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| Zach holding a pretty Farmington River brown from last weekend |
MDC just announced they are cutting the 1,200cfs release down to 500cfs today, starting at 9:30am with 200cfs flow cuts per hour until they hit 500cfs.
Zach St. Amand is currently out in NY targetting big lake-run fish, but here is a pretty brown he caught last weekend before he left. Also check out below 2 pix of some beauties Zach landed in NY yesterday on his new T&T Contact.
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| Zack breaking in his new T&T Contact 10' 8" #6 on a big NY Lake Run Brown |
We will be open 8am-5pm, 7 days a week.
Flows:
As of yesterday (Thursday 11/8), the MDC increased the dam release in Riverton to 1,200cfs to get the reservoir levels down to an acceptable height (as dictated by the Army Corps of Engineers). I was hoping they would cut the flow back today, and now they are! From 1,200cfs down to 500cfs, in 200cfs flow cuts per hour until they hit 500cfs. This will make Riverton & the permanent Catch & Release/TMA fishable after it drops, albeit higher than average, but certainly fishable with nymphs & streamers. On the flip side, I see about 1 1/4" of rain predicted for later today (Friday) and tonight. Still River is coming in at about 345cfs this morning, it joins the Farmington River about 1/4 mile below Riverton Rt 20 bridge. It will undoubtedly come up to some degree after the rain, which may make staying upstream ABOVE the Still River the best weekend tactic. Don't go below our store, as the East Branch is dumping in 300cfs about 3/8 mile downstream, and the Nepaug River is ripping in a lot of water in Canton/Collinsville.
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| Zach with a kyped up NY Landlocked Salmon on the T&T Contact 10' 8" #6 |
With the total flow coming back down well under 1,000cfs (although probably temporarily), basic fishing advice will remain 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, yellow, and tan have been
top colors, but also try black, brown, 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 is an above
average month to streamer fish for big browns as the spawn makes
them more aggressive & territorial. There has been some limited dry
fly fishing, especially when the Caddis are hatching on milder days.
When flows return
to normal/lower levels (it will be quite a while!), 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.). Other than the Winter/Summer
Caddis in the
early AM, your best shot at dry flies is probably afternoons with
Isonychia & Caddis, mostly in the riffles at the pool
heads. Small #22-24 Blue Wing Olives are hatching, but with elevated
flows the fish are feeding mostly on the nymphs, less so on the surface.
However if it's not too windy, you may find fish eating Olives in
Church Pool.
call the store at 860-379-1952 to sign up, cost is $150.
11am Friday 11/9 Flow & Temp:
Total flow is high but dropping rapidly, as they are cutting the 1,200cfs release in Riverton down to 500cfs in 200cfs hourly reductions starting at 9:30am on Friday (plus an additional 345cfs from the Still River 2 miles below the dam). An inch plus of rain forecasted for overnight will likely raise the Still River- if/when this happens, your best fishing strategy will probably be to stay above the Still River where the flow is 500+ cfs. Keep an eye on USGS flow gauges or call us if you are unsure about conditions and where you should/shouldn't fish. Water temps are averaging mid to upper 40s in the permanent Catch & Release/TMA, upper 40s/low 50s in Riverton above the Still River. Water temps will continue to slowly decrease as November progresses. Early morns are the coldest temps, especially after a truly cold night. 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. 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.
Now that cooler days and cold 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 become 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/Summer Caddis in the early AM, most bug activity has now shifted from late morning thru dusk, but subsurface patterns continue to vastly outproduce dry flies due to the above average flows (normal for early November is a medium total flow of 300-350cfs, currently we are just over 1,000cfs) . Main bugs will be #14-18 tannish Caddis, #14 Isonychia, and on cloudy days some #22-24 Blue Winged Olives. You may still see a few big Stonefly shucks on the rocks, plus an occasional Giant October Caddis (latin name Pycnopsyche, different from the October Caddis they get out west) #8-12 late in the day.
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.
New T&T Contact Steelhead/Lake-Run Brown Trout Rod:
Many of you asked for a "Euro" Steelhead rod, well now you finally have it: T&T released their latest entry into their extremely successful "Contact" series of tight-line/Euro rods, a 10' 8" #6 T&T Contact rod designed for larger fish such as Great Lakes Steelhead & Lake Run Browns. It will handle heavier tippets in the 1x-3x range no problem, and has the power to subdue 10-15# plus fish, while still protecting your tippet. Joe Goodspeed designed it to have increased durability, while still having a light, flexible and 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 weight line like a champ for indicator nymphing & swinging, roll casts easily, and the extra length lets you mend your line better. They also beefed up the cork handle & fighting butt. Homerun!
Hatches/Dries:
-Tan Caddis #14-18 (very light afternoon hatch, riffly water)
-Baetis/Blue Winged Olives #20-24 (cloudy days especially, gentle riffles/pool tails/slower water)
-Giant October Caddis #8-12 (a few in the eves, in riffles)
-Isonychia #14 ("Iso") afternoon/eves (very light hatch, in riffly water)
-Summer/Winter Caddis: #18-24 pupa & adults (early/mid AM in pools)
Nymphs:
-Bigger Stoneflies/Pat's Rubber Legs #6-12 (esp. mornings)- gold/yellow, brown, black
-Mop Flies #8-12 (various colors, especially cream/tan)
-Tan Caddis Pupa #14-18
-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 #12-20
-Prince Nymph #12-16 (makes a good Iso)
-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, 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 & brook trout spawn, they are 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), 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