night shift

**paul young** · 07-29-2008, 10:45 AM

i have fished the Farmington at night several times this year and have yet to have what i would call a good trip. it has been a few fish each time out, with multiple stops at places i have done well at, in the past.

has anyone else been out? if so, how have you been doing?-paul

**paul young** · 07-30-2008, 02:46 PM

ok, then, i guess i'm the only idiot losing sleep around here...-paul

**mcarl** · 07-31-2008, 10:01 PM

I have been out during the night and have had good success each time. I've been fishing the Farmington at night for years and haven't seen much of a decline in productivity as has been reported during the day.

Night fishing requires a lot of planning-weather, moon, temps and water levels are just some of the things you have to consider.

The measure of success is dependent on what you consider it to be. Do you want to catch a lot of trout or more than normal or just a few of the larger ones. When I go out I'm targeting the larger fish and use patterns that are very big for that river ( 1,1/0,2/0 ). But. your only going to catch a few big fish. Conversely, to be successful at night sometimes requires you be go very small-tiny in fact. Remember b/c of the warm/humid days much of the insect activity is pushed back later.

One of the problems this year in regards to night activities has been the constantly changing water levels from daily/weekly T-storms. I think that is why the Farm is warmer than ususal. Usually the temps drop during the summer b/c the only major flow is the dam.

To all the night guys out there please don't give out too much info in regards to how good the night time is or sizes/numbers of fish. It would be disasterous to have the " 82 Airbourne " start to fish at night. I like my solitude and I think the fish do too. I don't fish the same places all the time or more than once in a week.

**paul young** · 08-01-2008, 07:21 AM

thanks for the responses.

pm's to Kierran and Mcarl....-paul

alanb_ct · 08-01-2008, 08:44 AM

mcarl: please check the temperature near the dam next time out. I think it is also warmer than usual. If I am wrong, please don't hesitate to let us know. Thanks!

**nightfisher** · 08-02-2008, 10:36 AM

Ahh night fishing,anytime after midmay through October,whether after average fish feeding at night to avoid angling pressure,or hunting out the largest fish in a system,can be very rewarding.That being said,solitude at night is also very special to us freaks who fish at night.Hopefully with todays demands or family and careers a night foray loses its appeal.Also the bears and bats come out at night to play with the nocturnal copperheads,and you have not lived until a foul hooked beaver breaks your new 5wt z-axis.Remember rattle snakes buzz a warning copperheads do not so when you hear nothing...........

**mcarl** · 08-02-2008, 06:50 PM

I hate when the beavers come up next to you and smack the water with their tails at 3 am. I know they're there and I know that they might do it if they're agitated but it still scars the hell out of you for a moment.

Haven't run across any bears yet but I imagine it will only be a matter of time.

** Some logging is going on in Peoples Forest and on top of Wallens Hill in Barkhamsted so the bears in that area are very active even in the middle o the day so anyone fishing in Pleasant Valley area might see some come down the ridge facing West River Rd. They have been passing through my parents yard every day. They are not aggressive but not afraid of people either. The DEP is currently trying to tag and relocate some of them. They said to my folks that there are also a fair amount of cubs around so there is bound to be more encounters.