As of May 20th, CT
guidelines for "non essential businesses" like us changed to once again allow customers in the store. Per new CT rules,
you must wear a mask/face covering of some sort inside the store- no exceptions.
We are now open Monday through Friday 8am-6pm, and Saturday/Sunday 8am-5pm.
You can purchase your
CT fishing license in advance online by clicking on this link. FYI if you don't have a printer, it's perfectly acceptable to keep your license on your mobile/smart phone nowadays.
Website and Phone Orders get free shipping at $50. Please take advantage, we typically ship the same day if you call by 3pm.
Your continued support has kept our store open
so we can keep supplying you with the best fly fishing
stuff, fly tying materials & flies. A big "Thank You" to each and every one of our customers.
Thanks!
-Grady & Torrey
**********************************************************************************
Farmington River Report
 |
| 13" Brookie with amazing colors |
Hot New Rods:
The brand new T&T Contact II series in
10' #2, 10' #3, 10' 9" #3, and 10' 9" #4, with more models
coming later this Summer (11' 2" #3, and maybe one more...). New improved materials, new guide spacing
(stripping guide is closer to handle to reduce line sag), downlock reel
seats are standard now (to better balance the rod), and a new fighting
butt design that is more comfortable. Recovery is noticeably better,
actions were "tweaked" for more big fish playing power, and the blanks are incredibly strong and much much harder to
break. These rods cast beautifully- easy to cast, extra distance, and accurate. Retail is $825.
We apologize if we've been out of some products, but due to the
Coronavirus there have been interruptions in the supply chain. That
combined with incredibly high consumer demand and slow shipping from
some suppliers is leading to empty spots on our walls/shelves. We're
doing our best to fill in the holes. FYI we recently received a big book/DVD shipment, including the new
"Adaptive Fly
Fishing" DVD by Lance Egan & Devin Olsen, the
new John Gierach book
"Dumb Luck and the Kindness Of Strangers", and
Charlie Craven's latest
book "Tying Streamers".
Top pic is Zach's client this morning, Sy Balsen, holding up an impressive brown. 2nd pic is a flawless 13" Brook Trout I landed here Wednesday. 3rd pic is a Stomach Pump sample from a Rainbow, look at all the Caddis Pupa & assorted Mayfly nymphs, pretty darn cool. Final pic is the last fish I landed Wednesday eve, a really nice 18" Brown that appears to be wild.
 |
| Stomach Pump sample |
One more beautiful cooler fishing day today (Friday) with a high in the upper 70s and overcast all day. Makes for very pleasant fishing, and should see good hatches (esp. Blue Winged Olives/BWOs/Olives). Should also make the lower river in Collinsville/Unionville fishable all day long. Hot weather moves in for 4 days, with highs in the upper 80s to mid 90s for Saturday through Tuesday, then back to upper 70s. The water is still coming out of the dam in Riverton around 50 degrees, and then rising slowly as you move downriver away from the dam. If you plan on fishing the lower river during this incoming hot weather, please do so in the mornings when water temps are at their coolest, and then migrate upriver to colder water. 8am water temp a little below the dam was 50 degrees this morning. In the early to mid AM, streamers, nymphs and dries are all possibilities. Match the hatch if you have risers, chuck streamers for big fish, blind fish big Stoneflies in the fast water, or try a Dry/Dropper rig with a buoyant dry trailed 18-30" below with a small weighted nymph.
