Never mind the dinkers, it’s steelhead time

Gary Dodson was catching steelhead last week. Will the streak continue?
Provided

Gary Dodson was catching steelhead last week. Will the streak continue?
Weather and work finally aligned and I spent three pleasant hours on Monday, April 14, wandering Macedonia State Park in Kent. I went everywhere except the big pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Just too obvious.
The stream was stocked for the first time April 10.
I caught four rainbows and tickled two or three others, using a Dragontail Mizuchi tenkara rod. It’s a zoom rod, meaning it can be deployed at 11 feet, nine and a half feet, and a bit under eight feet. I used the longest two settings and a nine-foot furled line with two or three feet of tippet.
That might seem on the long side for a mountain brook but until the streamside vegetation springs up there is plenty of room. You could easily use your industry standard nine foot five weight fly rod without spending precious time getting hung up in the bushes.
The trout would not come up for anything on the surface. I tried. Big and bushy, small and subtle, and points in between. Pure D bupkis.All the action was on weighted nymphs and a relatively tight line.
This time of year Macedonia is a good place to practice small stream techniques with willing test subjects. When the campground opens in early May all bets are off. I suspect a lot of those fish wind up in the campers’ frying pans. Which is fine.
In addition to catching rainbows my accomplishments were all negative, but in a good way. I didn’t fall down. I didn’t break a rod. My waders didn’t leak, and my shoulder feels okay.
I did stab myself in the thumb with a Chubby Chernobyl, but because I squashed the barb on the hook it didn’t stick and it didn’t bleed much. So that’s neutral.
I repeated the process the next afternoon on the Blackberry in East Canaan. It was a little on the high side so I stuck to the easy-in, easy-out spots in and around Beckley Furnace.
Whereas the water temperature at Macedonia was a brisk 46, the Blackberry clocked in at a much friendlier 52. Friendlier for trout, that is. For a person it was still plenty cold.
Results were similar, except I broke in a 10 foot five weight rod I picked up over the winter on a whim.
Again I caught nothing but rainbows, all in the 12-14 inch range, and all on nymphs fished deep on a tight line.
Then what had been a nice sunny day turned dark, chilly and snotty. I cheesed it and returned home to the couch and the ongoing study of martial arts movies from the 1970s and 1980s.
This activity was all filed under the heading “spring training.” The regular season starts the following week, when I am traveling to Pulaski, New York, for another whack at steelhead in the Salmon River.
My confederate Gary is there this week. He sent a photo of him cradling an immense fish. His accompanying text message made it sound ho-hum.
I guess we’ll see.
Judy Jacobs, right, took the advice of Dick Heinz to buy the French vanilla orange marmalade cake.
FALLS VILLAGE— The aroma of fresh baked goods and simmering chili filled the air around noon Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Falls Village Congregational Church’s annual “Apples and Things” event, stirring cravings among the hungry visitors.
A bowl of chili and a couple of miniature corn muffins took care of the hollow feeling.
There were children’s activities inside and outside, housewares and knickknacks for sale, and the above-mentioned baked goods.
Lots of baked goods.
Judy Jacobs, with some input from Dick Heinz, walked out with a French vanilla orange marmalade cake.
She said she was intrigued by this particular combination of flavors and ingredients.
Someone said in passing, “That’s 500 calories a slice.”
“At least,” laughed Jacobs.
KENT — The Connecticut Antique Machinery Association grounds were bustling on Saturday, Oct. 25, as trades professionals of every kind gathered for SPARK, a hands-on event designed to introduce young people to careers in the trades.
The event offered children and teens the chance to try their hand at masonry, carpentry, plumbing, electricity, tree work and even architecture.
Participants built stone walls, hammered nails and wired circuits, and — harnessed and roped — climbed trees to experience arboreal work.
The event was sponsored by TradesUp, a nonprofit offering free opportunities to “experience the joy of hands-on creating,” per its website.
GNH’s Cole Simonds caught an interception, seen above, and recovered a fumble.
WINSTED — The Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic co-op football team defeated Wolcott High School 41-16 on Saturday, Oct. 25.
The swarming Yellowjacket defense forced eight turnovers and held the Eagles to 182 total yards. GNH scored two defensive touchdowns and a safety in the game.
It was a classic fall football day. Gusts of wind ripped through the 52-degree air and sent leaves tumbling across the turf.
GNH scored first on a 45-yard touchdown run from RB Cole Linnen. Wolcott responded with a passing touchdown to Ryan Charbonneau and tacked on a two-point conversion to go up 8-7 in the second quarter.
With 3:34 minutes before halftime, Wes Allyn intercepted a pass and returned it 72-yards for a touchdown to reclaim the lead for GNH.
On the next drive, Cole Simonds recovered a botched snap on the Wolcott 18-yard line. RB Airyn Berube rushed in a touchdown to give GNH a 19-8 lead.
Another botched Wolcott snap on the next drive rolled out the back of the endzone for a safety, bringing the score to 21-8 and giving GNH the ball with 30 seconds until halftime. Allyn went on to catch a touchdown pass to put GNH up 28-8 at the break.

Wolcott started with the ball in the second half but struggled to establish momentum. The Eagles’ third quarter drives amounted to two interceptions, a lost fumble and a punt. GNH added two touchdowns to its lead.
Wolcott scored with 2:37 minutes left in the game with another two-point conversion. GNH’s Linnen returned the subsequent kickoff all the way to Wolcott’s 5-yard line. QB Trevor Campbell then took a knee run out the clock and win 41-16.
GNH’s offense was led by Linnen with 109 rushing yards and two TDs. Berube and Allyn each scored a touchdown.
On defense, Tyler Roberts recorded three interceptions and one touchdown for GNH. Allyn returned a pick-six and recovered one fumble. Cole Simonds had an interception and a fumble recovery. Owen Riemer caught an interception.
Wolcott’s special teams recovered one muffed kickoff and the defense intercepted one pass.
GNH’s record moved to 2-4 and Wolcott moved to 3-3.
The next game for GNH will be played at Housatonic Valley Regional High School Saturday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. against Watertown High School (1-5).

Kent Center School defeated the Region One middle school girls soccer team Monday, Oct. 20. Although showers paused for the game, cold winds relented. Kent scored 15 minutes into the first half and again moments later. The first half was about to end when Kent made it a 3-0 game. The Region One team, consisting of players from Lee H. Kellogg School, North Canaan Elementary School, Cornwall Consolidated School, Sharon Center School and Salisbury Central School, got on the board with only a minute left. The second half saw Kent score again for a 4-1 final score.

