The
Farmington is medium & clear at 260cfs from the Goodwin Dam in
Riverton. 600cfs through the catch & release area in Barkhamsted.
Had a report of a light hatch of Baetis Vagans (a bigger, early season
#16 Blue Winged Olive mayfly) down in the C&R section, and a friend
also caught several nice browns there on a #16 Olive nymph. 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. Some nice trout were caught over
the weekend, but some of 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 few weeks, and will
stock the C&R section very soon with 5,000+ trout, including 1,000
large Two Year Old browns.
Air temps this week are
predicted to be in the 60's every day, with nights mid 30's to mid 40's-
this will push water temps up for better fishing as the week
progresses. If fishing below the Still River, the water is higher, so
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- cold than normal water temps for Opening Day weekend
made for sluggish trout last weekend. As flows drop & temps warm
this week, 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, but
warming by the afternoon on sunny days). 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
Oives (#16 Baetis Vagans), Midges (#20-28) & Early Stones (#12-18).
With the Caddis & Stonefly dries, try both dead-drifting them and
also lightly twitching them, Baetis & Midges should mostly be
dead-drifted. Sometime in late April we should see the first
Hendricksons, they will probably be a little late due to the brutally
cold winter.
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 & Rich Strolis
both tie us DEADLY nymps for this- ask and we will point you toward
them. Hendrickson nymphs catch me a lot of BIG trout in April/May. A
bigger #12-14 Pheasant Tail can also work well. Hendrickson Nymph
patterns can also pull double-duty as early season stoneflies. #16 Olive
nymphs imitating Baetis Vagans are also a good choice now, they are
just starting up. 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.