Matty B with an awesome Farmington River brown trout he caught this week. There are plenty of big trout scattered throughout the river, but catching them is often not easy. Fishing early & late will give you the best shots at big fish. Bugs/hatches vary from night to night, so be flexible. Isonychia are still good in fast water in the evenings, and are a nice big bug in contrast to the other mostly smaller bugs, plus the better trout seem to really key in on them.
Just arrived this week, 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).
Tricos #22-26 have started up recently and are on the water in early to mid mornings. If I remember correctly, the spinners like to fall at an air temp of 68 degrees. So far they have been
light in numbers but have been seen as far up as pipeline. The other major hatches are Needhami #24-26 & Summer/Winter Caddis
#18-24 in the mornings, Isonychia #10-14 in the latter part of
the day (5pm 'till dark), and small Blue Wing Olives (BWO's) #22-26
& Cahills #12-14 in the eves- stay until dark & beyond for the
best evening dry fly action. There
are still some Sulfurs averaging #18 in Riverton ONLY (from about
Hitchcock/Rt 20 bridge up to the dam).
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
#14-18.
Ants, Beetles and Hoppers have been working well in the afternoons, when
hatch activity is low. We are also starting to see some decent numbers
of lying ants #22-24 in the afternoons on the more humid/warm days.
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). 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. Iso's 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.
Top Dry Flies: Blue Wing Olives #22-26,
Needhami #22-26 (mornings), Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24 (mornings in
permanent C&R/TMA), Sulfurs #18, (Riverton only), Cream Cahills/Light Cahills
#12-14, Isonychia
#10-14, Beetles & Ants #14-18, Summer Dark Caddis #16-22, Tan Wing/Olive body Caddis #16-18, and an all Tan Caddis #16-18 .
The best dry fly activity has generally 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, 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
Caddis
Pupa #14-18 (tan, olive-green- Caddis pupa are especially active in the
mornings), Antoine's Perdigons #16 (various colors), Attractor nymphs
#14-18 (Frenchies #14-18, Egan's Red
Dart #14-16, Rainbow Warrior #16-18, etc.), big Stoneflies #8-12 &
Pat's Rubber Legs #8-10
(especially in the mornings), Quasimodo Pheasant Tails #14-22, BWO
nymphs #16-20,
Isonychia #10-14 (mid afternoon thru eves), Fox
Squirrel Nymphs #12-16, and Zebra Midges #16-22.