8am-6pm Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm on Saturday & Sunday.
Pictured up top is PA trout & steelhead guide Josh Miller with a hefty Farmington River brown trout, caught on a Mop! He brought his dad and guide partner Joe with him, and they have been crushing it on the river, catching lots of trout, and some other big fish too. Josh also coaches the Team USA Youth Flyfishing Team. He came into town to overlap with world champion flyfisher Yannick Riviere, whom Antoine Bissieux flew over from France to do clinics here on the river from late July through early August (there are still some openings for Yannick). We have copies of Josh’s recent book (Feb 2024) “Euro Nymphing” here for sale.
Antoine Bissieux, the “French Flyfisherman”, has brought Yannick Riviere from France for multiple clinic days in CT covering Euro-nymphing & secret French dry fly techniques in late July/early August- contact Antoine directly to find out more, these classes are going on right now and he still has a few openings. This is a do-not-miss! Yannick will also be doing a FREE fly tying demo on Saturday August 3rd at 5:30pm at Legitimus Brewery just down the street from us- he will show you some of his deadly fly patterns. Yannick is truly a magician with the fly rod and seems to be able to catch Farmington trout almost at will (he’s been here twice so far) on nymphs & dry flies. He does things with dry flies that we had never seen or heard of before. Yannick also has won the individual gold medal in the World Fly Fishing Championships before, and he recently helped coach FlyFishing Team USA to a bronze medal in the World Championships a few weeks ago, our second team medal ever. Call Antoine at 860-759-4463 to find out more or sign up, spots are limited.
Monday 7/29 morning Report:
The collaborative FRAA/FVTU picnic on Saturday was a big success, with a great turnout, good eats, and fishing demos by Yannick Riviere & Josh Miller. This will probably be an annual event. Looks like a good week to own a raincoat. Fishing remains good, albeit technical at times. Presentation is important, and sometimes the right fly can be critical, especially during a hatch. If you are fishing dry flies, longer leaders in the 12’ plus range with long tippets (3-6’) can be very helpful for stealth and getting a drag-free drift. Water is coming out of the dam in the low 50’s and staying cool quite a ways downstream. If you are venturing welldownstream on hot sunny days, take a water temp before you fish, and if it’s over 68, move upriver to find colder water. Most days you can fish as far downstream as New Hartford and Canton, and mornings will see the coldest water temps. Water temps peak in mid to late afternoons, warmest on sunny days. The overcast weather most of this week will help keep the river cooler.
The total flowis 290cfs in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R). Riverton, from the dam to the Rt 20 bridge, isat 261cfs. The Still River is adding 29cfs. Water temps have been averaging low 50’s to mid 60’s, depending upon river section, weather, and time of day. Look for water temps that are definitely under 70 degrees, and ideally 65 degrees or less for the most active trout- 68 is a good upper limit to cut off at so as not to overly stress the trout out. I recommend staying out of Collinsville/Unionville, and if you are down there, do it only in the mornings when water temps are lowest (after a cooler night), and use a thermometer to take a water temps first. If you don’t own a thermometer, you need one in the summertime.
The way things look, we should have a good August for fishing here, and that is the big month for morning Trico spinner falls. Mornings are still mainly dry fly fishing with Needhami & Summer/Winter Caddis, or nymphing with Stoneflies, Caddis pupa, and small mayfly nymphs. We are in summer mode, which means that overall early & late in the day are the peak hatch and fishing times. The exception to this is Riverton, which due to the icy cold water will often see hatches in the late morning to early evening period. If you are out after work, try to stay until full darkness if you can, or you may miss the best fishing of the evening. The hotter the day, the more the good rising activity will push closer to darkness. Again, Riverton above the Still River can be an exception to this rule. During the slower times of the day, a good strategy is to target the faster, broken water. If you can find shade, even better. Terrestrials like ants & beetles are good midday fly choices.
