Monday through Friday, 8am-6pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm.
We restocked the FREE book table yet again on 4/19, don’t forget to check it out- we added at lot more books to it Our current store hours:
Monday through Friday, 8am-6pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm.
We restocked the FREE book table yet again on 4/19, don’t forget to check it out- we added at lot more books to it, including a bunch of Pike books. Limit 2 books per customer (in total, not per day).
We literally have dozens & dozens of new-in-the-box fly lines a customer just traded in, all priced to sell! Anywhere from 40-80% off original retail, many priced from $15-30.All different brands, all different types & weights, including quite a few Spey & Skagit lines. These lines are for in store purchase only, so please don’t call on the phone about them.
Flawless 20” wild brown up top by Zach St. Amand, on a Hendrickson nymph. Next down is a beautiful holdover rainbow by our own Joey Takeman.
We’re excited to announce the recent launch of Sage’s new flagship line of fast action rods: the Sage R8 Core, using their new Revolution 8 tech and axial fiber formulation. This is the first time in 20+ years that Sage has debuted an entirely new graphite composition. Available to see in person and purchase finally, we have the entire line-up from the lightest to the heaviest (3wt up to 9wt). We were able to cast the line-up with our Sage rep recently, and we were all surprised & impressed. While modern fast action rods have become very stiff and tippy over the years, this new series has loads of feel and casts easily. The flex is closer to the older popular Z-Axis & XP’s, and refreshingly closer in the trout sizes to a true line weight rating. The R8 Core flexes further down into the blank, but still has a crisp recovery and plenty of line speed. Sage says they are “Made to fish, not just to cast”, with “Effortless energy transfer and more connected feel”. These are real fishing rods, not rods just meant to win parking lot casting competitions, but break tippets and don’t fish comfortably up close. Kudos to Sage.
River Cleanup on this Saturday April 24, 9am-3pm (Earth Day) has been moved to the Ovation parking lot (was originally going to be in the Legitimus/Collinsville Antiques of New Hartford parking lot), sign up for free at fraa.club. This will be a fun team competition, garbage bags and gloves will be provided. There will be prizes for all teams including categories such as Most Trash, Strangest, Biggest Pile, Most Tires, Shopping Carts, and Most Fishing Line. Additional prizes will be awarded at the after party, conducted just down the street from UpCountry at Brewery Legitimus- beers & food.
The long awaited Thomas & Thomas Contact II 10’ 9” #2 rods is here, and they are sweet! We still have some, but they are selling fast- see a few paragraphs down for more info.
It’s that time of year to start fishing Bruce Marino’s BMAR Hendrickson Nymph- it has a black nickel tungsten bead hidden in the thorax, very sneaky. Water temps are warmer now, nymphs are getting active. Hendricksons are not hatching yet (any day now!), but the nymphs are active subsurface and the hatch is imminent. Try also the BMAR Mud Puppy Sculpin Streamer- limited quantities in stock, $5.99 each, get ‘em while they last.
Try some of Don’s #8 coffee/black Rubber Leg Stones- they can be deadly in the early Spring, especially when flows are up a bit, and even when they aren’t. RL’s imitate the common darker large Stoneflies, and can also pass as a Fishfly larva (they are tons of them in the Farmington and they frequently end up in the drift in early Spring- especially during flow bumps) and even a smaller immature Helgramite. The rubber legs give them movement that makes them look alive, just like a real bug. They even work in rivers where none of those bugs exist. In addition to dead-drifting them, try also twitching and even stripping them, you might be surprised at the results.
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River Conditions:
The brand new T&T Contact II 10’ 9” #2 rods arrived in March. The extra 9” is perfect for bigger water like the Farmington (allows you to fish & cast further away, and make longer drifts), and the soft tip will protect 6x-7x tippet against big trout. Plenty of power in the butt section to handle bigger trout, and the extra flex in the tip is better for casting micro leaders (thinner butt sections) and lighter flies. I think this is going to be a very popular rod, and a good compliment to your arsenal if you already have a #3 Euro rod, which is the “all around” weight for Euro Nymphing.
New product is rolling in daily, we received a huge Hareline tying materials order, and a big batch of MT Fly Co barred Sexi Legs(for Rubber Leg Stones), as well as some Kreinik flash (ties the Kreelex streamer). New fly patterns have been trickling in every week or two so make sure to check the fly bins, they are constantly changing.
River Report:
The brand new flagship Sage rod line, the R8 Core, are available for sale and out in our rod rack now- see up top for a brief description of them, Sage hit a home run with this new technology & rod series. All of us that work here were both surprised and impressed with these rods. These are true fishing rods, not just casting rods.
