Friday, May 15, 2015

Friday 5/15/15 Report- 29" brown!!!

Big Ed Mish with a giant 29" brown (yes, measured!) caught on a nymph in the Farmington TMA/C&R area on 5/11/15. For those of you who don't know, Ed is one hell of a good nympher, catching numerous large trout on both the Farmington & Housy. This ties his all time CT best trout. Way to go Ed, awesome fish, I'm jealous!

Flow is an improved 267cfs total flow in TMA/C&R section, with a 222cfs release from the dam in Riverton, 45cfs from the Still River. This is a great wading & fishing level. Water temps are excellent. Saw a nice spinner fall in Riverton Tuesday night, a good number of fish rose to them. Still seeing a few (very light) duns hatch in the afternoon in TMA/C&R section, BUT... the main afternoon hatch is now mostly above the TMA, I'd say from Pipeline Pool right up to the dam is where I'd wanna be if you want to catch an afternoon Hendrickson hatch. Still medium to heavy spinner falls in the TMA, we've been seeing them at the traditional evening time, as well as mornings too of late. The spinners usually keep going for a good week after the hatch ends.

A lot of people have a hard time telling recently stocked large Two Year Old browns from true holdovers. Pic on left shows orange dye mark behind left eye, pic to right shows clipped adipose. These recent intros will range from 14-20" and are unusually fat. They all have a clipped adipose fin, and a orange dye mark (elastomer tag) behind their LEFT eye. Color will vary, but some have bright, holdover-like coloring, some are paler. The true holdovers will not be so unnaturally fat, a year from now they will have normal girth to them. Some of the bigger/fatter ones have been 20" & pushing 4 pounds! Pictured below is an average recently stocked Two Year Old that I caught last weekend, notice the clipped adipose.




The green leaves are out on the trees now, which means the real Caddis hatches cannot be far behind. I'm catching trout subsurface on Caddis Pupa already, and I saw a few larger specimens in the TMA/C&R section last Sunday, in the #14-16. I love Caddis hatches, I catch some of my biggest trout of the year during Caddis time by nymphing deep with the pupa. Typically they hatch in the mornings, and egg-lay in the evenings, giving you a second "hatch". This is a general rule, we often see them hatching & egg-laying in the afternoons too, especially if it's cloudy- they are a creature of low light. Soon enough will also see the big March Browns/Gray Foxes, nice big bugs in the #10-12 range!

The  C&R section was stocked 4/28 & 4/29 with thousands of trout trout, including 1,000 Two Year Old Survivor Strain brown trout which average over 16 inches and some of which are bigger and top out at 3 1/2 to 4 pounds- they put in some hefty trout this year. Many are confusing the recent large Two Year Olds that the state put it with big holdovers. Suffice it to say that if you catch a 16-20" insanely obese brown in the C&R section, chances are it was stocked recently. This years Two Year Olds have a left eye orange dye mark & a clipped adipose fin. Trout are being caught on the surface using a combination of Hendricksons (sz 12-14), Hendrickson Spinnners (sz 12-14), Winter Caddis (sz 18-22), Tan Caddis (sz 16-18), Blue Wing Olives (sz 16-24), and Mahogany Duns/Blue Quill (sz 16-18). Heaviest angling pressure has been in the TMA, but the double-edged sword is that it also holds the most fish and the most holdovers/wild fish. Outside of the TMA sees less pressure, but still plenty of trout. Most anglers focus on the major pools, so if you fish the "In Between Water" you should be able to get more elbow room. Trout are currently being caught via all methods: wets, dries, nymphs & streamers with many big fish have been landed over the past 2 weeks, both holdovers & recently stocked two years.


Subsurface, Hendrickson nymphs (sz 12-14) Golden Stoneflies (sz 8-12), Pheasant Tails (sz 12-18), Olive/Green Caddis Larva (sz 14-16), Princes (sz 12-18),  and Yellow Sparkle Prince (sz 12-16) have been working well, Flashy/attractor-type nymphs, have been working well on the recently stocked trout and on the occasional holdover.

Streamers such as Rich Strolis's Ice Pick are still landing some of the truly giant trout, but unlike a couple of weeks ago when the waters were cold, they should be more aggressively fished in the shallower quick water between the pools, targeting rocks, cutbanks, downed trees and other river debris that create current breaks for the trophies to hold behind. Smaller streamers, such as the famous Wooly Bugger are catching many trout by letting them sink into the deep pools then retrieving with short (two foot or so) quick strips. As always, the key to fishing streamers is to keep moving.... you are triggering the most aggressive trout into attacking, if nothing happens after a few casts, its time to move a few feet to throw into some virgin water. Also play with colors & sizes, it can make a BIG difference. The low light periods of early & late ate the prime times to target bigger trout with streamers, overcast or rainy days too.

UpCountry Sportfishing is always looking for good used fly fishing gear for cash and trade. This is how we get those great items we list on our website and you see on our racks. We buy fly rods, reels, quality classic bamboo, and fly tying equipment etc. Bring in your old items and we can help turn them into something new. Call ahead for an appointment at 860-379-1952.