Holiday hours:UpCountry will be open from 8am-3pm on Labor Day, Monday 9/4. Back to normal hours Tuesday.
Here's an unusually colorful holdover Farmington Rainbow from Thursday. I caught it on a nymph in the early evening in literally inches of water, out of a heavily fished spot in the permanent TMA/ Catch & Release. FYI the state stocked the river Friday from just below the Rt. 219 Bridge in New Hartford, down to Unionville. Fishing has been good in the TMA/C&R, well above it, and way downstream too. Cool weather is keeping the temps good for trout from the dam in Riverton downstream to Collinsville/Unionville- this will make it much easier to escape the crowds now with 20+ miles of river at your disposal. Plenty of trout all over the river (even before they stocked it), and we continue to see good to excellent morning Trico spinner falls. It rained on & off today (Sunday), and the Still River is creeping up a little, but the flow is moderate & excellent, and the rain is now behind us. I'll update flow again on Monday morning, so check back on this report for the latest. I'm glad we finally got some rain, it's been pretty dry here the past few weeks.
The entire Farmington River is now Catch & Release from 9/1 until Opening Day in April (21 miles straight from Goodwin/Hogback Dam in Riverton down to Rt 177 Bridge in Unionville). If you see anyone keeping trout, POLITELY inform them that it's C&R now- not everybody is aware of this, especially when it first kicks into gear this month.
Flow is medium and normal at a total of 237cfs in permanent Catch &
Release (C&R)/TMA (189cfs from dam in Riverton, 51cfs from Still River)
and the water temps are great (upper 50s to mid 60s lately). Weather has
been nice & cool the past 2 weeks, with highs averaging 70s and lows in the 50s. The high did not get out of the upper 50s today (Sunday), and we've had a couple consecutive nights in the 40s. With fall temps already
here, it means you can fish downriver, even into
Canton/Collinsville/Unionville, although on the occasional hot/sunny day we may still get now and then, it will probably
still be better from New Hartford & upriver. But don't be afraid to
venture downriver to beat the crowds during cool weather, it's been good up & down the river. Tricos are still
the morning glamour hatch, with the spinners falling when air temps are
in the mid/upper 60s. Trico Spinner falls have been HEAVY lately. Still seeing big Stonefly Nymphs shucks all over the rocks in fast water. Late summer fishing can get technical, especially when it comes to the small dry fly game on slow to moderate flat water pools. Most of the hatches (with a few exceptions fortunately, like Isonychia) are of tiny bugs (#22-26 & smaller), which require you to be on your "A" game. Wading needs to be slow & stealthy so you don't spook your quarry by sending shock waves through the water. Casts need to be dead accurate, as trout generally won't move more than an inch or two to either side to eat a #24 dry. Fly size can be more important than the exact pattern, with smaller usually being better: trying to force a #20-22 on a trout that is focusing on #24-26 flies is a recipe for catching no fish. Leaders should be long & light (at least 12', and I like to add tippet to that) to separate your fly from the splashdown of your fly line, and to help get a natural, drag-free float. I like longer tippets 3-5' feet for this game, they tend to land in "S" curves, which buys you some drag-free float time. The thin tippets (6x-8x) are not to make your small dries invisible, but rather to help you get a natural, drag-free drift (thinner tippets are both limper/more flexible, as well as tending to land with a little slack in them). I often hear customers say they like a particular leader because "it straightens right out on the water"- well guess what, if your leader lands poker-straight, you have instant drag, you need a little slack in your tippet. Subtle drag is often impossible for you to see from 30-40' away, which is another reason to get as close as is reasonable/possible to rising fish. Learn how to make a Reach Cast, which will show the trout your fly before anything else, as well as giving you both a longer & better float. Trout will often get into a rhythm where they rise at precise intervals- if it's 10 seconds between rises, make sure your fly drifts over them in an accurate drag-free float at the precise moment the fish is ready to make its' next rise. Pat yourself on the back for every fish you catch on a small dry here in the late summer.
FYI we currently have a big selection of used rods/reels, many are listed on the website, but some purposely are not, so stop by the store and take a peek. Please no phone inquiries for unlisted used rods/reels, they are for walk-in customers only, plus we are so busy we don't have time to run through all the used equipment in the store over the phone.
