Well, it is officially now the holiday season at Shannon's as Bubba has once again made an appearance in Califon. Two large tagged trout, one Brown and One Rainbow are now officially at large along with several hundred other trout including an impressive number of larger Brown, Rainbow and Tiger Trout. The fish are part of our annual program and come from the Musky Hatchery in Asbury, New Jersey courtesy of Vern and Jeff Mancini. This is a catch and release contest to secure a Douglas rod or a Galvan reel. The tagged trout must be caught and released. A photo of the fish and its release along with the detached jaw tag are required to verify the catch. Don't take these fish out of the water! Just gently remove the tag, take a couple of photos and release the fish. The fish could be anywhere from below the Vernoy Bridge to the Hoffman's Crossing Bridge.
Woolly Buggers, egg patterns, Infamous Pink Worms and nymphs have been effective this week. Look for fishing to pick up a little as water temps have risen a little. A warm rain is falling now so fishing should be good as long as the rain isn't too heavy. Water levels should remain mostly fishable for the next week and now the Musky and Pequest were also finally dropping too. That means trout which haven't seen a fly in the last several months should be back on the prowl.