Zach St. Amand, Rich Strolis & myself all met independently Joe Goodspeed on Wednesday to test out version 7 of the T&T Contact II 11' 2" #3 prototype, and we all loved it. Look for that model to appear in the production Contact II lineup around mid/late August, it casts even better than the original Contact 11' 3" #3, has more fish playing power, and is incredibly durable. Joe & I fished for about 4-5 hours, and then I stayed out until dusk. He stomached pump two trout during the day, the first one at midday was full of Caddis Larva & Pupa averaging #16, and in the late afternoon further upriver it was Caddis Pupa again, a couple of Caddis Larva, with some medium sized Mayfly nymphs and some #18-20 Blue Winged Olive nymphs. Bugwise I saw Attenuata from mid/late afternoon through dusk. A few Sulfurs too (not many), plus some Isonychia. At first I though I was seeing a good hatch of smaller Sulfurs, then I realized they were Attenuata. Getting reports of a brownish #16 Caddis in the eves around New Hartford, and 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) all over the river. You may not see Isonychia hatching in numbers, but despite that trout are always on the lookout for that big #10-12 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)
Fishing was good, with a steady procession of trout to the landing net. Joe got a mix of Rainbows, a couple of really nice 17" Browns (1 wild, 1 holdover) , and a bunch of Brook Trout in the fast pocket water. I was into almost all Rainbows, but I caught a flawless 13" Brookie that may well have been wild. Virtually every bigger Brook Trout that I've landed here has had some sort of noticeable fin deformity or damage, however this one did not and it even jumped out of the water several times. I slid into a "sneaky spot" in the permanent TMA/C&R in the evening looking for a big brown to end the day. The first 45 mins saw me struggle to even hook a fish despite moving around and multiple fly changes. The flies that worked early (small Caddis Pupa, smaller Frenchies, small Baetis/Olive nymphs) failed me and I experimented with various other bugs with no success. Attenuata were hatching but nothing was rising where I was. And then I swithched up to a bigger #14 Frenchy and everything clicked- I immediately back-to-back landed two beautiful wild browns, with the bigger one hitting 18". Great way to end the day. FYI water temps ranged from 53-57 degrees (New Hartford up to Riverton).
FYI many of you are telling me you are seeing small Sulfurs hatching all over the river in the evenings. The actual Sulfurs (Dorothea, Invaria) are mainly up in Riverton now, closer to the dam and coldest water. Just like every other hatch, they start downriver and work their way upriver. Most of these reports are actually Attenuata, which would more accurately be lumped in with Blue Wing Olives. If you grab one in hand, they are a bright greenish yellow, verging on chartreuse, and their wings & legs are cream colored. They run #18-20, and most commonly hatching in the evenings, although you may see them in mid/late afternoon when you are upriver closer to Riverton. FYI the winged Dun emerges from the nymph on the stream bottom, and then rises/swims to the surface, and then the Dun rides the surface like a typical Mayfly. Quill Gordons & Vitreus have this same hatching behavior.
I try to give you guys a lot of info on here, but it's hard to pin down
the exact time of day various bugs hatch on this river. It varies
depending on how far below the dam you are, and also according to daily
weather. The unusually cold water coming out of a deep reservoir makes
info in the hatch books often inaccurate on our river and often means we
see hatch activity at time of the day you won't see them on freestone
rivers. We are seeing assorted Blue Winged Olives (aka BWOs/Olives) all
over the river, ranging anywhere from early mornings to evenings, and
everything in between. They are currently the most numerous bug far,
ranging from #16-18 (Cornuta?) all the way down to #24-26, maybe even
smaller. They hatch best on overcast days, but are also showing up on
sunny days. In the permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R), overall
the heaviest hatching is in the eves, going to darkness and beyond. Look
down below for a list of hatches & dry flies. July is a big
Isonychia (Iso) month, look for them in fast water, anytime from late
afternoon right up until dark. Plenty of other bugs are
hatching/egg-laying in the eves- Sulfurs (Riverton), Cahills, assorted
Caddis, Potomanthus/Varia (BIG yellowish Mayflies), Attenuata, and more.
Midges are always a possibility, anytime.
The majority of anglers are fishing dries, and many are giving us good
reports, especially in the evenings. All other methods are producing at
moments: 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. FYI 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. Low light conditions and
increased flows 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. Nymphing, as always, is another
good option- target the faster water with imitations of the current bugs
& attractor nymphs. Big Stonefly nymphs are often "hot" in the
mornings. Iso nymphs, Caddis Pupa, small Mayfly nymphs are all having
their moments. Remember that Iso nymphs are great swimmmers, so always
let them swing out at the end of each drift. In addition to a specific
imiatation, bigger Princes & Pheasant Tails can also successfully
imitate Iso's, and various size Pheasant Tails/Frechies imitate many
medium to small Mayfly nymphs.
