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| Zach St. Amand with a beauty from this week |
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| Chris Kornatz gettin' it done again! |
Zach and I had good fishing both in and out of the TMA/C&R yesterday, with fish gracing our landing nets all day long. Zach had the fish of the day, an 18" wild, and his morning client landed a 19" wild! A variety of nymphs were the ticket, including Caddis Pupa, Hendrickson type nymphs (brown #12-14), hot spot/flashy attractor nymphs, big Stones, and Mops. Caddis pupa seem to be gettting more active subsurface, and at moments are the ticket. In the afternoon brownish nymphs in #14 were the ticket. When I knew I was over a lot of fish, I went through the area several times, changing flies on each pass, and that was a successful strategy. If you aren't hitting fish, then keep covering water. We also saw light numbers of Paraleps/Blue Quills & Blue Wing Olives, and a light number of assorted Caddis. I watched another angler whack quite a few trout stripping & swinging Woolly Buggers. If you are fishing streamers, make sure to cover plenty of water.
Weekend weather looks fantastic, with highs low/mid 70s, nights low 50s, and no rain in sight. I'd expect the weekend flow to stay where it is and slightly decrease as the Still River continues to drop. At current water levels the dry fly fishing is
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| Wim Auee from the Netherlands was all smiles with this big 2 Year Old Brown |
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| Beautiful Brown by Anthony this week |
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| Rainbow on a small Baetis/Blue Wing Olive (BWO) nymph Thursday 5/17 |
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| Brook Trout from the permanent TMA/C&R Thurs eve |
#12-14 nymphs in medium to dark brown are still top producers, especially on the bigger holdover & wild trout, they imitate the Hendrickson nymphs and will catch big trout when they aren't rising.
Think about pairing them up with either a #14-16 olive/green to tan Caddis Pupa, or something smaller & olive in the #16-18 range to imitate the Baetis/Olives. The 'ol PT (Pheasant Tail) is a very effective imitation of Hendricksons & Olives (depending on what size you choose), and we also have a specific imitation Hendrickson Nymphs in the fly bins at UpCountry that is a Bruce Marino/Grady Allen collaboration, the BMAR Hendrickson Nymph tied by Bruce himself. If you are nymphing in the early AM or late in the day, try using imitations of flies that will be hatching in June, as they will end up in the Behavioral Drift- think Sulfur nymphs & Caddis larva. If you are targetting the fresh stockers, I'd try pairing a natural looking nymph with a Junk Fly like a Mop or Squirmy Worm, or maybe a flashy/gaudy hotspot nymph- deadly combo! FYI higher flows knock quite a few Cased Caddis into the drift, it's definitely an underfished fly pattern. Streamers continue to be productive, and give you a shot at some of the bigger trout. Play around with size, color & style of streamers, and experiment with your retrieve until you find the winning combo for that day. Be aware that color preferences for streamers can change throughout the day as light conditions change.
During higher flows, stick mainly to the major wider pools/runs, and look also for inside turns that break the current. High flows push trout closer to the banks, out of the heavy current. Find a current break that's close to where they normally hold, and you will find trout. Don't make the classic mistake of wading out in high water, I see anglers walk right through the fish all the time in high water, it's a rookie mistake that many veteran anglers make. Look for the current edges and fish the transition between the fast & slow water. Again, don't walk through the prime holding water! Rule #1 is find the fish and fish where they are, and Rule #2 is don't spook them! Rule #3 is fish something they want to eat, and Rule #4 is present it in such a way they they will eat it. Medium to large streamers in various colors (olive, black, white, brown, etc.) are good in higher flows, as are nymphs such as big Stoneflies #6-10, Cased Caddis, #12-14 brownish nymphs (imitate Hendricksons), Frenchies, and Junk Flies (Mops, eggs, worms, Weenies). I generally wouldn't go smaller than #14-16 nymphs during higher flows. Having said this, in clear/high flows if there is heavy bug activity on smaller bugs like Blue Wing Olives, a #18-20 matching nymph may be in order. Fluorescent hot spots and/or flashy UV dubbing can help the trout to spot your fly.
