The
Mianus River offers excellent fishing in the spring, fall and winter,
and can be decent in the summer, depending on rainfall and water levels.
The
Mianus River Park is the most popular place to fish and is where the
Trout Management Area is located. The park is roughly 200 acres and
owned jointly by the cities of Stamford and Greenwich. Though often
crowded with other park users, including dog walkers, hikers and
mountain bikers, a mid-week trip, or weekend or evening in the
off-season, can often mean a day of fishing in relative solitude (under
lower Fairfield County standards!)
The Trout Management Area is
a limited harvest section of the stream, where from September 1 through
the third Saturday in April fishing is restricted to catch and release
using artificial lures and single hooks. From the third Saturday in
April through August, anglers may also use bait, and are allowed to
keep two trout a day, with none smaller than 9 inches.
The
best gear for the river is a fairly short rod, an 8-foot 3- or 4-weight
is best. Dry fly fishing is excellent in May and June, with sulphurs,
light cahills and other mayflies coming off the water. Deer hair caddis
are also a popular fly. Nymph patterns, such as pheasant tail nymphs or
hare's ear nymphs work well in the faster moving currents, and a wooly
bugger or other streamer pattern worked through a deep hole is sure to
catch the notice of a stocked fish.
In the early part of the
season, in late February and early March, on warm days when the weather
is clear and bright, the Mianus comes alive with the early black and
early brown stoneflies. These early insects often offer excellent
fishing action when the park is at its quietest.
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To
get to the Mianus River Park, take Exit 33 on the Merritt Parkway (Den
Road). Take a left onto Bangall Road, and another left onto Westover
Road, crossing over the parkway. Follow Westover Road for a decent
distance until you see a sharp curve warning sign with flashing yellow
lights. Merriebrook Lane is on the right just past the sign.
Take
Merriebrook Lane down to the red barn, where you can find parking in
that lot, or closer to the bridge over the river. Across the bridge the
road leads to private property, so no parking is allowed.
The
Trout Management Area runs upstream from the bridge all the way to the
dam. There are well defined trails along both sides of the river,
though the western trail offers the easiest access the full length of
the TMA.
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