Mandy & I fished from mid-afternoon until dark yesterday. Hatchwise we saw big Isonychia & assorted Caddis. Nymphing was steady if you worked at it, we caught a mix of rainbows, browns, brook trout & salmon parr. Nothing huge, but we got some pretty fish. Rubberleg Stones combined with smaller attractor nymphs & Pheasant Tails got the job done. I saw dozens of birds going crazy over the river in New Hartford when I drove in this morning- probably working hatches of Tricos, Needhami, or Summer/Winter Caddis. Early to mid morning is currently seeing the best & longest hatching activity. Iso's come off somewhere between late afternoon & evening, and then in the last 1/2 hour there is typically a potpourri of different bugs all out at once, so don't leave too early. Midday is the slowest, I'd recommend either working the shadelines with terrestrials and/or fishing the faster, broken water with nymphs, attractor dries & terrestrials.. First light with a big stonefly nymph or a streamer would be a good tactic to nail a bigger fish. Or go out at night and fish mice, big wets or streamers.
The Farmington is an excellent medium 308cfs flow and clear through the Catch & Release
area/TMA. Currently the best fishing remains mornings & evenings,
which correlates exactly to when the best bug activity is. Afternoons
see very little hatching, but if you look around & move you can usually drum up a few on Midges,
ants & beetles- look for sporadic risers, or blind fish terrestrials
along shady banks, current seams & stucture (rocks, sunken logs,
etc.). You can also nymph the faster water. Other than the big
Stoneflies (#6-10) & Isonychia (averaging #12-14 now, with some up
to #10), almost everything else is small, so your fly patterns, both
dries & nymphs, should reflect that- beetles & ants are often an
exception, with patterns in the #14-18 range usually small enough.
Speaking of ants, we've been seeing tiny black Flying Ants on the water
some days (not all), try matching them with a #22-24 pattern. They
usually appear the day after some rain, and/or on warmer, humid days.
This time of year there is typically a brief flurry of hatching activity
right at the
edge of
darkness, so stay late. At night's end you may see tan Caddis (#16-20),
varous sizes of Cahills/Summer Steno's (#10-20), small Olives (#22-26),
and assorted spinners in rust/cream/olive. White Flies have been
hatching in New Hartford for the past week, they are #12-14 and come off
after 8pm. Not sure how far upriver they are, so the safe bet is to
look for them in the lower to middle Catch & Release area (Church
Pool & downstream), or below the C&R section. The nymphs live in
slow, silty pools, so I usually try to target that hatch with dries
where riffles soften out into the flatter pool water. The longest hatch
window is currently in the
mornings, and the AM bugs (Summer/Winter Caddis, Tricos, Needhami,
Midges, Olives) average #22-26. Tricos are a very early morning hatch
(more of a
spinner fall actually)- be in place
no later than 6-7am, it's usually done by mid-morning (9-10AM'ish).
They average a
#24. Currently if you fish streamers, I'd recommend first & last
light, and go smaller right now (#8-12). Overcast or rainy days can be
above average for streamers too.
Many of you ask were the big trout are.... the answer is everywhere and
where you are not. The best trout have grown big by avoiding the easy
places to be caught. In general they will be on the bank away from a
major access to the river. and in areas that are hard to get to but
provide protection. A spot where a big trout will reside usually has a
big trout there year after year so if you catch one there.... it or its
brother will be there in the future. If you are nymphing with a 2 fly
rig, make sure one of your nymphs
is small, as
in #18-20 (#16 can be small enough if tied on a shorter shank scud
style hook). This time of year when flows are at normal summer levels
(say 150-350cfs ), the trout really key into smaller nymphs, as that is
what is
mainly available. The exceptions would be Isonychia & Stoneflies,
they are both bigger bugs. Also, nymphing the broken, faster water will
greatly
outproduce nymphing the softer, slower runs. Focus on medium to fast
choppy
water, and don't neglect the calf to knee-deep sections. Currently
effective
nymphs include: Hot Spot Nymphs #14-20, #10 Tungsten Carotene Jig,
Wade's Clinger Nymph #16,
Olive nymphs #16-20, Yellow Sparkle Prince #16-18,
Rainbow Warrior #16-18,
Caddis Pupa & Larva in both tan & olive/green #10-18 (#14-18 on
the pupa), Jig nymphs
#10-16, Pheasant
Tails #16-20, Isonychia Nymphs #10-14, Fox Squirrel Nymph #10-14, Prince
Nymph #10-18.
-Torrey