We are open for business: Monday through Friday 8am-6pm, and Saturday
& Sunday 8am-5pm. When entering the store please try to maintain a
6ft
distance from other customers if possible, and per the governor's decree
you must
wear a mask/face covering of some sort inside the store (both your mouth
AND nose must be covered, no lowered masks please). We are happy to
deliver curbside if you are uncomfortable shopping inside. Just give us
a call.
Our most popular jig hook, the Hanak 450 Jig Superb, is now finally available in #18, and we have a pile of them in stock. Just in time for tying late Summer/early Fall small low water nymphs. The hook design is excellent: ultra wide gap for better hooking, and a slight short shank to tie smaller bugs. Ends up being more like a #20, but with the gap of at least a true #16 hooks (maybe even bigger).
As of September 1st, virtually the entire river went Catch & Release (C&R) (21 miles from the dam in Riverton down to the Unionville Rt 177 bridge) until 6am on Opening Day in April 2021.
If
you see anybody keeping trout, don't confront them, instead call the CT
DEEP TIPS hotline at 800-842-TIPS(4357) and report them. Even if they are unable to come & ticket or arrest them, it gets logged into the system and can help us get
more
future DEEP enforcement on the river when they analyze their call logs
data. I recommend programming that phone # into your cell phone. Please
don't ask us to call them for you, it carries more weight when lots of
different individuals are calling in violations, rather than coming mostly
from UpCountry.
Check out the big smile and the beautiful 21.5" holdover brown customer Matthew Iannone recently landed after a careful stalk into position and 45 minutes of fly changes. A big Isonychia emerger finally did the trick. Big trout LOVE Isos. Next fish pic is Nathan Mumford with a hefty brown, landed in the dark on a big mouse pattern and his new Scott 10' #6 Radian rod- FYI he also hooked a bat that night! 3rd fish pic is Steve Hogan's client Eugene with a handful of pretty brown trout, and the final fish pic is Eugene again with a good Friday Fish Flop with a rainbow haha.
FYI our 2 George Daniel Nymph Clinics in October are both full.
I almost forgot that this is
Labor Day weekend, and the unofficial end of Summer.
We will be open normal hours, except on Monday we will close early at 3pm, so please plan accordingly. If you are coming from out of state, don't forget to purchase a CT fishing license if you don't already have one. Looks like some very pleasant weekend weather, with highs in the upper 70s, nights 55-60 degrees, and no rain in sight. Nice to feel the hot Summer temps finally transitioning to early Fall, and I'm sure the trout will appreciate it also. I forgot to mention in the last report that Fly Ants have been a major player some days over the past week or so. When they are on the water, the trout rise like crazy, so make sure to have a few on you. FYI they are typically small, as in #20-24, but can sometimes be bigger.
Rain midweek has temporarily improved the flow, albeit it's still low. Total flow this morning in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) is 124cfs and dropping, the dam is releasing 75cfs, and reading 80cfs at the USGS flow gauge 2 miles downriver. Riverton AM water temp at the same gauge is 61 degrees this morning. 10 Day Forecast highs are half in the low 80s, and half in the low to upper 70s, with nights ranging from mid 50s to low 60s. I think we have turned the corner on the hot Summer weather, which is a good thing now that the dam release & flows are low. Although low water makes for tougher and more technical fishing, we continue to get good customer reports from some customers, and pictures of big trout landed. Don't feel bad if you are working your ass off for each fish you catch, you need to be on your "A" game in these late Summer/early Fall conditions. Keep your eye on water temps and make sure to move upstream as the water temps rise during the day and peak in mid/late afternoon, carrying a thermometer is a good idea this time of year.
