We are open 7 days a week, current hours are:
8am-5pm Monday & Tuesday, Wednesday 10am-4pm, 8am-5pm Thursday & Friday, and 8am-5pm on Saturday & Sunday.
Pictured up top is our customer Jordan, with one of her first trout on a fly rod, congrats! One of 6 fish landed fishing various nymphs in the #16-20 range.
Current Sale Items:
-Thomas & Thomas Contact II Euro rods $535 (were $895)- 10’9” #3 & #2 are sold out
-Scott G Series fly rods $660 (30% off, were $945)
-Thomas & Thomas Lotic fiberglass rods $450 (were $695)
-Sage Sonic fly rods 25% off
-Scott G Series fly rods 25% off
-Simms G3 Waders 20% off
-Simms Confluence Waders 35% off
-Scientific Angler Amplitude Smooth Trout fly lines 20% off
-All
Airflo fly line 40% off
***Sales apply only to in-stock merchandise and can be bought inshore, 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 out
website
Between
the 40% off sale and our trade-in program,
those of you who have lusted after a T&T Contact II Euro rod but
are on a tight budget should be able to finally afford one. Next
year's Contact III+ (arriving mid to late February 2026) will bring a
new gold standard to the industry, but the Contact II is the
current best and will elevate your game. Bring the rods & reels
that are gathering dust in your closet and trade them for something
that will make your Christmas special.
We
will match almost
any 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.
We
are now accepting pre-orders for the first batch of Thomas &
Thomas Contact III+ Euro rods that will be available starting
sometime around mid-February.
UpCountry will be one of the first stores in the country to receive
these rods limited to an initial run of 500 nationwide, so get in
line by giving us a call now. T&T brought these rods to us
recently, and we were blown away. They have two different tips,
including a solid one that enables you to more easily cast lighter
flies, cushion lighter tippet, and 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 more casting distance, more accuracy, and greater
sensitivity. 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. If you break a rod tip on these,
T&T has an expedited repair program that should have you back on
the water with a new tip in less than a week.
Friday 12/19/25
River Report:
Getting
rain today, which is a good thing given the overall
dry Fall we had.
Prediction
is just over an inch in total (we received .70”
so far), which combined with a 57 degree high today should take out
the last of the snow & ice. I’m expecting nice fishing
conditions this weekend, highs will be mid 30’s to low 40’s, flow
will increase today
and be medium,
dropping, and very
fishable for Saturday &
Sunday. Water is currently
rising from the rain (1/3”
more forecasted, all done
by 8pm), the total flow
downstream of the Still River and in the TMA/Permanent
Catch & Release (C&R)
is 289cfs
and steadily rising,
and Riverton above the Still River is 151cfs.
The Still is adding in 138cfs
and going up
from rainfall. Riverton
water temp is 39
and increasing this morning. Behind UpCountry the water temp is about
36 degrees and rising.
Overall, fishing has been good most days in December, which is historically typical. Double digit catches have not been uncommon. Trout are done spawning and they are hungry. Nymphing has by far been the most consistent method this month. Improved & increased flows means you can fish somewhat bigger flies, and it may lead to a good streamer bite for today & Saturday. Flow will be dropping and very fishable all weekend. Don’t forget about Junk Flies (Mops, Eggs, Squirmy/San Juan Worms) after a flow bump, they often work better than standard nymphs in the Winter. Pair Junk Flies up with a #14-20 standard nymph this weekend. Water temps are still cold because it is Winter, so focus on presenting your nymphs & streamers slow and deep.
Small
nymphs are often the key to subsurface success this time of year, and
by small I mean #18’s all the way down to #22-24. Exception would
be Stoneflies #8-10 & Mops. Most nymphs are small to very
small right now. Some days this makes a huge
difference. Nymphing is typically the ticket in December,
with fish coming to flies like Egg patterns, and smaller nymphs
such as Pheasant Tails (#14-22).
