Friday, May 26, 2017

Friday 05/26/17 Report - Memorial Weekend Fishing update

Happy Anglers
Today's photo is of a couple of Zach St Armand's happy clients with a giant rainbow caught on the Farmington last weekend. The Farmington is currently 580cfs through the catch & release area in Barkhamsted. Last nights rains were reletively mild and have  left the river in good fishable condition for the Memorial Day weekend. Expect the river to fall in level as we move through the weekend. Tan Wing Olive Bodied Caddis #16-18 have been good this week on the surface and the corresponding Caddis Larva and Pupa working well on the bottom. Trout have been rising to the Caddis mostly in the faster water above the pools and have been reacting well to anglers who skitter their high floating dries. Blue Wing Olives #18-22 have been good in the shadows and on the cloudier days with some Rusty Spinners #18-22 falling in the evening. 

The long awaited book "Nymph Masters" has finally arrived, and it's really good! Author Jason Randall fished with a bunch of the top nymphers in the USA (guys like George Daniels, Pat Dorsey, Joe Humphreys, etc.), and then wrote this book about his experiences.

We recently received a huge closeout of  Hardy Jet and Shadow fly rods which can be found in store and on our website on our Used Gear and Specials page. If you are looking for a great fly rod at at a great price, the Hardy rods are hard to beat and are available in most sizes.

Current flies to have:
Caddis pupa (tan, olive/green) #14-16, Caddis dries #14-18 (tan, olive/green- X2 Caddis, Elk Hair, CDC Caddis, etc.), Hendricksons & Hendrickson Spinners (rusty) #12-14, Baetis/Blue Wing Olives #16-18, Midges  #20-26. Subsurface try Hendrickson nymphs #12-14, Frenchies #14-18, Quasimodo Pheasant Tails #12-18, Caddis Larva #12-16 (olive, green), Baetis/Blue Wing Olive nymphs #16-18, and bigger #8-12 Stonefly nymphs. Make sure to also try Hot Spot Nymphs #14-18, and Mops #10. Streamers have been very effective on both the fresh stocked trout and also the big holdover and wild fish. Experiment with colors & retrieves to find what will attract the trout- olive, black, and white are good starting points, but also try brown, tan, and yellow or combinations thereof.