One spot has opened up in Antoine's nymphing clinic this month, call the store at 860-379-1952 to grab it before somebody else does! Their first nymphing clinic filled up in 2-3 days, so Antoine Bissieux put a second
Advanced Modern Euro Nymphing clinic
up on Sunday September 13th from 9am-5pm- this clinic filled and one person cancelled so one spot opened up, we
are also taking down names for a waiting list & future clinics. The above
link is clickable and will take you to
the page with all the details about this class. Learn what the top
competitive anglers from France, Spain, Czech Repbulic & Poland are
doing to outfish everybody else. This is an intermediate level class (no Euro Nymphing beginners!!!), make sure you have a good grasp of euro nymphing techniques and suitable tackle (as in Euro rod) & flies before signing up. FYI Antoine is always available for 1-on-1 guided trips.
We are still definitely fishable as long as you use some common sense
regarding water temps (fish early and/or move upstream as the day
progresses), and are stealthy and adapt to the
conditions. Longest fishing window is in the mornings, middays are the
slowest (especially when it's cloudless and sunny), and things pick up
again in the evenings. Keep an eye on water temps, especially downriver
and in the 2nd half of the day, mid 60 degrees or less is optimal, but
anything under 70 degrees is okay. Fishing will be a lot better if you
are out during a hatch (mornings & evenings) Use mostly smaller
flies (with a few exceptions), fish early & late, longer/lighter
leaders, lighter nymph rigs, look for deeper water & shade, fish
broken water/riffles/pockets, target structure, etc. As I've mentioned
before, even though we would prefer more water for a variety of reasons,
low flows create more dry fly fishing, easier water, and full access to
the river. It also makes it easier to read the water, as the holding
areas are greatly reduced now.
Dry/Dropper tips:
While many of the tiny hatch-matching dries require 12' or longer 6x-7x
leaders, trying to throw a Dry/Dropper rig on that is a recipe for
disaster. Think more like 9', and no lighter than 5x, and big air
resistant dries may require heavier (3x-4x) and sometimes even shorter
(7.5') leaders. You have to be able to accurately turn over that rig, if
you cannot, go shorter & heavier. Attach your nymph to 18-24" of 6x
fluoro tippet for starters. Shallow runs and surface feeding trout may
mean running it 12" below, and deeper/faster runs may require up to
30-36". Most people tie the nymph off the hook bend of the dry, but if
you want the best rig of all, create a tag end dropper for your dry fly
(just like you would in a Euro nymphing rig) above your nymph. Flows are
currently low and most of the bugs are small, so think #16-22 nymphs.
This is a shallow nymphing rig, so don't worry about dredging near the
bottom, there are different rigs for that (Euro or Indicator nymphing).
For those of you doing a Dry/Dropper rig on a Euro rod with a Mono rig,
it's totally doable if you have a thicker mono set up. 15-20# Mono is
optimal, but you can go a little thinner if the dries aren't too big and
bushy. If you go too thin, there's not enough mass in the mono to turn
the flies over. The weight of the dropper nymph actually helps you make
the cast with a Mono rig, just make sure it's not too heavy for your dry
fly to support. It becomes more critical to balance out your flies with
a Mono rig though- bigger dries need heaver flies to be able to cast
them, and smaller dries balance with lighter nymphs. That is
not
necessary with a traditional fly line and tapered leader. But the
advantage to a Mono rig is that for short to moderate range work you can
high-stick it and keep all the line off the water, up to maybe 25' or
so.
 |
| Fish Flop Friday, rainbow trout edition |
Most (but not all) bugs
are much smaller in late Summer/early Fall, so it typically pays off to
also downsize your flies. The current main exceptions would be Stonefly
Nymphs (#6-12) & Iso dries/nymphs (#10-14). Stonefly nymphs are
active in early/mid mornings, and again in the evenings. Isonychia are
normally active/hatching sometime between late afternoon and darkness.
Don't use super heavy Stoneflies right down, you will be dragging bottom
& hanging up constantly. Either lead weight only with no bead, or
beadhead ones that aren't too heavy.
