Pictures:
We will be limiting the pictures in the reports to about 2 or 3 in total. Additional pics & videos will be posted on ourFacebook and Instagram “Stories” (they stay up for 24 hours there).Up top is Kate Hyatt (daughter of former head of CT DEEP Bill Hyatt) with her new PB brown trout (looks wild to me), measured at 19.25”, look at that smile! Next down is Derrick’s client with a beautiful wild brown. And the last pic is a head shot of a 20” class brown that Lane Finley fooled with a brown Zuddler. Streamers are extra effective in the Fall, they appeal to heightened brown trout aggression due to the upcoming spawn that typically starts here around mid October.
Purchase the best Euro rod on the market, the T&T Contact II from us this Fall, and we will throw in a free Euro Nymphing line of your choice from our wall plus free setup and advice. Call or stop by the shop for details.
These are the most well thought out & designed Euro nymphing reels out there, the product of Joe Goodspeed who designed the Diamondback Ideal Nymph Rods. It has a full cage which makes it unlikely for long/thin leaders or Mono Rigs to work their way outside the frame. The machined tolerances are also extra tight to help with this. It has removable weights so you can fine-tune the rod/reel balance. It has an ultra large arbor, large diameter, narrow spool which is ideal for Euro nymphing where you don’t want or need a ton of line capacity- this also gives you a faster retrieve rate and less line coiling. The drag is ultra smooth to protect light tippet. The most unique feature of all is the offset reel foot, which gives you the ability to put the mass of the reel even closer to the rod butt, improving rod balance. If you need to take up slack quickly the reel is designed so you can hit the spool with your palm to rapidly take up excess line. Anywhere the line/leader can rub against the reel when stripping line has been machined round to eliminate abrasion.The Ideal Nymph reel is unique, with all the features you wanted and clever ones you never even thought about. They use the latest 5D-5 Axis machining to make this unusual & beautiful fly reel. These reels have already become a hot seller.
The T&T Contact II 10’ 9 2wtrod is an excellent addition to the best line-up of euro rods . I absolutely love it- the perfect rod for the current conditions that dictate lighter tippets & smaller/lighter flies: casts great, very sensitive, and a blast to play the fish on. It might be my new favorite rod. The length is ideal for rivers like the Farmington, allowing you to fish & cast further away, make longer drifts, casts easier/further, faster hook sets, and the soft tip will protect light 5x-7x tippets against big trout. Plenty of power in the butt section to handle bigger trout, and a bit of extra flex in the tip for better for casting thinner leaders and lighter flies. The new 2wt is a great compliment to your arsenal, especially if you already have the 3wt, which has been the “all 'rounder” for Euro Nymphing.
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River Conditions:
The entire upper 21 miles of the Farmington River, from the dam in Riverton downstream to the Rt 177 Unionville bridge, is now Catch & Release from 9/1/22 until the secondSaturday in April at 6am.If you see people violating this and keeping fish, PLEASE make sure to call the DEEP hotline at 800-842-HELP (4357).Program the number into your cell phone, and call!! Even if they cannot respond fast enough, the call & location of the offense is logged. The DEEP field officers add the vehicle descriptions to their database and will catch repeat offenders, but ONLY if you call it in.
The CT DEEP stocked the river on 9/16, from just below the Rt 219 bridge in New Hartford down to the Rt 177 bridge in Unionville, about a 10 mile stretch. This entire section is now C&R until Opening Day in April 2023. Should make for some easier/better fishing & catching, until the trout are well educated in 3-4 weeks. Think Woolly Buggers & Junk Flies (Mops, Squirmies/SJ worms, Egg flies, and Green Weenies) until they learn what real bugs & real food look like. Walt’s Worms & Sexy Waltz are effective too, as are attractor nymphs (flashy, hot-spot or gaudy colors).
