Posted on 03/24/2014 11:15:16 AM PDT by raybbr
Fishermen hooking trout on opening day April 19 will have no idea what it took to make that possible. The ice this year was so thick, chainsaws were needed to cut though and open holes for trout stocking in Connecticut waters.
Tim Barry, who heads the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's trout stocking program, said, "In my 30 years with the department, I've never seen conditions like this."
"All the lakes were stocked through the ice," Barry added. "It was very difficult."
Some mornings were so frigid, stocking had to be suspended for fear the fish would suffer cold shock and die.
Because of delays caused by the prolonged cold, Barry said, it will take a "herculean effort" to reach the DEEP's goal of stocking 100 lakes and ponds and 200 rivers and streams before lines hit the water next month.
"I think we'll get all of the lakes done and the big rivers – like the Farmington and the Salmon – but I'm not sure if we'll get to all of the streams," Barry said.
He said he was putting in a request to allow stocking crews to work weekends in advance of opening day. The department is also short two trucks, which could mean additional delays.
(Excerpt) Read more at courant.com ...
I went fly fishing last week but conditions were certainly better than that although my legs were so cold after wading for a couple of hours I was starting to stumble around. Not good when you’re wading in a swift moving stream. Western NC
So they stock right before fishing season...? Are there not enough fish the rest of the year? I wonder how those people feel about high fenced game ranches in the south and southwest?
Is there anything alive under that? Just kidding, I know there is but damn that looks bleak.
Highs in the 20s yesterday, highs in the 20s today, teens overnight.
I was in Wisconsin over Christmas and they were saying that the ice fisherman were having to get extensions for their drills because the ice was so thick.
If the ice is thicker, it’s global warming. If the ice is thinner, it’s also global warming?
How will the global warming religious zealots ever be able to tell whether or not they are making progress?? Or, could it be that htey’re only interested in making money on the scam???
Ice is off the river here and I went for a few hours on Saturday. Only caught one small rainbow. Even though the morning low was around 22 it was a nice windless sunny day.
When I was a kid, I devoured Argosy, Field and Stream, etc.
Oh how I dreamed of fly fishing for trout in the Rockies.
When I reached my mid-twenties in the 60s I was sent to Denver for a 6 month temp. assignment.
I was parked on the side of the road, watching a guy with the creel strapped to his side fishing with a spinning rig in a mountain stream running full bore.
He hooked on a salmon egg to a hook above a sinker and cast upstream. It hit the water, tore down stream where he held it steady while his rod was bending like he had a monster. Finally he reeled it in and he had a tiny trout on.
By that time, I had walked over to him. I guess I was being impolite, but I asked him why didn’t he measure it before he put it in his beautifully woven creel? His reply:
“No need. The only trout in these streams are the ones dumped in by the State upstream. We catch them as they are flushed down.”
Reminded me of the fish tank I “fished” in at the fairs where you snag a numbered fish for a matching prize.
A later had an opportunity to speak to a serious fisherman and was told the size of the fish you can catch is directly related to the number of miles you are willing to packback into the “wilderness”.
God, how I love the Florida Gulf Coast!
I started tying my own flies this year. I had the pleasure of catching all my trout on one woolly booger fly I tied. I didn’t even lose it!
My lake froze in November for the first time in recorded history (1886-2013).
This morning, there is 34” of ice on the lake in front of my house.
Does anyone know if solar panels increase the albedo of the Earth? Something’s up.
Fished the White River in Cotter, Arkansas, last week and there was no ice but it was cold enough that the guides on my fly rod developed ice while I was casting. Wading wasn’t too bad as I had plenty of wool underneath. Fishing was great.
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