8am-5pm Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm on Saturday & Sunday. These will be the store hours through March.
Pictured up top is once again Jim DeCesare with his new PB wild Farmington River brown trout, what a specimen. Jim has really paid his dues the last several years, asked questions, and put his time in on the water, and it shows in his results!
The entire upper 21 miles of river from the dam in Riverton to the Rt 20 bridge in Unionville is Catch & Release until the second Saturday in April 2025. With very few exceptions, all trout fishing in CT rivers is C&R in March/early April, and you cannot keep any trout until 6am on 4/12.
There will be a “Sage Day” at UpCountry on this Saturday, April 5th, from 10am-1pm. I mistakenly had it previously listed as being on the 4th. Our Sage rep Dave Steeves will set up a tent & table outside, and you will have an opportunity to cast various Sage rods and ask him questions. He will be giving away some swag too.
Diamondback
Generation IV Euro nymphing rods
have
arrived! 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). The models we
have include 10' and 10' 7" lengths in #1, #2, #3, and 10' 7"
in #6 & #7. The rods feel great, with crisp and extremely
responsive tip sections that recover immediately with almost no
bounce, and plenty of backbone in the lower half of the rods. Each
model includes an instruction sheet explaining what that particular
rod is best for (fish size, tippet size, hook size, leader type,
suggested reel weight, applications, etc.). The 1 & 2 weight
models have slightly softer tips than their predecessors, but still
have plenty of backbone in the mid to lower rod for when you do hook
a bigger fish. The 10’ 7” 3 weight is your all around Euro stick
for the Farmington River, it will do almost everything and do it
well. He added in a 10' 7" #7 rod for those requesting a heavier
Great Lakes Steelhead/Salmon rod for bigger fish & heavier
tippets, and the updated 6 weight version also has more backbone than
it’s predecessor while maintaining a flexible tip to protect your
tippet. The 1 weight comes in a longer version now, not just the 10'
length. Prices are $625 for the 10 footers, and $650 for the 10' 7"
models.
Friday morning
4/4/25 River Report:
Make
sure to check out all the used rods & reels we’ve received in
trade-ins, we have a pile at the moment, and there are some great
deals. New product is arriving every day, including MT Fly Company
streamers, Suncloud sunglasses, and some new Simms sun
hoodies. We are one again stocked up on all the good colors in the MT
Fly Co. Trina’s Squirmy Material.
We also recently received a Smith Optics sunglass fill-in,
they make the absolute best polarized glasses for fishing. We have a
couple of Guideline 10' 8" #3 LPX Nymph Euro rods in the
rack, with more supposed to arrive on 4/4- fantastic value at $380,
fishes like a rod twice that price. We also have there high quality
but reasonably priced landing nets coming. Umpqua & Tiemco
are here, including their Euro butt section material (FYI,
it’s the best one I’ve used so far). The Wapsi tying
materials order arrived and is up on the walls now, as is a recent
order from Hareline. We currently have an excellent stock of
fly tying materials. The Hareline order included Polar Reflector
Chenille (good streamer material that’s similar to UV Polar
Chenille but denser and not UV), and we now are stocking Danville
6/0 thread in a variety of colors. Ice Dub is once again
restocked in a wide variety of colors (pretty much all the good
ones). We also received backordered Hanak hooks that filled
some holes (400’s, 450’s, etc.). Hanak 230 is now available down
to #18.
Some much needed shots of rain Monday &
Wednesday nights are helping to refill Colebrook River Lake, with
more in the Ten Day Forecast. We still have a ways to go to refill
it, so every bit of rain helps. The total flow on the river below
the Still River and in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R)
is 414cfs, the historical median flow for today is 686cfs, so we
are in nice shape, I’d call this a medium water level. Riverton
is 175cfs between the dam and the Rt. 20 bridge/Riverton Self
Storage. The Still River is adding in 239cfs a little below
that. Riverton water temps is 41 degrees this morning, it reached 43
degrees yesterday afternoon. Downstream water temps are higher.
Bug
activity was overall light the past couple of days, probably due to
colder/dropping air temps Monday night through Wednesday night. There
was a modest hatch of Blue Winged Olives (BWO’s)/Baetis on
Wednesday afternoon, Midges, and a few Early Black Stoneflies. I was
out with guide Steve Culton for the purpose of him taking pictures
for his upcoming book on the Farmington River, which is coming out in
2026. It was a slow bite Wednesday afternoon, but I did manage a
flawless wild male brown for his camera. Thursday I saw Midges and a
modest number of Early Black Stones around mid afternoon, and the
fishing was noticeably better, probably due to the mild weather and
rising water temps. Water temps hit 50 degrees in New Hartford
Thursday afternoon. Nymphing was the name of the game the past couple
of days, with fish coming on #14-18 Pheasant Tails/Frenchies, #16-18
BWO nymphs, #14-16 olive Caddis larva/Walt’s Worms, Egg Flies, and
flies with pink beads. Many fish are holding in faster water with
some current now, especially in the afternoons.