Peak fishing times remain mornings & evenings, midday is
slower/tougher with very few bugs. The morning match-the-hatch dry fly
game is mostly of the
technical flat water variety, with small dry flies, long leaders &
light tippets. Midday is slow on hatches, so try blind fishing
terrestrials (Ants,
Beetles), attractor dries, Dry/Dropper, or do some
Euro or Indicator nymphing in the faster broken/riffly water- look for
shade if
possible, and fish tight
to structure (rocks, fallen trees, undercut banks, etc.). Look for
deeper water, indicated by darker water, but don't ignore the knee deep
& shallower stuff, many big trout come out of surprisingly shallow,
fast ripply water this time of year. Evenings sees some bigger size bugs
hatching
in riffly water, and you can find success with #10-18 flies and
slightly heavier tippets. 6x is about "average" right now, but the tiny
dries all but require 7x tippet, and some of the bigger evening bugs
like Isonychia can be fished on 5x. It's all about getting an accurate,
drag-free float, which is easier to do with lighter tippet. Most leaders
come with 18-24" of tippet built in, but I find 3-4' (or even
more) gives me
much better drag-free presentations, so I inevitably lengthen out my
tippet when I fish dries. This will often also you to fish
heavier tippet. However, big bushy dries will require shorter/heavier
tippets to properly turn your leader over.
Water is pretty darn low, but relatively cool enough to trout fish (60s for the first
5-10 miles of the river, but can hit the 70s further downriver and/or in the
afternoons/eves on hot, sunny day), and
the fishing remains good for
many of our customers. The low flows are
making for easier wading, access to more of the river, and more rising
trout when there is a hatch, but you do need to be stealthier in your
approach. Mornings & evenings remain the peak fishing times, pretty
typical for this time of year. The general rule is the best fishing is
normally during the most comfortable time of day when it comes to trout.
It's late Summer, and that generally means
smaller flies. Most of the nymphs & dries the trout predominately
feed upon are #18 or smaller right now, often much smaller. There are a
few exceptions, notably Isonychia #10-14, big Stoneflies #6-12, and
some
of the Cahills/Summer Stenos & Caddis are a bit bigger too (can be #12-16, but may be smaller). I've
turned around many a day of late Summer nymphing by downsizing #14-16
nymphs to #18s or even 20s. The morning dry fly hatch on pools &
slower riffles is currently Summer/Winter Caddis #20-24, Needhami
#22-26, and the morning "Glamour Hatch" of Tricos #22-26. All these tiny dries
are best fished on longer leaders with 7x tippets, and for smaller
nymphs it's a good idea to downsize your tippet to 6x to give them a
more natural presentation & drift. Thinner tippets will also sink
lighter weighed nymphs to the bottom quickly. In the faster water you
will find some bigger assorted Caddis hatching in the AM, as well as big
Stonefly nymphs crawling out. The midday exception (from late morning
until early evening) would mainly be fishing terrestrials, in particular
Ants & Beetles, #12-18 are very effective sizes that can be blind
fished, or targeted to trout you see rising. Isonychia, being a big
#10-14 mayfly, are another good bug to blind fish/prospect water with,
just remember they are a fast water bug, so fish them there.
Water released from the dam is still cool (59-60 degrees) but
warms
slightly each week now. It was 61 degrees early this morning 2 miles below the dam at the
Rt 20 bridge in Riverton. As you go
downriver, temps slowly rise above that, and during the day the temps
increase and
peak in mid/late afternoon- especially on hotter, sunny days. The cooler
weather moving is this week will help keep the water a bit cooler.
Cloudy
days see much lower water temps increases. In early to mid mornings, you
can currently safely fish probably as far downstream as New Hartford
(where we are) or thereabouts, but by late morning I'd be moving
upstream
at least up to the mid permanent TMA/Catch & Release
(Greenwoods, Church, Mathie's Grove, etc.) and upstream to stay in
trout-friendly water temps. It can hit 70+ degrees mid/late
afternoon by the
shop in New Hartford during hot/sunny days, yet if
you are in the upper part of the C&R/TMA (say Campground) or Riverton, water
temps should stay in the 60s. Optimum trout water temps are
low 50s to mid 60s.
