8am-5pm Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm on Saturday & Sunday. These will be the store hours through March.
Pictured up top is John Antolini with his new PB wild brown trout at 23” that he nymphed up this past weekend, to say he was pumped is an understatement. FYI this same fish was caught in March 2023 and it was 22” then. C&R works!
The entire upper 21 miles of river from the dam in Riverton to the Rt 20 bridge in Unionville is Catch & Release until the second Saturday in April 2025. With very few exceptions, all trout fishing in CT rivers is C&R in March/early April, and you cannot keep any trout until 6am on 4/12.
There will be a “Sage Day” at UpCountry on April 4th, from 10am-1pm. Our Sage rep Dave Steeves will set up a tent & table outside, and you will have an opportunity to cast various Sage rods and ask him questions. He will be giving away some swag too.
Diamondback
Generation IV Euro nymphing have
arrived! I know many of
you have been eagerly anticipating them, and now we have the full
line-up, minus the 10' 7" #4 (not available yet). The models we
have include 10' and 10' 7" lengths in #1, #2, #3, and 10' 7"
in #6 & #7. The rods feel great, with crisp and extremely
responsive tip sections that recover immediately with almost no
bounce, and plenty of backbone in the lower half of the rods. Each
model includes an instruction sheet explaining what that particular
rod is best for (fish size, tippet size, hook size, leader type,
suggested reel weight, applications, etc.). The 1 & 2 weight
models have slightly softer tips than their predecessors, but still
have plenty of backbone in the mid to lower rod for when you do hook
a bigger fish. The 10’ 7” 3 weight is your all around Euro stick
for the Farmington River, it will do almost everything and do it
well. He added in a 10' 7" #7 rod for those requesting a heavier
Great Lakes Steelhead/Salmon rod for bigger fish & heavier
tippets, and the updated 6 weight version also has more backbone than
it’s predecessor while maintaining a flexible tip to protect your
tippet. The 1 weight comes in a longer version now, not just the 10'
length. Prices are $625 for the 10 footers, and $650 for the 10' 7"
models.
Friday morning
3/28/25 River Report:
Make sure to check out all the
used rods & reels we’ve received in trade-ins, we have a pile
at the moment, and there are some great deals. New product is
arriving every day, we received a Smith Optics sunglass
fill-in. We have a couple of Guideline 10' 8" #3 LPX
Nymph Euro rods in the rack, with more coming from them soon- fantastic value at $380, fishes like a rod twice that price. Umpqua
& Tiemco are here, including their Euro butt section material. The
Wapsi tying materials order arrived and is up on the
walls now, as is a recent order from Hareline. We currently
have an excellent stock of fly tying materials. The Hareline order
included Polar Reflector Chenille (good streamer material
that’s similar to UV Polar Chenille but denser and not UV), and we
now are stocking Danville 6/0 thread in a variety of colors.
Ice Dub is once again restocked in a wide variety of colors
(pretty much all the good ones). We also received backordered Hanak
hooks that filled some holes (400’s, 450’s, etc.). Hanak 230
is now available down to #18.
The river is at a beautiful
total flow of 295cfs as of Monday morning. Riverton from the dam to
the Rt 20 bridge (Riverton Self Storage/Hitchcock) is 181cfs, and the
Still River is adding in 121cfs below that. Rain predicted for Monday
night (.90”) will boost the Still River up to some degree by
Tuesday, but it drops fast. We can use any rain we get, Colebrook
Reservoir is still well below full. Main hatches are Early Black
Stones #12-16, Blue Winged Olives(BWO’s)/Baetis #16-18, and Midges.
The BWO’s just started up, they were late this year due to the
extra cold winter (slows the development of the nymphs). All of these
are afternoon hatches. Milder days are the best of all.
Water
temps in New Hartford have averaged mid to high 40’s, depending
upon the weather and time of day. Riverton above the Still River is
always colder this time of year, starting in the upper 30’s in the
mornings and reaching the low 40’s on warm, sunny afternoons. As
air temps increase, the Still River becomes a warming influence most
days, which is a good thing when the water coming from the dam is in
the upper 30’s to low 40’s. Unionville USGS gauge is reading
477fs, historical median flow is 1,020cfs.
