Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Wednesday 12/2/15 River Report - Good water levels today

The Farmington through the Catch & Release section is 340cfs. The rain last night did little to change the water level and I expect today to produce trout on both dries and nymphs. Fish are rising in the mornings to Winter Caddis #20-24, and in the afternoons to small Blue Wing Olives #22-26, and Midges #22-32 - these insects will continue be the main hatches during December. You may still see a few #16-18 Tan Caddis on milder days as well as some random larger mayflies. Streamers are still a good choice, especially in medium sizes (6-8).  Egg flies & Squirmy worms are working well underneath, along with stoneflies, ans smaller nymphs in the #16-20 range- Flashback WD-40's, Zebra Midges (black, olive), and Pheasant Tails are all good choices now.  The majority of the browns have already spawned and are hungry, looking to bulk up before winter.

Other suggested flies include the following nymphs: Yellow Stoneflies #8-16, Black Stoneflies 8-14, Fox Squirrel Nymph #12, Hot Spot Baetis #16-20, Blue Wing Olive #16-22, Rainbow Warrior #16-18, Tan Caddis Pupa #14-16, Green/Olive Caddis Larva #14-16, Pheasant Tails #16-22, Prince Nymph #12-14. Play with colors on your streamers, lately some of the better ones have been brown/yellow, olive, yellow, and brown. Nothing lighter than 2-3x on your streamers, and go heavier if you are tossing big ones. 5x fluoro is a good average for your nymphs, and 5x-7x tippet for your dries (depending upon size), with 6-7x being more the norm right now due to the small size of the flies & flat water they hatch on. Long tippets help with both dries & nymphs: it will give you "S" curves to get a drag-free float with dries, and it will sink faster with less weight when nymphing.
 
We just scheduled our second & final Don Butler beginner tying class for this winter, it will be 2 day course, January 9th & 16th, 10am-3pm, cost is $125 per person. Call 860-379-1952 to sign up, class size is limited. See Events/Classes for more details.

Our rental apartment is now closed for the season, and will be available again starting in April 1 2016