DEEP: Water Levels Getting Better for Memorial Day Weekend

Water levels are slowly getting back to normal this spring and the fishing is improving proportionately, just in time for the Memorial Day weekend, according to this week's report from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Here are a few highlights for the memorial Day weekend with A total of 517,211 trout have been stocked so far in 2017.

Farmington River: Normal temperatures and flows this week are keeping the trout actively feeding. Insect hatches are out. Light Cahills, midges, ants and of course BWO’s are still working. Streamers are doing better than nymphing and Black Ghost, Slim Jim, Copper Johns and Hare’s Ears are working. Flows are about normal 314 cubic feel per second. Water temperatures are on the increase now in the mid- to upper-50s.

Area lakes: The fishing has been fair at Crystal Lake. Night electrofishing surveys turned up lots of trout in both Congamond Lake in Suffield and Mashapaug Lake in Union.

Connecticut River: Flows have dropped, although they are still above typical mid-May levels. Water temperatures remain cool. American shad are at peak with tens of thousands waiting to move up past the Holyoke Dam. Willow leafs have been working. Striped bass (schoolie-size and a few bigger fish) are being found throughout the river. Largemouth bass are providing some action in the coves from just below Hartford to Haddam. Channel catfish are providing some solid action. A few 10-to-15-pounders have been reported.

Patch File Photo