No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
Friday-Monday, 7-10.April: I did not fish behind Bart's. In fact, I didn't even get out on Saturday and Sunday with all the Easter preps, and dinner. As reported by cat_in_the_hat, the water was just too high. Notably, there was also little current, and surface temps were in the mid to upper 40sºF. Very few anglers, and not much dangling due to conditions.
11.April: arrived behind Bart's just after 4:pm to find that the water level fell about 2' from yesterday. It was a little turbid, but mostly clear, with little floatsam. Still very little current, and temp ~52ºF. Due to the sunny and mild, mid-70ºF weather, I saw the largest crowd I've seen on the bank to date, from 6 to 10 at different times throughout the 2 hours I had my arm in a cast. By the time I left a little after 6:pm, nobody had gotten anything but a few snags. Rumors of shad were reported, mostly early in the day. Dylan reports he caught one just after dawn this morning before he went to school.
I switched tackle up a bit today. I started with the U/L set up I've been using, but switched for a while to my 6' one-piece Ugly Stik Elite, mated to a Penn 4400SS spooled with 15# Power Pro. Terminal tackle: 1.5 oz drail over 2.5' flouro leader, and hammered silver willow leaf in chartreuse/blue and white with red and green dots (I think Bill C calls it his traffic light pattern).
No fish today, but it was really good to get out for a couple of hours. Tight lines!
cat_in_the_hat
Member
Registered: 04/16/04
Posts: 2261
Loc: Tolland CT
Not going to The Wall as planned this morning, wife has recruited me to help her spread 8 cubic yards of cedar mulch she had delivered. CT River water flow stable around a fish-able 37,000 cu ft/sec, should be nice and clear. Hope to make it down there Saturday when I expect to find fish.
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
12.April: Arrived behind Bart's at 4:30 pm, 5 folx working the bank, and no shad. However, several shad were reportedly hooked, played, and lost around 3:pm or so. Maybe 2 or 3 were landed out of a half dozen hooksets. The water was only down a couple of inches from yesterday, clear, and the current was a little better than it has been lately. Surface temp was ~54ºF, so I put my arm in a cast for the next 2+ hours.
A few more people came and went, maybe 10 altogether, and rarely more than about 7 working the water at one time. I threw the rainbow for willow leaves, as did most of the others, but all for naught. No fish today, at least while I was there. Again. Still, it was a beautiful day to be out, with air temps in the mid-70sºF, and a nice breeze.
Well, maybe tomorrow I'll get on the board. Tight lines!
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
Late report, Thursday, 13.April: I arrived at Bart's 4:15 pm. The afternoon was bright, sunny, and warm, with a nice light breeze. Only 2 folx working the rock pile, and no shad. One reported a few fish were caught earlier, around noon-ish, a bronze back, a schoolie, and a shad. The river was up 1' from yesterday, which floated off some leaf litter, and sticks, but nothing "big". The water was a little turbid, with very little current, and a surface temp just a hair over 60ºF around the rocks that had been baking in the sun all day.
The 2 who preceded me left as I put my arm in a cast, but I wasn't alone for long. Soon enough there were 6 of us settled into a casting cadence. By the time I left at 6:pm, it had remained an exercise in patience, unrewarded. No fish today. However, it was the first REALLY nice day to be out.
Terminal tackle: 3/4 oz drail, over 3'+ of 10' flouro, and the traffic light willow.
I'm not going to make it out this afternoon (Friday, 14 April). Some shopping needs attention, and then I'm going to see Chicago (Transit Authority) at Mohegan Sun. I hope they have kept the horns, and I'm curious to hear some of the newer material. Tight lines!
cat_in_the_hat
Member
Registered: 04/16/04
Posts: 2261
Loc: Tolland CT
It must have rained a lot up north, CT River back above 50,000 cu ft/sec, too much for me to take a trip to The Wall tomorrow. I will take things day by day watching river levels, may try Sunday up at the Chicopee River.
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
17.April: I arrived behind Bart's at 4:20 pm. Only 3 people were working the bank, Bill C being one of them. And there were scales and blood all around the rocks. Bill had a shad on the rocks slated for his supper, and while I was setting up he landed another. He had caught and released a few more earlier in the afternoon, prior to my arrival. Bill and one of the others left about 4:30, leaving a young guy fishing the hole just upstream from me. The water was about the same level as the other day, maybe down a hair, clear, almost no current, and the temp a touch over 60ºF. Once the other fella left, I was alone for maybe 10 minutes when Dylan showed up around 5-ish.
