Fat Rainbows!

I want to give a big thank you to Harold for stocking those strong rainbows in the Housy! What the heck were they feeding them at the hatchery, steroids? Thank god they don't test fish for performance enhancing drugs!

What a great day of fishing Flash and I had on Sunday, not a real lot of fish, but we did get a bunch of bows that just would not quit. You were absolutely right, Alain, gotta have 4x on (and two still broke me off). Those fish are like mini-steelhead! Lots of jumps and some long runs. I landed two that were eighteen inches and lost three that were bigger. One that I lost had to be well over twenty inches. I got a lot of good looks at him, I must have got him close enough so that the very tip of my fly line was at the tip of my rod 5 or 6 times, but I could not get him close enough to net. Every time I got him that close he would take off. I finally started to really pressure him, not wanting to overplay him, (not that I was babying him before, I had 4x on and he was on a size 8 stonefly) and the hook popped out. Another I lost jumped several times, and he too was at least 20 inches. The third I never saw, but it was heavy as hell and strong as hell, certainly bigger than 18"). None of the bows we caught was under 15 inches.

I also want to say hi to the fella Flash and I met where we parked in the afternoon, we later fished across the river from him, where we both were nailing some of those great bows. Very nice guy who frequents TPO (unfortunately I did not get his name). Hope to see you up there again!

Here is a picture of one of the fatter bows, which was actually one of the smaller ones (at least lengthwise)!;

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s...bow42708tp.jpg

Steve

They do fight hard. On opening day I hooked a bunch of those bows and was thinking to myself why bother going back to pulaski for fllbacks when the fight on the Housie with the bows is so good. Congrats on the nice bows

Those red sides are absolutely beautiful. And STRONG!!! Was using my 10ft 6wt TFO to break it in and what a way to do so! Rod handled them perfectly! These fish looked like big footballs. Bloated footballs ready to burst. A couple of the ones I got on Saturday jumped 3-4 feet out of the water. Awesome fish.

Totally awesome fish. My buddy John complained that he couldn't tell if the smaller stocked ones were even on the line after fighting some of these bows. REGO also commented that they were the best fighting stocked fish he has ever caught, and I would def agree. Cheers to Harold for the great gift to the river. I floated the TMA and to be honest, it sucked after a morning of catching the "Housy Steel".

Nice Fish

To all, well said! Thank you HRO for your efforts on behalf of the river. I also took part in the rainbow frenzy, the day after the CT Opening. This was the perfect opportunity to christen my new Z-Axis. Those fish really forced me to use the butt of the rod during the fight. The first one took me a bit by surprise, with that first huge aerial! Once I adjusted my drift, I hammered 'em pretty good, to the point in fact that my wrist is still sore! I stopped in to say hello to Torrey right afterwards and was in a total fished-out daze.

The biggest browns the state stocked in the Housy this Spring are maybe 12", the smallest 'Bow I caught so far was 15". They really do fight like a smaller version of a Steelhead, I might have to start nymphing them with 3x tippet.

Troutaholic and Flash,

Yeah that was me, billegan (Bill O'Connell) from Newtown. Like you guys, I had a blast, and I can't tell you how little I missed going to Pulaski last weekend -- a trip my wife would nearly have killed me over -- for those rainbows. You guys were great, and I'm trying to practice some of your nymphing techniques down here on the Pootatuck, Troutaholic. I haven't got it down just yet, but I'll keep trying! You were crushing 'em. Anyway, it was fun, and I am really appreciative to Harold and Torrey and the guys for the efforts they put in for those rainbows. I'll be there Friday and Sunday, water level and wife permitting, of course.
Bill O'C

thats a nice fish troutaholic looks like a football with a fish head ! must have given you a nice battle!

Hi Bill,

It was nice to meet you Sunday! Hey, you were slaying them too, as I recall! Maybe I will see you up there on Sunday!

I should take the opportunity to encourage everyone who fishes the Housatonic to donate or buy raffle tickets from Housatonic River Outfitters, the proceeds are what put those rainbows in the river (and some really nice browns and rainbows last year). HRO is making a real effort to make the Housy the kind of fishery it used to be and should be now.

Also, I would like to know how all of us can pitch in to convince the state of CT to give the Housy the respect it deserves and stock it like they do the Farmington and the Salmon rivers. Heck, they put much nicer fish in the small local streams I fish than they do in the Housy. There is no reason for the state to continue to neglect the Housy, rivers like the Mill River in Hamden get nicer fish and are quickly fished out, why not put nice fish into the Housy, where they have a real chance of surviving, especially in the TMA?

Anyway, Harold, Torrey, Aaron, how can we all help out in the effort to convince the state?

Thanks again Harold and HRO!

Steve