Hendricksons #12-14 started hatching in the Collinsville/Unionville area a week or two ago and have moved upriver into the lower half of the permanent Catch & Release area now, and warm weather this upcoming week should crank up the hatch and keep it moving upstream, I imagine we will see spinnner falls in the C&R section by the weekend. The mild winter & mostly warm spring has the early spring hatches about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Some days last week there were good hatches of both #18 Mahogany Duns (aka Paraleps/Blue Quills) & #16-18 Blue Wing Olives (Baetis) in the permanent C&R section, and there were rising fish at moments. For freshly stocked trout, small egg flies & Woolly Buggers are usually deadly, along with other standard nymphs & streamers.
Fishing has been good all up & down the river, from the dam in Riverton all the way down to the Route 177 bridge in Unionville . Don't limit yourself to only the more popular sections of the river, as there is literally excellent fishing all over it. In addition to the Hendricksons, we are seeing the following in the permanent C&R section: Winter Caddis # 20-24 (mornings), and Black Stoneflies #14-16, Mahogany Duns/Paraleps/Blue Quills #18, Blue Wing Olives/Baetis #18 & Midges #22-32 have been hatching in the afternoons and bringing good reports of trout rising to dry flies on milder, less windy days.
Nymphing has still been the most consistent way to catch trout early in the season on the Farmington, and some VERY nice trout have been landed on them this winter & early spring. Underneath the water use Hendrickson-type Nymphs (brown mayfly) # 12-14, Olive/green Caddis larva #14-16, Prince Nymphs #12-16, Quasimodo Pheasant Tails #12-18, Strolis Dark Brown Quill Jigs #10-14, Strolis Rock Candy (olive, green) 10-12, Black Stoneflies #12-16, Golden Stoneflies #8-12, Zebra Midges #18-20, and Hot Spot Nymphs #12-16.
