmarineworks.com
p-203.341.9490
f-203.341.9423
ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com
TAKE THE FAMILY FISHING