The
Farmington River is 110cfs from the Goodwin Dam, 300cfs through the permanent Catch &
Release. Yesterday's rains did a nice job of refreshing the water levels and the river is running at a great pace for both wading and fishing. Expect good fishing today, Friday, and Saturday before the next batch of rain makes things more uncertain. Cooler nights & days are
dropping water temps and improving hatches and getting the trout
feeding. Cloudy weather should mean some Blue
Winged Olives #20-26 along with some Tan Caddis #16-18 and a few Isonychia #12-14. The Farmington River Anglers Association
stocked 1,100
12-14" Rainbow and Brook Trout in the upper river on last week and
the
MDC loaded the river with 1, 100 brown trout last Friday. All of the fresh
trout are in the Riverton area (between Whittemore Pool & the Goodwin Dam), and
folks have been having luck with Woolly Buggers underneath and Tan Caddis #14-18 on top when
targeting them. Even without the stocking, fishing has been good from Riverton all the way down to Unionville.
UpCountry is in the middle of a giant fly rod and reel clearance sale.
We are loaded with sale rods and reels from Sage, Winston, Redington,
Hardy, Lamson, Ross, and more that need to be cleared out by the end of
October. If you are thinking about a new rod for yourself or a gift for
Christmas, now is a great time to buy as they are 30 to 50% off of the
original retail. Only a few of the items are listed for sale on our
website as we are holding them back for our loyal customers instead of
shipping them out to who knows where. We have also received much of our
spring merchandise early and have in stock the new Scott Meridian, the
new Sage Little One, Pulse, Mod, and Bolt, plus my own favorite the new
Hardy Wraith and Zepherus freshwater rods, and Zepherus SWS saltwater
rods. In reels we have just recieved the 2016 Lamson Guru, 2016 Sage
Click, Redington Zero and the Ross Animas.
On the surface Summer/Winter Caddis #20-24 are on in
the morning. Afternoons have been bringing Flying Ants #22-24 and Tan
Caddis #16-18, and Isonychia #12-14.
Lt Cahills #12-14 and
Summer Stenos #18-20 are hatching before dark. The cloudier
days have seen
afternoon/evening hatches of Blue Winged Olives in the
#20-26 range. When nymphing use a mix of larger and small flies including Black and Golden Stonefly
#6-12, smaller Yellow Sally Stonefly nymphs #14-16, Hot Spot Nymphs #16-20,
Wade's Clinger Nymph #16,
Blue Wing Olive nymphs #16-20, Yellow Sparkle Prince #16-18,
Rainbow Warrior #16-18,
Caddis Pupa & Larva in both tan & olive/green #10-18, Pheasant
Tails #16-20, Prince
Nymph #10-18.
As you move into 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 and shorter days also gets them to put the
feedbag on. - Torrey