So start further downriver in the AM, move upstream as the day warms,
and ideally carry a thermometer if you aren't sure about the water
temps.
Ironically, while we would overall prefer more water coming out of the
dam, this lower water often makes for more dry fly fishing. When there is a
hatch, this makes for more rising trout.
Less current + less depth = more energy efficient for trout to feed
on/near the surface during a hatch. It's always energetically efficient
for trout to feed on nymph down deep, all they have to do is suck them
in. But when flows are down and the bugs are concentrated on the surface
or in the surface film, it makes it much easier to eat bugs on the
surface as compared to when they have to rise from deeper/faster water.
Trout, especially bigger ones, have to make sure they get more energy
from what they eat than they expend catching their meal, and big trout
burn the most energy of all (think of a Hummer vs. a Moped when it comes
to gas mileage haha).
FYI we have plenty of the hard to find "magic" UTC Sculpin Olive wire in the ever popular Brassie size (for Lance Egan's "Thread Frenchy" nymph), as well as size Small.
Hot New Rods:
The brand new T&T Contact II series (10' #2, 10' #3, 10' 9" #3, 10'
9" #4 & 10' 8" #6) are now available, and now the 11' 2" #3 has
joined the lineup- Zach & I (Torrey) were closely involved with the
prototype development of this last rod, and on version 7 of the
prototype they absolutely nailed it. New improved materials, new guide
spacing
, downlock
reel
seats are standard now (to better balance), and a new fighting
butt design that is more comfortable. Recovery is noticeably
better/crisper, and
the actions "tweaked" for more big fish playing power, plus the newer
materials they use to make the rods inherently store more energy and
give the rod more power. The blanks are
incredibly strong and much much harder to
break. These rods are easy to cast, will give you more distance, and
they deliver with
improved accuracy. Retail is $825.
The low water and late summer conditions makes
early & late in the day the best times to be out, midday during bright
sun and low water can be a tough combo (secret to good fishing is to look for shade,
faster riffly or choppy water, and/or structure such as big rocks,
downed trees, undercut banks). Prospecting with terrestrials such as
beetles & ants, attractor dries, and Dry/Dropper rigs are all good
strategies when there is no hatch. Dry/Dropper combines dry fly
fishing & nymphing, a hybrid technique you could say. Low water also
makes for spookier trout and more technical fishing. For general dry
fly fishing I'd recommend longer leaders (12' or even longer) with long
and relatively light tippets when you are matching the hatch,
but...
go shorter and heavier for Dry/Dropper rigs or they will spin/twist up,
tangle, and not turn over properly. FYI you can take a 9' leader that
is
slightly heavier than what you want for a final tippet (say 4x or 5x),
and then add 3-4' of tippet to make it a better dry fly leader. Longer
leaders with longer tippets give you a more stealthy separation between
your fly line and your fly, and they also make it easier to get a
drag-free float. A #2-4 fly rod is preferable to a #5 or 6 rod as the
fly line lands more gently, thinner fly lines are more flexible which
helps make a drag-free presentation, and the more flexible lighter rods
give you
more tippet protection.
Tricos have are one of three different small bug morning hatches (Needhami #22-26
& Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24 are the other two). They run #22-26, and the
spinner fall is the main event. They form balls of spinners in the air,
and allegedly hit the water when the air is about 68 degrees, plus or minus a little. Typically
they are an early to mid morning event, but that all depends upon air
temps. They fall earlier on warmer mornings, and later during cool
ones.
