Wood River, Rhode Island

Labor Day, September 7, 2009
Hope(less) Valley, RI

With the canoe atop the Subaru, the bucket of blueberries and dead dragonfly still in the trunk and no legal fishing status in the state of Rhode Island, Caleb and I set out for the frosty Wood River.
We stopped for a sale session at URE and to get a RI 3-day fishing license. I found myself completely annoyed at the following: the lack of lighting in the dressing room, the fact that the dressing room was located out on the open floor and had only a little modesty flap for a door; and the annoying women that stood outside and tapped their feet waiting to use the dressing room. Our URE trip concluded with me making some regrettable decisions on some sale yoga clothes and Caleb's purchase of the three day RI license.
We drove a little further and headed over to the Wood River. We first investigated at the dam at Wyoming Pond. After reluctantly walking over the dam with quickly flowing waters, we made it to a spot where Caleb was sure he was seeing surface rises from Brookies. We went down a little further and then waded into the River. We went from rock to rock until we came to a large rock where Caleb caught many, many dace. Then he became overly excited as he though that he saw a Rainbow Trout. I didn't really believe him but then he pulled up the large beauty. He caught it using a bead-head caddis fly nymph on an ultra light 6 ft. casting rod. I was clearly impressed and happy that we got to photograph the little fellow.
For the next few minutes, I took some interesting pictures of dragonflies eating mayflies. One mayfly got away, but not before the greedy dragonfly had chewed off its left wing. The one-winged mayfly sulked away. Unfortunately there are no wing repair shops in this part of RI and the sweet mayfly knew its fate.
As I was doing this, I heard Caleb shouting like a girl. I quickly stumbled through the pebbly waters over to him and saw what all of the fuss was about: a gorgeous Atlantic Salmon! In all of the excitement of catching the fish and trying to get a photograph, the fish freed itself from the hook and gave us the old sliparoo back into the chilly water. I was devastated that I didn't get a photograph of it. It was just adorable.
We tried for a little while longer in this spot but soon left after the action slowed. We went back to the public access area at the dam at Wyoming Pond and attracted quite a crowd as Caleb caught largemouth after largemouth, using the dace we had caught earlier for bait. We also taught the onlookers about crayfish. (Or craw-dads as i like to say.)
We left there and went on a little further to a stretch of the river by a baseball field. Caleb attempted to catch anything here and even used a spinner. I attempted to stand on my head. Then we might have hit a skunk and had to deal with the smell the whole way over to the Barberville pool by the dam. We waded through and though it was very picturesque, we did not catch anything.
We then left to go home to make Mexican food. Homeade salsa made from vegetables in ye olde gargen.
Totals: 7-10 dace; 1 rainbow trout; 1 (possibly two) Atlantic Salmon; 1 crawdad; 4-5 largemouth bass; 1 pickerel sighting; 1 skunk run-in; 1 crawdad and an angry woman waiting for a dressing room at URE.

Greens Falls Adventure

Sunday, September 6, 2009

"It is every man's worst nightmare: that his wife will end up lazy, just sitting on a couch all day eating bonbons." - Caleb Rose, 2009

After a short trip to Quanaduck Cove in Stonington (to check for crabs and tropicals), Caleb, Chris, Vita and I trekked to up into North Stonington and Voluntown, headed for Greens Falls. I tried to take a little nappy nap on the way but Caleb was driving at mach 90 (as my sister would say) down the bumpy dirt path. This ride lasted for some time.
We finally made it to the pond and we put in the canoe. Chris at the head, Caleb in the back and Vivi and I sitting in the bottom, wet butts and all. Somehow, the presence of a bag of bonbons made the wet butt not so bad.
One of the reasons we wanted to go to Greens Falls was because the year before, we had picked a substantial crop of wild blueberries and huckleberries there. Afterwards we made totally delicious tarts with shortbread crusts and I gained probably 5 lbs. (At least it wasn't from bonbons.) On the way out to the blueberries, I declared that I had read in the paper that this year was a "bumper crop" of blueberries for CT. We got to the blueberry bank and found only a few. Caleb did see a snake, probably a garter snake. We got back in and paddled for an island in the middle, that will hereafter be known as Blueberry Island or Bayberry Island. We found lots of both on this tiny island and Vita attempted to rescue a dragonfly which did not quite make it. Caleb caught a few small pumpkinseeds here. One died after eating a catapillar.
On the way back from the island, we had a short but productive fishing session. Caleb and Chris each caught a couple of bass and so Caleb declared a fishing tournament, even though he was technically in the hole -15 after catching the three pumpkinseed. There were lovely little flowers blooming all over the surface and while Vita and I enjoyed picking them and "squishing the cells," we realized that they must have been loved by the fish, as Cay and Chris caught several "hogs" in this area. Mixture of largemouth and smallmouth bass. The largest largemouth that Caleb caught vomited up a pumpkinseed. It was awesome.
We then headed back to the shore where there was some confusion over porta potties but in the end, we all made it out o.k.
Totals: 5 Largemouth bass; 3 pumpkinseed; 1 catapillar; 1 dead dragonfly; bucket of blue/huckleberries; a hand full of bayberries and one porta-pottie debacle.

Seth Williams Brook, Ledyard, CT

Monday August 31, 2009

After work, Caleb and I rode over to the Seth Williams Brook (also known as just the Seth) and fished off of Shewville Road, down Town Farm Road. There we found a little pool under the bridge. It looked promising but we had no luck. When we first arrived, we saw a beautiful Great Blue Heron which surprised us when it flew out from below the bridge, landing on a log a little further down. I tried to snap a picture but we weren't quick enough. There were lots of mayflies and caddis flies. Caleb tried fishing for a little while using a caddis fly nymph; thought he saw one fish, and had several nibbles as the fly drifted through the deepest sections of the pool. We caught nothing and decided to ride up the road to a "pond" that connected to another part of the stream. The pond was man made and had some real spectacular fountains with lights in it. I doubt that Charles Stillman ever saw this ghastly sight.
We made friends with a few ducks in this pond. Caleb thought that these ducks had business with me as they quickly quacked their way up to me, like I was an old friend. I re-assured these ducks that I had never met them, and we went on our way. Caleb tried to convince me to trespass on private property to get to the good part of the stream, but I refused as there was a woman in plain sight. So, we walked over to the legit path and discovered it was so overgrown, we could not have made it through without a machette. I now was desperate as Caleb took off without me and I was forced to sneak onto the private property, passing a bunnie on the way.

We finally made it to the other side and into the woods to the lovely stream. While we did not catch anything, we did find a beautiful golden carpet of chantrelles, which it turns out after eating them might not have been chantrelles after all.


0 Fish; 0 Chrantelles; 1 bunnie; 2 ducks; 1 blue heron; and a hideous fountain.