Long range highs average in the 60s with nights in the 40s & 50s. Water temps have been averaging low/mid 50s most days in the permanent Catch & Release (C&R)/TMA, and in Riverton the temps
have been in the low 40s. Hatches are Hendricksons (mostly upper 2 miles below the dam in Riverton now, very light/ending in permanent TMA/C&R), Blue Wing Olives (BWOs)/Baetis) on overcast days, and Paraleps/Blue Quills (a few, getting lighter).
Nymphs & streamers continue to catch most of the trout, especially the bigger ones., but now that flows have dropped way down look for more rising trout when the bugs are hatching. If you are targeting 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, and olive is another top color).
FYI we went to our extended hours: 8am-6pm weekdays, and 6am-5pm on weekends.
We have
Devin Olsen's hot new book "Tactical Fly Fishing", and it looks really,
really good- second batch arrived recently. It cover 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.
The recently stocked trout (above, below, and now IN the permanent TMA/Catch & Release) will be receptive to a variety of flies, especially things like Woolly Buggers and "Junk Flies" (Eggs, Mops, Worms, Green Weenies), but the ones stocked a month or more ago are getting dialed into more natural, imitative flies now. Look also at moments for trout rising to Hendricksons #12-14 (afternoons), Winter Caddis (early/mid morns), small Blue Wing Olives #18-20 (afternoons, especially on cloudy days), and Paraleps/Blue Quills #16-18 (afternoons). Hope for dries, but be ready to fish subsurface with nymphs & streamer. Remember that highest water temps occur in mid/late afternoon, and sunny days will see the biggest water temp increases.
Bigger streamers continue to pick 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. Smaller streamers will often catch more trout, but you are less likely to get a giant on them. Be patient and cover lots of water, change colors/retrieves/patterns/fly size. 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.
Many better fish are moving into the faster water to feed, especially in the late morning & afternoons. As water temps rise during the day, trout & bugs often get more active and it spurs the fish to feed, and they may move more into the current if there are bugs in the drift. When trout are less active due to cooler water temps and no hatching activity, it typically pushes them into the softer/deeper water of pools, deeper runs, and gentle/deeper riffles. Trout (and especially bigger ones) 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 (late morning through late afternoon) when water temps are highest. At the end of the day light levels diminish, and some of the bigger browns wait until then to feed. 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 (especially on freshly stocked trout and during high or dirty water), but also try pairing then up with some regular nymphs to give the trout a choice. Hendrickson Nymphs, Baetis/Olive/BWO Nymphs, Caddis Larva, Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ears, etc. all could be good flies to pair up with a Junk Fly- the Junk Fly often acts as an attractor, and then the trout eat the more natural looking, smaller nymph. Bigger Stonefly nymphs are always 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/black 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 metallic or colored beads 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).
Flow as of 10am Friday 5/17/19:
Currently the total flow in permanent TMA/Catch & Release per the USGS gauge is moderately high & very fishable at 726cfs & dropping (the Still River is 274cfs & dropping), and in Riverton the in the 2 miles above the Still River the Farmington is medium-high at 452cfs. 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 decreased from 300 to 200cfs today, it joins the West Branch about 3/8 mile below UpCountry near condos & sewage plant. The Still River will continue to drop fast every day we don't get significant rain.
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.
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| A favorite image of mine Matt Supinski used in "Nexus" |
Hours:
We are open 8am to 6pm Monday through Friday, and 6am-5pm on weekends.
Water Temps:
Look for water temps to average in the low/mid 50s in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release (low/mid 40s in Riverton above the Still River), but will vary depending upon the weather, time of day, and specific location. Long range highs are mild and will average in the 60s,-70s with lows mostly in the 50s. Mild, sunny days will see the biggest water temp increases. The exception to this will be during high water releases from the dam, as the colder water from deep in the reservoir chills down the river. Highest water temps will occur in mid/late afternoon, with sunny days seeing the biggest temperature increases- this often activates both the aquatic insects & trout. Typically the best bug activity (and fishing) correlates to the most pleasant time of the day for us humans.
Hatches/Dries: