Category: Uncategorized

Hello Everyone,

One of the Goals of HFFA is to have a functioning and informative Website in 2021. I hope that everyone is doing well inspite of the pandemic. Hopefully, the vaccine will soon be available to enough of the population so that the country and the world could return to a semblance of a normal situation.

HFFA used our Face Book page to keep our members and the public informed of what we are doing. From September until December the Club met at sites along the Housatonic River. September, October and November those meetings were in Cornwall CT (actually Sharon CT). In November and December, we met on the River at Short Beach in Stratford and tried our luck fishing Salt Water.

As the world changed, HFFA changed, in January we had our first ZOOM meeting. We will again have ZOOM meetings in February and March, with April tentatively scheduled to be another meeting on the River.

Until this site gets fully up and running, that I hope will be soon, please visit our Facebook page. If you need to contact us please email the Club at: [email protected]

Regards,

Art Giulietti

President

Housatonic Fly Fisherman’s Association

Annual Dinner Meeting

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Il Monticello, Meriden, CT

1 – 4 pm

Appetizers, Buffet Dinner, Soda, Coffee & Dessert

Cash Bar

$45/person in advance

$50/person at the door

Presentation by noted CT Guide & Author, Ron Merly

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

The monthly meeting of the Housatonic Fly Fishermen’s Association will be held on Thursday, March 7 at 7:00PM at the St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 65 North Main Street, Wallingford, CT. The speaker for our March 7 meeting is Ben Bilello.  He is an accomplished fly tier who specializes in Salmon flies & how to fish them. His focus is the unique Salmon fishery here in Connecticut where he also offers Connecticut Salmon Guide services. His presentation is Traditional Techniques for Broodstock Atlantic Salmon.

The HFFA is dedicated to preserving and protecting the Housatonic River as well as furthering the sport of fly fishing.  Monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month from September through June. Meetings include featured speakers on various fly fishing subjects, fresh- and saltwater fly tying demonstrations, as well as door prizes. The meeting is free and open to the public. Membership applications will be available for those that want to join the HFFA.  Refreshments will be served.

Submitted on behalf of the HFFA by:

Sam D’Ambruoso

Attention: Editors:

Please use the picture of the speaker in your release. Thanks.

HFFA FLY FISHING & TYING EXPO

MARCH 2, 2019      TIME 10:00 AM TO 3:00 PM

****** $2 Donation******

Where:  St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

65 N. Main St.,  WALLINGFORD, CT.

(Go to HFFA Facebook Page for more info)

FLY FISHING & TYING ACTIVITIES

Salt Water Tying Class 

You will learn to tie two flies. 9:00 a.m. start time.  Cost is $1.  All materials and hooks provided.  Seating is limited contact Paul at the # or email below.

Presentations

“How to tie your own furled leaders.”  By Mike Shannon 11:00 a.m.

 “Fly Fishing the Cape – revised for 2019”  By Paul Dinice 12:15 p.m.

HFFA Members will be on-hand to tie many of the best patterns used on the upper and lower Hous.  Your welcome to bring your vice and tie with them.

TYING & CASTING DEMONSTRATIONS

CASTING DEMONSTRATIONS & LESSONS! (weather permitting)

FLY TYING DEMONSTRATIONS !

 TYING MATERIALS PROVIDED FREE !

TIE YOUR FIRST SALT OR FRESH WATER FLY !

TIE THAT FLY PATTERN YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO LEARN !

SOME OF THE BEST TYERS AND FISHERMEN IN THE STATE WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE TO ANSWER ANY ?’S YOU MIGHT HAVE !

For more info call Paul Dinice at 203 305-3850 or email at [email protected] .

VENDORS, GUIDES & HOUSATONIC FLY FISHING EXPERTS   There will be a lot of unique materials offered by vendors at the Expo that aren’t normally available anywhere else !

-Including Dan Trela/Trela Rods & Nick Masi/Nick Masi Enterprises.

Upper Housatonic – The Hous is flowing a little over 200 c.f.s at the moment.   That could change drastically today or tomorrow depending upon how much rain upper CT & MA will be getting with predicted thunderstorms.  With higher temps & humidity also predicted, the water temperature will rise to levels that it’s best not to fish for trout.  The good news is it’s prime ‘smally’ time on the river.  In the early morning hours & at dusk, try using surface flies like gurglers and deer hair patterns.  If you have to fish during high sun hours, use some gaudy & obnoxious streamers (I love using some with rubber legs), brightly colored deer hair patterns, as well as crayfish patterns (brown wooly buggers will work).  This weekend I received reports that the small mouth fishing was excellent.  If you do happen to hook a trout I recommend not taking it out of the water.  You should be using a much heavier leader/tippet for bass, so horse those trout in a.s.a.p.  Remember, it’s that time of the year that you must stay away from the thermal refuges.  With water levels down it’s a great time to explore and investigate trout holes that you will be fishing in the fall.  It’s also a great time to take kids and ‘newbees’ fly fishing with small mouth readily taking offerings.  Don’t forget to pack up plenty of water on these warm & humid days.

Farmington River – Perhaps more than any other time of year, right now there is the most insect activity on Farmy.  Sulfurs, olives, caddis, terrestrials, and iso’s are all over the river.  It’s a trout ‘all you can eat buffet’.  One of my favorite bugs to look for is the isonychia.  It’s a bigger fly and the fish love to gobble them, especially in the faster water.  If I’m nymphing I usually go to smaller sized patterns at this time of year.  You can’t beat small pheasant tail type patterns.  If you have never fished a ‘perdigon nymph’, do so!  It’s become one of my ‘go to’ patterns.  Simple to tie and it gets down fast.  If it rains today or tomorrow, the ‘next’ day I’ve found that between now and September, there is a good possibility of an ant hatch.  In recent years, one of the flies I’ve started to fish on the Farmington are big oversized foam flies like the ‘Moodah Poodah’.   Sometimes fish just can’t resist such a big meal.  A high floating pattern like that is also great to use with a small nymph dropper. 

Lower Housatonic – Unfortunately the ‘doldrums of summer’ sums up how the lower Hous is fishing.  You can still catch fish at the mouth but it’s a must that you fish between dusk to dawn.  If you have a boat, travel a little outside the mouth to the rip on the Stratford side or the back side of Charles Island.  Some boaters fishing chunks have done well in those two places.  Sometimes the blue fish turn on this time of year, but nothing to report on that other than a few spotty hook ups.