8am-5pm Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm on Saturday & Sunday. These will be the store hours through March.
Pictured up top is Luca C. with a hefty holdover brown from the weekend. The quality fish are always here, but typically they don’t come easy.
As of 9/1/24, 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.
We recently received some inexpensive used older Orvis rods/reels in immaculate condition, Silver Label Rods& Madison Reels, check ‘em out in the store. They are true classics.
Monday 11/18/24 morning Report:
Total flow remain nice (mid 100cfs range) compared to what it was most of September/October. They are still letting water out of Otis Reservoir to lower it, so I imagine the dam release will stay the same for at least another week- typically they make adjustments if necessary) on a Monday for the previous week. I’m seeing a 100% chance of 1” plus of rain this week, with most of it coming Thursday day & night. Probably be the first substantial rain since about July or so, what a dry August through mid November this year has brought all over the northeast. Should definitely help keep the flow up, at least for a little while. Hopefully this represents the end of this interminable drought. In any case, the incoming rain could make for some extra good streamer fishing on Thursday & Friday as it pushes the flow up and gives it some turbidity/color.
Joey & I (Torrey) will be doing a FREE Great Lakes Steelhead presentation at the FRAA meeting this Wednesday 11/20, 7pm at Legitimus Brewery (about ¼ mile south/downstream of UpCountry on the other side of Rt 44). Everybody is welcome- there will be free pizza, a raffle, and you can purchase some great beer (or soda) from Legitimus. We put together a nice Powerpoint that covers all the essential info on this fishing, and we encourage Q & A. I’ve been fishing for GL Steelhead for almost 40 years now, and I used to be a fishing guide on the Salmon River area of NY right after I got out of college. Joey has become a big fan of this fishery in recent years too. FYI all the info we will present applies to Lake Run Brown Trout too, any we will touch on that a little bit also.
Total flow is a very fishable & wadeable at a medium-low level of 154cfs as of Monday morning (historical median total flow for today would be 349cfs). At some point in the near future, they will stop lowering Otis Reservoir and they will cut the dam release back when that happens, so take advantage of these conditions while they last as it's hard to say how much longer this will last. Although as mentioned above, this week’s predicted rain will help the flow situation. Water temp in Riverton this morning at 8am was 52 degrees, it reached 54.5 Thursday afternoon. Temps will vary depending how far below the dam you are. Highs go back from 60's to upper 40’s/low 50’s starting Thursday, with nights in the mid/upper 30’s- this will drop water temps a bit later this week.
Saturday of this past weekend seemed to be the better day based upon angler reports, even though it was very windy. The majority of browns have spawned, but there is still a smaller subset yet to do it- be mindful of that and stay away from the redds. Subsurface with egg flies, smaller nymphs #18-22, and streamers continue to be the most consistent tactics. Egg flies are still a very important pattern to have with you, and they work through the winter, and even the early spring. Trout are rising in the afternoons & eves to Blue Winged Olives (BWO’s) and BWO spinners (rusty spinners late in the day). Cloudy/crappy days are the best of all for BWO hatches. They are ranging from #20-26 currently. You may still see a few Tan/Brown Caddis averaging a #18, and smaller Isonychia averaging a #14, but both hatches are just about done and very sparse. Usually when the colder November weather sets in, they both fade out, and BWO’s are the glamour hatch. Olive hatches should go well into December. Also, the morning Winter/Summer Caddis hatches are picking up. That’s normally an early to mid morning event.
There will be a mix of browns that are pre-spawn, actively spawning, and post-spawn. Spawned out fish will typically have loose bellies, especially the females. Spawning is tough/stressful for trout, and a small percentage of them actually die as a result of it. Play fish quickly, minimize handling, and keep their head & gills in the water as much as possible- "Keep 'Em Wet". Once they finish spawning, they will focus more on eating and try to pack some weight back on. As such, to a post-spawn brown trout streamers look like a nice big meal with lots of calories. Eggs also represent a big chunk of calories and an easy meal. Unlike insects, eggs cannot swim away, and are calorie dense.
Generally the best fishing is late morning through late afternoon when water temps are highest and there is increased bug activity. This is especially true after colder nights. If you do start early in the morning, use flies that are independent of hatching: egg flies, streamers, and Junk Flies (Mops/Micro Mops, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Green Weenies). Streamers are normally at their best early and late in the day during low light conditions, and after flow bumps or discolored water conditions. Egg flies are a great choice, and if you are nymphing, other than egg patterns think small, as in #18-22. Otter Eggs work well on extra picky fish that have seen too many egg flies. Lighter tippets & longer leaders match up well with smaller flies.
Some brown trout are still spawning, so keep your eyes out for redds (the light colored oval areas in shallow pea gravel where trout deposit eggs in pool tailouts, riffles, side braids, etc.). Please don’t fish to spawning trout, let them do their thing. Don’t walk on the redds or the first 10-15 feet below them or you will crush the eggs. Fish downstream of the redds in slightly deeper water where trout are feeding on the loose eggs. As you can imagine, “matching the hatch” will often involve egg flies now. Joey tied up some lighter weighted eggs to match lower fall flows, and we have plenty of unweighted egg patterns too.
Egg flies, particularly in small sizes, will be a steady producer for the remainder of the Fall/Winter. A 4-6mm size single egg fished at the end of the leader will often be effective. While all egg patterns work, the Otter Egg is particularly effective on picky trout as it features a realistic translucent rubber egg at its center with a milky veil over the top.
Most hatching activity is pushed toward the late morning to late afternoon time slot (except the early to mid morning Winter/Summer Caddis hatch). Streamer fishing can be good, make sure to cover lots of water. They are a good choice now that the brown trout are more aggressive. Best time to streamer fish is in the morning, the earlier the better, and again at the end of the day when the sun gets off the water. Make sure to play with streamer colors, size, pattern type, and retrieves to see what is working better at any given moment.
Local guide Mark Swenson is did a Beginner Fly Tying class on November 17th, and will probably do a 2nd one in January (exact date to be determined). Contact him directly at 203-586-8007 to sign up. Cost is $150 person, with a maximum class size of 6 people. I would expect this class to fill up quickly.
Many FRAA trophy rainbows are still around after the April 2024 stocking (120 went in). They run anywhere from 20-27”, and are all colored up now after being in the river for about 6 months. Also the FRAA put in 18 large Golden Rainbows, and some are still in the river. They are always a challenge to catch because they stick out like a sore thumb (they are a bright yellow/orange color) and everybody targets them, so they get educated quickly and never get a break from anglers.
Be prepared to go subsurface with egg flies, small Mayfly patterns, Stoneflies, wet flies/soft hackles, and streamers. Also try BWO nymphs #18-22, Pheasant Tails/Frenchies, and other assorted nymphs such as Zebra Midges. Small nymphs #18-22 are often the ticket this time of year, with the fly size being more important than the exact pattern. Mops (cream, chartreuse), Mini Mops & Squirmy Worms (pink, red) are always worth a try, especially as a clean up fly after you nymph a run, or if trout are not responding to your usual more imitative patterns. They can also be good during non-hatch periods. Don’t neglect attractor nymphs that have flash, fluorescent colors, UV, or gaudy colors- metallic pink beaded nymphs can be very effective sometimes.
The new Thomas & Thomas Avantt II fly rods arrived in March, and they have really impressed us. Slightly more flex in the tip, but still plenty of power in the mid & lower sections, with fantastic crisp recovery and a low swing weight.
****************************************************************
Hatches/Dries:
-Blue Wing Olive #20-26: cloudy afternoons, evenings too. Later in the day fish small rusty spinners in the same sizes to gently sipping trout in flat water.
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: picking up now, hatching is 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.
-Caddis #16-20 (tan, brown): a few, hatching late mornings & afternoons, come back later in the day to egg-lay, hatch is about over.
-Isonychia #14: a few, very light hatch, about done, typically mid/late afternoon in fast water.
Nymphs & Wet Flies/Soft Hackles:
-Small Nymphs #18-22: frequently size & profile is more important than the exact pattern, especially this time of year when most of the bugs are smaller. Generic bugs like Pheasant Tails/Frenchies, Hare’s Ears, Walt’s Worms, etc. all are good choices.
-Blue Winged Olive Nymphs #18-22, good all year, and especially in the fall, common item in the drift
-Egg Flies #12-20: Otter Eggs, Eggstasy, Glo-Bugs, Slush Eggs, Sucker Spawn, etc. Fall is prime time for eggs! Shades of yellow, orange, pink, or a mix of those.
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #12-20: imitates a wide range of Mayflies including Blue Winged Olives, Sulfurs, small Stoneflies, Isonychia, and more
-Stonefly #8-12: Worth fishing all year long, big stones are on a 2-3 year life cycle. Often produces bigger trout.
-Wet Flies & Soft Hackles #12-16: assorted colors/patterns, try to imitate the main hatches, but also use flashy attractor patterns
-Junk Flies (Mops, Squirmy Worms, Eggs, Green Weenie): eggs are deadly in the fall/winter, and the others are good change-up flies when the usual imitative flies aren’t producing, or during non-hatch times
-Zebra Midge #18-22: black, olive, red
-Winter/Summer Caddis Larva #18 (yellow): can also imitate Midge larva & Black Caddis larva
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: lots of these in the river, imitates the common Hydrospyche
-Attractor Nymphs #14-20: such as Sexy Waltz, Rainbow Warriors, Frenchies, Prince, Triple Threats, Pink Bead Walt’s Worm, Pink Bead Pheasant Tails, etc. Often work better than drabber, more imitative flies.
Streamers:
Fall is PRIME TIME for streamers! - Especially colors such as olive, white, yellow, brown, tan, and also yellow paired with other colors (brown/yellow, olive/yellow, tan/yellow, etc.).
-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
-Wooly 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