Category: News

Guide and Word Record holder Ian Scott Devlin will share his extensive knowledge of Fly Fishing Coastal Connecticut and Rhode Island, with bonus tips on Casting With Ian, on Tuesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at Bridgeport Elks Lodge No. 36, 735 Old Town Road, Bridgeport.

Nutmeg TU will serve pizza at the meeting, which is open to the public free of charge. Drinks can be purchased from the Elks. Click here to register.

With more than 30 years of guiding experience, Ian is a reference for R&D for lure, flyline, and boat designs. He has been featured in many magazine articles and books.

Over the past 25 years, Ian has worked at The Complete Angler, The Bait Shop, Boca Grande Outfitter, Fishermans World and Patagonia of Westport.

Let’s learn from Ian to improve your success with blues, stripers and ablies on the Sound.

And who knows, maybe you will also win a door prize too.

Explore the beautiful Mill River located in the heart of Hamden on Sunday, April 16, at 10 a.m.

The Mill (not to be confused with the Mill River in Easton and Fairfield) is a great streamer/nymph and spin fishing river. A 3/4/5 weight rod or light spinning gear are all you need.

Click here to register before the event.

Join your hosts, Jack Kovach and Rich Rosen as we explore this beautiful fishery.

We will meet at the uppermost section of the Sleeping Giant State Park parking lot. You will have a choice of fishing upstream in the park itself or downstream in the Open area.

Bring a lunch, your gear and register and we will see you on the 16th.

On a chilly March Sunday, volunteers from Nutmeg TU, supported by youths from Aspectuck Land Trust, met along Congress Street in Fairfield to clean along the Mill River.

A dent was made, but a lot of litter remains should anyone want to pitch in.

Get ready for early spring fishing with Ron Merly at a talk, open to spin and fly fishermen, on Tuesday, March 21, at 7 p.m. at Bridgeport Lodge 36 of the Elks Club, 735 Old Town Road, Bridgeport.

Pizza will be provided. Click here to register if you plan to attend.

The owner of Ron Merly’s Fishing Guide Service has more than 45 years of experience fishing the trout streams of Connecticut. He has been fly fishing since age 5, possesses excellent teaching skills and is an award winning outdoor writer whose credits include On The Water, Eastern Fly fishing, Trout and American Angler magazines.

He is the author of The Fly Fisher’s Guide to Connecticut, which gives tips on how to find water to fish.

The meeting is open to the public free of charge.

Come fish the Mianus River TMA with Nutmeg Trout Unlimited on Saturday, March 18, at 10 a.m.

The river has been stocked and is known for its early black and brown stonefly hatches.  The Mianus is a beautiful, intimate suburban stream and March is a great time to fish it. Click here to register to attend.

Meet at the red barn in Mianus River State Park.  100 Merriebrook Lane, Stamford, CT 06902.

Directions:  To get to the Mianus River Park, take Exit 33 off the Merritt Parkway South (Den Road). Take a left onto Bangall Road, and another left onto Westover Road, crossing over the parkway. Follow Westover Road for a decent distance until you see a sharp curve warning sign with flashing yellow lights. Merriebrook Lane is on the right just past the sign.

Take Merriebrook Lane down to the red barn (on right), where you can find parking in that lot, or closer to the bridge.  Across the bridge the road leads to private property, so no parking is allowed there.

Parking is limited so please consider carpooling.

Regulations:  Must have current CT Fishing License with Trout/Salmon Stamp.

There are well defined trails along both sides of the river, though the western trail offers the easiest access the full length of the TMA.

The Trout Management Area is a limited harvest section of the stream.  From September 1 through the third Saturday in April , fishing is restricted to catch and release using single hook artificial lures and flys.

General Information:  For fly fisherman, a fairly short rod, 8-foot in 3- or 4-weight is ideal.  My standard 8.5 foot 5-weight trout rod works just fine.  River is smallish so long casts are generally not needed.  Dark patterns tend to work best this time of year; good to have some small stonefly imitations.

For spin fisherman, an ultra-light or light action rod in the 4- or 6-pound class will work fine.  In addition to the usual trout lures (single hook!!), you can try drifting a small black stonefly nymph with a split shot about a foot above it for weight.

Water (and possibly weather) will be cold so please dress accordingly.

Event is open to the public.  You do not have to be a Trout Unlimited member to participate.

Learn about “The Mill River as a Wild Trout Fishery” on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.

Click here to register. Pizza will be available, and drinks can be purchased.

The meeting, open to the general public free of charge, will be held at Nutmeg TU’s new venue, the Elks Lodge 36, 735 Old Town Road in Bridgeport. Click here for directions.

Presenter Mike Piquette is an avid fly fisherman who has fished the Mill River for 25 years.  He assisted DEEP in their yearly sampling of the Mill for several years.  Mike is an analytical chemist at Solvay’s R&D site in Stamford. Piquette recently led a wild trout redds survey on the Mill.