FEBRUARY RAINBOW!

Pretty Winter Rainbows

           Wednesday was too good to pass up. It was February 15th, a few clouds and some sun and the thermometer outside my window read 48 degrees. I'd spent the morning working on taxes. I felt a headache coming on and just knew that the only cure was fishing.

            I finished lunch, loaded a rod, tackle bag and a pair of hip boots in the car and headed out. I forgot the creel and a net. Minutes later I was headed up Rte. 44 to my favorite trout spot, the Natchaug River.Half an hour later, I was tying a Super-Vibrax spinner to the end of my line as the waters of my favorite pool churned slowly by.

             I didn't even need the boots. The water is surprisingly low due to the lack of a snow run-off and more resembled levels found in mid to late June. Visibility was excellent. The water was as clear as a good gin or vodka and I flipped the spinner across and a little upstream, letting it sink a little before starting my retrieve.Nothing! I cast again and again, quartering upstream and down, slowing the retrieve then speeding it up. Inevitably, I let the lure sink too far and hung up. The four-pound test line snapped and another lure was donated to the river.

             I sifted through my lure box until my eyes settled on a little Countdown Rapala colored yellow and gold. I moved downstream towards the bottom of the pool and cast again. The lure was a visible just under the surface and half-way back, I saw movement behind it, I hesitated, twitched the rod tip, turned the handle again. The fish followed but wouldn't hit. Another cast to the same spot came up empty, so I moved a few feet and retrieved again.

           Another flash! I twitched the rod again, turned the handle, jiggled it once more and the fish grabbed it. The rod doubled. I gave up a little line as the drag kicked in but within a few minutes a nice 15-inch trout was flopping at the waters edge. Like I said, I forgot the net, but was able to drag the fish onto the bank, grab it and remove the hook.

           I only keep a few trout every year, but before I left the house, I had made up my mind to keep my catch this day. Now I didn't have a creel either. Back to the car where I found a plastic bag.

          The limit in this Trophy Trout Area is two fish per day. I decided to move down to the next pool and fished it for about 15 minutes. No hits, No errors. Back to my original spot, I decided to switch lures and tied on a Thomas Buoyant. It gives me a little more casting distance and rides the slower currents nicely. I tried my first spot again and nothing, so after a few minutes, I moved up to the top of the pool for a few final casts before packing it in.

          A few casts was sufficient. I'd tossed the lure maybe five or six times when I felt a solid hit and soon played a second trout to the bank, added it to the plastic bag and headed for home.

          The season closes on the Natchaug in two weeks. What the weather will do is anybody's guess. Another nice afternoon between now and then will likely have this old codger heading for the river. If not, I will certainly have enjoyed a couple of great trout dinners. Next time though, I'll remember the net and the creel.