Well things are shaping up nicely overall, despite the flow being high as I write this, MDC announced they will cut the dam release in Riverton from 600cfs down to 400cfs at 1pm today (Friday 4/22). The East Branch was cut from 320cfs down to 220cfs this morning. Still River is down to 290cfs and steadily dropping, putting 9am total flow at 957cfs in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release- after the flow cut hits, total flow in the permanent TMA/C&R will go down closer to 700cfs, and be well down into the 600s by Saturday morning. The state dumped all the trout in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release this week, including the bigger 14-18”+ 2 Year Olds,it’s LOADED, lots of great catch reports. Try Junk Flies (Mops, Squirmy Worms, Egg Flies, Green Weenies), Hare’s Ears/Walt’s Worms, nymphs with hot spots, and Woolly Buggers in black, olive. Median/normal historical total flow (as in the permanent TMA/C&R section) for today is 467cfs, morning water temp in Riverton (by Rt 20 bridge) was 43 degrees, it hit 44.5+ degrees late yesterday afternoon- downriver water temps are significantly higher due to the Still River & warming as the water flows further away from the dam. The dam releases ice cold water in the early Spring, it’s probably about 42 degrees right where it emerges from the dam. Whereas the Still River could easily be pumping in water in the upper 40’s to mid/upper 50’s (on a warm/sunny afternoon), so water temps from there down will be greatly improved, insect activity will be better, trout will be more active, and hatches will occur earlier downriver- all due to higher/better water temps.
No significant Hendrickson hatch yet in the permanent TMA, but…. literally any day now because we are seeing a few #12-14 Quill Gordons pop in the mid/late afternoons in New Hartford, and water temps have cracked into the 50’s on warmer/sunny days. Rumors of a light afternoon Hendrickson hatch downriver in Collinsville/Unionville currently, but flows are very high down there: Unionville is currently 1,650cfs & dropping, but you really want it at under 1,000 and preferably lower. Hendrickson nymphs are very active subsurface and a common item in the drift currently, so make sure to try one (BMAR Hendrickson, Pheasant Tail, Frenchy, etc.), especially if you are targeting holdover & wild trout.
It’s still April so expect to mostly fish subsurface until the Hendrickson hatch gets cranking (any day!)- the exception can be the early/mid morning Winter Caddis hatch, and trout can rise to the Early Black Stoneflies & Baetis (BWOs/Olives) in the afternoons. Woolly Buggers, Junk Flies, nymphs with hot spots and Walt’s Worms are good choices for recently stocked trout. I’d expect to see the permanent TMA/C&R to get stocked next week or the week after. If targeting holdover/wild trout, consider adding a more imitative nymph into your rig (Caddis larva, Hendrickson nymph, Pheasant Tail, BWO/Baetis/Olive nymph, etc.), combined with a bigger Stonefly nymph or Junk Fly. Jigged streamers fished slow & deep on a tight-line/Euro rig can be very effective sometimes when trout might not be willing to chase a traditionally fished streamer.
Rising water temps and the beginning of bug activity gets the big trout hungry- eating and dominating their feeding lies. Afternoons with rising water temps and hatching Stoneflies and other nymphs in the drift (Caddis larva, immature Hendricksons, Baetis/BWO/Olives, etc.) can push trout into moderately fast water to feed on nymphs & larva as the day progresses. Don’t leave early, there is often a bite window for bigger browns at the end of the day when the light levels drop and water temps are still at their highest of the day. Leave early and you might totally miss it.
If you are targeting recent stockers, they often prefer somewhat different flies. Gaudier flies (with flash, hotspots, unnatural color schemes), “Junk Flies” (Mops, Squirmies, Egg Flies, Green Weenies) and small to medium streamers (especially in black, olive, white) will often outfish drabber more imitative flies- although any nymph tied with Hare’s Ear (like a Walt’s Worm) is often good for fresh stockers (might look like a food pellet once it gets wet?). It takes hatchery trout about 3weeks to learn how to effectively feed on natural aquatic food. About the only aquatic bug trout raised in concrete raceways may be familiar with is Midges, they can literally live almost anywhere-sometime a #18-20 Zebra Midge gets it done on fresh stockers when they ignore bigger and/or gaudier flies, especially when they are getting pressured hard. That said, normallyit’s hard to beat Woolly Buggers & Junk Flies on freshly stocked trout. Until they get “educated” by angling pressure and start to avoid those flies.