Dry/Dropper is very effective, especially now in low water. This
technique will let you fish slower and shallower water that can be
tough to fish with Euro Nymphing or Indicators, and it lets you stay
further away so you don't spook the trout. Try a small weighted
nymph 18-30" below a larger buoyant dry
fly. Nymphing the fast water, either Euro or with an Indy, is almost
always effective. Just make sure to fish a pair of nymphs, and make sure
one of them is small (as in a #18-20, give or take), and use much
lighter flies than you would in the Spring. Dominant
hatches include Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24 (early/mid morns),
Needhami #20-26 (/late morns, have duns & spinners), and also Tricos
in the moringing (#22-26, spinners are the main event, they hit the
water at about 68 degrees air temp), and then assorted Blue Winged
Olives
#18-26 at various times during the day, and #10-14 Isonychia (later in
the day, faster water only). There are also assorted Caddis #14-22 (tan, brown,
black, olive/green), various
Cahills/Summer Stenos (eves), assorted spinners (especially Rusty), and
the big Varia/Potamanthus #8-12 (eves, slow water). Beetles & Ants
are great late morning to early evening choices when hatches are sparse-
you can blind fish
them over likely water, or fish them to sporadic risers.
A
lot of
anglers are reporting big creamish yellow #8-12 Mayflies in the evenings
in the slow water (prob mainly Varia, aka the "Yellow Drake", maybe
some Potamanthus mixed in too, and I've even seen a few pics of what I
suspect may be a Hexagenia or "Hex", the biggest of all Mayflies at #4-8) all
over the river. You may not see
Isonychia hatching in big numbers, but despite that trout are always on
the
lookout for that big #10-14 bug, both the dry and the nymph. The bugs
you will see hatching will depend upon which section of the river you
are in, and the water type (fast, medium, or slow).
All methods are producing at moments: Dry Flies, Dry/Dropper, Nymphing (both Euro & Indicator), Streamers,
and Wet Flies/Soft Hackles. If you haven't yet tried it, Dry/Dropper
with
a buoyant dry like a terrestrial (Beetles, big Ants), Isonychia,
Stimulator, or other attractor dry, and a small weighted nymph (#16-18)
dropped underneath it, is both very fun and quite effective. 18-24" is a good
starting distance between flies, but
go longer if you aren't catching fish or you are in deeper water. FYI
the
bug activity has
many quality trout holding in shallower, broken water. Don't
limit yourself to only waiting for bugs and rising trout, as some days
you won't be in the right spot, or maybe you don't want to brave the
often crowded conditions in the popular, known "dry fly" pools. Dry/Dropper
lets you have the pleasure of fishing a dry, and some fish WILL eat the
dry. You can also blind fish the same type dries with no trailing
nymph.
If you are dry fly fishing to rising trout during a hatch,
match
the bugs as closely as you can, paying close attention to fly profile
& stage (Mayfly, Caddis, emerger,
dun/adult, spinner, etc.), the size, and the approximate color. Doesn't
matter if you cannot ID the bug or know the Latin name, just match what
it looks like, paying close attention to the size and making an
accurate, drag-free drift. At this point in the season, all the trout
have seen a ton of fake flies and real bugs, so you need to be on your
"A" game to fool them. Get as close to the as you can, and use a long
tippet (3-4' or even longer if it's not windy) to help get a drag-free
float. If you get a few accurate
natural presentations with no takers or you get a visible refusal,
either change flies or move to another fish. A refusal means you are
close, but something isn't quite right (size is slightly off, color
isn't right, they want an emerger, etc.). As a last resort, sometimes a
gentle twitch when the fly is a couple of feet above the trout will seal
the deal. But sometimes it will spook them, so do that judiciously.
Caddis dries fished in riffly water often fish better when you twitch
& skate them, they are a very active insect.
Streamer fishing is an option
if you want a change from dries & nymphs, especially on overcast
days. Generally in low water like this you want to downsize to smaller
patterns. Low light conditions and
increased and/or off-color flows (like during or after a rain) make for a
better streamer bite- the biggest trout will
often be near structure like big rocks, undercut banks, downed trees,
etc. Olive is a good starting color for streamers, but it's important to
change colors (black, brown, tan, yellow, two-tone, etc.), fly size,
fly type, retrieve, depth fished, etc.
