Store
Hours:
We are open 7 days a
week, current hours are:
8am-6pm
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Wednesday
10am-3pm,
Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm
We
are still looking for one more part-time employee, someone who knows
the river well, is knowledgeable about flyfishing, and has a flexible
schedule.
Pictured
up top is customer
Rich Foster with a big girl from the Farmington River. He has more
than paid his dues over the years, and now he is reaping the rewards on a regular basis. There is no substitute for time on the water.
Current
Sale Items:
-Sage
Sonic fly rods 25% off
-Scott G Series fly rods 25% off
-Simms
G3 Waders 20% off
Sales
apply only to
in-stock merchandise and can be bought in-store, or on the website &
shipped to your door - call with any questions
Gift
Certificates are available and can be sent by mail or bought on our
website.
We
will match most
advertised deals
from other stores local or on the internet if we have the item in
stock. We want your business, and as your friends and local fly shop
please come to us first if we can help. Our business only survives
because of your support.
The
new Thomas
& Thomas Contact III+ Euro rods are now available.
We are happy to accept various trade ins toward the III+ to make them
more affordable, and you can also trade in your Contact II. They have
two different tips, including a solid one that enables you to more
easily cast lighter flies, cushion lighter tippet, fish thin Micro
Leaders, and it also makes it harder for smaller fish to throw the
hook. The Contact III+ is made of a new material that’s twice as
strong and recovers noticeably faster/crisper. This will translate
into greater accuracy. With the included second tip, it's like
getting two rods in one. Lengths remain the same at 10' & 10'9"
with the exception of the new 11’ 5“ 3wt (3" longer). If you
break a rod tip on these, T&T has an expedited repair program for
the Contact III+ series that should have you back on the water with a
new tip in a week, instead of the usual 6-8 weeks. Between the
improved damping/recovery, new low profile single foot guides, and
one snake guide (right next to the tip top), you also get
dramatically less tip wrapping with micro leaders.
We are now a Guideline dealer, They are a Scandanavian company that makes some great rods & reels and more. Zach & Derrrick are both BIG fans of their products. We have Euro, dry fly, and streamers rods from them. We also have Guideline Euro leader butt material in 3x to 5x for making micro leaders, plus a cool mini chest pack that you can attach 5 different ways.
Monday
Morning 6/11/26
River
Report:
Hours:
Wednesday 10am-3pm.
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8am-6pm. Weekends remain at
8am-5pm. We will stay on this schedule through the end of the
summer.
A customer just turned in a wooden
landing net, we have it at
the shop.
Two points of note: 1) beautiful weather moved
in straight through the weekend with highs in the 70’s and cool
nights in the 50’s, 2) at 9am this morning they cut the dam release
by about 90+ CFS, going from 206 to 114cfs in Riverton. The Still
River is adding 26cfs to this, bringing the total flow below
that to 140cfs. This is
low, especially for June, more like what you might see at the end of
the summer or the early fall when
we haven’t had much rain.
On the up side, this means
easier wading, access to all the spots, and more fish rising when
there is a good hatch (easier/more efficient for them to surface feed
when the water is shallower & slower). But,
this also means you should
be stealthy, dress in drab colors, use a longer/lighter leader with a
long tippet (3-6+ feet), and use smaller flies. If you are nymphing
use lighter flies/smaller split shot and smaller Indicators. Try
not to send ripples when you wade in slower pool water.
Evenings
are the peak time for dry
flies, although anytime there are bugs hatching surface action is a
possibility. 7pm to dark is prime time to find rising trout in June.
Depending upon how far below the dam you are, the main players in the
evenings are Sulfurs #16-18
(Invaria & Dorothea),
assorted Caddis #16-22, #14 Cahills, and frequently #20-22 Blue
Winged Olives & rusty spinners. Rusty spinners imitate the
majority of Mayflies, and you should have Sulfur spinners too.
Even
when it gets hot, the water is coming out of the dam in the mid 40’s
curentloy
and keeps the river at trout-friendly temps for many miles below
that. Getting a diversity of bugs now, depending on how far below the
dam you are, it’s “Bug Soup” time. The major players on most of
the river are still assorted Caddis #16-22, #16 Sulfurs (Invaria),
#18 Sulfurs (Dorothea),
and #14 Light Cahills.