Nymph Color Selection Tip:
Quick tip for selecting nymph colors from late Fall through early/mid Spring: overall the cooler weather nymphs tend toward darker colors such as medium to dark brown, black, and medium to dark olive/olive-brown. When the hatches get cranking during milder weather and the leaves come out in the mid to late Spring (and going well into the Fall), many of the nymphs/pupa/larva are light to medium colored: tan, light/medium brown, amber/ginger, light olive. This is a general rule, but probably about 80% true. Gives you a starting point, adjust from there- flip rocks to see exactly what the nymphs/larva look like.
Flies & Hatches:
Fishing advice is to stay mostly subsurface (unless you see rising trout), slow & deep with streamers (regular & jigged), Junk Flies (Eggs, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Mops, Weenies), Hendrickson Nymphs #12-14 (BMAR), Stonefly nymphs (#6-16), Caddis larva (regular green/olive & Cased), Attractor nymphs (hot-spots, flash, gaudy/unnatural colors), Midge larva/pupa, and small/medium (#14-20) Mayfly nymphs (Pheasant Tails/Frenchies, BWOs, Perdigons, etc.). Higher flows typically means bigger flies, and lower water usually fishes better with smaller flies. Look for Winter Caddis in the early/mid mornings, Black/Brown Stones, Baetis (BWOs) & Midges in the afternoons. We are seeing Early Black Stones #12-16, especially on mild, sunny days- Baetis/BWOs like cloudy afternoons. Hendrickson hatch should literally start any day now.
Various single-hook & articulated streamers are having their moments, experiment with colors and retrieves. Jigged streamers fished on a Euro leader/tight-line rig have been particularly deadly many days when other presentations & flies have failed. Bigger browns are usually looking for big bites to eat, and this can be a good time to fish streamers. Some of the better colors have been olive, brown, tan, black, brown & yellow, and white- make sure to have a good assortment of colors, it can make a big difference. Streamer retrieve speed can be important- in general cooler water equals slower retrieves & deeper presentations, but try some faster retrieves too, cuz ya never know. The trout will always tell you water they prefer, but only if you experiment and listen to what the trout tell you they like.
A quick note on water temps. Water temps moving TOWARD 60 degrees tends to turn trout on, and as temps move AWAY from 60 degrees it tends to shut feeding down. Even though 50-65 degrees water temps are “optimal” for trout, the direction of temp changes has more to do with creating a good bite than the actual absolute temp. Having said that, there can be a first light bite, even when air & water temps are cold. Typically late morning through late afternoon is overall the best time to be on the water this time of year due to the rising/higher water temps. Positive water temperature movements (which in early Spring would mean upward) tend to make bugs hatch and get trout feeding too. Temp drops can shut the bite off like somebody flipped a switch.
Dick Sablitz whipped up some “Heavy Hare’s Ear Soft Hackles” with tungsten beads for us. Great point fly to use in a multi wet fly rig to get your other wets/soft hackles down deep, or use in a tandem Euro Nymphing rig. This is an all purpose fly that can pass as many different food items, and makes a great Caddis pupa too. The soft hackle gives it movement, just like a real bug. Dead-drift it and then let it swing at the end of the drift.
Effective streamers include standard single hook patterns such as Woolly Buggers, Zuddlers, Zonkers, etc., just play around with colors & retrieves until you crack the code for that day. Use bigger articulated patterns to catch less but potentially bigger trout. Coming out of the leaner times of Winter, with rising water temps and more bugs trout will whack them due to hunger and the need to put weight back. Smaller jigged streamers fished on a tight-line Euro rod/leader system can entice trout to eat even when they won’t hit a traditional streamer presentation (swung/stripped on a standard fly line)- this enables you to fish a streamer slow & deep, and put it right in the trout’s face so they don’t have to chase it. A little yellow mixed into in your streamers can be very effective some days, both two-tone (brown/yellow, olive/yellow, etc.) and all yellow. Olive, white, and tan are all good starting colors for streamers this time of year. Also make sure to try some flashy streamers, some days they are the ticket- think about how effective flashy spoons & spinners are for spin fishermen.
Be aware that hatches vary from day to day and respond to water & air temps changes, variations in flow levels, and also light conditions. Bug activity increases in early Spring, but is still not what we get in the mid-Spring to early Summer time period. Be prepared to fish streamers, wet flies (slow & deep) or nymphs (Euro or Indy) if they aren’t rising. The same spot on 2 consecutive days can see a good hatch one day, followed by a poor hatch the next due to the weather.
Check out the latest Hardy Ultralite & Ultralite LL (Euro) rods. Very impressive series of rods, especially the 10’ 8” #0/2 Euro rod- don’t let the line designation fool you, it fishes more like a #3 with a very light tip but fast recovery, with the lower 2/3 of the rod being surprisingly powerful. Still very light in the hand, sensitive, accurate, and well balanced. These rods are giving the T&T Contact II’s some serous 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’ 9” #2, 10' #3, 10' 9" #3, 11' 2" #3, 10' 9" #4 & 10' 8" #6) is a home run, arguably the best Euro rods currently on the market in our opinion and according to many experienced Euro nymphers. I’ve fished them for quite a while now, and they are amazing. Brand new and just as of March is the 10’ 9” #2, and it’s REALLY nice and rounds out/completes their line-up: a great rod that will protect 6x-7x tippet but is still capable of landing large trout. It is fantastic for casting/fishing micro leaders (thin butt sections in 6-10# range) that are getting popular now. The Contact II series features 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 $855.
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Hatches/Dries:
-Hendricksons are not hatching yet but should be any day now!!!
*Baetis/BWOs/Blue Winged Olives #16-18: afternoons, esp. cloudy days
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: early/mid mornings usually, sometimes go later
*Early Black Stoneflies #12-16: afternoon hatch, heaviest on sunny/mild days
-Midges #18-28: afternoons
-Parachute Adams #12-24: imitates many, many different bugs: Olives, Midges, Hendricksons, Caddis, etc.
-Quill Gordon #12-14: a few in the afternoon, not a significant hatch
Nymphs:
*Olive/BWO Nymphs #16-18: various
*BMAR Hendrickson Nymph #14
*Junk Flies (Eggs, Mops, Squirmies/SJ Worms, Green Weenies): good in colder water & non-hatch periods, and also for higher/off-color flows & fresh stockers, or just as a change-up to natural/imitative flies after you fish through
*Big Stoneflies #6-12: gold/yellow, brown, black
*Wade’s Early Stone #14: black, brown
*Cased Caddis #10-14 (especially high water & after flow bumps)
*Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16
*Jigged Streamers #8-12: various colors/patterns, we have a bunch of new ones
-Antoine's Perdigons #12-20: various colors & sizes
-Attractor Nymphs #12-20: anything flashy, gaudy, or with a hot spot such as Rainbow Warriors, Haast Haze, Firestarter Perdigon, Princes, Miller's Victim, Triple Threats, etc.
-Olive Nymphs #16-20: common in Behavioral Drift (first & last light)
-Frenchies & Pheasant Tails #12-20: various sizes imitate many different Mayfly nymphs from BWOs to Hendricksons, and also smaller Stoneflies
-Fox Squirrel Nymph #12-14: great general purpose impressionistic fly
*Midges/Zebra Midges#16-22: olive, black, red: Midges are a staple food item, esp. when there aren’t many other hatches, even fresh hatchery trout know them as food
Soft-Hackles/Wet Flies:
-Assorted Patterns #10-18: Hare's Ear, DW Catchall, Partridge & Orange/Green/Yellow, Partridge & Flash, Starling & Herl, Leadwing Coachman, March Brown, Partridge & Pheasant Tail
-best fished 2-3 at a time, on tag end droppers, spaced 20-30” apart
-dead drift them, swing them, twitch them, bounce them- let the trout tell you how they want them
-in cold water (late Fall through early Spring), use a weighted fly (e.g. Soft Hackle Hare’s Ear/Pheasant Tail) on the end/point to get your flies deeper, and/or fish your rig on an intermediate/sinking line or sink-tip/sinking leader.
Streamers:
*Rich Strolis articulated streamers: Headbanger, Masked Avenger, Alter Ego & Dumpster Diver are all once again back in stock- lethal flies!
*Jigged Streamers #8-12: various patterns, deadly fished on a tight-line/Euro rig
*Rio's Precious Metal #4 (Kreelex copper, olive)
*BMAR Yellow Matuka #6
*Zuddler #4-8: olive, yellow, white, brown, black
-Complex Twist Bugger & Mini version #2-6: assorted colors
-Woolly Buggers #2-14 (black, olive, white, brown, tan)
-JJ Special/Autumn Splendor/Tequeely #4-8 (brown & yellow streamers)
-Matuka #4-8 (yellow, olive, brown), including a bunch of Pike books. Limit 2 books per customer (in total, not per day).
We literally have dozens & dozens of new-in-the-box fly lines a customer just traded in, all priced to sell! Anywhere from 40-80% off original retail, many priced from $15-30.All different brands, all different types & weights, including quite a few Spey & Skagit lines. These lines are for in store purchase only, so please don’t call on the phone about them.
