Monday, April 6, 2020

Monday 4/6/20 Farmington River Report: trout are biting

Our fishing report follows this important message.

We are open 8-5pm daily for curbside pick-up. Call us on the phone at 860-379-1952 before arrival or from the parking lot, tell us what you want and we will take a credit card payment over the phone.

We are also offering limited 1/2 hour shopping appointments in the store from 3pm to 4:30 pm daily, In order to do this under the new regulations, we are limiting to one employee and one customer in the store. These appointments are for those intending to make $200+ purchases, and this will also be the procedure for trades. Call in advance at 860-379-1952.

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 We will not be issuing fishing licenses during the closure to comply with the new rules, so make sure to purchase one in advance online by clicking on this link. If you don't have a printer, it's perfectly acceptable to keep your license on your mobile/smart phone.

This is uncharted territory for all of us, so please be patient as we figure this out and evolve. We are bound by a whole new set of rules & restrictions that is making it much tougher to do business. We will do our absolute best to accommodate all our loyal customers, we appreciate every one of you. Your continued support keeps our store open so we can keep supplying you with the best fly fishing stuff, fly tying materials & flies.
    Thanks!
     -Grady, Torrey & Jake
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Farmington River Report

The stocking trucks continue to roll on a daily basis all over the state, and all the local smaller trout streams are open to fishing now if you are looking for other options. We've been stocked at least 3x at the Farmington so far, with plenty of more trout coming this Spring. And there were already a pile of holdover & wild trout in the river before all of this. As temps rise, the trout and the insects are both getting more active, and fishing seems to improve by the week.

Water temp has reached 50 DEGREES, in the TMA. With water temps like that, I'm guessing we might see a few Hendricksons in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release by the weekend. Downstream in Collinsville/Unionville will see them at least several days before us down there due to slightly higher water temps there. Blue Wing Olives have been the glamour hatch of late. The Farmington has been stocked 3x since February, and this combined with great water temps & more insect activity is making for some good fishing. We are still seeing assorted Early Stones (black, brown) & Midges, and as I said above BWOs/Baetis are the current hatch du jour. More trout rising over the past week, especially in big/wide/flat pools like Church, Greenwoods, Boneyard, and School Bus. Streamer fishing is now putting up numbers, the trout have the feedbag on, both recent stockers AND holdovers/wilds. 

We are seeing good hatches of the #16-18 Blue Wing Olives/Baetis in the afternoons in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release, so in addition to dries think about fishing a smaller nymph that looks like them (#16-18, slim, olive to olive-brown). They are also rising to them now in some spots in the afternoons, so have the matching dries/emergers.

 The best nymphs have averaged in the #12-16 range and include brown and also black patterns that can imitate the Early Stones & immature Hendrickson nymphs, Caddis larva olive/green, and now think add in some smaller #16-20 patterns that could imitate Baetis/Blue Wing Olives,  Midges, and Mahogany Dun/Blue Quills. Streamer fishing has picked up noticeably, and lately black or olive have been top colors, but I'm also a fan of brown this time of year, and white can be good too- experiment! Try also the following hybrid rig: a weighted streamer such as a conehead Bugger, Zuddler, Slumpbuster, etc. with a #14-16 soft-hackle or nymph trailed 14-18" of the hook bend- the streamer often functions as the attractor, and then the trout eat the trailing smaller fly. This helps turn some of those chases, rolls & flashed into a solid hook-up.

We got in a pile of flies from Fulling Mill & Umpqua recently, including some cool streamers we haven't carried before, check out Tommy Lynch's deadly D&D that swims like a Flatfish lure- fish it on a sink-tip/sinking leader/sinking line to get this unweighted pattern to the proper depth, the action/movement on this fly is INSANE. Weighted streamers like Woolly Buggers, Zuddlers, Slumpbusters, and Complex Twist Buggers all continue to produce fish if fished down deep. Try also streamers with Sculpin Helmets, bounced & twitched along the bottom on a floating line- deadly on bigger trout. Play with colors, fly size, pattern style, retrieve, depth, and cover lots of water and you should be able to find success


We've recently received BIG orders of assorted hooks from Umqua/Tiemco, Fulling Mill jig hooks, a huge Wapsi tying material order, lots more books including the hot new streamer book from Kelly Galloup "Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout II", a definitive new book on Brook Trout by Bob Mallard "Squaretail" (autographed copies), and lots of spin tackle. We are happy to mail order over the phone for you, or prepare a goody bag for curbside pick-up. Thank you all for the support you've shown our business since the CT shutdown of non-essential businesses, we appreciate every single sale/order you give us! Let's all stick together & stay safe as best we can..

