8am-5pm Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm on Saturday & Sunday. These will be the store hours through April.
Pictured up top is the bug that drives anglers into a frenzy in the spring, the Hendrickson mayfly (pic courtesy of John Antolini). It’s hatching here now, as far upstream as New Hartford, and with the mild to warm weather here now it should work it’s way into the lower end of the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release later this week.
We have tons of books at the moment- just got in a bunch of used book as well as a big order of new books that came in recently. Also, a bunch more used rods & reels came in, we have a BIG inventory of used stuff. Also received big orders from Scientific Anglers (fly lines) & Fulling Mill (flies, boxes, beads, hooks).
We are once again carrying the very popular Frabill Landing Nets. They are reasonably priced, lightweight, and capable of netting very large trout.
Diamondback Generation IV Euro nymphing rods are here! I know many of you have been eagerly anticipating them, and now we have the full line-up, minus the 10' 7" #4 (not available yet, probably in the early fall). The models we have include 10' and 10' 7" lengths in #1, #2, #3, and 10' 7" in #6 & #7.
Monday morning 4/21/25 River Report:
The total flow on the river below the Still River and in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) is 250cfs and slowly dropping, the historical median flow for today is 471cfs- today’s flow is a medium water level. Riverton is 157cfs between the dam and the Rt. 20 bridge/Riverton Self Storage (historical median flow for today is 262cfs). The Still River is adding in 93cfs and dropping a little below that. Riverton water temp is 43 degrees this morning, it reached 48.5 degrees yesterday afternoon. Downstream water temps are higher, running upper 40’s to mid 50’s of late. Peak water temps are normally mid to late afternoon. Unionville USGS gauge is reading 404cfs, historical median flow for today is 797cfs.
Hendricksons are typically a mid/late afternoon hatch, with somewhere between 2pm and 5pm being the normal time frame. Make sure to have both dun & emerger patterns for the afternoon hatch. Spinner falls (egg-laying) are an evening affair according to the books, but on the Farmington River I’ve seen them anywhere from mid to late mornings, concurrent with the afternoon hatch, and also in the traditional evening/dusk time frame. Spinners falls require dry weather, mild temps, and minimal wind. Cold or windy eves often lead to mid/late morning spinner falls the following morning, well before the “hatch” anglers are even on the river. Spinners are all rusty brown, and the females have a bright yellow egg sack at the end of the abdomen. Look for them in the air over riffles, flying up & down as they slowly work their way down to the water. Nymphs resembling the Hendricksons can be effective, especially in the 2-3 hours preceding the hatch. Hatches don’t always mean rising fish, so be prepared with nymphs. Think patterns in a medium to dark brown, #12-14- the nymphs darken as they get near hatching time. You can use a specific imitation, or something more generic like a Pheasant Tail or Frenchy. They are bulkier than some other nymphs, so if you tie them don’t make the abdomens too skinny, and make a robust thorax. FYI Hendricksons are close cousins to Sulfurs. Wet flies & soft-hackles can have their moments during this hatch.
Don’t be afraid to explore and fish new water to get away from the crowds, there are literally fish EVERYWHERE. The Hendrickson hatch draws the biggest crowds of the year, and the famous named pools in the Permanent TMA/C&R inevitably draw the most pressure. They further you go downstream, in general the less anglers you will see- especially if you walk 5-10 minutes away from the easy access points. FYI, many anglers don’t start until noon or 1pm, and then they leave at 4-5pm when the afternoon hatch is done. We are on the tail end of the Blue Winged Olive/Baetis hatch. A smaller gray/brown Caddis has been hatching in the afternoons, but for the most part trout don’t seem to surface feed on it. Other than the afternoon hatches, it’s been mostly subsurface with nymphs & streamers.
