The
Farmington River remains at a low flow but normal for September level, 140cfs in
the permanent Catch &
Release. The Farmington River Anglers Association will be stocking 1100 12-14" Rainbow and Brook Trout in the upper river on Wednesday which should add up to some easier fishing this weekend. The Farmington River Anglers Association will also be holding their first meeting of the year at the Farmington Senior Center on New Britain Ave in Unionville/Farmington tomorrow Wednesday night at 6:30. Guest speaker Ben Bilello will be talking about tube fly streamer fishing for Atlantic Salmon on the Naugatuck River and on Salmon rivers around the world.
Needhamis #20-26, and Summer/Winter Caddis #20-24 are on the water in the mornings through midday. Afternoons have been bringing plenty of Flying Ants #22-24 and Tan
Caddis #16-18.
Lt Cahills #12-14, White Flies #12-14, and
Summer Stenos #18-20 have been hatching just before dark. The cloudier days have seen
afternoon/evening hatches of Blue Winged Olives in the
#20-24 range. If you are nymphing, think #16-20 mayfly and midge patterns for most of your offerings but include Isonychia #12-14 and
Stones
#6-12 in the mix as well. When nymphing, focus on
the medium to fast choppy water, and don't
skip knee-deep spots. Currently
effective
nymphs include: Yellow Sally nymphs #14-16, Hot Spot Nymphs #16-20,
Tungsten Sunk Ant #16, #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 #12-14, Prince
Nymph #10-18.
As you move into late summer/early fall, trout
(especially bigger ones) turn to larger food items like minnows &
crayfish, or in the case of this
river also Salmon Parr. Look for snags, big rocks, fallen trees,
undercut banks, drop-offs, current seams, shady banks, etc.- anywhere
you think a bigger than average trout might hide. Cover lots of water
and change streamer color & presentations until the trout tell you
what they want at that moment (it can change from day to day, and even
during the same day as light conditions change). Streamer
colors of tan, olive, and white are a great starting point. Play around with the angle you cast & your retrieve. Currently, with
the lower water, smaller streamers are best overall. Low light is
prime-time (early mornings & evenings). Streamer fishing normally
picks up in October as we get closer to brown trout spawning time, they
get more aggressive. Dropping water temps also gets them to put the
feedbag on. - Torrey