Friday, September 10, 2021

Friday 9/10/21 Farmington River Report: Big flow cut coming today!

Our NEW store hours as of 9/7/21:

Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pmWe are now open only until 5pm every day and will be on that schedule through March. Per CDC guidelines, in Connecticut now you do NOT have to wear a mask/face covering anymore IF you are vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated, you need to continue to wear a mask, and please try to maintain a 6ft distance from other customers if possible. We are happy to deliver curbside if you are uncomfortable shopping inside. Just give us a call. 


Pictured is local guide Derrick Kirkpatrick with a 20” brown he landed Monday. Friday


As of 9/1/21, the entire upper 21 miles of the Farmington River is Catch & Release until Opening Day in April 2022. This covers from the dam in Riverton, downstream to the Rt 177 bridge in the center of Unionville. Below the Rt 177 Unionville Bridge it is 5 fish, 9”. 


Bunch of cool Rich Strolis streamers (tied by the man himself) arrived recently: 8 different sets of articulated streamers (4 patterns, 2 color variations in each) to cover a variety of Fall conditions. Come check ‘em out before they are all gone, his flies alwayssell outfast. Medium to large streamers (3-5”) fished properly, especially in the Fall, can result in hooking some of the largest trout in any river. Browns & Brookies get extra aggressive due to the impending spawn. Even after they spawn, they are hungry due to spawning weight loss, and continue to be aggressive towards streamers.


Take a look when you come in the store, or go to the used page on our website- we put a bunch of Store Demo rods out. We are also totally restocked on Fishpond landing nets, we literally have piles of them now, all different models in every finish available. We also have a good supply of the brand new Nomad Emerger in the limited edition Redband finish- they look really cool.


Antoine’s Perdigon nymphs in a wide variety of colors, weights & sizes are ALL back in stock. They are custom ties, and there was a major delay in getting them restocked from our supplier. Ahhh, 2021...


Check out the sale bin in the fly tying area, we have a 
lotof cool stuff we picked up as part of a huge fly tying collection that we are still processing, and we refill it on a near daily basis. These items are for in store purchase only, so please don't call or message us about them, just stop by in person and check them out. 


We have a lot of used fly reels in the case here at Upcountry. Many are listed online and can be purchased through our website or over the phone, but we also have more that are NOT listed online and are for purchase in-store ONLY. Make sure to take a peek in the used reel case when you stop in next time. 


Once again the weekend is at hand, and we have good news. As I write this Friday morning flows are still very high at 1,300+ cfs in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R), but... the MDC just emailed us to say they are cutting it back to a 200-400cfs release today. No exact time table, but they typically initiate flow changes mid morning, and then they may ramp it down in stages over several hours. This will ultimately bring the total flow in the permanent TMA/C&R down to somewhere in the 400-600cfs range for this weekend, finally a nice fishing/wading level! With a very cool night tonight (Friday) at 51, and 60 for Saturday night, water temps will be lowest BELOW the Still River in the morning (see next paragraph). I’d still keep an eye on water temps in the afternoons, but you should be mostly okay if you stay from there down. Bug activity has been ramping up this week, I’ve seen a mix of Caddis, Isonychia, Blue Winged Olives (BWOs) & Midges flying around behind the shop. 


Those of you monitoring water temps on the Riverton gauge will have noticed that water temps went up as soon as they bumped the water release up last weekend. Prior to this at 50cfs, the small release of water around 67-68 degrees was being cooled down by the runoff from the brooks that were keeping it in the low to mid 60s. Cooler nights and milder days have made the Still River become a (mostly) cooling influence from the point it enters in Riverton & downstream (it joins with the Farmington about ¼ mile below the Rt 20 bridge). The Still River basically reflects the average ambient air temps. Most of the Summer that makes it a warming influence, but in the late Summer/early Fall, as long as it’s cool at night and not too hot during the day it typically runs cooler than the water being released from the dam. In fact after cool nights, the further downstream you go the cooler it currently is. Mornings will continue to see the lowest water temps, and they peak at about 4pm and then slowly drop after that. Now that September is here, the days are getting shorter, the intensity of the sun is decreasing, and the nights are longer & cooler. All good things in terms of trout fishing & water temps. As the surface water in the reservoirs cool off later in September and the denser/cooler surface water sinks to the bottom, the lakes will start to flip/turn over and you will begin to see the water coming out of the dam get significantly cooler soon. 