Fishing reports
have been all over the place. Some anglers are doing well, and some
are struggling. Quite a few large brown & rainbow trout have been
landed in March. The big wild browns are the hardest to fool, you need to do everything correctly. They’ve
seen it all, and they spook easily. With gradually rising water temps
and more bug activity, more and more trout are sliding out of slow
water winter lies, and into faster water to feed. This is especially
true on mild afternoons.
Quick Tip:
Many
of you are Euro Nymphing, and wind is your biggest enemy. 2025 has
been super windy. Make sure to carry some small & medium Air-Lock
strike indicators with you. Pop one on your Euro leader, they are
surprisingly easy to cast. On a windy day, this will anchor your rig
to the surface so the wind can’t blow on your leader and move your
flies during the drift. If you don’t want to do this, try fishing
closer with your rod tip lower to the water, and bump up your anchor
fly two the next bead size, even 2 sizes up if it’s really windy.
Bulky anchor flies like Mops & big Rubber Leg Stoneflies are more
resistant to being pulled up toward the surface by the wind.
Perdigones are a bad choice on a windy day because they have so
little water resistance the wind easily pulls them up toward the
surface.
The Farmington River was stocked recently on
virtually the entire river, except for the Permanent TMA/C&R
(that gets stocked in April). FYI, 20% of the trout they stock
throughout the state are over one foot, with some much larger. Almost
all trout fishing in the river and streams around the state is Catch
& Release until April 12th, but still open to
fishing.
We are seeing the bigger Early Black Stoneflies
that average a #14. Look for them in the afternoons, especially on
milder, sunny days. The early season Baetis/Blue Winged Olives (BWO)
that run #16-18 have finally begun. They often hatch best on cloudy,
cooler crappy days. Baetis/BWO nymphs will end up in the Behavioral
Drift in the mornings. The peak water temps & insects are in the
afternoons, making late morning to late afternoon a prime time to be
out. Nymphs & jigged streamers remain the main players. Think
slow & deep on your presentations. Many trout are now moving to
water with medium to medium-fast current in the afternoons,
especially on sunny afternoons with bug activity.
When flows are normal, various nymphs #14-20, olive/green Caddis Larva #14-16, black Stoneflies #12-16, BWO/Olive/Baetis Nymphs #16-18, Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #14-18, Junk Flies (Mops, Eggs, Worms) and jigged streamers (white, tan, olive) have been the high percentage patterns. Try also a Micro Mop instead of a standard full size Mop. Bigger stonefly nymphs #8-10 are sometimes effective when trout are passing up the small stuff.
16-18”
has been a pretty common size lately for the holdovers and wild
trout, with some 20-22” browns, along with some giant FRAA rainbows
that push 20-24”. The recently stocked trout will typically run
12-16”, with rainbows being the most common catch.
Extra
deep discount: Diamondback
Ideal Nymph rods in stock are on clearance
for $330
(normally $525-550) until we
run out of stock,
(Generation IV Nymph rods have just replaced these).
Currently we are down to the 10’ 10” #4.
Fishing
Tip:
After you nymph a fishy section of water, before
you leave make one more pass with either a “Junk Fly” (Mop, Egg,
Squirmy Worm) or a jigged streamer. It will often result in one or
more fish. My personal go to clean-up flies are cream mops &
jigged streamers (olive, tan, white, black). Although most of a
trout’s winter diet is small bugs, sometimes it takes a bigger
piece of food to entice them to eat. Their metabolism is slow when
water temps are in the 30’s & 40’s, and they don’t have to
eat much, but a big meal can be too enticing to resist. Plus they
will move further to eat a bigger fly. Sometimes you have to almost
hit them on the nose with a small nymph to get them to eat in cold
water, and those subtle eats can be very hard to detect. If you are
playing with jig streamers, make sure to try different colors, some
days it makes a BIG difference. Top 3 streamer colors lately have
been olive, tan, and white. Other colors can have their moments, but
usually one of those colors will get it done. Freshly stocked trout
(especially rainbows) like black streamers. Also experiment with
different presentations: dead-drift, occasional twitches, actively
jigged, swung, and stripped in with different retrieves. Sometimes
they will eat it on the dangle when it’s hanging straight
downstream of you, wafting around enticingly in the current until the
trout cannot stand it any longer.
