Thursday, October 1, 2015

10/1/15 Farmington River Report - Great water levels

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