Other good December nymphs include Midges #18-22 (black, olive, red),
small flashy Perdigons, Rainbow Warrior #16-18, Princes, Caddis
Larva, Mops, nymphs with pink beads (PT’s,
Walt’s, Hare’s Ears, etc.), and
Stoneflies #8-10.
Some days there can be a good streamer bite. Trout are virtually done spawning now, and they lose weight during the process. They are looking to bulk up afterwards, which can make streamers a tempting choice for them. With cold water temps here now, slow down your streamer presentations and get them deep. The easier you make it for the trout to eat, the more strikes you will get on streamers.
When
water temps drop, look for most of the trout in Winter lies. That
means deeper, slower water like pools, softer runs, and deeper
moderate riffles. Be aware that during sunny afternoons when the
water temps bump up a little, trout may move into the riffles and
into
the
current to feed
at the pool heads. There are often bite windows in the Winter, when
all of a sudden after slow fishing, the trout feed actively
subsurface for 1-3 hours, so be patient & persistent. Colder
water means less bug activity and less feeding by the trout, so
expect to work for trout this time of year. Having said that, I’ve
had some surprisingly productive days in the Winter, especially in
December and the first half of January. Fish will start to pod up,
and if you can locate the pod and catch a bite window, you can do
well. Keep your expectations reasonable though. Work the water more
thoroughly with extra casts, because in the Winter trout normally
won’t move far at all for your fly. Think slow & deep for your
nymphs and streamers, and set the hook on anything.
If
you are headed out fishing, in general there is now no need to get
out there at the crack of dawn. Give the water a few hours to warm up
one or two degrees, that’s all it takes to get the trout feeding.
The exception would be the Winter Caddis hatch, which goes on all
Winter in the early to mid mornings (7am to 10pm would be typical,
but it can vary). Other than that, I wouldn’t venture out before
10am, and I’d expect the best fishing to be late morning through
mid/late afternoon, when water temps rise and are at their highest
for the day. Sunny days are best of all, they warm the water up more
than overcast weather. The general rule of thumb with trout is, fish
at the time of day when air temps are the most comfortable for you,
and it’s 90% accurate.
Midges are
becoming the afternoon hatch now that the Fall Blue Winged Olive
hatch is fading. Early
to mid morning, Winter
Caddis
#18-24.
****************************************************************
Dries:
-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: afternoon hatch, especially on
sunny/milder days
Nymphs:
-Small
Nymphs #18-24: various patterns, most of the bugs are small to tiny
this time of year, with size of the fly often superseding the exact
fly pattern.
-Midges #18-22 (black, olive, red): Zebra Midge,
Flash Midge, Red Iris Midge, etc.
-Blue Winged Olive
(Baetis/BWO) Nymphs #16-22: all year long
-Pheasant
Tails/Frenchies #14-22: imitates a wide range of Mayflies including
Sulfurs, Isonychia, Vitreus, Blue Winged Olives, small Stoneflies,
and more.
-”Junk Flies” (Eggs, Mops, Squirmy/San Juan
Worms, Green Weenies): Often work when standard nymphs fail,
especially in the Fall & Winter when there are not many
hatches.
-Big 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.
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: tons of these in
the river, good all year
-Attractor Nymphs #10-20: such as Sexy
Waltz, Rainbow Warriors, Frenchies, Prince, Triple Threat, Walt’s
Worm.
-Winter/Summer Caddis Larva #18 (yellow)- also imitates
Black Caddis larva & some Midge larva, works all year long
Streamers:
Trout
get aggressive on streamers in the fall due to spawning, and then
after spawning brown trout are hungry and looking to put weight back
on. The low-light conditions of early & late in the day are prime
time for streamers, as are overcast days and periods of higher and/or
off-color water. Streamers are also 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.
Top
colors have been olive, tan, white, and yellow. A little yellow in a
streamer can trigger brown trout in the fall. Black can be 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. 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