Andy Lyons, once again giving us some BIG fish porn. This one went 4" past the 18" opening on his landing net. For those of you with weak math skills, that's 22"! Intact adipose fin, perfect pectorals/dorsal/tail fins and no dye mark/elastomer tag. Once again caught outside the TMA/Catch & Release area, in some fast relatively shallow water on a nymph. While big trout will always be near deep water in the daytime, they often lay/feed in some not-so-deep spots. Part of Andy's "secret is that he starts at 5am, and he covers tons of likely water. It doesn't hurt that he is a superb nympher either. This isn't the only big fish porn from this week, check our FaceBook page I'll be posting more there.I got the Hat Trick of all 3 species again Thursday, this makes 3 or 4 trips in a row. First two I caught were Brookies, small but beautiful. For some reason I catch more Brook Trout in July & August than any other months. No big trout for me, but I did bust off a substantial fish on the hookset. I worked hard for my fish, covering a good amount of water. Smaller nymphs tied on #16-18 scud hooks (they have a short shank so are more like a #18-20) have been the ticket for me last week & this week. Lotta trout coming out of knee deep water lately. The birds were working a light hatch of small Olives (#20-24) all afternoon & early evening, but in the fast water I was nymphing you won't see trout rise to bugs that small.
We are in summer mode now, meaning the best fishing will typically be early & late in the day, especially if you want to fish to rising trout in the pools. FYI if you are nymphing with a 2 fly rig, make sure one of your nymphs is small, as in #18-20. 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 & big Stoneflies. Also, nymphing the broken, faster water will greatly outproduce nymphing the softer, slower runs. Same is true if you are prospecting/blind-fishing with dry flies during non-hatch periods, target the broken riffly water. Don't skip the shallow bank water, especially if it is in the shade. 6" of water can easily hold a 15-20" trout in the summertime. Prospecting with dries is a great summertime tactic for those of you who hate nymphing. Don't forget about Midges, they hatch 12 months a year, and as hatches get lighter this time of year, they once again become a targeted food source. The fish sipping in flat water that are hard to catch are often feeding on Midge Pupa.
River is looking good , with 286cfs (medium to medium-low, just about perfect & very wadeable) through the Catch & Release area, water temp was 58 in Riverton last night and 65 in New Hartford yesterday afternoon, making it fishable at least down to Canton/Collinsville. Temps are lowest near the dam up in Riverton, and morning water temps are lowest of all. Trico's (#24) have begun down in Collinsville, but are not up in the Catch & Release area just yet- soon though. Needhami's averaging a #22-26 are on the water (a small brown mayfly) from 7am to 1pm (approximately)- both spinners & duns are on the water so be observant. There are still Winter/Summer Caddis #22-24 in early/mid mornings with Tan Caddis in #16-20 hatching sporadically from mid/late morning through the day, and they are back on the water egg-laying in the evening (they hatch best in riffled, faster water). Isonychia are much lighter than they were but are still hatching, more toward evening now (they started in C&R section at 7pm Thursday), they are running about #10-14 and hatch in the faster, choppy water (pool heads, riffles, faster runs, pocket water). Sulfurs averaging a #18 are hatching above the Still River up to the dam in the mid/late evening. Blue Wing Olives #20-24 are hatching in the late afternoon through evening (as well with spinners at dusk). Ants & beetles in various sizes are fooling fish in the daytime, including Mini Chernobyls in #12-14. #20 cream colored Summer Stenos have been hatching in the late evenings. Other than the morning hatches (Needhami & Summer/Winter Caddis mainly), the best hatching has literally been the last 30-45 minutes before full darkness, so don't leave early!
Currently effective nymphs include: Hot Spot Nymphs #14-20, #10 Tungsten Caroten Jig, Wade's Clinger Nymph #14-16, Olive nymphs #16-20, Yellow Sparkle Prince #14-18, Sulfur Nymph #16-18, Rainbow Warrior #16-18, Caddis Pupa & Larva in both tan & olive/green #10-18, 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 at moments. Streamers are effective in the early AM 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 at night.
FYI last week the brand new Scott Meridian saltwater rods arrived at UpCountry (we have #7-10 in the rack), and to say they are impressive is an understatement. They won Best of Show in their category at the recent annual Fly Tackle Dealer/ICAST show. They are in the same vein as the popular Scott Radian series, in that they have tremendous power and are very castable, without being pool cues. They are exceptionally light in the hand, with blanks so thin in the butt section they look more like trout rods. Scott uses cutting edge technology to create a rod that has an incredibly fast recovery rate to generate line speed, as opposed to just making a stiffer rod that takes more effort to cast and has no feel. I was super impressed when I picked them up. Come by and cast one and tell us what you think.
-Torrey