Farmington is dropping nicely and is very fishable today,
the Still River has receded 400cfs in 48 hours. River is nice & clear, and
with the mild, sunny weather here now, the water temps are creeping up closer to
where they should be, and this will make both the trout & bugs more active.
Flow in Riverton is a medium & very nice 250cfs downstream to the
confluence of the Still River. Some nice trout were caught over the weekend,
but the biggest ones that were stocked for the derby & Opening Day are
still in there and did not get caught! CT DEEP has stocked at least 3 times
over the past 2 1/2 weeks. From the Still River down it's clear at 769cfs &
dropping fast- this is high but fishable, and improving every day. Air temps
this week are predicted to be in the 60's every day, with nights averaging in
the 40's- this will push water temps up for better fishing as the week
progresses. If fishing the higher water below the Still River, think nymphs
& streamers, and fish closer to the banks, anywhere there are current
breaks. Look for wider pools & also inside bends. Higher flows scare many
fishermen away, but the fish are still there and catchable if you approach them
correctly. They simply move closer to the banks, out of the heavier current.
You can upsize your nymphs & streamers, no need for light tippets, and make
sure to fish your flies slowly, down near the bottom.
I did well after work on Opening Day, catching a bunch of
trout on nymphs, including a nice broodstock brown. Fishing reports have varied
greatly, depending upon the day and who you talked to, with some anglers doing
quite well and others struggling. As flows drop & temps warm, look for
afternoon water temps to push well into the 40's. Up in Riverton, temps will
stay colder due to cold water release from the bottom of the dam (still
mid/upper 30's up there in the mornings). So from the Still River downstream,
especially on mild/sunny days, the water will be noticeably warmer, which often
translates into more active trout. Those who have found pods of freshly stocked
trout recently have racked up the biggest catches, but some bigger holdovers
are mixing in here & there. Fish a spot, but if it's not producing, move
on, don't linger. Lately the more water I cover lately, the better I do. I
might come up empty in 2-3 spots, and then bang fish in the 4th. Nymphs &
deeply/slowly fished streamers are the most reliable fish catchers in the
cooler waters of the early season, especially when flows are up. The dry fly guys
have been back at it when flows have been normal, and catching some fish at
moments (ideally look for days without much wind). Big, flat, wide pools like
Church, Greenwoods, Whitemore, Campground & Beaver Pools are your best bets
if you want to fish dries. The Winter Caddis (AM) are waning but you may still
see some, in the afternoons you should see Midges (#20-28) & Early Stones
(#12-18). With the Caddis & Stonefly dries, try both dead-drifting them and
also lightly twitching them, Midges should mostly be dead-drifted. Larger
#16-18 early season Olives (Baetis Vagans) will be hatching soon, followed by
Hendricksons. Both are afternoon hatches.
Subsurface, it's not too early to start fishing Hendrickson
nymphs, they get active and end up in the drift a good month before the hatch
begins, and Bruce Marino ties us a DEADLY nymph for this- ask and we will point
you toward it Hendrickson nymphs catch me a lot of BIG trout in April. A bigger
#12-14 Pheasant Tail can also work well. Hendrickson Nymph patterns can also
pull double-duty as early season stoneflies. Early Black & Early Brown
Stoneflies (sz 12-16), Pheasant Tails (sz 12-18), olive/green caddis larva (sz
8-16), cased caddis larva (sz 8-16), midge larva/pupa (sz 16-20, especially in
red), attractor nymphs (sz 12-18 in Red Headed Stepchild, Copper Johns, blue
Lightning Bugs, Yellow Prince, Rainbow Warrior, and egg flies (sz 10-18) are
still a good choice (rainbows & suckers are both spring spawners in
March/April, contributing fish eggs to the drift), etc. Don't be afraid to fish
some some gaudier/flashy/attractor-type nymphs, the trout sometimes show a
preference for them, doubly true for recently stocked trout. If you are fishing
streamers, remember that a slower presentation (swinging and/or slow stripping
& twitching) matches up with the slower trout metabolism due to cooler
water temps- but as always, play with your presentation and let the trout tell
you how they prefer it, they may still want a bit faster strip at moments. Try
using a floating line and slowly bouncing/hopping a weighted Fishskull Skulpin
Bunny on the bottom- use a 0x-2x tippet with this pattern & method, that
fly is heavily front-weighted and rides hook point up. If you are using
unweighted or lightly weighted streamers, use something to get them down-
sinking line, sink-tip line, sinking leader, or split shot. Slow & deep is
typically the name of the game until water temps get up near 50 degrees
(probably late April if you are downstream of the Still River).
-Torrey