5/27/25:  On Standby    

Lindsay and Brian's new baby Leif (pronounced "layf") arrived about 3 weeks ago but has had severe colic.  He is inconsolable for many hours of the day.  Lindsay's mom Laura was there to help on day one, staying for about 2 weeks.  Paula (Brian's mom) came out right after that.

I'm on standby, ready to take my turn as soon as B&L ask for me.  Taco is packed and ready to go.

I'm now mostly recovered from the 3 ribs I broke in April when I fell off a ladder while cutting down a tree branch.  To be fair, the branch swung down and clobbered the ladder, bending it and sweeping it out from under me.  Could have been a lot worse for me.

Early May was "unseasonably cold" and rainy for a couple of weeks but we finally had a nice day in the upper 70s.  I fished part of Salmon Brook where it runs straight into a large granite outcropping which causes a 90 degree turn and deep pool.  There were a number of rises when I approached the pool which promptly stopped as soon as I started casting.  Grrrr.  I ventured upstream for a bit and then returned to the pool where the rises had resumed.

I put on a tandem of Hendrickson and elk hair caddis and floated a few casts out on the calm surface, now glinting in the late afternoon sun.  Bam! 12 inch brown suddenly grabbed the Hendrickson and the fight was on.  Took a little while to land him but it was easy getting him off the barbless hook.  

Time to head out to the Still River in Riverton, CT.  As usual, nobody was there and yet just a 1/2 mile away where the Still flows into the Farmington River anglers abound.  Got a few tentative hits on the dry of a dry-dropper rig where a riffle flows into a long pool but no takers.  I headed downstream to an old colonial church that had really nice looking waters out behind it.  

The water was clear and flowed at a leisurely pace. Perfect for trout.  Now about an hour before dark, the magic time in these parts.  I thought of my brother Alan and wished he was with me so I could needle him about casting and such.  I know he would appreciate the setting and the comradery. Saw some rises as I plowed my way through fallen branches and tangled vines on the shore.  The water was a little deeper than I expected but the temptation of the pools and eddies gave me the courage to enter.  About 25 feet away I saw the same fish rise a couple of times.  Sulphurs were hatching everywhere, which I'd seen before on the Farmington.  So, I put on a size 16 sulphur imitation I designed and tied myself during the winter.  Bam! 15 inch brown chomped on it where he'd been rising and I was more than ready for him.  Good long fight with a lot of head shaking.  

Nearly dark now but a few more rises were trying their best to keep me riveted to river floor.  No hits on my sulphur so I headed back to shore knowing I still had a jungle of vines to fight through in order to get back to my truck.  Nice evening!