We recently purchased another huge collection of quality fly tying materials. Stop by and check it out. Hooks, dryfly necks, streamer necks, dubbing, flash, squirrel, used vises, tying tools, fur, zonker strips, rubber legs, deer hair, foam, and LOTS more.
Additional 10% off used & clearance fly rods & reels over $500 Clothing is 20% off the marked price. All Landing Nets are 10% off the marked price. The sale merchandise is going fast as it's rare that we mark things down during the height of the season.... but we can use some income during this slower summer, and you, our loyal customers, should benefit.
Derrick & Zach are doing a two ½ day fly tying classes on Sunday September 24th, the title is “Tying Flies for Pressured Trout”- go to to the Classes page on our website for a detailed description, call UpCountry at 860-379-1952 to reserve a spot, there’s only 8 in each class.
Friday morning 9/15:
I have just purchased a giant collection of Used graphite, bamboo & fiberglass fly rods, Used fly Reels. Most of this equipment is very affordably priced and will only be offered in store to our walk in customers. There are lots of classic Orvis, Hardy, Pfleuger, custom and much more. Come and take a look before someone gets there first. Most items are between $10 - $200 with a few higher end bamboo rods mixed in.
River temperature is 63 degrees at the Goodwin Dam in Riverton, warming as the day unfolds and the water travels downstream. With the cooler nights upon us, the Farmington should have decent temperatures going forward into Fall.
Flying Ants have been on the water in the afternoons/early evenings lately, and bringing trout to the surface. Nymphing the fast water is currently the most consistent tactic- that’s where most of the bugs live, and fast water holds more oxygen. The morning Trico hatch/spinner fall is on. The main event is the spinner fall, and this happens when air temps hit approximately 68 degrees. Make sure you have the matching #22-26 spinner patterns, they average #24. Look also for Summer/Winter Caddis in the early to mid mornings.There have been modest regular Caddis hatches on cooler mornings in riffly areas, running #16-18, not sure on the body colors (try tan and olive/green). Late morning to early eves try beetles & ants, they are summertime staple dry flies. Dusk to dark typically offers a heavier 30 minute window of bugs & rising trout. Light Cahills/Summer Stenos, Isonychia, and assorted Caddis (they egg-lay in the evenings) would be the main players.
The most consistent nymphing tactic has fishing the faster water & pockets. A favored AM nymph rig would be a bigger #8-10 Stonefly nymph paired up with a #16 Caddis Pupa or a #18-20 nymph like a Pheasant Tail/Frenchy, Walt’s Worm, or a Blue Winged Olive Nymph. We are seeing Yellow Sally Stoneflie #14-16. August/September is peak time for them on the Farmington River. I find imitating them with nymphs more productive than dries, they look like a miniature Golden Stone and can be imitated with a #14-18 yellow brown Sulfur type nymph pattern.
The best dry fly reports have been from those fishing Beetles & Ants, as well as blind fishing attractor dries in faster water with or without a nymph dropper 18-24” below. There are a some Isonychia in the faster water averaging #10-12, small #24 Blue Winged Olives, a assorted Caddis, Summer/Winter Caddis in the early to mid mornings, and at dusk a few Light Cahills/Summer Stenonema #12-22. If you are out in the evenings, stay until full dark and you may hit a 15-30 minute window at dusk of good bugs hatching & rising trout feeding on them.
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Hatches/Dries:
Hatches have been light, with dusk to dark being the best window, don’t leave too early! We are also seeing morning Trico spinner falls, along with Caddis hatching on cooler mornings.