Be aware that bug activity varies from day to day and section to section, but also depending upon
water type.
Don't look for Isonychia 200 yards down a pool in the flat water, as
they are a fast water insect and that's where you will normally find them, at the
pool heads and in pocket water/faster water. I hear customers tell me
there were "no bugs", but then I find out they were fishing early
afternoon in flat/slow water on a bright sunny day and expecting to see
Iso's. Do your homework and learn at least a little about major hatches
(e.g. Iso's) that are common and last a while. Mayfly Spinner
falls occur over riffles & pocket water. Caddis most commonly hatch
& egg-lay in riffles and faster water. Big trout will often drop
into the tails of pools in the evenings to feed. Bottom line is that if
you aren't seeing bugs, move around to different water types, and move
up & down the river.
There are truly no secret "hot spots". The entire stretch of river from
the
dam in Riverton down to Unionville (20+ miles), has trout spread
throughout it in very good numbers (be careful about going too far
downstream in August, temps can sometimes get too hot to trout fish if
you get too far below the dam). Big trout are scattered throughout
the entire river. This
is not a river where you have to be in one of only a handful of spots to
do well. The trout are truly everywhere, a mix of 2020 stockers,
multi-year holdovers, and plenty of wild fish too. Excellent habitat and
many miles
of cold water means the trout exist in good numbers all over the river.
Yes, the 6.2 mile permanent TMA/C&R (catch & release) likely
has the highest density of trout, but.... the rest of the river holds a
lot of trout too, and some
really good ones. Most years I catch my biggest trout
outside
of the permanent TMA/C&R. Go out of your way to explore new water on the
Farmington, drive until you see some juicy looking new water unoccupied
by other
anglers and explore it, I think you will be pleasantly surprised
If you are fishing wets/soft-hackles (and you
should be sometimes), try a 2-3 fly rig, on tag end
droppers about 24-30" apart. During hatching activity where you see bugs and
occasional rising trout, keep all your flies unweighted and fish near
the surface. If it's slow and trout don't seem willing to move to your wets, use a lightly to moderately weighted
soft-hackle or nymph on the point position to get your rig down deeper
where the trout are. Throw across & slightly upstream and make an upstream
mend to sink your flies, let them dead-drift (watch your fly line tip
for subtle strikes), and then let them do the traditional wet fly swing-
expect strikes especially at the 3/4 downstream point when your flies
rise toward the surface. At the end of the drift let them dangle for
several seconds, then twitch them up & down a couple of times. Add
some slight rod tip twitches during some drifts, and on others just let
them drift. Keep your rod tip up around 10 o'clock during the entire
drift for tippet protection, better fly animation, and better hook-ups- this creates very
slight controlled slack you need so trout can inhale your fly and not
short strike it. This technique is great for covering riffle & pool
water where the trout are spread out and can be anywhere, the kind of
water that can be difficult/challenging to nymph.
***********************************************************************************
Current Store Hours:
8am-6pm Monday through Friday, and 8am-5pm on weekends.
Flow:
The
Farmington is currently bumped up a little due to midweek rain, but is still low at a total flow of 124cfs total flow and dropping
through
the permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) area, and averaging low to upper 60s for
water temps on most of the upper river, depending upon the weather, river
section, and time of day. Riverton is a very low 80cfs from the dam on the West
Branch, and the Still River is adding
in an
additional 44cfs and dropping below it's junction with the West
Branch. Early morning Riverton
water temp was 61 degrees this morning, downstream water temps are
higher, temps will rise during the day. Most
mornings (assuming a relatively cool night) water temps are
trout-friendly as far down to Canton/New Hartford, but I would not go
further downriver
(Collinsville/Unionville) than that, and by late morning I'd be more upstream in order to stay in trout-friendly water temps
(mid permanent TMA/C&R and upstream). The further upstream you go
right now, the closer to the dam, the colder the water.
Hatches/Dries:
