(Photo: Tom Schierlitz)

Catch of the Day
The Housatonic River, near Cornwall, in northwestern Connecticut, is about a two-hour drive from midtown. Right now, thanks to ideal rain and temperature conditions, the roughly six-mile stretch from the Push ’Em Up Hole to Housatonic Meadows State Park is Norman Rockwell gorgeous and Norman McLean fishy, lined with oak and maple trees and full of fat brown trout and pretty rainbow trout. Prince Nymphs (sizes 10 to 12), Isonychia dries (same size), and Olives (size 18 to 26) have all been drawing strikes lately. One local regular hooked a 25-inch brown, the biggest he’s seen on the river (“It looked like salmon when it jumped,” he told a friend), last week. Alas, the monster spit the hook. Which means he’s still there, waiting for you (Housatonic River Outfitters offers guided wading trips from $150 and float trips from $350 for all skill levels; 860-672-1010). To outfit yourself for the trip, see the next page.