Remember this: the
further downriver you go, the more the river behaves like a natural
freestone river, meaning early & late are the prime times to be out, and you need to pay attention to water temps.
Closer to the dam the icy water (about 50 degrees give or take) means that "morning hatches" may happen
later, and often the "evening hatch" can start & end before it does
downstream. Warm to hot air temps make terrestrial imitations such as
beetles & ants great choices, especially in the afternoons when
hatches are generally scarce now. You can blind fish them, or target
sporadic risers with them. Dry/Dropper with a buoyant visible dry fly
(Mini Chernobyl, Elk Hair Caddis, Stimulator, etc.) trailing a smaller
weighted nymph 18-30" off the hook bend is another effective and fun
option when the hatches aren't coming off. And of course Euro nymphing
the faster water is always a good option when they aren't rising. First
light with streamers can produce a big trout- cover lots of water. Hot
sunny weather means that targeting shade, structure (big rocks, undercut
banks, downed trees, etc.), and faster choppy water are good ideas.
Remember that trout don't have eyelids, and they also seek concealment
from predators. The most technical midday game is fishing dries to trout
sipping in slow, flat water. Sometimes it requires a 15+ foot 7x leader
and tiny dries, and sometimes 5-6x and a beetle or ant will fool them.
Be stealthy, wear drab colored clothing, use longer leaders, lay your
casts down gently, and make sure to make pinpoint accurate &
drag-free presentations. Lighter rods in the #2-4 range will help you
make a gentle presentation.
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 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, Sulfurs) that are common and last a while. Sulfurs
typically are seen in medium-slow to medium-fast water. 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. Fish have been hit up hard this season and are
no longer pushovers, so be on your "A" game, especially if you hope to
land some big wild browns.
FYI there are truly no secret "hot spots". The entire stretch of river from the
dam in Riverton down to Unionville (20+ miles), numerous trout spread
throughout it in very good numbers. 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 (and the heaviest fishing pressure by
far), 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. 2020 has been a year for the books, with
an epic number of anglers venturing out trout fishing all over CT and
other
states. Make 2020 the year you 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
Make sure to to make accurate, drag-free presentations when targeting
rising trout during hatches. Try to make your first cast be the best
one, subsequent casts often "wise the trout up" and results in refusals
or no looks at all. If you get a handful of good drifts over a fish with
no take, either change your fly, or move to another fish. Refusals
often mean your fly choice is close but not quite right, or that you are
getting subtle drag. Longer tippets in the 3-4'
range will help you get a drag-free float with your dries, and in really
tough situations you can go even longer with your tippet if it's not
windy and your fly isn't too bushy or wind-resistant.
Fishing
subsurface with nymphs & wets/soft hackles is a good
choice even when it appears not much is going on. Subsurface
the trout are often chowing down on nymphs & pupa, unseen to us.
Look for
the medium to fast water (pool heads, fast runs, riffles, pocket
water), and seek out current breaks & seams. Experiment with flies,
as the best ones can and will vary throughout the day. If you are
unsure, when nymphing start with a Caddis pupa #14-16 (tan or
olive/green) &
Pheasant Tail/Frenchy #14-18 combo, it covers a lot of bases. If you get
out early, nymph the fast water with big Stonefly nymphs, this is
usually good from first light to 10am or so (later if it's cooler/cloudy
out). The big stones crawl out onto the rocks overnight and in the
early to mid morning, and that's when the big nymphs (#6-12) end up in
the drift. Pair the big Stones up with a smaller #16-18 nymph. For wets/soft hackles, fish at least 2 flies (I prefer 3 for
that), and pick flies to imitate Caddis (bodies of Hare's Ear, green, or
olive), and others with yellow bodies to imitate the various Sulfurs.
