2003 The Farmington

April 2003 - The Farmington, CT

Tim Johnson's report:
On April second, Stan Gula, Gary M., Myron the riverman, and I decided to try our luck on the West Branch of the Farmington in Connecticut. Gary and I met Stan at his home and then headed out to meet the elusive riverman at the Classic & Custom Fly Shop in New Hartford. Once there, we met Myron (what a nice guy), all made a few purchases and then made plans to head out to slay the trout.

As we piled in the van, Myron unleashed some KILLER snacks of salmon and cream cheese on toasted raisin bagels (quote of the day: "Myron, are those freekin' raisins ?!?") with slivers of onions, which were surprisingly tasty. When we arrived riverside, there was a midge hatch in progress - about #22-24. We decided on some flies that would be the winners and headed in a few different directions ready to bring the fish to hand. After Stan, Gary and I had been skunked for a while in the 40 degree F. water, we decided to warm up a bit and watch Myron catch a fish.

Another 15-20 minutes passed and it became apparent this wasn't going to happen either, we packed into Stan's van and headed to greener pastures. There was some very good water surrounded by groves of man-eating thorned vines that tore me to shreds (well, I got one in the thumb and my gravel-guard got shredded.)

As the day started wearing thin, we finally gave up and decided to head to a local restaurant for the obligatory beer and burgers. As Myron was heading up from the river, he found the catch of the day; an Orvis fly box loaded with various dry flies. Gary and Stan also had fish pictures taken - they are priceless.

Myron was good enough to bring along a lot of pictures from The Congo and some of Latvia so we could see some of the spots he has lived. All in all, we found some nice water and know there will be fish there in the near future, but it's too bad we couldn't get Myron hooked up with one during his visit. Hopefully he'll join us just a little later in the season next time and we can make that fishing license worth the expense. At very least we were on the water fishing, and I had the opportunity to meet Gary and Myron to wet a line with some new friends and Stan, who is always a pleasure.

Photos:
Clicking on an image will open the full-sized photo.

A Stan, a van, a plan
Stan and Gary
Stan pointing to the fish
Myron "riverman" Buck

Myron waving a stick
Stan and his fish
Stan braving the current
Stan again

Myron's catch of the day
Myron, Tim, and Stan
Gary and Tim
Gary and his fish

Click here to see other ROFF photo essays.

A Stan, a van, a plan	Stan and Gary	Stan pointing to the fish	Myron "riverman" Buck
Myron waving a stick	Stan and his fish	Stan braving the current	Stan again
Myron's catch of the day	Myron, Tim, and Stan	Gary and Tim	Gary and his fish