Booooo! Hisssss!

That would not surprise me. On several occasions, folks have released large pet alligators into the river because they got to big to be kept in a bathtub in somebody's basement. So, rather than kill the animal, they release it into the Connecticut river so that it can survive if it is capable. They usually freeze to death in the fall before the river freezes over. I guess that some people do that so that they can tell themselves that they did not kill the creature - mother nature did so it is all (technically) natural.

Have fun my friend.

It's good to be back.

Hi Folks. Harry here. It's been a strange year for the Brattleboro stretch of the Connecticut river so far so grab a cup of coffee or whatever beverage you care to enjoy and listen to this fish story. The river temperatures for May and June were a lot warmer than they usually are for New Hampshire, and towards the end of June the river temperatures were approaching 80 degrees or higher, with little to no rain. Then, it seems that it rained just about every other day in July, and included the remnants of a hurricane. It was the wettest month on record for New Hampshire, and I watched the river temperature make step changes downward from 80 to 70 to 60 degrees, and the river turbidity went from around 1 up to around 400 at 1 point. I thin 400 is approaching chocolate milk. So far this month, the river has finally cleared back up and the temperature is back up in the mid 70's. I went out fishing a couple of times in May and June and caught a few fish but it was nothing to be proud of so I haven't posted anything to you guys so far. And as I was sitting here writing you this post, I kinda realized that I kinda got a weird feeling while fishing on the river in May and June; kinda like it wasn't happy. Yeah, I know, this may sound like a bunch of Woogida-Woogida, Zenish, and all that mystic stuff, but in looking back at it, it just wasn't like it was in past years for me anyway. Matter of fact, if you get down to it, the past year and a half has not been normal. So anyway, I finally got caught up with all the "Honey Do's" around here so I had the chance to go fishing with a clear conscience yesterday.

Not to be overly mouthy, but please indulge me just for another moment and tell you a little more history about me and fishing. My story so far involves me finding a USGS site about two years ago. This site monitors the Connecticut river water conditions, and is located in Northfield Mass, which is just downstream of the stretch of the river that I fish on, and provides me with the water conditions that I mentioned above. Also, somewhere along the way this year, I found an on-line Bassmaster fish activity estimator which (I think) is based on the solar and moon phases, and basically comes up with a fishing estimation from "Don't even try" to "They'll jump into your boat just for the ride today". Yes, this is even more Woogida-Woogida stuff and I tried it out, tested it, and came to the conclusion that it's a bunch of crap, and the only good thing about it was that it was free.

So, yesterday, even though the Bassmaster fishing estimator said I was wasting my time, I finally got back out on the Connecticut and it was beautiful, as smooth as glass. I started fishing and was getting all sorts of weak strikes, mostly Pickerell - it was kinda like they didn't know how to take the lure (a yellow and black H&H). Then I caught a Yellow Perch, a good size Largemouth Bass - maybe 2 pounds, and a collection of Bream (Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, and Chinquapin). I also caught a lot of other fish yesterday and threw most of them back. I did keep the larger fish, and the few beam an perch that swallowed my hook for Marilyn and I to eat. So, I came back home a happy guy, and just wanted to share this with you folks that kinda understand the serenity of fishing.

Peace my friends

Harry

Hey Ron. Harry here. Do you have a boat, or will you be doing the bank fishing thing? I fish on the Connecticut river in the stretch from Hinsdale up to Brattleboro and the bream and Bass fishing is very nice so I assume that it would be just as nice nice in the upper river areas as well. But, I use a fishing boat. I have no information as for lake or pond fishing in that area. Good luck.

Harry

I stand corrected. Thank you. Maybe you should come up and do some fishing up here. Compared to the water conditions I had growing up in Louisiana, the conditions up here are as close to heaven as I'm probably gonna get.

Hey Kids, Harry here. A friend of mine is a member of the Pointers Rod and Gun club in Merrimack NH. Last night he told me that Pointers is having their annual fishing derby this coming Saturday June 10th on the stretch of the Merrimack river starting in Bow NH and extending north until the boat doesn't float anymore. People are launching from the Bow NH boat launch, which if off of I-93 and just south of Concord NH. Price is $10 buck for Pointers members, $20 bucks for non members (that be me), Starting time is 8:00. They do have cash prizes. Catch details and other specific information can be obtained by contacting Pointers, or just show up at the boat launch and ask for Debby. This is a local derby, but I'm gonna try it; it may be a fun day on a river I've never fished yet. If you'd like to join in, all are welcome.

Harry

The valley on either side of the river basically turns it into one big wind tunnel so you really don't get any cross winds. It either constantly blows up or down river. I've been out there and it got you the point of white caps. That was kinda scary.

The valley on either side of the river basically turns it into one big wind tunnel so you really don't get any cross winds. It either constantly blows up or down river. I've been out there and it got you the point of white caps. That was kinda scary.

Hey Fred. I went out fishing on the river last year in early May. It was windy as hell and was blowing the boat down river almost at trolling speed - the trolling motor had to be on high speed just to hold the boat in position. It was just a fight that I didn't want to be in. But, I got home and was talking to the guy across the street and he asked me if I had a drift anchor (which I have never heard of so I didn't have one) but I looked it up at Bass Pro and basically it's a hydraulic parachute that you tie a rope to and throw it out and as the wind pushes you down stream, this thing opens up and acts like a break to slow the boat down - kinda like an open umbrella in the wind in reverse. They got different sizes depending on the size of your boat so my lady got me one just because she thought I deserved it. It may be a gimmick (like most of the fishing and golf stuff is not a gimmick) but it folds up nicely and fits in it's zippered bag and hides in a small space so you really don't notice it until you need it. Check it out dude!

Only until it gets to the point when I'm expected to put some money on the table.

You know. Back when I was a kid and we wanted to go catfishing in the lake, we went to the grocery store and got a box of frozen shrimp and used them for bait. They stayed on the hook and caught a bunch of catfish so I think the catfish really didn't seem to care too much.

In reality, everything works. However, some things work a whole lot better than other things.

Yeah, I'm an old bastid!