Zach's regular client Randy Coons with a 21" inch beauty from Sat morning |
Derrick's client Matt Allen with a beauty from Saturday |
Obese 7# Bow I got after work on Saturday! 22" x 15.5" |
Nymphs & streamers continue to catch most of the trout, especially the bigger fish. If you are targetting freshly stocked trout, make sure if you are nymphing that one of your flies is a "Junk Fly"- Mop, Squirmy Worm, Egg Fly or Green Weenie. Pair it up with a more regular, natural looking fly (Hare's Ear, Pheasant Tail, etc.). Small to medium streamers such as Woolly Buggers can be lethal on fresh stockers too, make sure to play with colors (Rainbows usually LOVE black FYI).
FYI we went to our extended summer hours starting 4/1: 8am-6pm weekdays, and 6am-5pm on weekends.
Customer Drew Sommo with a solid brown from last week |
Local guide Mark Swenson is doing a FREE intro to fly fishing for beginnners class, click link to
Fishing reports continue to pick up, Early Stoneflies #14-16, Baetis/Blue Wing Olives #18-20, and Paraleps/Blue Quill #16-18 are popping in the afternoons. You may see some risers, but expect to go subsurface if not. Most of the big trout you've been seeing posted on here were caught on nymphs or streamers. You still want to get your nymphs & streamers deep, but with rising water temps you can definitely start fishing your streamers faster, and look for big trout feeding on nymphs in some faster water now too.
We have
Devin Olsen's hot new book "Tactical Fly Fishing", and it looks really,
really good- second batch just arrived this week
Covers Euro style
nymphing, plus a whole lot more. Based
upon what he's learned from years of the highest level fly fishing
competitions against the best trout fly fishermen in the world. It
covers things in an extremely detailed way, and has some great "Case
Studies" where he shows you different water type pictures with photo
sequences of how they were able to successfully catch fish in them, and
what adjustments they had to make in their rigging, approach,
presentation & flies to find success. It's a good
new option that does NOT duplicate George Daniel's two books on
nymphing, but rather it compliments and adds to them.
Another view of my big Opening Day Rainbow |
Streamers have picked up less but bigger fish. If you wanna throw 4-6" streamers for trophies, you are swinging for the fence and may strike out, but some days you will hit a home run and catch a
giant. Be patient and cover lots of water. Look to softer/slower
water
for dry fly fishing, but be prepared to go subsurface if needed.
Sometime they will eat the Black Stones on the surface, but it's very
hit or miss. Junk Flies and various streamers fished slow & deep are
the ticket sometimes. Experiment and the trout will tell you what
they want. It can vary from day to day, and even during the same day as
water temps, trout metabolism, insect activity, and light levels all
change as the day progresses.
Some of the better fish are moving into the faster water to feed, espeically in the afternoons. As water temps rise in the afternoon most days, trout often get more active and feed, and may move more into the current if there are bugs in the drift. When trout are less active due to cold water temps, it typically pushes them into the softer water of pools, deeper runs, and gentle/deeper riffles. But they (and especially bigger fish) will often slide up into the heads of pools/riffles/runs into the somewhat faster water to actively feed. This is most common later in the day (afternoons) when water temps are highest and light levels diminish. It's a combination of rising water temps, bug activity, and light levels that gets the trout feeding.
Junk Flies (Mops, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Eggs, etc.) should
all
continue to have their moments, but also try pairing then up with some
regular nymphs. Early/Winter Stones (black, brown), Midge patterns,
Caddis Larva,
Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ears, etc. all could be good flies to pair up
with a Junk
Fly. Bigger Stonefly nymphs are still on the menu and make an excellent
anchor fly when you need something heavy, and just might net you a
bigger fish too. If you are fishing
pools that get hit hard (like Church Pool or Hitchcock), make sure to
fish some drab/natural flies (no bead, no flash, no hotspot) and/or
patterns that are unusual and the fish haven't seen before. Heavy
pressure can make specific patterns less effective, and sometimes shiny
metallic beadheads and make trout shy away, so try some nymphs with no
beads or black beads. And sometimes regular beadheads work way better
than unbeaded patterns, you have to experiment if you know you are over
fish but aren't doing well. Of course it goes without saying that a good
dead-drift is critical (but let it swing out at the drift's end,
strikes often occur at that moment, especially during insect activity).