FYI optimal water temps for trout are 50-65 degrees, and it’s perfectly fine to fish for them up to about 68/69 degrees if you play them quickly and keep them in the water. Be aware that fast, broken water has more oxygen in it than the slower pool water does, making faster water your best choice when water temps creep above 65 degrees. Your best/coolest days will be the ones after the coldest nights down into the low 50s, followed by a cloudy day, especially if the daytime highs are in the 60s/low 70s. 


A word about how to properly take the water temp with a thermometer, how temps change during the day during hot weather, and what this means to the trout. Always take the temp where there is decent current, and make sure to shade the thermometer with your body. Otherwise you won’t get a true reading- it will read higher than the water the trout are holding in. Lowest temps will be at first light, and the highest temps will be in late afternoon around 4pm’ish. Cloudy days will see smaller temp increases, and hot/sunny ones will see the biggest increases. 


This time of year use the heaviest tippet that you can get away with, and play the trout as hard as you dare & land them fast. Keep them in the water and release them quickly, no 30 second out-of-the-water “hero shot” photo sessions please. If you take pics, endeavor to keep the trout in the water, and don’t lift them out of it for more than 5-10 seconds (perferably not at all!). And no 8x tippet either!!! Fishing ridiculously light tippet when water temps are creeping up forces you to baby the trout and play them too long, and that can literally kill them. A long (4’+) 6x tippet will usually get the job done, 7x at the lightest (and only with the smallest driesin slow water where you can land the fish faster). With bigger dries such as Isonychia & foam bugs you can use 5x no problem. For nymphing 5x-6x is fine. 


Nymphing the faster water & fishing wets/soft hackles in the riffles are higher percentage tactics. For nymphs pairabigger bug like a #8-10 Stonefly or an Iso-type nymph #12-14 (can also be bigger Pheasant Tails/Frenchyor a Prince Nymph) with a smaller #16-20 Mayfly nymph (PT, Hare’s Ear, BWO, etc.)or #16 Caddis Pupa. Fish big Stones in the mornings, and Is-type nymphsfrom late morning ‘till dark. If you are using wets, use 2-3 at a time, fished on tag-end droppers, 20-30” apart. Mix up the patterns & sizesto give the trout a choice, and try different angles & presentations (dead-drift, swung, twitched, dangled, danced on the surface, etc.)- the trout will tell you what they prefer IFyou actually listen. For wets I recommend tippet around 4x, as the hits can be HARD. Also, keep your rod tip up to help prevent break-offs, give you a higher hooking percentage, and animate your flies better.


If you are intent on fishing “the hatch”, focus on early/mid morning, and dusk to dark & beyond. The hotter it is out, the closer to dark the evening fishing will happen. This is also a goodtime to Mouse after dark- keep your mousing leaders short & heavy (6-7.5’, 0x-2x). Potential morning bugs includes Tricos & Summer/Winter Caddis. The spinner fall is the main even with Tricos, and it occurs whenair temps are in the upper 60s. You will see balls of spinners massing in the air above riffles. Tricos will average a #24, give or take a hook size. Midges #20-32 are always a possibility at just about any time of day, and are often responsible for flat water sippers that feed when there are no visible bugs. Isonychia #10-14 are sporadically hatching, and you can definitely blind fish imitationsof them and bring fish up- don’t wait for a hatch, just throw them in the riffles. Cloudy days can see small Blue Winged Olives. Evenings at dusk will often see #12-16 (sometimes smaller) Light Cahills/Summer Stenos- use a cream colored dry such as a Cahill, White Wulff, or cream Usual. Overall the hatching has been very light of late, so don’t go out expecting hatching activity like you saw in May, June & July- it’s Summertime.


We are definitely into that time of year when dries imitating terrestrial insects are a good choice, especially midday on warm sunny days when insect hatches are often slow to non-existent. You can blind fish them in likely water, or target sporadic risers when you don’t see many bugs on the water. Ants & Beetles are the main players, anywhere from #12-24. Bigger foam terrestrials such as Mini Chernobyls #12-14 and #10 Monster Beetles are great for blind fishing likely water, and/or Dry/Dropper fishing with a small weighted nymph 1-2 feet below them (deadly!).


We have some limited availability for our awesome upstairs apartment rental- go to our Lodging page to check if it’s available. Great place to stay riverside, completely furnished with a kitchen, big flat screen TV, and a deck that gives you a view of the river out back. All that and very reasonably priced. 