-Ants & Beetles #12-20: good choice late morning through early eves when bugs aren’t hatching but trout are sporadically sipping small stuff, you can also blind fish bigger ones
-Tricos #22-26: light but fishable, the spinner fall is the main event and it happens at about 68 degrees air temp
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: hatching in early to mid morning
-Summer Stenos/Cream Cahills #12-22: evenings at dusk
-Assorted Caddis #14-22 (tan, olive/green most common): hatching in early to mid AM, come back to egg lay at dusk in the riffles
-Isonychia #10-12: fast water insect, late afternoon through dark
-Blue Winged Olives #22-26: esp. cooler cloudy days
-Midges #20-28: mornings & eves, try a Midge Pupa subsurface
Nymphs
-Big Stoneflies #8-12 (gold/yellow, brown, black): early to mid AM in fast water, you will see the shucks on the rocks, as well as on cement bridge abutments
-Yellow Sally #14-18: use a yellow brown Sulfur nymph to imitate them
-Isonychia Nymph #10-12: nymphs are working, fish in fast water, both dead-drift & swing them. Princes & large Pheasant Tails work well to imitate them.
-Caddis Pupa #16-18 (mostly tan or olive/green): dead-drift & swing in medium to fast water.
-Frenchies & Pheasant Tails #12-20: various sizes imitate many different Mayfly nymphs (BWO, Sulfur, Iso, etc.) & smaller Stoneflies and are quite effective everywhere
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: anytime, lots of these in the river
-Jigged Streamers #8-12: various colors/patterns- dead-drift, twitch, swing & strip, best
on a Euro rod & leader
-Attractor Nymphs #14-20: anything flashy, gaudy, or with a hot spot such as Rainbow Warriors, Sexy Waltz, Prince, Triple Threats, etc
-Junk Flies (Eggs, Mops, Squirmies/SJ Worms, Green Weenies):
Streamers:
Big trout are almost always on the lookout for bigger bites, especially early & late in the day and during lulls in bug activity. Also a great choice anytime the flow is up or off-color.
-Rich Strolis articulated streamers (assorted), restocked recently 2 times
-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 #2-8 (peach, black, olive, white, brown, tan)
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Diamondback Ideal Nymph Reels:
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 very unlikely for long/thin leaders or Mono Rigs to work their way outside the frame- a common problem with most modern reels (very few are full frame, 90% have a half 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. The ultra large arbor, large diameter, narrow spool 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 spin it rapidly and 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 2wt rod debuted in 2022, and it is an excellent addition to the best line-up of euro rods. I absolutely love it- the perfect rod for conditions that dictate lighter tippets & smaller/lighter flies: casts great, very sensitive, very low swing weight, and a blast to play the fish on. It is my current favorite rod, it’s really fun to fish with, and guides Zach St. Amand & Derrick Kirkpatrick are also big fans of it, as is shop employee/shop rat Joey. The length is ideal for rivers like the Farmington, allowing you to fish & cast further away, make longer drifts, cast easier, faster hook sets, and the soft tip will protect your tippet against big trout. Enough power in the butt section to handle bigger trout when necessary, and a bit of extra flex in the tip for casting thinner micro leaders and lighter flies. The new 2wt is a great compliment to your arsenal, especially if you already have the 3wt, which is the “all 'rounder” for Euro Nymphing.
The Diamondback range of Ideal Nymph rods are in stock. These fantastic Euro nymphing rods are available in 10’ 1wt, 10’ 2wt, 10’ 10” 2wt, 10’ #3, 10’ 10” 3wt, 10’ 10” 4wt, and 10’ 10” #6, with more models to come soon. Joe Goodspeed, (formerly of Cortland and T&T) designed this new series in 2022, and he did a great job. At $525-550, these rods are a deal and easily the best Euro rods in the $500 range. Using the latest, state-of-the-art materials & construction, the rods are light with excellent recovery & sensitivity, plenty of big fish playing power, double rings on the downlocking reel seat, 3 snake guides on the rod tip for minimal line/leader wrap with thinner/micro leaders, and 2 single foot ceramic stripping guides to reduce friction & improve line shoot. The 10’ 10” #2 has been a best seller for the Farmington River, also the 10’ #1 (a unique & very fun rod). The 10’ 10” #3 has the backbone to handle larger trout & heavy jigged streamers. I’ve also noticed the 10’ #2 is very popular with top competition anglers who have access to any rods they want, Joe really nailed it on this particular rod.