In search of ambitious fish

In search of ambitious fish

A recently-stocked brook trout was willing to play on the Blackberry River.

Patrick L. Sullivan

SOMEWHERE IN NORTHWEST CONNECTICUT — It took a while but I’m finally on the board for 2025.

The state stocked the Blackberry onMarch 13. The stream is typically stocked in the spring at least once more, and usually twice.

Statewide all trout fishing is catch and release until “Opening Day,” which is Saturday, April 12.

This is the most ignored law since Prohibition. On Saturday, March 15, I saw anglers taking fish. They weren’t trying to be sneaky, either. Maybe they just don’t realize the regs have changed. And maybe announcing on social media where stocking has occurred isn’t such a great idea.

I feel bad for these fish, frankly. Imagine being a hatchery trout and enjoying ideal temps in your tank, which is the only home you’ve ever known.

Then suddenly you’re shoved in a much smaller, much darker tank and bounced around, only to be dumped into a stream or lake that’s also dark and weird and has things living in it and is about 20 degrees colder than the home you’ll never see again.

And then you bite something that looks edible and next thing you know you’re in the frying pan.

It’s a depressing prospect for an ambitious fish.

On that SaturdayI had time before and after the 2 p.m. performance of “Urinetown” at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. So with the Blackberry mobbed I tippy-toed up a little blue line and got the first fish of 2025, a ferocious eight inch wild brook trout that came up for a size 10 Stimulator after ignoring half a dozen nymphs that would have been much less work.

Then I had to beat it down to Housy for the show.

Afterwards at 5 p.m. or so, the weather had given up even pretending to be pleasant. The Blackberry was deserted.

So I suited up again and found a pod of recent stockers willing to play. I tested out an experiment, a Chinese-made bamboo rod, seven feet long for a No. 4 line.

I wasn’t expecting much, and that’s what I got. It’s a serviceable rod, but nothing to get worked up about. At about $160 shipped from China it’s a way for the budget-conscious angler to get into bamboo, but I advise saving your money and buying something better from somebody stateside.

I dutifully took photos of fish in hand and in the net,but let us now reflect on just how useless and unexciting they are.

Here’s how I imagine a dialogue between me and the reader.

Q: How big is the net?

A: Not very.

Q: Where is this?

A: Could be anywhere, and you think I’m gonna tell you?

Q: Did you release the fish unharmed?

A: No, I stuck it in my pants.

You see? Unedifying, at best.

On the medical front, I am pleased to report that I did just about everything I usually do when fishing that involves my right shoulder and rotator cuff, with minimal pain and agony. So the physical therapy and long layoff worked.

Now about my right knee…

Latest News

Classifieds - February 26, 2026

Classifieds - February 26, 2026

Help Wanted

PART-TIME CARE-GIVER NEEDED: possibly LIVE-IN. Bright private STUDIO on 10 acres. Queen Bed, En-Suite Bathroom, Kitchenette & Garage. SHARON 407-620-7777.

The Salisbury Association’s Land Trust seeks part-time Land Steward: Responsibilities include monitoring easements and preserves, filing monitoring reports, documenting and reporting violations or encroachments, and recruiting and supervising volunteer monitors. The Steward will also execute preserve and trail stewardship according to Management Plans and manage contractor activity. Up to 10 hours per week, compensation commensurate with experience. Further details and requirements are available on request. To apply: Send cover letter, resume, and references to info@salisburyassociation.org. The Salisbury Association is an equal opportunity employer.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

To save birds, plant for caterpillars

Fireweed attracts the fabulous hummingbird sphinx moth.

Photo provided by Wild Seed Project

You must figure that, as rough as the cold weather has been for us, it’s worse for wildlife. Here, by the banks of the Housatonic, flocks of dark-eyed juncos, song sparrows, tufted titmice and black-capped chickadees have taken up residence in the boxwood — presumably because of its proximity to the breakfast bar. I no longer have a bird feeder after bears destroyed two versions and simply throw chili-flavored birdseed onto the snow twice a day. The tiny creatures from the boxwood are joined by blue jays, cardinals and a solitary flicker.

These birds will soon enough be nesting, and their babies will require a nonstop diet of caterpillars. This source of soft-bodied protein makes up more than 90 percent of native bird chicks’ diets, with each clutch consuming between 6,000 and 9,000 caterpillars before they fledge. That means we need a lot of caterpillars if we want our bird population to survive.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stephanie Haboush Plunkett and the home for American illustration

Stephanie Haboush Plunkett

L. Tomaino
"The field of illustration is very close to my heart"
— Stephanie Plunkett

For more than three decades, Stephanie Haboush Plunkett has worked to elevate illustration as a serious art form. As chief curator and Rockwell Center director at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, she has helped bring national and international attention to an art form long dismissed as merely commercial.

Her commitment to illustration is deeply personal. Plunkett grew up watching her father, Joseph Haboush, an illustrator and graphic designer, work late into the night in his home studio creating art and hand-lettered logos for package designs, toys and licensed-character products for the Walt Disney Co. and other clients.

Keep ReadingShow less
Free film screening and talk on end-of-life care
‘Come See Me in the Good Light’ is nominated for best documentary at this year’s Academy Awards.
Provided

Craig Davis, co-founder and board chair of East Mountain House, an end-of-life care facility in Lakeville, will sponsor a March 5 screening of the documentary “Come See Me in the Good Light” at The Moviehouse in Millerton, followed by a discussion with attendees.

The film, which is nominated for best documentary at this year’s Academy Awards, follows the poet Andrea Gibson and their partner Megan Falley as they are suddenly and unimaginably forced to navigate a terminal illness. The free screening invites audiences to gather not just for a film but for reflection on mortality, healing, connection and the ways communities support one another through difficult life transitions.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.