Fishing remains good for with plenty of rising trout, and fish coming to small nymphs, wets/soft-hackles & streamers. Total flow in the permanent TMA/Catch & Release this morning is about 72 cfs, this consists of 62.5cfs from the dam in Riverton, plus 9.67cfs from the Still River. ½” of rain is predicted for today, with another ¼” Wednesday morning, we could use it! Trout will spawn here as early as mid October, so don’t be surprised if you see trout already pairing up, or swimming around doing weird things, males may even spar with each other. Use streamers to piss off aggressive male browns. Dropping water & air temps means the peak time to be out for hatches & nymphing is late morning to late afternoon. The entire river is back in play now, you can fish as far downstream in Canton, Collinsville, Unionville, Farmington, and Avon and be in optimal trout temps. Main bugs currently are #18-24 Blue Winged Olives, Isonychias #12-14, and assorted Caddis averaging #16-20 (tan, brown, black). Still some assorted #12-18 Light Cahills/Summer Stenos out later in the day.
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Hatches/Dries:
-Blue Winged Olives #18-24: afternoons/evenings
-Tricos #22-26: almost done, upper river only, mornings
-Assorted Caddis averaging #16-20 (tan, brown, black): hatch in mornings/afternoons, come back later in the day to egg-lay in riffled water, ranging from #12-22
-Isonychia #12-14: faster water, afternoons/evenings
-Light Cahills/Summer Steno’s #14-18: afternoons/evenings
-Yellow Sallys #16-18: riffles & pocket water, afternoons, a few & near the end
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: hatching early to mid morning, sometimes go later, adults are present in the evenings
-Mole Fly #20-24 (olive, brown): deadly emerger that covers many small bugs & fools difficult trout
-Mini Chernobyl #12-16: very consistent foam bodied attractor dry, great to blind fish or rig up Dry/Dropper with a small weighted nymph under it
-Stimulator #10-14: great fast water attractor dry fly to blind fish, assorted colors
-Midges #18-28: anytime
Nymphs:
-Small Nymphs #18-22: Assorted. In the Fall (especially during low water), often the secret is just going smaller, as most nymphs are small this time of year with a few exceptions. Experiment: try drab, flashy, and with & without hot-spots.
-Sulfur Nymph/Yellow Sally #16-18: most water types, Sulfur nymphs & Yellow Princes both double as a Yellow Sally Stonefly imitation (Sulfur & Sally nymphs are both yellow/brown and about same size/shape)
-Caddis Pupa #16-18 (tan, olive/green): a fast water go-to straight into November
-Big Stoneflies #8-12 (gold/yellow, brown, black): first light to mid mornings
-Frenchies & Pheasant Tails #12-20: various sizes imitate many different Mayfly nymphs, and smaller Stoneflies
-BWO Nymphs #16-22: various patterns, anytime
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: anytime, all year, lots of these in the river
-Junk Flies (Eggs, Mops, Squirmies/SJ Worms, Green Weenies): good during 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 a run
-Jigged Streamers #8-12: various colors/patterns, we have a bunch of new ones
-Attractor Nymphs #12-20: anything flashy, gaudy, or with a hot spot such as Rainbow Warriors, Sexy Waltz, Prince, Triple Threats, etc.
-Midges/Zebra Midges #18-22: olive, black, red. Midges are a staple food item, especially when there aren’t many other hatches.
Soft-Hackles/Wet Flies:
-Hare's Ear, Partridge & Flash, Leadwing Coachman, March Brown #12-16
*best fished 2-3 at a time, on 4-6” tag end droppers, spaced 20-30” apart
*dead drift them, swing them, twitch them, bounce them
*great for imitating Caddis and Isonychia this time of year
Streamers:
-Jigged Streamers #8-12: various patterns/colors, deadly fished on a tight-line/Euro rig
-Rio's Precious Metal #4 (Kreelex copper, olive, white)
-BMAR Yellow Matuka #6
-Zuddler #4-8: olive, yellow, white, brown, black
-Complex Twist Bugger #2-6: assorted colors
-Conehead White Marabou Muddler #8
-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)