Ron Merly's Fishing Guide Service

06/13/2024

It has just been brought to my attention that the town of West Cornwall is proposing a sewage line to empty into the Housatonic River right in the vicinity of the covered bridge.

Obviously, this is a bad idea for a myriad of reasons..

If you have any interest in helping to keep the Housatonic River beautiful and healthy, please write the first selectman in Cornwall opposing this travesty. Deadline is this Saturday June 16th

09/14/2023

We will all be back to fishing soon now that the temperatures are cooling down. It's just about that time of the year where the fish will begin to spawn. Please be aware of their spawning redds. There are many streamborn trout in Connecticut streams. Do not walk through the redds and give them about 75 ft downstream as well. The eggs get washed downstream by the current. Be aware

Written by: Christ Strainer, Crosscurrents Fly Shop Be on the lookout for rainbow trout redds when you are wading. Photo by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, courtesy Chris Strainer Spring has sprung on the calendar, and the rainbows are doing their thing at this time of year. That means some ornery t...

05/22/2023

I have been cutting back on guiding in order to do more fishing and just when I think about walking away from it altogether, I receive this email which makes me realize that I am helping people so I shouldn't stop. This was from my client on Saturday who is a pharmaceutical engineer.

Ron

I haven't had that much fun or learned that much in the longest time. Thank you so much for a great time out there. The education you provided was priceless. Already texted my buddy to see what he has for open dates so we can head out with you again. Thanks again!! If you ever need a recommendation, I would love to be a reference.

P.S.

Cannot wait to show the kids the pictures.
Have a great rest of your weekend.

05/20/2023

I found a fly rod on the Farmington River today and left it with the nice Folks at UpCountry sport fishing. If you lost your rod, check in with them.

08/12/2021

This morning, the Farmington River was 72 degrees up in Riverton. Normally, this is the coldest part of the river as it is right below the dam. It is currently a bad idea to catch and release trout in the Farmington or any of the river in the state. When water temperatures rise above 68 degrees, it stresses trout out. Although you may catch one and it may swim away, the fish will surely die. It's the same as when trout are mishandled. Many Anglers believe that because the fish robustly swims away, that he is fine. This is not true. Mishandling trout is one of the main causes of death. Catching them in temperatures above 68 degrees and releasing them is no different. Please leave the fish alone until the temperatures go back down.

05/26/2021

I came across a fly rod and reel today on the Farmington River. Luckily, it is still intact. If you can identify it, it's yours.

05/24/2021

While I was rigging up my fishing rods a few mornings ago in preparation for some clients, the bear decided to come and hang out with me for a while.

05/09/2021

I took 11 year old Alice and her dad fishing today on the Farmington River. The fishing was somewhat difficult due to the wind and the water being a little high. Alice had a few fish eat her flies but missed the hookset. She was an amazingly patient and polite young lady who was very focused for the entire 8 plus hours that we fished. Her diligence paid off as she landed this beautiful brown trout just as we were about to leave. There is something very special about a youngster and their first trout on the fly. Congratulations Alice !!

05/06/2021

Took these three ladies fishing yesterday. They did well

04/26/2021

Got a shot of these two bald eagles on the Farmington River this morning on my way to meet a client. Wind was ripping up there. Despite that, my client had a great afternoon with the Hendrickson hatch. He landed a slob of a brown using 6x tippet and refused to be photographed.

04/20/2021

11/28/2020

There were a lot of people fishing for Atlantic salmon on the Shetucket River yesterday. Scott Trichka was the only person that I saw who hooked and landed one.

11/22/2020

Scott Trichka and I wandered deep into the Connecticut woods to one of my favorite unrecognized wild trout streams. In all of the years that I have been fishing this little gem, I have never seen another living sole. Lots of wild browns today, many between 16 and 18". Solitude and wild trout..............

10/21/2020

I had the absolute pleasure guiding three great guys on the Farmington on Sunday. All family men that served in different branches of the armed services. Steve had some fly fishing experience while Chris and Zach had very little. I gave them a quick casting lesson, explained a few things to them and out on the river went. I had everything rigged and ready for them so as I was getting Chris and Zach fishing, Steve was hooking fish. The boys picked it up quickly and all did well for the rest of the morning. Chris caught this great brown after my departure. I received a nice e-mail with this pic from them conveying their appreciation for the knowledge and confidence that I was able to instill in them. They caught fish after I left, spent the night at Legends Lodge and caught fish Monday as well. It gives me great satisfaction to know that they will catch fish when they hit the river in the future. Fish on..........