A lot of the bigger trout are frequenting 6-24” of medium to fast water when they go into feeding mode- don’t skip or worse yet walk through the shallow water without fishing it! Often times in late Summer/early Fall the secret to catching trout on nymphs is simply to make sure one of your nymphs is small, as in #18-20. The exact pattern is less important than the size, but experiment with patterns for best results. 


A highly underutilized but very effective method is wet fly/soft-hackle fishing, and it’s an efficient way to cover a lot of water thoroughly. Ideally fish 3 different patterns (minimum of 2) on tag end droppers, 20-30” apart, and experiment with dead-drifttwitching, swinging, retrieving, and even bouncing/dancing the top dropper fly. The trout will tell you how they want it by their response. Keep your rod tip up. The elevated rod tip prevents break-offs, gives you strike detection (watch the bow and look for changes), helps to better animate the flies, and allows a better hook-up percentage (creates just enough slack to allow the trout to suck your fly into their mouth). Riffly water 3 feet and shallower is prime for this, but it can catch trout on a variety of water types. This is a relaxing way to fish, and a good break from technical flat water dry fly fishing and the intense concentration of nymphing. 


Be aware that hatches vary from day to day and respond to water & air temps changes, variations in flow levels, and also light conditions. Be prepared to fish wet flies, nymph, or dry/dropper if they aren’t rising. First & last light are also prime streamer times, and also rainy/overcast days- if flows rise & discolor, even better for streamer fishing. The same spot on 2 consecutive night can see a great hatch one evening, followed by a poor hatch the next. This time of year, a mild cloudy day will often produce some of the better fishing. 


We have the new Hardy Ultralite & Ultralite LL (Euro) rods. While I have not yet personally fished them, they feel amazing in handThose who have fished them have given great reviews to us, these rods are giving the T&T Contact II’s some competition. Euro specific rods in the Ultralite LL series include the10’ 2” #2, 11’ 2” #2, 10’ 8” #0/2, 10’ 8” #3, 9’ 2” & 9’ 9” #3 & #4. In the standard Ultralite the 9’ #4, 9’ #5, 9’ #6, 9’ #7, 10’ #4, and 10’ #5. 


The T&T Contact II series (10' #2, 10' #3, 10' 9" #3, 11' 2" #3, 10' 9" #4 & 10' 8" #6) is a home run, the best Euro rods currently on the market according to many experienced Euro nymphers. I’ve fished mine for more than a year now, and it’s amazing. New improved materials, new guide spacing, down-locking reel seats are standard now, plus a new fighting butt design that is more comfortable. Recovery is noticeably better/crisper, 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 for casting and playing big trout. The blanks are incredibly strong and much much harder to break, even when you do something stupid. These rods are easier to cast, will give you more distance, and they deliver with improved accuracy. Retail is $825. FYI demand is exceeding supply with these rods, so if we don’t have what you want in stock get your name on a waiting list.


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Flow& Temps:
The MDC just announced they will be cutting the dam release waaay back today, down somewhere in the 200-400cfs range- they will likely do this in stages over a few hours. As I write this at 8am on Friday 9/10, the Farmington is quite high at 1,323cfs total flow in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R). This flow cut will ultimately bring the total flow down to about 400-600cfs. The Still River accounts for 163cfs of this. The East Branch was 100cfs before the big rain, and probably is higher than that now- it comes in about 3/8 of a mile below UpCountry. Riverton water temp was 67 degrees this morning, it peaked at 68.5 degrees yesterday afternoon. Riverton temps will rise a little during the day, and be lowest in the early mornings. As long as temps stay cooler (and they are), the Still River becomes a cooling influence in September and water temps are typically cooler downriver of the Still, especially after a cooler night.


Hatches/Dries:
*Isonychia #10-14: typically late afternoon through dusk, fast water
-Assorted Caddis #14-22 (especially tans & olive/greens): morning hatch, evening 
egg-laying
*Terrestrials #12-24: Beetles & Ants: good in afternoons & non-hatch times

-Tricos #22-26: AM spinner fall when air temps hit upper 60s, not sure of current hatch status
-Blue Winged Olives (BWO’s) #20-24- cloudy/overcast cooler days
-Big Stoneflies #6-12: don’t create a lot of dry fly fishing, but the nymphs crawl out/emerge in the low
light of early/mid mornings in faster water. Golden Yellow, Brown, and Black.
*Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: early/mid mornings usually, sometimes go later
-Midges #20-28: anytime, all year
-Parachute Adams #12-24: imitates many, many different bugs from Iso’s to Olives