Slowly/deeply fished streamers are
still connecting up with big trout, and some mornings have seen trout
rising to Winter Caddis in early/mid mornings, and Midges after that.
Nymphing is the #1 producer most days, as there are lots of nymphs in the drift now, but browns are hungry and sometimes want a big bite like a streamer. Many days Church Pool has been offering up morning dry fly fishing in the slower water (some days great, and some slow)- look for mornings that are not windy, preferably following a cold night. I usually target the late morning to late afternoon period for the most comfortable temps & best fishing (higher water temps = more active bugs & trout). The low light and higher water temps of the last couple hours often brings bigger browns out of hiding too.
Flow update as of 8am Monday 4/15/19:
Total flow in permanent TMA/Catch & Release according to USGS gauge is in great shape- currently high at 723cfs (the Still River is 444cfs), and in Riverton above the Still River the Farmington is medium at 279cfs. Normal median total flow for today would be 557cfs. The Still River joins the Farmington River about 1/4 mile below Riverton Rt 20 bridge, roughly 2 miles below the dam. East Branch release was 150cfs last I knew, it joins the West Branch about 3/8 mile below UpCountry near condos & sewage plant.
Click this Thomas & Thomas blog link for a very recent review I wrote about their awesome new Contact 10' 8" #6 rod for Steelhead & Lake Run Trout/Landlocks: https://thomasandthomas.com/blogs/news/torrey-collins-contact-1086
Check out this link to my blog post on 10 of my favorite books on a variety of subjects:
http://www.farmingtonriver.com/classes-news-reviews/10-of-torreys-favorite-books-december-2018/ I'll be doing more blog posts on recommended books in the future, there are many great books out there.
A favorite image of mine Matt Supinski used in "Nexus" |
Hours:
We will be open 8am to 6pm Monday through Friday, and 6am-5pm on weekends.
Water Temps:
Look for water temps to be somewhere in the mid/upper 40s (colder in Riverton above the Still River), but will vary depending upon the weather, time of day, and specific location. Long range highs average in the 50s and 60s, so this could push water temps up to 50 on warmer, sunny days. 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, or flashy attractor-type nymphs that stimulate a reaction bite.
Hatches/Dries:
-Early Black Stoneflies #14-16 (mostly underneath, but sometimes gets fish on the surface)
-Blue Wing Olives #18-20 (afternoon)
-Paraleps/Blue Quill/Mahogany Dun #16-18 (afternoon)
-Winter Caddis: #18-24 pupa & adults (early/mid AM)
-Midges #20-28 (late morns through afternoons)
Nymphs:
-Black Stone/Black Nymphs #14-18
-Brown Stone/Brown Nymphs #14-16
-Derrick's Heavy Hitter #16
-Large Stoneflies/Pat's Rubber Legs #6-12- gold/yellow, brown, black
-Assorted Olive Nymphs #16-20
-Mop Flies #8-12 (various colors, especially cream/tan)
-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) #12-16
-Cased Caddis #8-16
-Antoine's Perdigons (various colors) #12-18
-Attractor/Hot-Spot nymphs #14-18 (Haast Haze, 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, cold water, or when there is no hatch and 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
Streamers:
-Dude Friendly #8 (white, yellow, natural)
-Woolly Buggers #2-14 (olive, black, white, brown)
-BMAR Yellow Matuka #6
-Rio's Precious Metal #4 (Kreelex copper, olive)
-Strolis Laser Muddler #6 (olive, tan, brown)
-JJ Special/Autumn Splendor #4-8
-Matuka #4-8 (olive, brown)
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/
-Report by Torrey Collins