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 yours truly (Torrey) with the best fish I landed yesterday, caught in knee deep fast water in a subtle current break on a small nymph.
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.
Thursday
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 fly rod/reel combo that he found in
Riverton, call the shop at 86-488-7311.
I
spent most of yesterday on the water, hitting a bunch of different
spots from Canton up to Riverton. Fishing is getting more technical,
so bring your “A” game. I managed a good number of trout,
including a sizeable wild, but I definitely worked for them. #16
Sulfurs (Invaria) started popping around 2pm. I didn’t see many
bugs of any kind until about mid-morning, then assorted Caddis showed up from
about a #16 to a #22: tan, black, olive/green. Nymphing pupa in the
riffles was working, with some fish holding in surprisingly shallow &
fast water. My best fish came out of a slight current break in knee
deep fast water. When I started seeing Sulfurs in the afternoon, I
added a Sulfur nymph to the rig and that was successful. Caddis pupa
& Walt’s Worms caught trout all day long. If you are nymphing,
when things slow down in a spot, move to new water and fresh fish.
That was the most successful strategy to me. I also had moments where
I had to twitch my flies to get eats- experiment!
Evenings
are the peak time for dry flies, although anytime there are bugs
hatching surface action is a possibility. I had to knock off around
7pm, but 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 (mostly #16, but you may see some #18 Dorothea’s
now), assorted Caddis #16-22, Vitreus #12-14 (moving upriver now, not
sure on the downstream boundary), #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.
Hot
for today (Thursday 88) and Friday 90, mid 80’s over the weekend,
and by Monday we are back into normal highs in the mid/upper 70’s,
and nights in the 50’s. We could still use more rain though. Flows
are currently medium-low on most of the river, low 200’s for a
total flow. Even when it
gets hot, the water is coming out of the dam in the mid 40’s 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), and
#12-14 Vitreus (Pink Lady/Cahill, Orange Sulfur). Caddis are most
common in the #16-18 tan variety, but we are seeing olive/green,
black, and gray ones too, all the way down to size 22. There are some
#14 Cahills around in the evenings, and also #20-22 Blue Winged
Olives (BWO’s/Olives). Downriver in Unionville,
Collinsville, and
Canton you may see smaller
#18 Sulfurs (Dorothea), and #8-12 Isonychia, both hatches are
starting up and will steadily work their way upriver.
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. 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.
Vitreus (also known as Pink Ladies, Pink
Cahills, and Ornange Sulfurs) are are a clinger mayfly that are close
cousins to the Quill Gordon (both are Epeorus and have 2 tails). They
are most active on cooler, overcast, and even wet days, and tend to
hatch between late afternoon and evening when shadows start hitting
the water. The winged dun emerges at the stream bottom from the
nymphal shuck, and then swims to the surface fully winged, which can
make soft hackles & wet flies very effective during an emergence.
Females have a pinkish-orange cast to their abdomens due to eggs,
males are more of a dull creamy yellow, kinda like a paler, bigger
Sulfur.
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 203cfs(medium)
below the Hogback Reservoir, with the Still River is adding in 24cfs
a little below the Rt 20 bridge. This
puts the total flow at a medium-low 227cfs 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 degrees at 8am this morning, it peaked at about 50
yesterday. Behind UpCountry it was 53.5 degrees at 8am this morning,
it peaked yesterday afternoon at 60.
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),Pheasant
Tails/Frenchies #14-22, #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:
-Sulfur
#16 (Invaria): Typically hatch between 7pm and dark, but in
the upper river as you get closer
to the dam, they
often hatch in early/mid afternoons
-Tan
Caddis #16-18: hatching about mid morning through early/mid
afternoon, egg-laying in the low light of evenings, faster water.
Olive/green #18 Caddis can be in the mix too.
-Vitreus #12-16:
late afternoon through eves, faster water. Also know as Pink
Ladies/Cahills & Orange Sulfurs. Females have brightly colored
abdomens due to eggs, males are more of a dull creamy yellow. Hatch
is moving upriver, not sure of the downstream boundary.
-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
-Assorted
small Caddis #18-22: black, tan, olive/green, gray/brown
-Light
Cahill #14: evenings
-Isonychia #8-12: downriver in Collinsville/Unionville and maybe Canton, fast water bug, normally late afternoon through evenings
-Sulfur
#18 (Dorothea): starting downriver in Collinsville/Unionville,
evening hatch
-March Brown #10-12: sporadic fast water hatch,
near the end and upriver now
-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 #14-18: 14’s
imitate Vitreus, smaller ones imitate Invaria &
Dorothea
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #14-22: 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
-March Brown
#10-12: can also use big Hare's Ears & Fox Squirrel Nymphs, near
the end
-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