It may still be fall, but with the colder temps lately you should adjust your strategies. Flow is medium and at near perfect levels in my opinion. Less hatches & dropping water temps means the trout won't normally be in the faster water, so start targeting deeper runs, pools, and softer/deeper riffles. Trout
may move into the heads of runs/pools/riffles as water temps rise in the afternoon and the Blue Winged Olives get active, so keep that in mind. In the mid afternoons look for rising trout in the softer pool water where the riffles slow down and below that.
Top pic is Mina from this week, she still does an occasional tune-up trip
with Zach St. Amand and as you can see it went quite well- 3rd down is
another big brown she got, not a bad day at all. 2nd pic is a solid Survivor Strain brown (clipped adipose) by Steve Hogan on
top of his Fishpond landing net- #keepemwet.
FYI we are well stocked with almost everything you need to tie flies and the proper gear to fish for Great Lakes Steelhead, just ask and we are happy to help.
Don't show up here at first light and quit at noon, but rather focus on the late morning to late afternoon time slot when water temps are rising, trout metabolism peaks, and you have your best shot at finding feeding trout (maybe even some risers). It's also a hell of a lot more pleasant to fish during the milder part of the day. Sunshine can be a good thing this time of year, as sunny days see noticeably higher water temp spikes. So even though Saturday will be colder than Sunday, I'd still expect to see the water temps get a bit higher on Saturday afternoon due to the sun. Fish smarter and maximize your results.
Junk
Flies (Eggs, Mops, Squirmies) are still top producers almost anytime of day, especially when nothing is going on (they are independent of hatching insects. Tan Caddis are done now, but mid-afternoon
hatches of small Blue Wing Olives (BWOs) #22-26 will be the main hatch now- they typically hatch starting around 2pm, give or take (not set in stone!). Before & during the afternoon BWO hatch, the nymphs that imitate them can be very effective- usually something mayfly-ish in olive to brown in #18-20 will get the job done, even though the adults are smaller than that. The entire river from Riverton
to
Unionville continues to fish
well, so don't limit yourself to
just one
section or pool, it's literally all good.
Streamers can work
anytime of
day in the Fall, especially early & late in the day during low
light. Trout, especially browns, get extra aggressive toward streamers
this time of year. Go with bigger streamers for less but bigger trout,
or small to medium for better numbers but smaller trout- 3" long (give
or take) would
be the in-between size choice for the best of both worlds.
Fall/Winter Store Hours:
8am-5pm 7 days a week
We've received a veritable pile of used rods & reels as trade-ins recently. Some are listed on our website, but
many of the least expensive used rods & reels are for
in store purchase only and are not
listed up and can only be found by looking on our racks. Stop in the store and check it out for yourself, there are some
really good deals!
Thomas & Thomas has debuted their Paradigm series of moderate
action, dry fly type rods, along with a new Contact 10' #3, and a Zone
10' #4. We just received samples/demos of the new Contact & Zone 10
footers, and should be getting in Paradigms in 9' #4 & #5 in late November. Zach St. Amand has been beating up the new 10' #3 Contact and loves
it so far. Grady & I were impressed with the Paradigms, they are on
the
moderate action/somewhat softer side, but they cast beautifully from up
close to far out and will protect lighter tippet. FYI the Paradigm
series won "Best New Dry Fly Rod" in the 2020 Fly Fisherman magazine
Gear Guide! The Contact 10' #3
feels awesome in the hand, and it's a more portable length than it's
longer brothers. Due to it being shorter than the 10' 8" & 11' 3"
models, it has a crisper action that would make it a very good choice
for someone who likes to tight-line/Euro nymph, but also likes to throw
fly line with dries, wets, and small/medium streamers.
Flows:
Total 8am flow today
(Monday) in the permanent Catch & Release is a very nice 342cfs
(259cfs from the dam, and 83cfs from the Still River).
8am water temp in Riverton was 44 degrees. Lowest water temps will be at first light,
highest will be mid/late afternoon. Currently trout are most active
when water temps are at their highest and/or moving upward, the early to mid morning period has
typically bee slow, fishing picks up as the day progresses and water temps rise.
Trout are still spawning (FYI it can go as late as early/mid January), so watch out for redds (light
colored patches of gravel in riffly areas where the female browns dig a
depression in the gravel to lay their eggs). Several points: 1) please
leave the spawning trout alone so they can make more wild trout, 2)
spawning is very stressful, so don't add to their stress by catching
them, and 3) don't walk on the redds or you will crush the eggs and kill
them- some eggs end up in the light colored redd, but many end up slightly
below them, maybe 3-10 feet or so. Fish in the darker/deeper water
downstream
of the
redds and there will likely be hungry, egg-eating non-spawning trout
there . An egg fly can be absolutely lethal as they are a calorie-dense
high-value food item for trout, they cannot escape/swim away, and bigger
trout love them.
Please do not target fish on redds, or fish that are actively spawning. Let them do their thing and hopefully make more wild trout, it's not sporting to pull them off a redd. Spawning is stressful, so don't add to their stress. There are lots of non-spawning fish that are happy to eat your flies.
We now have Fasna F-415 Jig hooks in stock in sizes
#14-20. They
are high quality, stronger than average, come 30 to a pack, and similar
in shape/design to the ever popular Hanak 450 (which is wide gap/short shank/curled in point).
They run about a
size smaller than marked compared to the Hanak 450 (i.e. the #16 is more like a #18, and so on)- compared to a
standard jig hook they are a full two sizes smaller.
Check 'em out if you are looking for a smaller jig hook with a wide gap,
shorter shank with a turned in barbless point. These hooks
won't
bend out when you are playing a bigger trout- many comp style hooks are
medium wire, and when you combine that with a wide hook gap (especially
on the smaller hook sizes) and a big trout, the result can be a lost
fish when the hook bends.
As of September 1st, the entire Farmington River from the
dam in Riverton for 21 miles downstream to the Rt 179 bridge in
Unionville is now Catch & Release until Opening Day in April 2020.
If you see anybody keeping fish in this section, please call the CT
DEEP at 1-800-824-HELP and report the violation. Even if they are not
able to respond to it on time, the info goes into their database and
helps to create better/more policing of the area in the future.
Zach
St. Amand, one of the top local guides and frequent flyer in our big fish pictures,
is leading a trip with Andes Drifters to Patagonia for big wild
trout, February 8-15th 2019. He still has some availability, call him at 646-641-5618 to find out more or to get onboard.
Hours:
8am-5pm, 7 days a week through March.
Hatches/Dries:
