[clarification on blackstone trout waters]

what are the approximate boundaries so i can stay clear?  i understand two towns are listed (cumberland, lincoln) as designated trout waters but for planing purposes of a float i would like more accurate zones.  from dam to dam? 

can you maybe google maps, screen print/ms paint with some crude annotations?

thank you for your time!

[quinebaug river, connecticut 31#1oz carp on 12# test]

thank you for the response and yes this may be the largest carp i ever catch.  i will heed your advice as the leaves change colors.  i deleted the detail i was going to post earlier today but yes, when i have to buy some line i will upgrade the full system to ~30# braid and 20 mono leader or i already have 17# flurocarbon.  the polymer based leaders help the float slide.  i think this may have only been the 3rd fish i have seen over 20 pounds so far in these rivers.  i am all for targeting the species which makes the most sense or brings the most joy.  in the shetucket and quinebaug i would make the argument the carp are the supreme game fish i overlooked till this year..

although i am proud of the progress i have made with carp, in my lifetime of fishing, i am most proud of the system i developed for ice fishing which i use year round.  i built the paddleboard i use to float the rivers so that i can fish vertical with my ice setup throughout the seasons.  infact, i had an incredible day with the vertical setup on sunday (15 rainbows up to 13" and a 19 and 22" catfish along with 5 jumbo yellow perch 11-12" and 4 others, 2 bass 1#7oz, 1 13" crappie largest i have caught at this spot and about 45 bluegills all from deep water) and monday (9 jumbo yellows and largest was 13-1/8th" 5 crappie 13-14" and 4 bass up to 2.25# 3 bluegills) at another location.  i made some observations about what worked well and how to improve it and came up with a solution which is incredible simple and have not seen anything come close to effective, those that have seen or used have reach the same conclusion.  the same tiny tugsten jig, one simple color and the dressing i thought which is a large part of the success of the system because i did not want to buy spikes or waxworms; necessity is the mother of invention.

here is a 1 minute video from two years back pulling a 16-17" trout out of 45 feet of water.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RATjJcqkj_OC4l3muOtLSc71dRcyU2p0/view?usp=sharing

the sight fishing for carp has become the number 2 way i enjoy fishing often switching places with the vertical ice system exploring deep water.  number one is spring time dry fly fishing for toughest, largest fish around on the delaware systems for about 6 weeks.

[quinebaug river, connecticut 31#1oz carp on 12# test]

good to know, thank you! i will try to get out tomorrow and hopefully the little rain we have in the forecast does not dirty the water too much.  i have noticed when some carp are feeling comfortable and you toss another handful of pellets and/or corn it often stimulates others in the swim(still feeling the situation out) so it makes sense the rain could tap into this primal response as well, berries landing on water too.

[quinebaug river, connecticut 31#1oz carp on 12# test]

thank you!

looks like the rain will keep me off the rivers for a couple days but i will get back out and hit it hard when i can.  here are two more images which have a doctored background but help make the image more pleasant than the colorful mosaic.

anyone what to shed light on the question about carp winter locations in smaller rivers with dams?

just ordered my replacement phone about 15 minutes ago.  i need to be more careful and slow down when good things start happening to prevent additional costly mistakes.  made a couple more sliding floats and retied a 30' 12pound leader; last one got a little compromised.   several times in the battle with this fish and the one prior i opened the bail and and used hand to keep minimum tension on the fish to help it swim out past a large boulder/rock.  i also positioned myself deep into the water and one main obstacle so that i only had to worry about it when the fish was being landed.  if i did not develop this game plan prior i probably would not have landed this fish and this is an important lesson.  as i mentioned in the video, after about a couple minutes i reduced the drag some as well.  i had a plan prior which was simple to follow but when chaos starts, i do not care how intelligent you are, your improvised plans are often terrible.  this is why we practice or how experience allows us to think more critically in these situations as we suppress some emotions and focus better than the average person.

thank you for your time!

[quinebaug river, connecticut 31#1oz carp on 12# test]

hello good sirs and misses!

exciting day which i made a quick but longer video (~16min) which is unlisted and only for those i share the link with; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v67Qoxfeba4  i am sorry for the 16 dead seconds in beginning and also misspoke in the video at around 10 minutes 13 seconds by saying 10 pound test and i meant 12 pound test.

i talk about the sight fishing system i use which uses yellow craft foam as the bait tied onto a #6 korda hook so that it looks like a bow tie; i.e. two larger kernels of corn.  the rig is in the video and discussed in the first 6 minutes or so.  it has a sliding float which gets the line vertical and out of the swim.

i chum with whole kernel corn and sweet fed(horses), simple and effective system.

i took the girth at the start of the dorsal fin(27.5") and length is a little iffy for a couple reasons but i think 37" is pretty close.  the weight is very accurate,  i describe the system in the video.

as i talk about in the video, i have floated most of the shetucker and quinebaug systems scouting out swims.  i have observed patterns which led me to this location.  it has started to sink in that i may never catch a larger carp in these two rivers; shetucket and quinebaug.  i am still after my first mirror.   if you have any questions i will do my best to field them.  thank you for your time!

one question i have for you, where do they go in the winter?  will they tend to winter over in these same deeper swims? or will the want even deeper sections?  i suspect they may stay put as some of these large sections or rivers do not have many deep holes and i cannot fathom most of the swims migrating into these smaller deeper holes; too many fish in small area.