Recently arrived, the brand new Scott G rod (this replaces the G2). This is not the original G rod, but rather the new incarnation in this series using the latest graphite & high-tech construction. Louis that work here has been fishing a prototype of the new G in the 9' #4 version, and he feels it is one of the finest 9' #4's he has ever fished. FYI we also have the new Sage Spectrum series of reels here now, and they are impressive. We've also received tons of new fly tying materials in recent weeks, and a book order came in this week (plus we got in 2 BIG collections of used books, and most are up on the shelves now).
The Trico hatch (#22-26 ) has been unusually good in 2017, the spinners are the main event and typically fall in early to mid mornings, but cold nights will delay this to later in the AM. The spinners tend to fall at an air temp of about 68 degrees. They are at least as far up as Pipeline Pool/Lyman's Rock, and quite likely above that up into Riverton by now. Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24 is the other significant AM hatch, usually occuring in early/mid morning. Dry fly wise, afternoons are more about terrestrials, and look for Flying Ants (#18-24) if we get a warm & humid day. Later in the day, look for Isonychia #10-14 (usually about 5pm 'till dark, earlier on cool/cloudy days), small Blue Wing Olives (BWO's) #22-26, and Cahills/Summer Stenos & White Flies #12-14- stay until dark for the best evening dry fly action.
Remember that Isonychia are a fast water bug, so look for hatching activity there. Nymphing is still mostly smaller flies in the #18-22 range, exceptions being Stoneflies #6-12 (brown, golden/yellow), Isonychia #10-14, and Caddis Pupa & Larva #14-16.
Summertime bugs are smaller on average, so when nymphing make sure to downsize your flies. #18-22 nymphs are often the key to success, with fly size more important then the exact pattern (although I prefer either a little flash or a fluorescent hot spot in my small nymphs). I like 5x-6x flurocarbon tippet for fishing small nymphs (5x is usually light enough, but they will sink quicker on a long 6x tippet due to decreased water drag from thinner tippet). If you like to go light on your nymphing tippet, I HIGHLY recommend the new Cortland Ultra Premium Fluorocarbon, it is stronger and more durable than any other fluoro on the market and will save you both flies & fish. 6x in this stuff will break less than 5x in other brands. Some days small flies are the difference between struggling to hook trout versus catching a bunch. The two main exceptions would be Isonychia nymphs #10-14, and big Stonefly nymphs #6-12. Isos are typically active later in the day, say late afternoon through dusk. The evening Cahills are also bigger at #12-14, and can be nicely imitated with either a Fox Squirrel or Hare's Ear nymphs. The big Stonefly nymphs emerge by crawling out onto rocks overnight and in the early mornings, making early/mid mornings prime to fish their large imitations for larger trout. If you do have a big fly on, make sure you also have another pattern in your rig no bigger than a #18, it's more in line with what they are seeing this time of year. Or pair it up with a #16 Caddis pupa.
Top Dry Flies: Tricos #22-26 (AM- spinners fall at about 68 degrees air temp), Blue Wing Olives #22-26 (afternoons/eves), Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24 (mornings in permanent C&R/TMA), Cream Cahills/Light Cahills/White Flies #12-14 (eves), Isonychia #10-14 (fast water, late afternoon thru eves), Beetles & Ants #14-18, assorted Caddis #14-22 (tan, olive. black, brown). The best dry fly activity has often been in the riffles and the upper end of pools including Pipeline, Roberts, Whittemore, People's Forest, Church Pool, Greenwoods and the Boneyard. Try also blind-fishing with attractors such as Mini Chernobyls #12-16, Monster Beetles #10, Stimulators #10-16 & Hippy Stompers #16-18.
Nymphing has typically been the most productive method from late morning through early evening (when the insect activity is sparsest) and is accounting for the lion's share of truly big fish, using patterns like big Stoneflies #6-12 & Pat's Rubber Legs #6-10 (especially in the mornings), Caddis Pupa #14-18 (tan, olive-green- Caddis pupa are especially active in the mornings), Antoine's Perdigons #16 (various colors), Attractor nymphs #14-20 (Frenchies #14-18, Egan's Red Dart #14-16, Rainbow Warrior #16-18, etc.), Quasimodo Pheasant Tails #12-22, BWO nymphs #16-20, Isonychia #10-14 (mid afternoon thru eves), Fox Squirrel Nymphs #12-16, and Zebra Midges #16-22.