Caddis are #16-18
in both tan
and olive/green,
as well as black,
gray #18-22.
There are some
#20-22 Blue Winged Olives (BWO’s/Olives) in
the evenings. #8-12
Isonychia are starting up,
they are in the lower
river (Collinsville, Unionville), and at least as far above that as
Canton & Satan’s Kingdom, possibly farther upstream than that,
they and will steadily
work their way upriver. July
is typically the big month for Isonychia in the Permanent TMA/C&R,
but bugs don’t pay attention to calendars.
As
you get closer to the dam and the water gets icy cold, hatches can
happen at weird times of the day, often earlier in the day than the
books say. Warmer water downstream means the hatches start there
first and make their way upriver. Be prepared to also fish
subsurface- just because there are hatches is no guarantee of dry fly
fishing & rising trout. But…. we are into the peak dry fly time
of year, with evenings being prime time for surface action. Cloudy
afternoons have seen #20-22 Blue Winged Olives (BWO’s) hatching,
trout gently sipping them off the surface in the flat water. They
don’t hatch well on bright sunny days. We are getting toward that
time of year where the best shot at good dry fly action tends to
shift more toward the evenings, with some exceptions. Cooler/cloudy
days can see the bugs hatch earlier, and hot/sunny days can push the
bugs even closer to dusk.
Caddis are the main hatch in
the mornings; they return in the low light of evenings to mate &
egg-lay over the riffles. Vitreus are a fast water bug, normally
hatching between 4pm and dusk (hatch
is near the end and only upriver near the dam now).
Sulfurs are typically between 7pm and dark, but closer to the dam
they often hatch in early/mid afternoon. Cahills are an evening bug.
And Isonychia normally are on the water between late afternoon
through dusk, but I’ve sometimes seen them hatch as early as late
morning. Most mayfly spinnner falls in June occur in the last hour of
daylight, typically mating in the air and falling over the riffles
and pocket water, with many floating down into the pools.
Caddis
are most active from about mid morning through early/mid afternoon,
and come back later in the day to egg-lay over faster water in the
eves. We are seeing at least 4-5 varieties of Caddis currently, in
different sizes & colors. Hatch times in Riverton in the 2 miles
right below the dam can vary considerably from “normal” due to
the abnormally cold water.
Trout do not always rise to
hatches, and this seems to surprise some experienced anglers, which
amuses me because it’s always been the case on every river I’ve
fished in my life. Be prepared to go subsurface with nymphs &
pupa. I’ve caught many thousands of trout over the years nymphing
Caddis pupa in the fast water from May to October, even November.
Caddis pupa are like candy to big trout. Wet flies & soft hackles
are also good options if you don’t want to nymph, I recommend
fishing 2 or even 3 at a time, on tag end droppers. And don’t rule
out streamers, especially early & late in the day, and on rainy
days and/or during high or off-color water.
Riverton is
114cfs(medium)
below the Hogback Reservoir, with the Still River is adding 26cfs
a little below the Rt 20 bridge. This puts the total flow at a low
140cfs
below the Still River. FYI the state has overall been conservative
with water releases this year to maintain a good pool of cold water
for summer distribution. We could use more rain, other local
rivers & streams that depend upon rainfall are unusually low for
mid June, and we need rain to keep the reservoirs full. Riverton
water temp was 45.5 degrees at 8am this morning, it peaked at about
49.5 yesterday. Behind UpCountry it was 53.3 degrees at 8am this
morning, it peaked yesterday afternoon at 57.8.
There
are miles of trout-filled water both above and below the 6.2 mile
year round/permanent Catch & Release area. Don’t limit yourself
to only fishing that section, that’s a mistake. There are 4 miles
of TMA above that up to the dam, and another 10 miles of TMA below
that down to the Rt 177 Unionville bridge, and it’s all great water
with lots of trout: stocked, holdover & wild. There is a decent
amount of trout water even below that. The lower river (Collinsville,
Unionville, Farmington) is good until the water gets too warm,
usually around late June/early July, and then it picks up again in
mid/late September when things cool down.
