The Hendrickson hatch has arrived along with the warm weather. Good hatches and surface feeding has been present on the Farmington from Unionville to Barkhamsted. Blue Wing Olives (#18-20), Winter Caddis (#20-24), and Tan Caddis (#16-18) have also been hatching throughout the river. Look for Hendrickson Spinners to start falling in the afternoons and evenings now that warm weather has arrived.
The permanent catch & release (C&R/TMA) has been heavily stocked with the two year Survivor Strain brown trout and thousands of smaller yearling browns. Riverton and New Hartford was stocked earlier this week with large numbers as well.
Water levels are good, and are reducing further this morning, expect 380cfs through the catch and release.
Sage's "On the Water Tour"
is coming to UpCountry on Sunday May 6th, 12 noon to 3pm, it will be
held just down the street at Brewery Legitimus. You need to stop by
UpCountry on the day of the event to sign up for this
free event & get entered for the drawing to win a brand new Sage X
rod, SPECTRUM LT reel, and InTouch RIO Gold fly line. There will be a
barbeque provided by Sage (50% off food tickets for the first 50
people) some fantastic beer, and you will have the chance to cast
& handle the latest Sage rods/reels and pick their brains. Click
the link at the beginning of this paragraph for more details.
There are two spots still available in "Fishing Wet Flies & Soft-Hackles" class this Saturday 5/5 - Steve Culton will be teaching this one, - call the store at
860-379-1952 to sign up
Pat Torrey's first two "Fishing Wet Flies & Soft-Hackle" classes filled up fast, so we scheduled a 3rd one on June 2nd, 2018 (click on class name to go to a description of it).
Hatches:
Hendricksons #12-14 and early season Baetis (Blue Wing
Olives/BWOs) that run about a #18-22 (sometimes as big as #16) are both hatching in the afternoons. Hendrickson hatch has been very light so far, but we expect it to explode any day this week as the unusually warm temps move in. Paraleps/Blue Quills/Mahogany Duns in about a #18 are going too. We are still seeing some Stoneflies- Tiny Winter Black (Capnia, #18-20) and Early Black (#14-16). Midges
are emerging, mostly dark colored
(black/gray)- if you are fishing Midges subsurface use flies in the
#16-22 range, on top more like #22-28. They normally pop during the mildest part of the day,
typically
in the afternoons, but will sometimes start in mid/late morning when
it's
mild.
Dries:
Hendrickson: #12-14 emergers, Sprouts, parachutes, Catskill-style, rusty spinner (not yet but soon), Comparaduns, etc.; Baetis/Blue Winged Olives: #16-22 emergers, parachutes, CDC, Sprouts, rusty spinners; Midges: Griffiths Gnat
#20-26, Fowler's Midge #20-22, Hi-Vis Griffith's Gnat #22; Stoneflies:
B-MAR Black Winter Stone #22, Grey Stonefly Double Wing #16, Black/Brown Cadddis patterns in #14-18
(for Winter & Early Stones);
Nymphs:
Hendrickson Nymphs #12-14, Olive Nymphs #16-20, Pheasant Tail/Quasimodo Pheasant Tails
#12-20, Black Stoneflies #14-18, Midges / Zebra Midges #16-22, Skinny Nelson #18, Egg Flies
(yellow/pink/orange) #10-18,
Squirmy Worms /San Juan Worms (pink, red, worm tan), Caddis Larva
(olive to green) #14-16, Cased Caddis #8-16, Mop Flies (various colors, especially cream/tan)
#8-12, bigger Stoneflies #6-12, Pat's Rubber Legs #6-10, Antoine's Perdigons (various colors, especially olive, black) #16, and Attractor / Hot-Spot nymphs
#12-20 (Pineapple Express, Frenchy, Triple Threat, Pink Soft Spot Jigs, Carotene Jigs, Egan's Red
Dart, Rainbow Warrior, etc.).
The "New"Cortland Ultra Premium Fluorocarbon
tippet is by far the strongest out there with the most
abrasion
resistance, stretch, flexibility & clarity. Total game-changer, and
an extra-good choice if you like to nymph with lighter tippets - here's a
link to purchase it off our site: http://www.farmingtonriver.com/cortland-top-secret-ultra-premium-fluorocarbon/
Streamers:
The streamer bite has really picked up over the past week. Try #6-14 patterns, especially in colors like white, black or
olive- other colors are good too, and it pays to experiment. If you're specifically targetting larger trout, go bigger, but expect to catch less fish. Water temps will get into the 50s this week, which means you can start to speed up your retrieves now. Play around with your presentation & retrieve and see what works. If you
listen, the trout will tell you what they want. Think Zonkers, Woolly
Buggers, Bruce's
Yellow Matuka, Dude Friendly, Ice
Picks, Mini Picks, Mop Heads, Slump Busters, Sculpin Helmet patterns
(for a weighted sculpin imitation), etc.
If you have some equipment gathering dust in your closet, our shop is "hungry" for trade-ins. We
give fair market value toward new equipment in the store..... no
waiting for your item to sell, just bring your used fly rods, reels, and
fly tying equipment to us and we will turn it into something shiny and
new for the upcoming season. Please call ahead for an appointment.