Fish Pics:
Flawless 20” wild brown up top by Zach St. Amand, on a Hendrickson nymph. Next down is a beautiful holdover rainbow by our own Joey Takeman.
We’re excited to announce the recent launch of Sage’s new flagship line of fast action rods: the Sage R8 Core, using their new Revolution 8 tech and axial fiber formulation. This is the first time in 20+ years that Sage has debuted an entirely new graphite composition. Available to see in person and purchase finally, we have the entire line-up from the lightest to the heaviest (3wt up to 9wt). We were able to cast the line-up with our Sage rep recently, and we were all surprised & impressed. While modern fast action rods have become very stiff and tippy over the years, this new series has loads of feel and casts easily. The flex is closer to the older popular Z-Axis & XP’s, and refreshingly closer in the trout sizes to a true line weight rating. The R8 Core flexes further down into the blank, but still has a crisp recovery and plenty of line speed. Sage says they are “Made to fish, not just to cast”, with “Effortless energy transfer and more connected feel”. These are real fishing rods, not rods just meant to win parking lot casting competitions, but break tippets and don’t fish comfortably up close. Kudos to Sage.
River Cleanup on thisSaturday April 24, 9am-3pm (Earth Day) has been moved to the Ovation parking lot (was originally going to be in the Legitimus/Collinsville Antiques of New Hartford parking lot), sign up for free at fraa.club. This will be a fun team competition, garbage bags and gloves will be provided. There will be prizes for all teams including categories such as Most Trash, Strangest, Biggest Pile, Most Tires, Shopping Carts, and Most Fishing Line. Additional prizes will be awarded at the after party, conducted just down the street from UpCountry at Brewery Legitimus- beers & food.
The long awaited Thomas & Thomas Contact II 10’ 9” #2 rods is here, and they are sweet! We still have some, but they are selling fast- see a few paragraphs down for more info.
It’s that time of year to start fishing Bruce Marino’s BMAR Hendrickson Nymph- it has a black nickel tungsten bead hidden in the thorax, very sneaky. Water temps are warmer now, nymphs are getting active. Hendricksons are not hatching yet (any day now!), but the nymphs are active subsurface and the hatch is imminent. Try also the BMARMud Puppy SculpinStreamer- limited quantities in stock, $5.99 each, get ‘em while they last.
Try some of Don’s #8 coffee/black Rubber Leg Stones- they can be deadly in the early Spring, especially when flows are up a bit, and even when they aren’t. RL’s imitate the common darker large Stoneflies, and can also pass as a Fishfly larva (they are tons of them in the Farmington and they frequently end up in the drift in early Spring- especially during flow bumps) and even a smaller immature Helgramite. The rubber legs give them movement that makes them look alive, just like a real bug. They even work in rivers where none of those bugs exist. In addition to dead-drifting them, try also twitching and even stripping them, you might be surprised at the results.
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River Conditions:
The brand new T&T Contact II 10’ 9” #2 rods arrived in March. The extra 9” is perfect for bigger water like the Farmington (allows you to fish & cast further away, and make longer drifts), and the soft tip will protect 6x-7x tippet against big trout. Plenty of power in the butt section to handle bigger trout, and the extra flex in the tip is better for casting micro leaders (thinner butt sections) and lighter flies. I think this is going to be a very popular rod, and a good compliment to your arsenal if you already have a #3 Euro rod, which is the “all around” weight for Euro Nymphing.
New product is rolling in daily, we received a huge Hareline tying materials order, and a big batch of MT Fly Co barred Sexi Legs(for Rubber Leg Stones), as well as some Kreinik flash (ties the Kreelex streamer). New fly patterns have been trickling in every week or two so make sure to check the fly bins, they are constantly changing.
River Report:
The brand new flagship Sage rod line, the R8 Core, are available for sale and out in our rod rack now- see up top for a brief description of them, Sage hit a home run with this new technology & rod series. All of us that work here were both surprised and impressed with these rods. These are true fishing rods, not just casting rods.
