AprilBrown2022.jpg)
Monday through Friday, 8am-6pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm.
We just bought a massive collection of quality hackle feathers: Whiting, Hoffman, Metz, Keo, and more. Check them out in the sale fly tying materials bin, they are FLYING out the door.
Our current store hours:
Monday through Friday, 8am-6pm,Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm.
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, most 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.
AprilBrown2022.jpg)
Front and center up top is Zach’s client Andrew Richard with a beautiful brown from this week. Next down is Steve Hogan’s client with a super colorful fish from yesterday, despite 15-25 mph wind gusting at 40+. Third down Rich Foster baptized his new T&T Contact II rod with this solid brown, and it wasn’t the only big one from that outing. Fourth down is customer Aidan Bridwell with a perfect 18” brown caught tight-line nymphing.
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.
The long awaited Thomas & Thomas Contact II 10’ 9” #2 rods is here, and they are sweet! See a few paragraphs down for more info.
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.
**********************************************************************
River Conditions:
micro leaders (verythin 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 arriving weekly so make sure to check the fly bins, they are constantly changing.
River Report:
We are sitting pretty for the weekend, finally. Colder temps and brutal non-stop wind (15-25mph, gusting at 40+ mph) the past few days mostly stalled the Hendrickson hatch out, although I did get good reports of BWO/Olive hatches #16-18 on Tuesday/Wednesday afternoons, with rising trout (Olives hatch well in snotty, overcast weather). Sunshine, very mild temps (60’s), and minimal wind combined with great water levels should make for some good fishing conditions & hatches this weekend. Hendrickson hatch is up at least as far upstream as the middle of the permanent TMA/Catch & Release (Church Pool) and moving upstream further every day. I’d even expect to start to see spinner falls this weekend, they require mild temps, no rain, and no real wind. Of the two days, Sunday with only 5-10 mph wind and a high near 70 will likely see some spinners hit the water. Be prepared with both Hendrickson dries (emergers, duns) & nymphs, they don’t always rise. Long term weather looks great: normal and mostly dry, highs mostly in the60’s, nights averaging in the mid 40’s. The East Branch was 50cfs last I knew. Still River is down to 150cfs and dropping, putting total flow this morning at a beautiful 377cfs and dropping in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release. Unionville/Collinsville/Canton is down to a nice level, 685cfs & dropping.
The Hendrickson is a mid afternoon hatch (typically sometime between 2pm and 5pm), running #12-14, and it sometimes brings large trout to the surface. They hatch best on milder days, temp drops like we just had can stall the hatch out temporarily. The nymphs are medium to dark brown with a dark/black wingcase, and they get very active a few hours before the hatch and the nymphing can be excellent- big trout love Hendrickson nymphs. The books say spinner falls happen in the eves, and they do, but on the Farmington we often see them in the mid to late mornings, as well as sometimes overlapping the hatch. The spinner falls happen over riffly water, and you can often see the females with egg sacks flying up & down, slowly working their way down to the water.The spinners will NOT fall if it’s windy, cold (below about 60 degrees, give or take), or rainy. Spinner falls should start up by thisweekend. The biggest trout will rise to the spinners because they are helpless, pinned to the surface film, and cannot escape. Plus in the evenings, the spinners are not competing for the trout’s attention with the hatching nymphs. Best hatching the past few days has been from Unionville/Collinsville up to New Hartford.
The state heavily stocked the permanent TMA/Catch & Release last week, including the bigger 14-18”+ 2 Year Olds, it’s LOADED, plenty of good to excellent catch reports. For the recently stocked trout 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 (in the permanent TMA/C&R section) for today is 440cfs (we are at 377cfs), morning water temp in Riverton (by Rt 20 bridge) is 44 degrees, it hit 48.5degrees late yesterday afternoon- downriver water temps are significantly higher and into the 50’s (in afternoons) 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 still low 40’s right where it emerges from the dam. Whereas the Still River could easily be pumping in water in the 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.
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. BWO (Olive) nymphs #16-18 and Caddis larva #12-18 are very common drift items too, and especially good choices for targeting holdover/wild trout that are more familiar with real bugs than the recently stocked trout.
Rising water temps and the beginning of heavier bug activity gets the big trout hungry- eating and dominating their feeding lies. Afternoons with rising water temps puts nymphs in the drift and 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 3 weeks to learn how to effectively feed on natural aquatic food according to what I’ve read. About the only aquatic bug trout raised in concrete raceways are familiar with is Midges, they can literally live almost anywhere, even a concrete hatchery raceway. Sometime a #16-20 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, normally it’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.
Fishing advice is to stay mostly subsurface unless you see rising trout, with streamers (regular & jigged), wet flies/soft hackles, Junk Flies (Eggs, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Mops, Weenies), Hendrickson Nymphs #12-14 (BMAR), BWO/Olive Nymphs #16-18, Stonefly nymphs (#6-12), 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, 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, Baetis (BWOs) & Hendricksons in the afternoons. Baetis/BWOs like cloudy afternoons and snotty weather, Hendricksons hatch best on milder days.
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. 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-May through July time period. Be prepared to fish streamers, wet flies, 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.
***********************************************************************
Hatches/Dries:
***Hendrickson #12-14: now hatching from Unionville/Collinsville upstream as far as as the mid Permanent TMA/C&R (Church Pool), moving upstream daily
*Baetis/BWOs/Blue Winged Olives #16-18: afternoons, esp. cloudy & colder days
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: early/mid mornings usually, sometimes go later
-Midges #18-28: afternoons
-Parachute Adams #12-24: imitates many, many different bugs: Olives, Midges, Hendricksons, Caddis, etc.
Nymphs:
*BMAR Hendrickson Nymph #14
*Olive/BWO Nymphs #16-18: various
*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
-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
-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
-if wet fly fishing is slow, try using 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).