John Blaise - The Squirrel Tail Streamer And The Brackish Waters

JOHN BLAISE

THE SQUIRREL TAIL STREAMER

AND

THE BRACKISH WATERS

by Dick Alley

This used to be one of Westport's prime fresh water fishing spots. While the left bank was always unsafe, the right bank was brush-free and  the perfect spot for family fishing.---And LOADED with fish of many species.

            It was the late 50's early 60's and I hadn't yet caught my first striper. I was all fresh water fishing, new to fly fishing and fly tying and struggling to learn the game. Early May found me wading what is now the Doc Skerlick Trout Management Area, just below the Ford. My fly casting efforts were coming along just fine, but the choices of what flies to use, where and when, left me pretty much skunked on most days. After about half an hour, frustrated I decided to move and turned to find that someone was watching me.

           " You might try letting that fly sink some more", he suggested with a smile. "Cast upstream a little more and it will drift deeper." I did as he said and on the third drift, the line tightened and moments later, I netted  my first trout caught fly-fishing.  I'm not sure who was happier, but I left the river, extended my hand, thanked him and introduced myself. 

            John Blaise was quite a bit older than me, but friendly, soft spoken and smoked a pipe. We talked a bit. He asked what I was using and I showed him a Mickey Finn which was the only fly I knew by name at the time. I told him I had tied the fly myself and he smiled, lied that it was well -tied and suggested I try a squirrel tail. He explained that it was a great streamer for the Saugatuck and was easy to tie and then reached into his fly box and presented me with one. And that is how friendships are made and endure.

Wood's Dam back then when it was accessible to anglers.

            John was an avid trout fisherman and I saw him many times after that over the years. I looked forward to our frequent meetings as much as I did the fishing. During one of those early conversations I asked him where else he liked to fish along the River. He mentioned  behind the Firehouse on Lyons Plains, Devil's Den and the "Brackish Waters", John's reference for the stretch of tidal water between the Kings Highway Bridge and Wood's Dam.

 Today, I couldn't even get close enough through the brush to take a clear shot.

            The water's between Wood's Dam are an ever-changing blend of freshwater and saltwater as tides flow in and out of the river from Long Island Sound. Back in those days, the Bridgeport Hydraulic Co. office or east side of the river boasted bare banks with plenty of room for casting, or setting up a beach chair, hooking a worm and waiting for a bite. River flow beneath waterfall and waters downstream were prime trout water. This stretch of river received generous supplies of fish from the DEP and there was more. John always spoke reverently about the spot, telling of the many different species of fish he caught there. Personally, I caught trout, perch, pickerel, largemouth bass, catfish, herring, crappie and bluegills over the years. One evening while trout fishing with an ultra-light outfit, I must have hooked a sizable striper as it stripped all the line from my reel before it broke off. Then too, there were the sea-run brown trout. John called them "Salters" and told of catching one once. Whitey McMahon fished the area often and always targeted these monster trout that made their way in from the Sound in early spring, catching maybe one or two a season, wall-hangers all.

This trout came from an upstate pond.

             The "best trout season ever" occurred one day in the 60's, when the truck from the State Hatchery, fully loaded with trout bound for the Housatonic River in Cornwall, suffered a breakdown of the compressor that keeps the fish alive during transport.  The incident happened on I-95 and Conservation Officer Joe Pysa who was in charge of the stocking operation, had the truck dump its entire load into this small stretch of water rather than lose the fish.  Needless to say it was the best stretch of trout fishing any of us had ever seen with plenty for all and repeated limit catches for weeks.
            I had looked forward to fishing the area again this spring after an absence of 20 years and couldn't believe it when I saw how overgrown the area had become. In hopes of a story to share with area anglers, I decided to take a  ride and check out the area. Armed with my camera, I took a few photo's from the bridge, then drove out behind the building to the rear area near the falls. Unfortunately, getting to the river was nearly impossible for a geezer like me, but turned out it didn't matter. I was walking around with my camera when a truck from Aquarion pulled over and the driver asked what I was doing. I explained that it used to be one of my favorite fishing spots, and I was just taking a few photo's and scouting it out.
           "This is private property. You are trespassing. You have to leave" . "Sorry", said I. I've been away and used to fish here all the time. It was always open to fishing when I lived here earlier".
            He said something about Aquarion now owning the property now, not Bridgeport Hydraulic and again told me to leave.
            I got in my car and left, and suddenly  regretted no longer having a newspaper column. Not that I could have done anything, but I certainly could have tried.  There are no more outdoor columns in area newspapers. In the old days, had I known this area would be closed to fishing, calls to Al Bennett (Bridgeport Post), Marty Armstrong (Stamford Advocate), Senator Doc Gunther, (State Legislature) would likely have rattled some cages and negotiations would have happened and public access might have remained open. I wonder what happened to the CT Outdoor Writer's Association.
          What started out as a story to promote a certain area for fishing, instead  became a sad story of the loss of public access. It sure would be fun to fish that stretch again, but I guess not this year.

                                                    DWA