We put our arms in a cast, but there were no takers. Although Dylan thought he had a couple of bites, but nothing stuck. By 6:pm, I got a rumbly in my tumbly, plausibly due to the pan of lasagna that was sitting in the back of the car, and smelled so good driving to Bart's. So I packed it in and headed for home. No fish today. Dylan planned to stay until 7, and I'm sure he will give me an AAR tomorrow along the lines of "you should have stayed, they started hitting..."
Terminal tackle: 3/4 oz. drail over 3'10# flouro leader, lengthened to 4'. Willows: hammered silver in white w/4 red dots until I lost it, followed by a "Jamaican", and finally glittered silver with pink, and a black dot.
cat_in_the_hat
Member
Registered: 04/16/04
Posts: 2261
Loc: Tolland CT
The CT River flow has dropped from Saturday's 55,000 to a fish-able 37,000 cu ft/sec this morning. I would be down at The Wall except currently under the weather, hope to make it there before the end of the week, shad should be there now.
RebeccaD
Member
Registered: 02/28/22
Posts: 4
Loc: Chester, CT
Good Morning!
Wanted to give a late report from Monday 4/17/23. It was 58-60 degrees and raining a bit. I drove to Bart's on my lunch break and probably took about ten casts before heading back to work. Bill was there of course! Landed a nice bucky on my 5th cast. First shad of the 2023 season. No other shad had been caught that morning according to Bill - I'm not sure on the rest of the day.
Terminal tackle: 1 oz. drail weight, 4 foot 8# fluorocarbon leader, with a Steve's UV Leaves willow leaf in white, blue and purple with a black eye (called Icey C-19).
Seems like things have been getting better since Monday by the reports
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
Late report--Tuesday, 18.Apr: Arrived at Bart's ~4:15 pm. Only Bill C was working the rock pile, and he had a couple of shad on a stringer. He had been there since 10:am, the man puts in his time! The wind was cold, sweeping down from up-river, a bit uncomfortable. The water was down ~1' from Monday, clear, with little current, surface temp. a "RCH" (thin hair) over 60ºF. By the time Bill left ~6:45 pm, he had added another shad to his stringer, and Dylan had joined me taking casting practice.
And that's what it remained, practice. The bite, such as it was, ended with Bill; we got the stinky kitty. Terminal tackle: 3/4 oz drail over ~3' 10# flouro, and a hammered silver willow in glittered silver with pink, and a black dot, until I lost it, then hammered copper in green/orange w/black dot, and finally one of Bill's stoplight/traffic light patterns on hammered silver. No fish today.
And today, 19.Apr: Arrived at Bart's ~4:40 pm, Bill C and 5 others were working the rock pile. Bill had 3 shad on his stringer, but he had been there since noon. The water really had not receded much, if any, from yesterday. It was clear, the current was fairly mild, and the breeze blew down from up-river as it had yesterday, but it wasn't as cold. The surface temp had fallen a couple of degrees, to 58ºF.
By 5:30 there were 9 of us working the rock pile. Hunter fought a nice long, fat roe to the net after a hellacious tussle. She breached at least twice, and once netted proved to be over 21" long, and IIRC weighed 4.5#! She was released, by all accounts to go make more shad. Bill landed another, and had a couple more added to his take for a limit.
We were all packed up, and began to head for home by 6:30. And again, I got the
Terminal tackle: 3/4 oz drail, willows in hammered copper, green/orange with black dot, and Bill's stoplight in hammered silver.
Maybe tomorrow I can get a divorce from the stinky kitty. Tight lines!
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
20.Apr: Arrived at Bart's at 4:20. Bill C, Dylan, a kid, and another guy were working the rock pile, while a couple of other regulars worked the hole just upstream from the rocks. Bill had caught a nice bronze-back before I got there, and soon landed a middlin' buck as I commenced casting practice. Sissy joined us on the rocks, and within a few casts fought, and landed a nice fat Walleye, ~3.5#. The water was down almost another 1' from yesterday, mostly clear, and with a decent current. I didn't grab a surface temp, sorry I was slacking...
Long story short, no fish today. I've lost my mojo.
Terminal tackle: 3/4 oz drail, willows in hammered copper, green/orange with black dot, Bill's stoplight in hammered silver, and the French flag (red/white w/black dot, and blue), also hammered silver.
Things are picking up (except for me), get out there, and tight lines!
Bill C, Dylan, a kid, and another guy were working the rock pile, while a couple of other regulars worked the hole just upstream from the rocks. Bill had caught a nice bronze-back before I got there, and soon landed a middlin' buck as I commenced casting practice. Sissy joined us on the rocks, and within a few casts fought, and landed a nice fat Walleye, ~3.5#. The water was down almost another 1' from yesterday, mostly clear, and with a decent current. I didn't grab a surface temp, sorry I was slacking...
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