Variety is the Spice of Life

[bogtrotter]

So today I broke with my usual Hoosic River milk run and fished the West Housatonic in Pittsfield for a couple hours this late AM/early PM.

Cloudy, intermittent sprinkles, temp around 70 degrees.

I started by the Greendale Avenue bridge and waded down toward the boat store. Along the way, I caught a 7" perch, a few dace and (toward the end) a 9" brown.

Then I got out, walked back to my car and drove down to Clapp Park.

There was no action under the trestle so I waded upstream a little ways and landed an 11" rainbow followed by a 14" rainbow (a little further upstream near the start of the yard with the line of tall pine trees on the north bank).

[westernmas]

Productive day

[lowaccord66]

Way to go Jim.  I had a 5lb atlantic yesterday boatside and lost it when it ran under the boat cutting the leader...that was my sunday excitement.

[bogtrotter]

Way to go Jim.  I had a 5lb atlantic yesterday boatside and lost it when it ran under the boat cutting the leader...that was my sunday excitement.

Holy Toledo, that's a big one!  I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like.

[lowaccord66]

Holy Toledo, that's a big one!  I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like.

Like a fat rainbow that is 2x normal strength and jumps more.  Totally my fault...was going for a hand bomb rather than a net. 

[zwiggles]

Way to go Jim.  I had a 5lb atlantic yesterday boatside and lost it when it ran under the boat cutting the leader...that was my sunday excitement.

A real Atlantic or a land lock? Either way a nice fish. The big ones always know how to lose the net it seems. With me they usually jump out of the water, and in one motion spit the hook and flip me the bird. It’s truly astonishing when you consider they do not have any fingers.....

[zwiggles]

So today I broke with my usual Hoosic River milk run and fished the West Housatonic in Pittsfield for a couple hours this late AM/early PM.

Cloudy, intermittent sprinkles, temp around 70 degrees.

I started by the Greendale Avenue bridge and waded down toward the boat store. Along the way, I caught a 7" perch, a few dace and (toward the end) a 9" brown.

Then I got out, walked back to my car and drove down to Clapp Park.

There was no action under the trestle so I waded upstream a little ways and landed an 11" rainbow followed by a 14" rainbow (a little further upstream near the start of the yard with the line of tall pine trees on the north bank).

Sounds like a great trip. What do you like to catch out of the three main trout species we have?

[lowaccord66]

Landlocked. 

[bogtrotter]

Sounds like a great trip. What do you like to catch out of the three main trout species we have?

Pound for pound, I'd say brookies have the greatest ferocity - -  but, by and large, most of them just don't have the bulk of most browns or rainbows.

So, I'd have to say "big brookies" (admittedly a small minority) are my favorite.

If I could expand the categories a bit, I would definitely pick tiger trout - - I've only caught three of them, but they give one helluva fight - - the feistiness of a brookie with the heft of a brown.

[lowaccord66]

Im with you Jim.  Tigers are best of both worlds. 

[SHaRPS]

Catching my first one last week I would agree that the Tiger fought better than many other species of trout, even ones larger than that 17"er.

[zwiggles]

Yeah, NH F&G has some true trophy tiger trout at one of their hatcheries. They are “show” fish, and one of them is easily in the double digits. Last year my friend was showing me how the caudal peduncal on those fish is easily twice that of a brown trout. With that essentially being the “motor” of the fish they are prolific fighters.

Too bad we don’t see any stocked in NH anymore.

[lowaccord66]

Why arent they stocking?  Cost?

[SHaRPS]

My guess would be cross breading with native species. Or at least, that is why they stopped stocking certain areas in RI.

[zwiggles]

No idea. Never got a straight answer. I’d suspect people are just lazy to be honest. They used to stock a few lakes, but that changed recently.

I now tend not to ask too many questions about NH stocking. I usually just end up upset off.