Subsurface
flies that are working include #14-20 Caddis patterns (pupa,
larva),Sulfur Nymphs
#16-18, Pheasant
Tails/Frenchies #12-22,
#8-10 Stonefly nymphs (mornings), Blue Winged Olive (BWO) nymphs
#16-22, flashy Perdigons #16-22, Rainbow Warrior #16-18, Junk
Flies (Mops, Squirmies, Eggs) can work when the trout aren’t
responding to traditional or more imitative nymphs. Also, remember
there are always
lots of smaller bugs in the river, so things like #18-22 Pheasant
Tails, Hare’s Ears, and Walt’s Worms can be very productive. If
you are nymphing and not catching fish, you are doing something
wrong. Move and cover water, change your weight, change your depth,
experiment with different flies, change sizes, etc. Going smaller
often helps.
*******************************************************************************
Dries:
Smorgasbord time!
-Sulfur
#16 (Invaria) and
#18 (Dorothea):
Typically hatch between 7pm and dark, but in the upper river as you
get closer to the dam, they
often
hatch in early/mid afternoon/
-Assorted
Caddis (tan, olive/green #16-18, black, gray #18-22): hatching about
mid morning through early/mid afternoon, egg-laying in the low light
of evenings, faster water.
-Isonychia #8-12: lower river
(Collinsville/Unionville) and up at least as far as Canton and into
the Satan’s Kingdom area, moving upstream, possibly higher than
that now. Fast water bug, usually about 4pm to dark.
-Vitreus
#12-16: near the end, mainly up closer to the dam in Riverton now.
Late afternoon through eves, faster water.
-Blue
Winged Olives/BWO’s #20-22: afternoon hatch on cloudy days, also on
the water in the last hour of daylight in flat pool water. Don’t
sleep on small rusty spinners at dusk.
-Light Cahill #14:
evenings
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: hatch is typically early
to mid morning. Trout focus on the pupa first, and then as the
morning progresses they normally switch to the winged adults when
they return to egg-lay. Try both twitching & dead-drifting your
fly, trout often key on movement with this bug.
-Midges
#20-28:
Nymphs:
-Caddis
Pupa #14-18 (tan, olive/green)
-Sulfur Nymphs #16-18: you can
use specific imitations, or go generic with Pheasant
Tails/Frenchies
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #12-22: imitates a
wide range of Mayflies including Sulfurs, Vitreus, Baetis/Blue Winged
Olives, Isonychia, small Stoneflies, Hendricksons, and more
-Small
Nymphs #18-22: try Pheasant Tail’s, Hare’s Ears, Walt’s Worms,
etc. Size is often more important than the exact pattern, and the
bugs get smaller (mostly) as we move toward Summer
-Baetis/BWO
Nymphs #16-22
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: tons of
these in the river, good all year
-”Junk Flies” (Eggs, Mops,
Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Green Weenies): Often work when standard
nymphs fail, especially when there are not many hatches. Also
great in higher and/or off-color water, and on recently stocked fish.
-Stonefly Nymphs #8-10: golden/yellow, brown, black, Pat’s.
Big Stones are a mouthful that can be hard for trout to pass up, and
there are a surprising amount of them in the river. Good choice when
flows are up. Some days when trout won’t move for a small nymph, it
takes a bigger bite of food to get an eat. Often catches larger than
average fish. Best in early to mid mornings.
-Midges #18-22
(black, olive, red): Zebra Midge, Flash Midge, Red Iris Midge,
etc.
-Attractor Nymphs #14-20: such as Sexy Waltz, Rainbow
Warriors, Frenchies, Prince, Triple Threat, flashy Perdigons, etc.
Some days trout ignore natural/drab nymphs but will eat gaudy
attractors.
-Winter/Summer Caddis Larva #18 (yellow)
Streamers:
Streamers
are a great “clean-up” fly to fish after you have thoroughly
nymphed a run, and often will produce a bigger fish than the nymphs
did. Also, anytime flows are higher or off-color is a great time to
use a streamer.
Top colors currently are olive, tan. A
little yellow paired with another color (olive, tan, etc.) in a
streamer can trigger brown trout. Black can be very good on recently
stocked trout (especially rainbows), during low light (dawn/dusk),
and high and/or dirty water.
-Jig Streamers #8-12: various
patterns/colors, deadly fished on a tight-line/Euro rig, often sorts
out bigger fish. Can also be fished under an indicator, or
stripped/swung like a regular streamer. Great to use as a clean-up
fly after you nymph a run.
-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 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 good fly
-Muddler
Minnow #6-10: an oldie but a goodie, still VERY effective