Awesome 21" brown recently caught on a dry by DEEP employee Brian- what a perfect fish! Fully intact adipose with pretty red dots & great fins. This is the kind of trout that keeps ya coming back to the Farmington River. Still getting frequent reports of 20" plus fish landed. The overcast weather today (Sunday) will make for good streamer fishing conditions, and should give you a shot at bigger fish whether you choose dries, nymphs, streamers or wets/soft-hackles.
River is in great shape, with a medium
(low 300cfs in C&R section), cool to cold flow averaging in the 50's. Needhami's have been
hatching in the mornings for about a week now- think of them as a small Blue Winged
Olive, but instead of olive they are chocolate brown, averaging a #22-26
on this river. They normally hatch from about 7am to 1pm'ish, give or
take. First you typically see the spinners, then the duns as the morning
progresses. There are still good Winter/Summer Caddis #22-24 in
early/mid mornings in the TMA (C&R section), with some small Tan Caddis in #18-20 hatching
sporadically from mid/late morning through the day, and they are back on
the water egg-laying in the evening. Isonychia are a major hatch in
late afternoon thru early/mid evening (peak has generally been 5-7pm, but we've seen them both much earlier & later), they are running about #10-12 and
hatch in the faster, choppy water (pool heads, riffles, faster runs,
pocket water). Sulfurs averaging a #18 are on the water in the evening
with spinners at dusk- they are getting lighter in Catch & Release section and are hatching best upriver (I've seen them hatching well into August close to the dam). Blue Wing Olives #20 & #24 are hatching in
the late afternoon as well with matching #20 rusty spinners at dusk. I believe the #20's are Attenuata, and I've been seeing them at dusk. Ants & beetles are fooling fish in the daytime.
The river is 327cfs through the Catch & Release area, with 301cfs from the dam up in Riverton- this is an excellent flow. Water temps have been cool (it reached low 60's in Catch & Release area Thursday, and in the late evening it was 51 degrees in Riverton), enabling you to fish from the dam all the way down to Unionville. Streamers are effective during low-light conditions (early & late or cloudy/rainy days), play with color, size & presentation for best results. You can also try pounding shady banks with them in the daytime- look for structure where big trout hideout in the daytime, features such as cut banks, downed trees, overhanging limbs, big rocks, etc.
Isonychia are my all-time favorite hatch, it is a big bug (#10-12) that fishes great with dries, nymphs & wets, and it gets big fish feeding on top in the daylight, often in fast, shallow water. Just like with other hatches, warmer days will push things later, and mild/cloudy ones will make things happen earlier. Beacause it's on the water for months, because it's big, and because it hatches in faster, broken water, big trout love this bug, and it's one hatch where you can actually blind fish the dry and bring fish up to the surface. On average lately, heaviest hatching in Catch & Release section has been about 5-7pm, but it can vary from day to day, and other sections can see it earlier or later.
Currently effective nymphs include: Hot Spot Nymphs #14-18, Wade's Clinger Nymph #14-16, Olive nymphs #16-20, Yellow Sparkle Prince #14-18, Sulfur Nymph #16, Caddis Pupa & Larva in both tan & olive/green #12-18, Jig nymphs #10-16, Pheasant Tails #16-20, Isonychia Nymphs #10-12, Fox Squirrel Nymph #10-14, Prince Nymph #10-18, and Golden/Brown/Black Stoneflies #6-12 are all working well. 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. -Torrey