Sweet brown caught Wednesday by customer Jon Shubert, on a #16 Caddis dry. The water may still be very low, but there is plenty of good fishing to be had by those adapting to the conditions. Low flows tends to create more dry fly fishing, as it is more efficient to feed on the surface when the water is shallower & slower, versus higher & faster.Current flow this morning is 67cfs in the permanent Catch & Release (62cfs at Riverton USGS gauge, plus 5cfs from the Still River). Overcast, mild weather today will be good for Blue Wing Olive hatches, Caddis, and streamers. Highs go back down into the 50's this weekend, and it looks like we will finally get some actual rain later today & Saturday. Still plenty of pretty foliage color, but we did lose quite a few leaves in the past few days. Water temps have been averaging mid 50's to low 60's, they will drop a bit lower as cooler temps move in this weekend. As temps drop, look for peak insect activity to move more toward the afternoons and end earlier in the day. After a truly cold night, other than fishing streamers early and maybe the Winter Caddis, I'd wait until mid/late morning to start- more comfortable & better bug activity.
Not much has changed in the way of conditions & hatches. Main bugs are still #16-18 Tan Caddis, #22-26 Blue Winged Olives, and #12-14 Isonychia. We are seeing a few of the October Caddis #10-12 at dusk. Make sure to have some small #20-24 Rusty Spinners for late in the day. Streamers, especially in yellows and olives, are catching a lot of trout at moments, and some nice ones too. Small nymphs #16-22 continue to be steady producers- patterns imitating Caddis Pupa are deadly, also Quasimodo Pheasant Tails, Zebra Midges, Olive nymphs, and attractors like Rainbow Warriors. Egg flies are very effective in the fall & winter. Bigger #8-14 Stones & #12-14 Isonichia nymphs are exceptions to the small nymphs. And if you like to fish wets/soft-hackles, they are working well, especially up in Riverton- Leadwing Coachmen do an excellent job imitating a swimming Isonychia nymph. Terestrials (ants, beetles, small hoppers) continue to fish well, and Mini Chernobyls & attractor dries like Stimulators are still tagging plenty of trout. Water temps have varied lately, ranging from mid 50's to low 60's. The warmer weather today & Wednesday will probably boost bug activity, albeit it may push it more toward the morning and later in the day. It does seem like the afternoon fall Blue Wing Olives are going, we've been seeing small ones hatching daily, even on sunny days. Overcast days are best of all for Blue Wing Olive hatches though, and for streamer fishing too.
The FRAA stocked the upper river on 10/6 with 1,200 Brook Trout & Rainbows. Brookies averaged a foot, with the Rainbow Trout running 12-14". The trout were stocked in the section from a little below the dam in Riverton, down to about Whittemore Pool. They've been responding well to a variety of dry flies, wet flies/soft-hackles, and assorted nymphs. The upper river was also stocked by the state with 2,000 trout (mostly browns) for Labor Day from the Goodwin Dam/Hogback in Riverton, downstream to Whittemore Pool at the northernmost point of Peoples State Forest. On Monday 9/26 the state stocked downriver in Collinsville/Unionville.
Trout are more aggressive on streamers in the fall, albeit you may want to downsize them due to the lower than usual water conditions- we have Woolly Buggers in stock down to #12-14. Or swing for the fences and use a bigger streamer, and expect to catch larger but less fish. Prime-time for streamers is low-light conditions: mornings, eves, overcast days, and when it rains and the water discolors. Except for the biggest dries, keeep your tippets light, in the 6x-7x range, and nymph with 5x-6x tippet.
UpCountry has recently acquired a ton of Simms closeouts that are now on sale. There is a huge selection of Mens & Womens: Gore-tex jackets, packs, slings, shirts, pants, tee shirts, and a few shoes/wading boots/waders. Sizes are limited (the Men's is mostly in Large, and the Women's is all in Medium) and there are only a couple of each item so when they are gone they are gone. There is also a large selection of used and clearance rods and reels from Sage, Orvis, TFO, Redington, Scott, Winston and Waterworks-Lamson. The fly tying bargain bin is currently overflowing with saltwater bucktails, necks, saltwater hooks, Mustad freshwater hooks and more.
UpCountry is always looking for good trade-in fly rods and reels to sell on our website. If you are looking for some new equipment we will gladly put the value of your used gear toward new items in our store. Give us a call to make an appointment.... our prices on trade ins are typically higher than found anywhere else.
If you like our fishing report, please consider buying your gear from us. We generally ship the same day, for free anywhere in the country on all but the smallest orders. Our shop can only exist with your patronage.