Farmington trout can be very particular when they are rising to a hatch, especially the bigger holdovers and wild browns, so match the bugs as closely as you can. If you are in between 2 fly sizes, the general rule is to err on the smaller side. If you are nymphing in the summer with a 2 fly rig, make sure one of your nymphs is small, as in #18 or smaller. The exceptions to small nymphs would be large Stoneflies in the early to mid mornings, and big Isonychia nymphs in the mid afternoons through evenings. Both those bugs live in fast water FYI, so that’s the water type you should target. Mousing at night is also an option, especially to catch larger browns- use a short (5-7.5’) leader with a heavy tippet (0x). Early & late in the day are generally the peak times to be out, but good fishing can be had any time of day right now if you are flexible in how you fish (like nymphing), and are willing to fish different sections of the river at different times of the day. The upper river (above the Still river)is seeing a mid to late afternoon Sulfur hatch, and also another batch of them at dusk.
Hatches vary depending upon the section of river and time of day. Attenuata are going on mostly in the mid/upper river currently (think Campground and above). They are often mistaken for a Sulfur from a distance, Attenuata are an evening Mayfly hatch with a bright lime green body with cream wings & legs. Sulfurs are still going up in Riverton above the Still River, and we are seeing mostly #18’s. Isonychia (Iso’s) are hatching in the fast water on virtually the entire river. Typically in the Permanent TMA Iso’s are a late afternoon to evening hatch, but sometimes earlier- especially up in Riverton closer to the dam in the icy cold water. They are averaging about a #10-12 currently. Iso’s live & hatch in faster water, so look for them there, not in flat pool water. Needhami #22-26 are going, they are a morning hatch and both the duns & spinners are important. The spinners fall earlier in the morning, with the duns hatching during and/or after that. We are also seeing assorted Caddis, various sized Light Cahills/Summer Stenonema (“Steno’s”), and small Blue Wing Olives (more on cloudy & rainy days). This is also a great time of year to fish Ants & Beetles, especially when you have sporadic risers but no real hatch.
Large Golden Stoneflies are crawling out on the rocks to emerge between first light and mid mornings, they run from about a #4 down to a #12. Imitate them with #8-12 nymphs in the fast water, big trout key in on them. They will be active & emerging from June through October. Look for their empty shucks on protruding rocks in fast water, you’ll also see a bunch on concrete bridge abutments. Fishing these big nymphs will net you some bigger fish, especially if you fish the fast water from first light to mid-morning (until about 10am). You can beef your tippet up when fishing bigger bugs like this for bigger trout- 4x to 5x is not to heavy, and if you have a really big trout located, 3x may be more appropriate.
Wet fly/soft hackle guys are putting fish in the net, and streamers are producing early & late in the day. Even had some good midday streamers reports, with the caveat that they were fishing them in fast water. Caddis typically come back later in the day to egg-lay in the riffles areas where they dump into the pools, and they typically hatch in the morning (can be afternoons up closer to the dam due to the colder water temps there). Trout normally feed on the pupa during the hatch, not so much the adults- this can mean anything from nymphing pupa near the bottom, to swinging pupa/wet flies/soft-hackles mid column, or dead-drifting pupa in the surface film. Dry/dropper with a Caddis dry and a pupa fished 6-12” below it can be effective during the hatch. You get more of the classic dry fly fishing with Caddis dries during the evening egg-laying events.
The state has done multiple stockings up & down the river, the fish density is currently very high between stocked, holdover & wild trout. They put in a lot of fat 14-16” rainbows, some are 17” and over 2 pounds. Many of the FRAA trophy rainbows are stillgetting caught & released (mostly). They have been averaging about 5-7 pounds, and some are even bigger. Many trout are holding in faster water now: riffles, faster runs, and pocket water. Also the FRAA put in 18 large Golden Rainbows, and you will see them here & there, along with the leftover ones in the upper river from the Riverton Derby in early April. They are always a challenge to catch because they stick out like a sore thumb and everybody targets them.