Well things are shaping up nicely overall, despite the flow being high as I write this, at 1pm today (Friday 4/22) the MDC is cutting the dam release in Riverton from 600cfs down to 400cfs, and the East Branch from 320cfs to 220cfs. Still River is down to 290cfs and steadily dropping, putting 9am total flow at 957cfs in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release, this will drop to closer to 700cfs after the flow cut and be in the 600’s by Saturday morning. The state dumped all the trout in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release this week,including the bigger 14-18”+ 2 Year Olds,it’s LOADED, lots of great catch reports. Try Junk Flies (Mops, Squirmy Worms, Egg Flies, Green Weenies), Hare’s Ears/Walt’s Worms, nymphs with hot spots, and Woolly Buggers in black, olive. Median/normal historical total flow (as in the permanent TMA/C&R section) for today is 467cfs, morning water temp was 43 degrees, it hit 44.5+ degrees late yesterday afternoon- downriver water temps are significantly higher due to the Still River & warming as the water flows further away from the dam. The dam releases ice cold water in the early Spring, it’s probably about 40-42 degrees right where it emerges from the dam. Whereas the Still River could easily be pumping in water in the upper 40’s to mid/upper 50’s (on a warm/sunny afternoon), so water temps from there down will be greatly improved, insect activity will be better, trout will be more active, and hatches will occur earlier downriver- all due to higher/better water temps.
No significant Hendrickson hatch yet in the permanent TMA, but…. literally any day now because we are seeing a few #12-14 Quill Gordons pop in the mid/late afternoons in New Hartford. Rumors of a light afternoon Hendrickson hatch downriver in Collinsville/Unionville currently, but flows are very high down there: Unionville is currently 1,650cfs & dropping, but you really want it at under 1,000 and preferably lower. Hendrickson nymphs are very active subsurface and a common item in the drift currently, so make sure to try one (BMAR Hendrickson, Pheasant Tail, Frenchy, etc.), especially if you are targeting holdover & wild trout.
It’s still April so expect to mostly fish subsurface until the Hendrickson hatch gets cranking (soon!)- the exception can be the early/mid morning Winter Caddis hatch, and trout can rise to the Early Black Stoneflies & Baetis (BWOs/Olives) in the afternoons. Woolly Buggers, Junk Flies, nymphs with hot spots and Walt’s Worms are good choices for recently stocked trout. I’d expect to see the permanent TMA/C&R to get stocked next week or the week after. If targeting holdover/wild trout, consider adding a more imitative nymph into your rig (Caddis larva, Pheasant Tail, BWO/Baetis/Olive nymph, etc.), combined with a bigger Stonefly nymph or Junk Fly. Jigged streamers fished slow & deep on a tight-line/Euro rig can be very effective sometimes when trout might not be willing to chase a traditionally fished streamer.
Rising water temps and the beginning of bug activity gets the big trout hungry- eating and dominating their feeding lies. Afternoons with rising water temps and hatching Stoneflies and other nymphs in the drift (Caddis larva, immature Hendricksons, Baetis/BWO/Olives, etc.) can push trout into moderately fast water to feed on nymphs & larva as the day progresses. Don’t leave early, there is often a bite window for bigger browns at the end of the day when the light levels drop and water temps are still at their highest of the day. Leave early and you might totally miss it.
If you are targeting recent stockers, they often prefer somewhat different flies. Gaudier flies (with flash, hotspots, unnatural color schemes), “Junk Flies” (Mops, Squirmies, Egg Flies, Green Weenies) and small to medium streamers (especially in black, olive, white) will often outfish drabber more imitative flies- although any nymph tied with Hare’s Ear (like a Walt’s Worm) is often good for fresh stockers (might look like a food pellet once it gets wet?). It takes hatchery trout about 3weeks to learn how to effectively feed on natural aquatic food. About the only aquatic bug trout raised in concrete raceways may be familiar with is Midges, they can literally live almost anywhere-sometime a #18-20 Zebra Midge gets it done on fresh stockers when they ignore bigger and/or gaudier flies, especially when they are getting pressured hard. That said, normallyit’s hard to beat Woolly Buggers & Junk Flies on freshly stocked trout. Until they get “educated” by angling pressure and start to avoid those flies.
Nymph Color Selection Tip:
Quick tip for selecting nymph colors from late Fall through early/mid Spring: overall the cooler weather nymphs tend toward darker colors such as medium to dark brown, black, and medium to dark olive/olive-brown. When the hatches get cranking during milder weather and the leaves come out in the mid to late Spring (and going well into the Fall), many of the nymphs/pupa/larva are light to medium colored: tan, light/medium brown, amber/ginger, light olive. This is a general rule, but probably about 80% true. Gives you a starting point, adjust from there- flip rocks to see exactly what the nymphs/larva look like.
Water temps have been averaging upper 30s/low 40s in the upper river above the Still River, but further downstream (below the Still River) mild nights combined with warmer sunny days has pushed afternoon temps downriver into the mid 40's even upper 40's on milder sunny days, with 50+ degrees possible on the warmest/sunny days.