07/22/2020

Attention all fishermen: This message contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised. What you will see in the following pics is the result of someone leaving their rod on top of a vehicle. Never lean a rod against or place a rod on top of a vehicle. If you need to put the rod down near the car, place it on the windshield on the drivers side so that you never need to experience this. I have seen this happen dozens of times. Thankfully, my father taught me this simple rule and I have never experienced this dilemma.

07/22/2020

I am in possession of someone's fly rod that I found up on the Farmington River near the campground. The good news is that I have your fly rod, the bad news is that it was run over by a car. If you lost a fly rod today and you want it back, contact me.

05/27/2020

Had a great client today. He learned to Euro-Nymph and improved his dry fly fishing. Caught lots of fish on the Farmington today both on nymphs and dries.

05/22/2020

So, a client that I took fishing last year, contacted me via email and said that he felt bad because he had not tipped me. He said that he found out recently that it was customary to tip a guide if he learned from the guide. He went on to tell me that his nymphing skills had been greatly improved and that he bought a copy of my book and had found a lot of fantastic places to fish. He was offering to send me a tip in the mail. While I was very appreciative of that, I told him that it was unnecessary and that it was rewarding enough for me to know that he had improved his fishing and benefited somehow from my book. I usually to get tipped. I have had clients double my fee as a tip after having excellent days of fishing. This does not always happen however people should realize that guides work very hard and even if you don't catch fish, you are still walking away with years of knowledge that the guide has just instilled in you. That knowledge will help you to catch fish in the future.

05/21/2020

Scotty and I caught a few nice Nice trout today.

04/18/2020

Some more wild beauty"s from today.

04/18/2020

I had to get Paul Eles out into the wild today. We both caught our fair share of wild Connecticut brook and brown trout but he got this exceptionally pretty colored brown trout. Still gettin it done in his seventies !!

03/25/2020

One of the rarest fish in the state of Connecticut. This salter brook trout was caught today in the tidal section of a very small, unstocked, unrecognized wild trout stream. It is perhaps the only one in the state with clear passage to the sea from its headwaters. I haven't caught a brookie anywhere in this stream in more than 30 years and believed they were extirpated. So glad I was wrong.

03/24/2020

The snowy view was how Riverton looked this morning before guiding a client. So, naturally, I had to catch some after working!

03/10/2020

So, it is the time of year when we are approaching opening day of trout fishing season. Whether you are a spin or fly fisher, this is the book for you. Flyfisher's Guide to Connecticut is a where-to-go type of book. I personally visited every stream in Connecticut and listed all access points for all of the State's streams that are stocked as well as the wild streams that are not. Available on Amazon.

03/08/2020

Farmington River

02/04/2020

Saugatuck fly only TMA.

01/23/2020

Spent a few hours fishing the Naugatuck today with Scott Trichka. Caught a couple of Atlantic salmon. Happy B-day Scotty !!!

01/17/2020

Day 10 of 10 day fishing challenge. Adam Tarnacki nominated me to select a fishing image and post it with no explanations. I then nominate someone to take the challenge. That's 10 days, 10 fishing posts and 10 nominations with no explanation. Be active, Be passionate, be positive......Grow the sport. Today, I nominate everyone who reads this that has a passion for fishing and the outdoors.

01/16/2020

Day 9 of 10 day fishing challenge. Adam Tarnacki nominated me to select a fishing image and post it with no explanations. I then nominate someone to take the challenge. That's 10 days, 10 fishing posts and 10 nominations with no explanation. Be active, be passionate, be positive............Grow the sport. Today, I nominate Leon Sylvester.

01/15/2020

Day 8 of 10 day fishing challenge. Adam Tarnacki nominated me to a fishing image and post it with no explanation. I then nominate someone to take the challenge. That's 10 days, 10 fishing posts 10 nominations and no explanations. Be active, be passionate, be positive......Grow the sport. Today, I nominate Torrey Collins.