The Partridge & Orange is an old standby that is in most serious
anglers top 3 soft hackles. Wets & soft hackles are particularly
good in the evenings when fish move into shallow water to feed just
subsurface right before & during evening hatches.
If you are fishing wets/soft-hackles (and you
should be!), 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.
Remember the beloved Grey's Streamflex rods? If you liked them, you will
love what I'm about to tell you: Pure Fishing has released an updated
version of the Streamflex series under the Fenwick name, using the
latest materials that
give the rods noticeably improved rod
recovery and durability (30% increase). These rods feel
fantastic in the hand. We have these in the Euro specific models, The
11' #3 & #4 Streamflex have an MSRP of $349.95-
we are selling them for $265. The also do a Streamflex Plus that goes
from 10' to 10' 6"- a six inch extension piece hides in the handle and
can be put in or out in seconds. We have the 10' #3 Streamflex Plus
(goes up to 10.5')- MSRP is $379.95, we are selling it for $285.
***********************************************************************************
Nymphs imitating or
suggesting Caddis Pupa & Caddis
Larva
(olive/green #14-18), Sulfurs #16-18, Cahills #14, Blue Wing Olives/Baetis #16-20, and larger
Stoneflies
#6-12 (golden, brown, black) have all had their
moments. Also try attractor patterns (gaudy flies with hot spots, flash,
UV materials, or unusual colors), sometimes they will outfish the usual
drabber flies for reasons only know to the trout. It can be worth trying
bigger #6-10
nymphs such as Stoneflies & Mops- larger nymphs sometimes
interest larger trout (more calories in a single bite, just like with
streamers). Bigger nymphs can also be better in higher and/or off-color
flows. Remember that
GISS
(general impression of size &
shape) is far more important than having an exact imitation, and
sometimes exaggerated features like a hot spot or flash gets their
attention better than a "perfect" drabber imitation. Trout perceive our imitations
differently than us humans do, so what looks good to YOU isn't
necessarily what the
trout prefer. We'd be lucky to catch any trout at all if our flies truly
had to look exactly like the natural insects. If your fly size &
shape/profile are close to the natural bugs, and the color is ballpark,
all you then need is to put it in front of a willing trout with a good
presentation. I've caught more trout than I can count on Pheasant Tails, Frenchies & Hare's Ears. The shape (tails,
slimmer abdomen, thicker thorax),
color (brown) and size match up to the real Mayflies. I've caught many a
rising trout during various Mayfly, Caddis & Midge hatches on a Parachute Adams
after they refused a dozen different dun, emerger, cripple & spinner
patterns.
For streamer fishing
black, olive, brown and white are great starting colors, but make sure to
experiment and let the trout tell you what
they want. Other often
good colors are yellow and tan. Two tone streamers such a brown/yellow,
olive/yellow, etc.
can sometimes be the ticket. Try the following hybrid rig: a
weighted streamer such
as
a conehead Bugger, Complex Twist Bugger, Zuddler, Slumpbuster, etc.
with a #14-16 soft-hackle, wet fly
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 & flashes into a solid
hook-up. Streamers will produce fish if
fished properly. The low light of early & late in the day are the
prime times, but if you target structure & shade you can catch fish
on them during midday. 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.
Current Store Hours:
8am-6pm Monday through Friday, and 8am-5pm on weekends.
Flow:
The
Farmington is currently medium at a nice total flow of 286cfs total flow
through
the permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) area, and averaging in
the 50s to low/mid 60s for
water temps (depending upon the weather, river
section, and time of day)- USGS historical normal combined flow
for today is 280cfs. Riverton is 256cfs from the dam on the West
Branch, and the Still River is adding
in an
additional 30cfs below it's junction with the West
Branch. 8am Riverton
water temp was 49.5 degrees this morning, downstream water temps are
higher (50s-60s), temps will rise during the day. Sunny days will see the biggest
increases (peaking in late afternoon), and the further you get from the
dam, the higher the temps.
Hatches/Dries:
