Today presented my best chance at catching one of the broodstock Atlantic Salmon that are stocked annually in the Naugatuck River. According to the Connecticut Department of Fish and Game, the Naugatuck has recently been stocked with 48 broodstock atlantic salmon ( 24 in the Upper Section, 48 in the Lower Section) ranging from 6-20 pounds.
Despite my best efforts, I was not able to coax a fish to take my sparsely tied Mickey Finn. To make matters worse, it seems our first real Nor' Easter of the year is moving in fast. All that cold snow will inevitable draw the water temperature of the river down into the mid to low 30's. This may mean that the salmon season has ended just as quickly as it began. Unlike the steelhead that comfortably winter in New York's Salmon River, I am not sure how these broodstock salmon will fare in cold water. Will they completely shut down? Or will they be hungry without their daily supply of hatchery pellets? It's hard to tell. Not to mention there's only 48 of these fish in the whole river, maybe more if there are holdovers from previous years. Nevertheless, I'll probably try my luck with these fish a few more times before Christmas. The parking is plentiful, the river is beautiful, and the fish are in there (and big). No excuses!