Be patient when fishing in sub 50 degree water and cover the likely water slowly & thoroughly, as trout won’t move as far to eat as they do in 50-65 degree water.. Gotta spoon feed them and put your flies right in their face. Try to pick the best water, and then saturate it with plenty of casts. Where trout might move 12-18” to either side in May/June to eat your nymph, in colder water they might only move 1-3” some days. On the coldest days you might have to literally drift it almost into their mouth to get an eat- I call this a defensive eat haha. More casts in likely areas ups your odds of putting a drift right in their face and getting a bite. This also means bites tend to be more subtle on average, so pay close attention and strike on anything. Play with colors, as sometimes gaudy flies will trip their trigger- pink is often a good accent color/hot spot in cold water. Some days they will prefer natural, drabber more imitative patterns. Subsurface, slow & deep is typically the name of the game right now, other than the morning Caddis and Baetis (BWOs)/Stones/Midges in the afternoon.
Flies & Hatches:
Fishing advice is to stay mostly subsurface (unless you see rising trout), slow & deep with streamers (regular & jigged), Junk Flies (Eggs, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Mops, Weenies), Hendrickson Nymphs #12-14 (BMAR), Stonefly nymphs (#6-16), Caddis larva (regular green/olive & Cased), Attractor nymphs (hot-spots, flash, gaudy/unnatural colors), Midge larva/pupa, and small/medium (#14-20) Mayfly nymphs (Pheasant Tails/Frenchies, BWOs, Perdigons, etc.). Higher flows typically means bigger flies, and lower water usually fishes better with smaller flies. Look for Winter Caddis in the early/mid mornings, Black/Brown Stones, Baetis (BWOs) & Midges in the afternoons. We are seeing Early Black Stones #12-16, especially on mild, sunny days- Baetis/BWOs like cloudy afternoons. Hendrickson hatch should literally start any day now.
Various single-hook & articulated streamers are having their moments, experiment with colors and retrieves. Jigged streamers fished on a Euro leader/tight-line rig have been particularly deadly many days when other presentations & flies have failed. Bigger browns are usually looking for big bites to eat, and this can be a good time to fish streamers. Some of the better colors have been olive, brown, tan, black, brown & yellow, and white- make sure to have a good assortment of colors, it can make a big difference. Streamer retrieve speed can be important- in general cooler water equals slower retrieves & deeper presentations, but try some faster retrieves too, cuz ya never know. The trout will always tell you water they prefer, but only if you experiment and listen to what the trout tell you they like.
A quick note on water temps. Water temps moving TOWARD 60 degrees tends to turn trout on, and as temps move AWAY from 60 degrees it tends to shut feeding down. Even though 50-65 degrees water temps are “optimal” for trout, the direction of temp changes has more to do with creating a good bite than the actual absolute temp. Having said that, there can be a first light bite, even when air & water temps are cold. Typically late morning through late afternoon is overall the best time to be on the water this time of year due to the rising/higher water temps. Positive water temperature movements (which in early Spring would mean upward) tend to make bugs hatch and get trout feeding too. Temp drops can shut the bite off like somebody flipped a switch.
Dick Sablitz whipped up some “Heavy Hare’s Ear Soft Hackles” with tungsten beads for us. Great point fly to use in a multi wet fly rig to get your other wets/soft hackles down deep, or use in a tandem Euro Nymphing rig. This is an all purpose fly that can pass as many different food items, and makes a great Caddis pupa too. The soft hackle gives it movement, just like a real bug. Dead-drift it and then let it swing at the end of the drift.
Effective streamers include standard single hook patterns such as Woolly Buggers, Zuddlers, Zonkers, etc., just play around with colors & retrieves until you crack the code for that day. Use bigger articulated patterns to catch less but potentially bigger trout. Coming out of the leaner times of Winter, with rising water temps and more bugs trout will whack them due to hunger and the need to put weight back. Smaller jigged streamers fished on a tight-line Euro rod/leader system can entice trout to eat even when they won’t hit a traditional streamer presentation (swung/stripped on a standard fly line)- this enables you to fish a streamer slow & deep, and put it right in the trout’s face so they don’t have to chase it. A little yellow mixed into in your streamers can be very effective some days, both two-tone (brown/yellow, olive/yellow, etc.) and all yellow. Olive, white, and tan are all good starting colors for streamers this time of year. Also make sure to try some flashy streamers, some days they are the ticket- think about how effective flashy spoons & spinners are for spin fishermen.
