Monday, May 8, 2017

Wednesday 5/10/17 Report- Flows improving everyday

Check out this beast customer/friend Sam Morse from Maine caught Sunday: a measured 23.5" Farmington River trophy male brown trout! He caught it on a Stonefly nymph, and it took him 300 yards downstream through some fast water, and he even fell in once. This was no recent stocker, it was either a multi-year holdover, or a wild fish. High water can make you work for your fish, but also gives you a shot at some of the bigger fish in the river.

Flows are receding, and there is no rain in the forecast.The Farmington is currently 600cfs above Riverton and 850cfs through the Catch and Release area. At this level nymphs and streamers are strong but limit yourself to the larger pools and enter the river from the shallow side. when fishing in the riffles. The trout should be stacked on the seam between the slow and fast water.

Hendricksons are still the main hatch, and are  hatching from Canton up into the permanent Catch & Release (C&R)/TMA and upstream as far as Pipeline Pool or so, but not above the Still River yet- soon though. Some of the larger pools (Whittemore,  School Bus, Church, Greenwoods, Boneyard, the Wall, Black Bridge, etc.) might have rising trout today, you are looking for spots without a lot of current. This is an afternoon deal, usually coming off sometime between early & late afternoon (2-4 pm is typical, but can vary from day to day), with a spinner fall in the evenings. However, sometimes the spinners mix with the afternoon hatch, and sometimes they fall in the mid/late mornings. The spinners are fickle and don't like cold temps, wind or rain. The hatch, however, comes off every afternoon regardless of the weather. Dunno why, but this is one hatch where the trout seem extra particular, so make sure to cover ALL stages/variations- nymphs, soft-hackles/wets, emergers/cripples, duns (light & dark), and spinners (some with yellow egg sacks too). If they don't rise where you are fishing, be prepared to fish nymphs and/or wets/soft-hackles- I catch some of my biggest trout every year on Hendrickson nymphs and #12-14 Pheasant Tails.

The state stocked the permanent Catch & Release/TMA on 4/28 with the larger & obese Two Year Old Survivor Strain Brown Trout, and on 4/21 they put in the adults/yearlings. The 2 Year Olds have a left eye red elastomer, and the yearlings/adults have a right eye orange elastomer- all have a clipped adipose fin. The entire river has been stocked top to bottom more than once now, and there are literally trout everywhere- if you don't catch fish now, you have no excuses anymore! Haha. Fishing has really improved lately, and not just because the whole river was stocked- many above average holdover and even some wild trout were landed both in and out of the permanent TMA/C&R. It's a combination of rising water temps & bug activity. We are seeing more & more bugs on mild afternoons including Hendricksons, Blue Wing Olives, small dark Caddis, Midges, Early Stoneflies, etc.
 

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.

Most of the peak bug activity is in the afternoons, but depending upon the day you may see insects in the AM & PM:  Hendricksons & Hendrickson Spinners (rusty) #12-14, Baetis/Blue Wing Olives #16-18, Early Stones #12-16, Midges  #20-26, and a few Paraleps/Blue Quills #18, plus assorted small dark Caddis. If you find mayflies hatching & rising trout, emergers will often outfish traditional dun dry flies- fish #12-14 Hennys in emergers, duns (both light & dark) & spinners (rusty). 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 have been hot of late, especially in the AM. Make sure to also try Attractor Nymphs #14-18, Mops, San Juan Worms/Squirmies, Green Weenies, and Egg Flies. 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.