Be prepared to go subsurface with Caddis pupa, small Mayfly patterns, big Stoneflies, Sulfur nymphs, Isonychia nymphs, wet flies/soft hackles, and streamers. Also try BWO nymphs #16-22 (especially on overcast days), #12-20 Pheasant Tails/Frenchies and other assorted nymphs. Small nymphs #18-22 are often the ticket in July/August, with the fly size being more important than the exact pattern. Mops(cream, chartreuse)& Squirmy Worms (pink, red) are always worth a try, especially as a clean up fly after you nymph a run, or if trout are not responding to your usual more imitative patterns. They can also be good during non-hatch periods. Don’t neglect attractor nymphs that have flash, fluorescent colors, UV, or gaudy colors- pink beaded nymphs are very effective.
The new Thomas & Thomas Avantt II fly rods arrived in March, and they have really impressed us. Slightly more flex in the tip, but still plenty of power in the mid & lower sections, with fantastic crisp recovery and a low swing weight.
*********************************************************************
Hatches/Dries:
-Needhami #22-26: early/mid mornings, spinners & duns
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: hatching in early to mid morning, all year long
-Sulfur #18 (Dorothea): Riverton, above the Still River and up to the dam. Often hatches in both mid/late afternoon and again in the eves in the cold water up near the dam.
-Isonychia #10-12: typically a late afternoon through dusk hatch in fast water, starts later on hot, sunny days. On the entire river currently. July is normally the peak month for bigIso's in the Permanent TMA/C&R, this bug brings some large trout to the surface in fast water.
-Attenuata #18-20: Often mistaken for a Sulfur, but it's a bright lime green and smaller. Mostly upriver now, from about Campground and up. Typically in the evenings, but sometimes in the afternoon as you get closer to the dam.
-Light Cahill/Summer Stenos #12-20: evenings, but can pop in the afternoons on the upper river
-Ants & Beetles #12-18: very effective, especially when you have sporadic risers without any major hatch occuring
-Blue Wing Olive #20-24: cloudy afternoons, eves too sometimes
Nymphs & Wet Flies/Soft Hackles:
-Small Nymphs #18-22: frequently size is more important than the exact pattern, especially in July & August when most of the bugs are smaller. Generic bugs like Pheasant Tails/Frenchies, Hare’s Ears, etc. all are good choices.
-Sulfur Nymph #18: can use specific imitations, also Frenchies/Pheasant Tails are effective. Probably also imitates a Yellow Sally Stonefly, which get active in August/September.
-Caddis Pupa #16-18 (tan, olive/green)
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #12-20: imitates a wide range of Mayflies including Sulfurs, Isonychia, Blue Winged Olives and more
-Stonefly #8-12: excellent in early to mid mornings when they crawl out in low light onto the rocks to emerge in fast water. They emerge from June through October on the Farmington River, and can produce some bigger fish.
-Isonychia Nymph #10-12: fish in fast water, mid afternoon through dusk
-Wet Flies & Soft Hackles #12-16: assorted colors/patterns, try to imitate the main hatches, but also use flashy attractor patterns
-Junk Flies (Eggs, Mops, Squirmy Worms, Green Weenie)
-Blue Winged Olive Nymphs #16-22, good all year, common item in the drift
-Zebra Midge #18-22: black, olive, red
-Winter/Summer Caddis Larva #18 (yellow): can also imitate Midge larva
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: lots of these in the river
-Cased Caddis #12-14: underfished pattern, abundant in the Farmington
-Attractor Nymphs #14-20: such as Sexy Waltz, Rainbow Warriors, Frenchies, Prince, Triple Threats, Pink Bead Walt’s Worm, Pink Bead Pheasant Tails, etc. Often work better than drabber, more imitative flies.
Streamers:
-Jigged Streamers #8-12: various patterns/colors, deadly fished on a tight-line/Euro rig, often sorts out bigger fish. Great to use as a clean-up fly after you nymph a run.
-Ice Picks (tan, gray, white, yellow): tied by Rich Strolis, a very nice single hook baitfish pattern
-Wooly Bugger #4-12: assorted colors, try also Don's Peach Bugger
-Zonker #4-6: a classic fish catcher! In white, natural
-BMAR Yellow Matuka #6: deadly fly! Also standard Matuka in olive, brown
-Zuddler #4-8: one of our favorites, in olive, white, brown, black
-Complex & Mini Twist Bugger #2-6: assorted colors, very effective