Be aware that hatches vary from day to day and respond to water & air temps changes, variations in flow levels, and also light conditions. Bug activity increases in early Spring, but is still not what we get in the mid-Spring to early Summer time period. Be prepared to fish streamers, wet flies (slow & deep) or nymphs (Euro or Indy) if they aren’t rising. The same spot on 2 consecutive days can see a good hatch one day, followed by a poor hatch the next due to the weather.
Check out the latest Hardy Ultralite & Ultralite LL (Euro) rods. Very impressive series of rods, especially the 10’ 8” #0/2 Euro rod- don’t let the line designation fool you, it fishes more like a #3 with a very light tip but fast recovery, with the lower 2/3 of the rod being surprisingly powerful. Still very light in the hand, sensitive, accurate, and well balanced. These rods are giving the T&T Contact II’s some serous 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’ 9” #2, 10' #3, 10' 9" #3, 11' 2" #3, 10' 9" #4 & 10' 8" #6) is a home run, arguably the best Euro rods currently on the market in our opinion and according to many experienced Euro nymphers. I’ve fished them for quite a while now, and they are amazing. Brand new and just as of March is the 10’ 9” #2, and it’s REALLY nice and rounds out/completes their line-up: a great rod that will protect 6x-7x tippet but is still capable of landing large trout. It is fantastic for casting/fishing micro leaders (thin butt sections in 6-10# range) that are getting popular now. The Contact II series features 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 $855.
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Hatches/Dries:
-Hendricksons are not hatching yet but should be any day now!!!
*Baetis/BWOs/Blue Winged Olives #16-18: afternoons, esp. cloudy days
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: early/mid mornings usually, sometimes go later
*Early Black Stoneflies #12-16: afternoon hatch, heaviest on sunny/mild days
-Midges #18-28: afternoons
-Parachute Adams #12-24: imitates many, many different bugs: Olives, Midges, Hendricksons, Caddis, etc.
-Quill Gordon #12-14: a few in the afternoon, not a significant hatch
Nymphs:
*Olive/BWO Nymphs #16-18: various
*BMAR Hendrickson Nymph #14
*Junk Flies (Eggs, Mops, Squirmies/SJ Worms, Green Weenies): good in colder water & non-hatch periods, and also for higher/off-color flows & fresh stockers, or just as a change-up to natural/imitative flies after you fish through
*Big Stoneflies #6-12: gold/yellow, brown, black
*Wade’s Early Stone #14: black, brown
*Cased Caddis #10-14 (especially high water & after flow bumps)
*Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16
*Jigged Streamers #8-12: various colors/patterns, we have a bunch of new ones
-Antoine's Perdigons #12-20: various colors & sizes
-Attractor Nymphs #12-20: anything flashy, gaudy, or with a hot spot such as Rainbow Warriors, Haast Haze, Firestarter Perdigon, Princes, Miller's Victim, Triple Threats, etc.
-Olive Nymphs #16-20: common in Behavioral Drift (first & last light)
-Frenchies & Pheasant Tails #12-20: various sizes imitate many different Mayfly nymphs from BWOs to Hendricksons, and also smaller Stoneflies
-Fox Squirrel Nymph #12-14: great general purpose impressionistic fly
*Midges/Zebra Midges#16-22: olive, black, red: Midges are a staple food item, esp. when there aren’t many other hatches, even fresh hatchery trout know them as food
Soft-Hackles/Wet Flies:
-Assorted Patterns #10-18: Hare's Ear, DW Catchall, Partridge & Orange/Green/Yellow, Partridge & Flash, Starling & Herl, Leadwing Coachman, March Brown, Partridge & Pheasant Tail
-best fished 2-3 at a time, on tag end droppers, spaced 20-30” apart
-dead drift them, swing them, twitch them, bounce them- let the trout tell you how they want them
-in cold water (late Fall through early Spring), use a weighted fly (e.g. Soft Hackle Hare’s Ear/Pheasant Tail) on the end/point to get your flies deeper, and/or fish your rig on an intermediate/sinking line or sink-tip/sinking leader.
Streamers:
*Rich Strolis articulated streamers: Headbanger, Masked Avenger, Alter Ego & Dumpster Diver are all once again back in stock- lethal flies!
*Jigged Streamers #8-12: various patterns, deadly fished on a tight-line/Euro rig
*Rio's Precious Metal #4 (Kreelex copper, olive)
*BMAR Yellow Matuka #6
*Zuddler #4-8: olive, yellow, white, brown, black
-Complex Twist Bugger & Mini version #2-6: assorted colors
-Woolly Buggers #2-14 (black, olive, white, brown, tan)
-JJ Special/Autumn Splendor/Tequeely #4-8 (brown & yellow streamers)
-Matuka #4-8 (yellow, olive, brown)