Connecticut River VT/NH trip plan

[BurrStone]

A buddy and I are thinking about a canoe itinerary in early June. Launch at Wilgus State Park in Ascutney and disembark at Hoyt's landing in Springfield. We would float downstream and anchor as conditions merit. Is this a reasonable day trip? Not sure about how fast the river flows in this section but it looks like it's around 13 miles downstream. Probably going to be fishing for smallies. Anyone with advice or experience on this stretch of water? Thanks in advance.

[webertime]

Lock your vehicles and keep nothing of value in them.  Everything else sounds good.

[BurrStone]

Sounds like great advice. Thank you webertime. Hope I can post up some pics of decent fish.

 

Our trip last fall we fished Somerset Reservoir, had a blast catching good numbers, but all small fish. 

[BurrStone]

Made the trip today. Caught caught 8 good sized smallies, 2 rock bass, a small walleye, and some gruesome white suckers. Had a long paddle, lost the car keys. Never a dull moment.

[Angry John]

Me and my best friend talked about doing that trip before i moved.  Would love a long version of the story if you have time...

[BurrStone]

Kicker, it was a long day and most of the *good* fish we had were caught around Jarvis Island which is only a mile or so south of where we put in at Wilgus. We beached the canoe on the island, and hit the jackpot working the shoreline with all the eddys and holes. We could have stayed longer but the map and the time on our watches said "no". The rest of the river in this stretch is tough, though, at least in a canoe with no fish finder. Caught a few more but after the island it was mostly just a long paddle. Next time we'll put in further north and end it at Wilgus. We were the only people fishing the river until about a mile north of Springfield.

Somewhere along the way my car key found their way into the river. Which belonged to the car waiting for us downriver. And it's not a simple "call the locksmith and give him your VIN" kind of car key. I'll be back retrieving my car and buying a new key from a VW dealer in Keene, NH on Tuesday - which is where AAA towed it. We found a cab ride to get to the starter car from Wilgus - a miracle in itself. I'm pretty sure I forgot to zip the side pocket on my jacket with the keys in it - a pocket that was at gunwale height as I sat in the canoe. So they probably just plopped in the drink without me even noticing. 

 

One more thing about Jarvis Island. Its banks see the churning effects of ice dams, floods, etc and picks up all that may arrive there from the bottom and banks of the river. In addition to entire trees and tires, there is a lot of "river" glass. I found a 100 year old soda bottle (pic attached) from C.H. Eddy & Co., Brattleboro, VT. Its nearly worthless but amounts to the trade I made with the river that day.

 

So there's the long version. 

[HeavyDluxe]

Just beware of the dam release schedule if you're paddling from further north (like Lebanon/WRJ) to Ascutney.  Sumner Falls is along that stretch, and it's a beautiful smallie hotbed.  But there' also some spots (toward the VT side of the bank) where you can get into trouble.

 

Glad to see your paddle went well.  I missed your original thread, but live just north of Wilgus and have thought of doing that float from Wilgus to Springfield with my son sometime.

[PECo]

The colors and pattern on that first smallie are crazy! Beautiful fish!