So I caught a big rainbow trout after work Sunday night....This Steelhead sized bow was caught & released nymphing a Caddis pupa. She was definitely a broodstock fish put in this spring, and hopefully will survive 2015 and not get harvested by another angler. From about 7:30-8pm I saw tons of Caddis flying upstream (probably a mating flight), and at the same time I had the best fishing of the evening subsurface with pupa. Not going to "spot burn" myself, but I will tell you that she was caught outside of the TMA/C&R section. A lot of fly fishermen only fish in the TMA section, and they miss out on a lot of great fishing outside of it. Crowding is generally much less of an issue outside the TMA too- I only saw a few other fishermen, and nobody was fishing anywhere nearby me. The 2 fish/12" limit they instituted years ago does a good job keeping more fish in the catch & keep sections. In a normal year, my largest trout comes from outside the TMA, and frequently these are holdover or even wild trout.
No major change in hatches, lots of different bugs are popping now, including tan Caddis & Sulfurs, and each day they are progressing further upriver. Local
guide Zak texted me last Thursday night to say that "the tan Caddis were all
over the riffles". I love Caddis hatches, they get the trout, including the big ones, all fired
up. The tan Caddis are hatching at least as far upstream as the juncture of the Still River, maybe even higher. The Farmington has excellent populations of a wide variety of
Caddis, and imitations of the larva, pupa & adults are rarely a bad
choice. For the past 2+ weeks, the olive/green Caddis have been
predominating, it's good to see the tan ones out in numbers. Saturday night the Caddis I was able to catch were all tan bodied. When you
see Caddis try to grab one (easier said then done), because regardless
of body color they all look tan in the air.
The
Farmington is currently 289cfs and clear through the catch & release
area (229cfs from dam in Riverton down to the Still River). This is an
excellent level for fishing in all areas. Great reports of catches from
anglers using Winter/Summer Caddis in the morning and Terrestrials
including ants and beetles in the afternoon.UpCountry has just received a huge closeout of Hardy Zenith and Hardy Proaxis X fly rods- these are literally flying out the door, so don't wait or they will all be gone. As anyone who has been in earshot of me over the last few years knows, these are my absolutely favorite fly rods. These rods use Sintrix, a technology licensed from 3M which makes them stronger and nearly unbreakable under normal fishing conditions. You can find them in our flyshop or in our online store at a great discount. - Grady
Sulfurs #16-18 and Vitreus #16 have been on the water in the later afternoons and evening catching trout from Unionville up to at least as far upsream as the Campground- hatch is working it's way further upstream every day. Blue Wing Olives #18-24 have also been out in good numbers, especially when it's cloudy. Caddis #14-18 in both olive/green body and Tan body colors have been strong. Winter/Summer Caddis #18-22 have been hatching well in early mornings in the Catch & Release area early morning to 11am, with adults on the water in the late afternoon and evening. March Browns/Grey Fox #10-14 are showing up from mid afternoon and on. Look for March Brown Spinners (sz 10-12) before dark.
Subsurface, Caddis Pupa & Larva in both olive/green & tan #14-18, Hare's Ear soft hackles #12-16, Golden Stoneflies #6-12, Pheasant Tails #14-20, March Brown/Gray Fox Nymphs #10-14, Fox Squirrel Nymph #10-14, Prince Nymph #12-18. We are seeing Golden Stonefly nymph husks on the rocks in fast water, so they are active & hatching, and are an especially good nymph choice in the mornings (they crawl out to hatch/emerge at night and in the early to mid mornings) FYI big trout LOVE them, use matching nymphs in #6-10 right now. Streamers are working well in the early morning and again toward dark- look for either low light or murky water for best results during this time of the year on the Farmington. Mice, Rats and giant Streamers are working after dusk.