Current Store Hours:
8am-5pm Monday through Friday, and 8am-5pm on weekends, "curbside pick up" only- we will be going to 8am-6pm on weekdays soon and will announce that on here. Call 860-379-1952 to place orders or have us put together your order for pick-up.

Flows:
Total 8am flow today (Monday 4/6) in the permanent Catch & Release is medium at 320cfs (165cfs from the dam, plus 155cfs from the Still River), normal historical flow for today is 672cfs. Riverton water temps have typically been starting in low 40s and bumping up a degree or two on warmer/sunny afternoons. Further downstream in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) on sunny/mild days you may see water temps crack 50 degrees now- sometimes all it takes is a small bump-up to get the trout feeding.

Cortland's brand spankin' new Nymph Series Rods for Euro Nymphing are in stock. This series is all in a 10.5' length and three line weights: #2, #3, and #4, and retails at $299.99. These replace the extremely popular Competition Nymph Series. We have fished the new version in the 10.5' #3 model, and they are a noticeable improvement with a crisper action, faster recovery, more sensitivity, a downlocking reel seat for better rod/reel balance, and improved guide spacing to minimize line sag between the reel and the stripping (first) guide. The new construction also significantly improves the durability, and they maintained the stealthy matte finish to minimize rod flash on sunny days. You won't need a heavy reel to balance these either. I'm sure the #3 will be the best seller, but the 2 weight is sweet with a soft tip that will protect 6x-7x tippet on big fish, and the #4 has the power to handle heavier tippets with bigger flies on bigger fish and can cross over as an Indy nymphing rod too. This series looks like a real winner to us, and the best under $300 Euro rod on the market hands-down.

Thomas & Thomas's new 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 its 10' 8" & 11' 3" cousins, it has a crisper action that would make it a very good choice for someone who likes to Euro nymph, but also likes to cross over and throw fly line with dries, wets, and small/medium streamers.

Hatches/Dries:  
-Blue Wing Olives #16-18 (aka Olives, Baetis, BWOs, etc.)- good hatch, afternoons 
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: pupa & adults (early/mid AM, but sometimes afternoons also)
-Early Stones #14-16 (both Black and Brown, in the afternoons, esp. on milder days) 
-Midges #20-32 (late morn thru afternoon) 
-Hendricksons are NOT hatching yet but should be very soon, possibly even by this upcoming weekend- water temps are hiting 50+ degrees some days already. Look for them first downriver in Collinsville/Unionville due to slightly warmer water downstream, and then up in the Permanent TMA/C&R a little after that.

Nymphs
-Olive Nymphs #16-18
-Pheasant Tail/Quasimodos/Frenchies #12-18 (in #12-16 imitates Early Brown Stones/Hendricksons, smaller ones imitate smaller/immature Mayfly nymphs like BWOs & Paraleps)
-Prince Nymph #12-16 (imitates Early Black Stones)
-Strolis Infant Stones #14 (black, brown)
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16 
-Cased Caddis #12-14

-Perdigons #12-16 in black, brown, and olive (imitates the Early Stones/Hendricksons & Olives)
-"Junk Flies" #8-16 (Eggs, Mops, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Green Weenies)
-Zebra Midge #18-22 (black, red, olive)
-Attractor Nymphs #14-20 (Haast Haze, Rainbow Warrior, Blue Lightning Bug, Miller's Victim, 
   Triple Threat, Princes, etc.) -anything flashy, gaudy, or with a hot spot   
-Bigger Stoneflies/Pat's Rubber Legs #6-12 (gold/yellow, brown, black)       

Soft-Hackles/Wet Flies:
-Assorted Patterns #10-16: Hare's Ear, Partridge & Orange, Partridge & Flash, Partridge & Pheasant Tail, Starling & Herl, Leadwing Coachman, etc.

Streamers
-BMAR Yellow Matuka #6
-Complex Twist Bugger #2- assorted colors
-Sculp Snack #8 (George Daniel pattern)
-Home Invader #2-6- tan, black, white, yellow 
-Foxeee Red Clouser Minnow #6
-Dude Friendly #8 (white, yellow, natural)
-Woolly Buggers #2-14 (black, olive, white, brown, tan)
-Rio's Precious Metal #4 (Kreelex copper, olive)
-JJ Special/Autumn Splendor/Tequeely #4-8
-Matuka #4-8 (olive, brown, yellow)


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/