Black Friday 11/23/18 Farmington River Report- big flow drop!

Zach's client Mark with a beauty from 11/20

As I guessed, the very good new is a 700cfs reduction in the total river flow this week, making the river higher than normal but absolutely fishable again. When I worked last on Tuesday, the total flow was 1,579cfs, this morning it's down to 879cfs (636cfs from the dam in Riverton, plus 243cfs from the Still River). Inflow at Colebrook Reservoir is down to 336cfs, so they are bringing the reservoirs down at the rate of 300 cubic feet per second (cfs)- that's a good thing. And on top of this, despite brutally cold weather from Wednesday night through this morning, highs are going well into the 40s this weekend, with Sunday hitting 47 degrees. We may get substantial rain Saturday night, so keep your eye on Still River flows- feel free to call us Sunday morning if you are unsure of conditions. Typically the best fishing in late fall is late morning through late afternoon, so don't kill yourself to get here super early. I don't know the exact water temps 'cuz my infrared thermometer finally bit the dust, but as of last weekend it was running low 40s for most of the river, and mid/upper 40s in Riverton below the dam. I'm sure both numbers are lower after this brief cold blast we just got.

Mark again with another beautiful brown from the same day

Zach's client Mark wanted to learn how to fish high water on Tuesday (1,500+ cfs), and uite successful as you can see here, he caught a bunch, including his 2 personal best browns. Now that the flow is slightly more than half of that, it will be easier, and it opens up a lot more spots. Pretty much the same flies & tactics we've been using for most of this fall still apply: subsurface with streamers & nymphs, and with dropping water temps, make sure to fish them all slow and deep. Many trout will start to seek out slower/deeper water, so focus your efforts on pools, deeper runs, and slower/deeper riffles. During warmer days when water temps slide upward, trout may slide up into the riffles in the
afternoons to feed.

Beautiful view out back this morn, shot with my new iPhone XR

The majority of the trout have spawned, it started late this year, but there are always a few that spawn on a later timetable. As we move toward December, look for some hungry post-spawn fish that are looking to put some weight back on. A streamer represents a big chunk of calories to them- if you are fishing an unweighted one use a sinking line/sink-tip/sinking leader, or you can do a weighted streamer (or split shot) with a floating line. Bigger nymphs (like Stoneflies), Mops & Egg Flies are also effective on hungry late fall/early winter browns. Although it's to high for dries (exception: Church Pool), the Winter Caddis are just starting to ramp up in the early/mid mornings, probably due to the December-like weather.

Steelhead fishing & and fly tying are a great option this time of year. I (Torrey) have been fishing Great Lakes Steelhead for well over 30 years now, so if you need some advice I'm happy to help. We are stocked with many of the better materials for tying the specific flies you need for that fishing (Estaz, Glo-Bug Yarn, McFly Foam, Eggstasy Yarn, Angora Yarn, Diamond Braid, Holographic Tinsel, Ice Dub, specialized hooks from Tiemco/Gamakatsu/Mustad/Daiichi/Umpqua, etc.), as well as the proper rods (check out the new T&T Contact 10' 8" #6, it's sweet!), reels & lines, at a variety of price points for all budgets. The Cortland "Top Secret" Ultra Premium fluorocarbon tippet is amazing for Steelhead, it's insanely strong for it's diameter and very abrasion resistant. We also have plenty of warm Simms clothing for the upcoming cold weather season, which seems to have started a little early this fall.

Over the next few weeks as the water continues to get colder, expect trout to start sliding into slower/deeper water (pools, deeper runs, and softer/deeper riffles). As water temps rise on sunny day, fish may slide up into moderately fast water to feed on nymphs in the afternoons. Most days I'd recommend waiting to start until mid/late mornings so you give the water a chance to warm up at least a degree or two. If you do start early in the morning, use flies that are not hatch dependent: streamers, egg flies, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, etc. Make sure to fish slow & deep, as colder water normally means more lethargic trout that want an easy meal. If you are streamer fishing, play with colors & retrieves, it can make a big difference. Lately I've gotten reports that white, brown, and olive have been above average streamer colors, but it pays to experiment until you find the hot color- it can vary from day to day, and even during the day (especially if light conditions change). Remember that a heavily weighted streamer on a floating line will behave quite differently than an unweighted one on a sinking line, and on any given day trout may prefer one presentation over the other- experiment! If you are nymphing, make sure you are fishing your flies near the bottom, and that you are paying attention for often subtle strikes. Generally this time of year I'd focus on the softer water off the main/heavier current. Cooler water temps usually mean the trout will hold in slower water, not fast water.

Light colored oval area is a trout Redd- don't step on it!!

Most browns have spawned, and a few are still spawning, so watch out for redds- they will appear as a light colored oval in gravelly riffles areas such as pool tailouts and side channels. Please leave any actively spawning trout sitting on the redds alone- they are stressed out already, and we want them to successfully spawn and create more wild trout. Also, don't walk on or just below the redds or you will crush the eggs the trout buried under the gravel. The eggs won't hatch out for about 3 months or so, give or take, so avoid walking on them until after then. In my book it's okay to target the deeper, darker water downstream of the redds- there you will find non-spawning trout feeding on the loose eggs. But again, please leave the spawners alone and don't walk on or just below the redds. The eggs won't hatch out until mid/late winter, so continue to watch where you walk for a while.

Fall/Winter Hours:
We will be open 8am-5pm, 7 days a week.

Flows:
Flow is way down and definitely fishable but still higher than normal.  As of this morning on Black Friday 11/23 the total flow is down to 879cfs (Riverton USGS gauge reading 636cfs, and the Still River coming in at 243cfs). The MDC made a 400cfs flow cut on Wednesday 11/21, and the Still River has dropped quite a bit. The Still River joins the Farmington River about 1/4 mile below Riverton Rt 20 bridge, roughly 2 miles below the dam. The East Branch is dumping in 300cfs about 3/8 mile below UpCountry, so we recommend staying upstream of that.

New T&T Contact Steelhead/Lake-Run Brown Trout Rod:

Fresh NY Steel on my T&T Contact 10' 8" #6 & Hatch 5 Plus

You asked for a "Euro" Steelhead rod, and now you finally have it: T&T released their latest entry 10' 8" #6 T&T Contact rod designed for larger fish such as Great Lakes Steelhead, Lake Run Browns, and Landlocked Salmon into their extremely successful "Contact" series of tight-line/Euro rods. I (Torrey) have one, and I love it! FYI it balances perfectly with a mid arbor Hatch 5 Plus. It will handle tippets in the 1x-4x range no problem, and has the power to subdue 10-15# plus fish, while still protecting your tippet. Rod designer Joe Goodspeed designed it to have increased durability, while still having a light, flexible and very sensitive tip that will detect light bites and help keep the hook from popping out when you put the wood to them. Not only can you tight-line with this rod, but it throws a #6 line like a champ (I like the Royal Wulff Triangle Taper) for indicator nymphing & swinging, it roll casts easily, it will execute a nice one handed double Spey, and the extra length lets you mend your line better. They also beefed up the cork handle & fighting butt. Homerun!

Now that we are down to fishable but high water levels, basic fishing advice remains the same: subsurface tactics with a mix of medium to large streamers & Junk Flies (worms, eggs, Mops, Weenies). Streamers can be good early & late in the day, but with cooling water temps the best fishing is often from lunchtime until dusk when water temps are at their highest, bugs are most active, and trout's metabolism is at their highest for the day. Dry fly fishing has been very limited. It's important to adapt to the conditions, and don't try to force certain flies & techniques on the trout when they don't want them. This isn't a drought fall like 2016 & 2017 were, where you had super low flows in the 60-125cfs range for months at a time. There was a ton of dry fly fishing at those flows. Higher flows = less dry fly action, more nymphs & streamers. And furthermore you may want to go bigger, on average, with your subsurface flies. Although when small Blue Wing Olives have been hatching, if the flows are clear they have been eating #18 Olive nymphs. Look a several paragraphs down for more detailed advice.

Adapting to the Conditions:

What are the differences between successful anglers and unsuccessful ones this fall? Generally the best catches have been made by those who are flexible in terms of how, where & what they fish, and  do what they need to do to get their flies in front of the fish, down near the river bottom. Higher flows typically dictate subsurface tactics, unless you spot rising trout. Egg Flies, "Junk Flies" & Streamers are the best flies in the mornings, before the water temps rise a bit and the bugs get active. Save the imitative bugs for the afternoons when the insects are active & available. If you are streamer fishing, finding success may mean covering a lot of water looking for aggressive fish, experimenting with fly colors/sizes/sizes, trying different retrieves (or just a slow swing sometimes), and making sure you are getting the flies down deep enough (weighted flies, split shot, sinking leaders, sink-tip lines, or full sink lines). Lately colors like olive, white, brown, and tan have been top colors, but also try black, yellow, and combinations of these colors. Don't be afraid to deviate from a #6-8 streamer now, sometimes it takes a fly at least 3-4", or bigger, to properly irritate a big brown into striking. This is a good time to throw the meat, the big articulated 4-6" patterns that just might land you a giant- use a heavy tippet (at least 0x for the really big flies). If you are nymphing, make sure you are getting your flies down near the bottom with weighted flies, split shot, or a combination of the two. Both Euro-style & Indicator techniques can catch fish. When flows are up, make sure you don't just jump in mid thigh deep without first fishing the edges, as higher flows push MANY trout near the banks, out of the heavier flows. Try different nymphs: they may want something imitative like a #18 Blue Wing Olive/Baetis nymph in the afternoons, but sometimes they want an egg fly, and sometimes it takes a "Junk Fly" (Mop, Squirmy/San Juan Worm, Green Weenie, etc.) or an attractor nymph (something flashy or with a fluorescent hot spot) to get it done. As a rule of thumb, higher flows call for bigger and/or gaudier nymphs. I strongly suspect that eggish color hot spots may also elicit an egg-eating response from fall
trout.

Nymphing is the most consistent producer, but November & December are above average months to streamer fish for big browns as the spawn makes them more aggressive & territorial, and after they spawn they are hungry and looking to put weight back on. Currently flow are too high for good dry fly fishing, but as they come down, expect to see more rising fish. Better flies  for clear water conditions include a mix of assorted streamers, #18 Baetis/Blue Wing Olive nymphs, big Stoneflies, egg patterns, and assorted "Junk Flies" (Mops, Squirmies/San Juan Worms, Eggs,  Green Weenies, etc.). There is a Winter Caddis hatch in the early AM. Small #22-26 Blue Wing Olives are hatching in the afternoon (Midges too), but with elevated flows the fish are feeding mostly underwater on the nymphs/pupa, less so on the surface. However if it's not too windy, you may find a few fish eating Olives or Midges in Church Pool some afternoons, or Winter Caddis in the mornings. Other than Church Pool, there has been very little dry fly action.

Don Butler is doing his traditional two day beginner fly tying course on January 5th & 12th, 2019,
call the store at 860-379-1952 to sign up, cost is $150- only 2 spots left.

Water Temps: 
Look for water temps in the upper 30s to mid 40s, with the upper 2 miles below the dam in Riverton have the "warmer" water currently. Highest temps will occur in mid/late afternoon, with sunny days seeing the biggest temperature increases- this often activates both the aquatic insects & trout. After colder nights, it may be wise to wait until late morning, thereby giving water temps a chance to rise a degree or two, which will get the trout (and bugs) more active- streamer fishing can be an exception to this, as it's not hatch-related, as can nymphing with egg patterns or other "Junk Flies" like worm patterns & Mop flies. The other strategy is to start your morning in the first 2 miles below the dam in Riverton, where water temps hardly vary at all during the day (due to being released from down deep), and then by late morning you can go back downriver as downstream temps rise.

Late Fall Tactics/Advice:
Now that colder days & nights are here to stay, the water temps are slowly & steadily dropping and the days are getting shorter, and this calls for some changes in tactics as the trout change their behavior due to spawning, slower metabolism, and less bugs hatching. Egg flies are very effective now- experiment with colors, typically yellows, oranges, and pinks. This is a great time of year to toss streamers, and some good-sized ones at that, for what could potentially be some of the biggest trout you will catch all year. Brown trout get extra aggressive toward streamers in November due to spawning, and hungry post-spawn browns seeking calories to replenish themselves will crush them in December. Nymphs are probably the most consistent flies and will typically rack up the bigger numbers, with a mix of "Junk Flies" & imitative patterns each having their moments. Other than maybe a light hatch of Winter Caddis in the early AM, most bug activity has now shifted to the afternoons, but subsurface patterns continue to vastly outproduce dry flies due to the above average flows (normal for late November is a medium total flow of 300-400cfs, currently we are at 800+ cfs). The main November afternoon hatch is small #22-26 Blue Winged Olives, might see some Midges too.

The river was stocked in October with 800+ 13-18" fat rainbows purchased by the FRAA and supplied by Harding Trout Hatchery in New Hartford/Pine Meadow, in spots between the New Hartford 219 bridge and the Satan's Kingdom/Rt 44 bridge. Some of the bigger ones were pushing 3.5-4 pounds. This higher water we've had has spread them out nicely above & below the stocking points.

New Stuff:
T&T's new award-winning Zone series is finally available, it's a mid-priced ($495) set of rods that perform at a high level, they feel great in the hand and cast beautifully- stop by and cast one in the backyard. They even do a nice 10' #7 for you Steelhead guys. We also got some cool tying materials in recently, including #20 Hanak 480 Jig Champion hooks, Jan Siman Fine Peacock Dubbing in all the best colors including some UV ones (one of the absolute best materials for nymph collars),  and are once again fully restocked on all the popular colors of Montana Fly Company Barred Sexi-Floss in both small & medium sizes (this makes awesome legs on a Pat's Rubber Leg Stonefly Nymph).

The areas stocked in September/October are yielding the highest catch rates, with Junk Flies & Woolly Buggers doing much of the catching. Make sure to pair your Junk Flies with a "normal", drabber fly (with or without a hot spot). However, the highest quality, bigger holdover and wild trout have mostly been coming from the permanent Catch & Release area, as well as downstream (that is during periods when downstream water levels have been doable). Be advised that you will work harder for these fish and you won't catch as many as in the more recently stocked sections, but your compensation might be a BIG holdover or wild brown.

The CT DEEP Fisheries did their fall trout stocking for the Farmington River on September 11th, they stocked from below Satan's Kingdom downstream to the Rt 177 bridge in Unionville, and also in the town of Farmington by the Larry Kolp Garden Plot (downstream from seasonal TMA). Also the MDC stocked their 1,000+ trout in the upper river/Riverton (they usually do from below the dam down to Whittemore) on 9/14. The FRAA stocked 800+ 13-18" fat rainbows (some to 3.5-4#!) in New Hartford between the Rt 219 bridge and the Satan's Kingdom bridge the 2nd week of October. But even without these stockings, there was already a bunch of trout in the river, including the sections open to harvest from April through August. 

Hatches/Dries:
-Baetis/Blue Winged Olives #22-26 (cloudy days especially, gentle riffles/pool tails/slower water)
-Winter Caddis: #18-24 pupa & adults (early/mid AM in pools) 
-Midges #20-28 (late morns through afternoons in pools)

Nymphs: 
-Bigger Stoneflies/Pat's Rubber Legs #6-12- gold/yellow, brown, black
-Mop Flies #8-12 (various colors, especially cream/tan)  
-BWO/Olive Nymphs #16-20
-Egg Flies #10-18 (various colors: yellow, pink, orange, etc.)
-Blue Lightning Bugs/Copper Johns #14-16
-Pheasant Tail/Quasimodo Pheasant Tails #14-20
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16
-Antoine's Perdigons (various colors) #12-18
-Attractor/Hot-Spot nymphs #14-18 (Pineapple Express, Frenchy, Triple Threat, Pink Soft Spot Jigs,  
    Carotene Jigs, Egan's Red Dart, Rainbow Warrior, Prince, etc.).

"Junk Flies": nymphs for high/dirty water, freshly stocked trout, or when standard nymphs aren't working:
-Squirmies/San Juan Worms/G-String Worms #10-14 (pink, red, worm brown)
-Egg Flies #10-18
-Mops #8-12
-Green Weenies #10-14

Cortland's "Top Secret" Ultra Premium Fluorocarbon tippet has a glass-smooth Plasma finish and is by far the best and strongest stuff out there: it has 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: 
Fall is when brown trout get extra aggressive and some days the streamer bite has been on. Try #2-14 patterns  (FYI bigger is often better in the fall, gotta appeal to their aggression & hunger), especially in colors like olive, white, black, brown, yellow, or combinations of colors (a little yellow or orange mixed in can be very effective in the fall)- other colors are good too, and it pays to experiment. Typically the low-light periods of early & late in the day are the optimum times to fish a streamer, as are cloudy days. The day or two after a rain, when flows are still elevated & off-color can produce some really good streamer fishing conditions for big trout. During the day, especially when it's bright &sunny, target structure (undercut banks, fallen trees, big boulders, etc.) and shady areas. If you're specifically targeting larger trout, go bigger on your fly, but expect to catch less fish. And FYI a 4-6" articulated fly is not too big if you are looking for top end fish. 3-4" is a good compromise if you want a shot at better fish, but still want to catch some average ones in between the big dogs. Play around with your fly size/pattern/color, presentation & retrieve and see what works- it can make a BIG difference. If you listen, the trout will tell you what they want. Think Home Invaders, Zonkers, Zuddlers, Woolly Buggers, Bruce's Yellow Matuka, Don's Peach Bugger, Dude Friendly, Ice Picks, Mini Picks, Mop Heads, Slump Busters, Sculpin Helmet patterns (for a weighted sculpin imitation), etc.

     -Report by Torrey Collins