There are definite bite
windows when the fish decide to actively feed, and it can go from
zero to 100 when the fish turn on, so be patient. Hours of slow
fishing can suddenly get good when they go on the bite. And
conversely, it can just shut off and go dead suddenly. These windows
typically last 1-3 hours. As water temps rise during the afternoons
and bugs get active (especially on sunny days), some trout
(especially wild browns) will push up into the riffles to feed. This
can also happen in mid to late mornings when it’s sunny and you get
some behavioral drift of nymphs. Sunny days will raise water temps
more than mild air temps will on a cloudy day.
If
you are nymphing slower/deeper water, fishing far away, fishing below
you, or fishing in the wind, using a strike indicator is generally
better than Euro nymphing. FYI you can fish an indy with either fly
line or a mono rig. Mono rig lets you hold line off the water and
also helps prevent your guides from icing up as fast, but fly line
lets you fish further away and you can also roll cast it (unlike a
Mono rig). Make sure to play with the depth you have the Indy set at,
it can make a big difference. Generally you want your flies just
above bottom, but sometimes a bit higher if fish suspend in slower
water. Trout like to feed at their level or a bit above, but not so
much ON the bottom or below them (with occasional
exceptions).
****************************************************************
Dries:
-Early
Black Stones #12-16: afternoon hatch, sunny/mild days are best.
-Blue Winged Olives/Baetis #16-18: Finally started up!
Afternoon hatch, often better on crappy, overcast days.
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: hatch is typically early to mid
morning, all year long. Trout focus on the pupa first, and then as
the morning progresses they normally switch to the winged, egg-laying
adults.
-Midges #20-28: afternoons, sunny/milder days are best
Nymphs:
-Black
Stonefly #12-16: afternoons, mild sunny afternoons are the best of
a
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: lots of these in the
river (most others too), imitates the common Hydrospyche, good all
year but especially in March/April
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies
#14-20: imitates a wide range of Mayflies including Blue Winged
Olives, small Stoneflies, and more
-Blue Winged (Baetis) Olive
Nymphs #16-18, good all year, a common item in the drift, active & hatching now
-Cased Caddis #10-16: good this time
of year, especially during & after flow bumps
-Winter/Summer
Caddis Larva #18 (yellow)- also imitates Black Caddis larva &
some Midge larva
-Egg Flies #12-20: Otter Eggs, Glo-Bugs, Sucker
Spawn, etc. Shades of yellow, orange, pink, or a mix of those. Try
Otter Eggs on extra picky fish.
-Junk Flies (Mops/Micro Mops,
Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Eggs, Green Weenie): eggs are deadly in
the fall/winter/early spring, and the others are good change-up flies
when the usual imitative flies aren’t producing, during non-hatch
times, cold water, on recently stocked trout, or during
higher/off-color water.
-Attractor Nymphs #14-20: such as Sexy
Waltz, Rainbow Warriors, Frenchies, Prince, Triple Threats, Pink Bead
Walt’s Worm/Pheasant Tails/Hare’s Ear, etc. Often work better
than drabber, more imitative flies, especially in the winter.
-Midges
#18-22 (black, olive, red): Zebra Midge, Flash Midge, Red Iris Midge.
A staple winter bug, fish mainly in slower water in the afternoons
when the pupa are active & hatching. Larva can be fished in
mid/late mornings.
Streamers:
Don’t
neglect streamers! - top 3 colors have been olive, tan, and
white. Black is good on recently stocked trout, and also during low
light (first & last light) and high/dirty water.
-Jigged
Streamers #8-12: various patterns/colors, deadly fished on a
tight-line/Euro rig, often sorts out bigger fish. Great to use as a
clean-up fly after you nymph a run.
-Ice Picks (tan, gray,
white, yellow): tied by Rich Strolis, a very nice single hook
baitfish pattern
-Woolly Bugger #4-12: assorted colors, try also
Don's Peach Bugger
-Zonker #4-6: a classic fish catcher! In
white, natural
-BMAR Yellow Matuka #6: deadly fall fly! Also
standard Matuka in olive, brown
-Zuddler #4-8: one of our
favorites, in olive, white, brown, black, yellow
-Complex &
Mini Twist Bugger #2-6: assorted colors, very effective