Various nymphs averaging #14-20 have been working on stockers, holdovers & wilds. Try #12-18 Pheasant Tails/Frenchies, #12-14 Hendrickson nymphs, #16-20 BWO nymphs, #14-18 olive Caddis larva/Walt’s Worms, Mops, and flies with pink beads (Walt’s/PT’s/Hare’s Ears). Junk Flies (Eggs, Mops, Worms, Weenies) can be particularly effective on the recently stocked fish before they figure out what real food looks like, sometimes vastly outproducing traditional nymphs. And some days the wild browns like to eat the Junk too. They are very much a hot or cold fly, not much in between. If one of your nymphs is a Junk Fly, pair it up with something smaller, drabber & more natural (Pheasant Tail, Walt’s Worm, Hare’s Ear, etc.). Streamers are also a good choice, a great way to cover a lot of water in a hurry, and also be able to fish the water that you cannot nymph. Make sure to cover lots of water, play with streamer color/patterns, and vary your retrieves. Try tan, olive, white, and black.
Fishing reports have varied widely, depending on the angler, river section fished, time of day, and methods/flies used. Overall we are getting a lot more good reports recently. Dry fly anglers are just coming into their time now. Nymphs & streamers have been producing most of the fish lately. Expect to work for the high quality bigger holdover & wild fish. If you get into a pod of recently stocked fish, you can do some big numbers with subsurface flies. It pays to move around and cover water currently. It one section is not producing, don’t beat it to death, move to a new area. The big wild browns are the hardest to fool, you need to do everything correctly. They’ve seen it all, and they spook easily. They are also very tuned into real bugs & minnows.
The Farmington River was stocked recently on the entire river, including the Permanent TMA/C&R last week (on Thursday 4/17). Most sections have been stocked twice, with more to come in the near future. FYI, 20% of the trout they stock throughout the state are over one foot, with some much larger.
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Dries:
-Hendrickson
#12-14: mid/late afternoon hatch, starting up, as far upstream as New
Hartford as of 4/20 and working their way further upstream every day
-Blue
Winged Olives/Baetis #16-18: Mid afternoon hatch, near the
end
-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: hatch is typically early to
mid morning, all year long. Trout focus on the pupa first, and then
as the morning progresses they normally switch to the winged,
egg-laying adults.
-Midges #20-28: afternoons/eves, sunny/milder
days are best
Nymphs:
-Hendrickson
#12-14: medium to dark brown mayfly, can use specific imitations like
a BMAR pattern or generic stuff like a Pheasant Tail
-BMAR
Hendrickson Nymph #14
-Blue Winged (Baetis) Olive Nymphs #16-18:
active/hatching in the afternoons, good all year, a common item in
the drift
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: lots of these
in the river (most others too), imitates the common Hydrospyche, good
all year but especially in early spring
-Pheasant
Tails/Frenchies #14-20: imitates a wide range of Mayflies including
Blue Winged Olives, Hendricksons, small Stoneflies, and more
-Cased
Caddis #10-16: good this time of year, especially during & after
flow bumps
-Winter/Summer Caddis Larva #18 (yellow)- also
imitates Black Caddis larva & some Midge larva
-Junk Flies
(Mops/Micro Mops, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Eggs, Green Weenie): eggs
are deadly in the fall/winter/early spring, and the others are good
change-up flies when the usual imitative flies aren’t producing,
during non-hatch times, cold water, on recently stocked trout, or
during higher/off-color water.
-Attractor Nymphs #14-20: such as
Sexy Waltz, Rainbow Warriors, Frenchies, Prince, Triple Threats, Pink
Bead Walt’s Worm/Pheasant Tails/Hare’s Ear, etc. Often work
better than drabber, more imitative flies.
-Midges #18-22
(black, olive, red): Zebra Midge, Flash Midge, Red Iris Midge.
Streamers:
*We
have a lot of new streamer patterns from MT Fly Co in the bins.
***Don’t
neglect streamers! - top 3 colors have been olive, tan, and
white. Black is good on recently stocked trout, during low light
(first & last light), and high/dirty water.
-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
-Woolly 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 fall fly! Also
standard Matuka in olive, brown
-Zuddler #4-8: one of our
favorites, in olive, white, brown, black, yellow
-Complex &
Mini Twist Bugger #2-6: assorted colors, very effective