Current
hatches are Early Black Stones #12-16, Blue Winged Olives
(BWO’s)/Baetis #16-18, and Midges. The BWO’s started up recently,
they were late this year due to the extra cold winter (slows the
development of the nymphs). All of these are afternoon hatches.
Milder days are the best of all.
Water temps in New
Hartford have been running from about mid 40’s up to 50 degrees
this week, depending upon the weather and time of day. Riverton above
the Still River is always colder this time of year, starting in the
upper 30’s in the mornings and reaching the low 40’s on warm,
sunny afternoons. This time of year, the Still River becomes a
warming influence most days, and water temps are higher/better from
there downstream. This is a good thing when the water coming from the
dam is in the upper 30’s to low 40’s. Unionville USGS gauge is
reading 703cfs, historical median flow for today is 1,210cfs.
For
the most part, it’s been more of a quality over quantity situation
lately. If you can find a pod of rainbows, you may do some numbers.
It pay to move around and cover water currently. It one section is
not producing, don’t beat it to death, move to a new section. The
big wild browns are the hardest to fool, you need to do everything
correctly. They’ve seen it all, and they spook easily. With
gradually rising water temps and more bug activity, more and more
trout are sliding out of slow water winter lies, and into faster
water to feed. This is especially true on mild afternoons.
Quick
Tip:
Many of you are Euro Nymphing, and wind is your
biggest enemy. 2025 has been super windy. Make sure to carry some
small & medium Air-Lock strike indicators with you. Pop one on
your Euro leader, they are surprisingly easy to cast. On a windy day,
this will anchor your rig to the surface so the wind can’t blow on
your leader and move your flies during the drift. If you don’t want
to do this, try fishing closer with your rod tip lower to the water,
and bump up your anchor fly two the next bead size, even 2 sizes up
if it’s really windy. Also, thinner Micro Leaders are less affected
by the wind due to their skinnier diameter and reduced surface area.
Bulky anchor flies like Mops & big Rubber Leg Stoneflies are more
resistant to being pulled up toward the surface by the wind.
Perdigones can be a great choice in fast water, but they are a bad choice on a windy day because they have so
little water resistance that the wind easily pulls them up toward the
surface.
The Farmington River was stocked recently on
virtually the entire river, except for the Permanent TMA/C&R
(that will get stocked this month). Riverton got stocked for a second
time earlier this week, and the rest of the river should get stocked
a second time over the next week. FYI, 20% of the trout they stock
throughout the state are over one foot, with some much larger. Almost
all trout fishing in the river and streams around the state is Catch
& Release until April 12th, but still open to
fishing.
We are seeing the bigger Early Black Stoneflies
that average a #14. Look for them in the afternoons, especially on
milder, sunny days. The early season Baetis/Blue Winged Olives (BWO)
that run #16-18 have finally begun. They often hatch best on cloudy,
cooler crappy days. Baetis/BWO nymphs will end up in the Behavioral
Drift in the mornings. The peak water temps & insects are in the
afternoons, making late morning to late afternoon a prime time to be
out. Nymphs & jigged streamers remain the main players. Think
slow & deep on your presentations. Many trout are now moving to
water with medium to medium-fast current in the afternoons,
especially on sunny afternoons with bug activity.
When flows are normal, various nymphs #14-20, olive/green Caddis Larva #14-16, black Stoneflies #12-16, BWO/Olive/Baetis Nymphs #16-18, Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #14-18, Junk Flies (Mops, Eggs, Worms) and jigged streamers (white, tan, olive) have been the high percentage patterns. Try also a Micro Mop instead of a standard full size Mop. Bigger stonefly nymphs #8-10 are sometimes effective when trout are passing up the small stuff.
16-18”
has been a pretty common size lately for the holdovers and wild
trout, with the occasional 20-22” brown, along with some giant FRAA
rainbows that push 20-24”. The recently stocked trout will
typically run 12-16”, with rainbows being the most common catch.
Extra deep discount:
Diamondback Ideal Nymph rods in stock are
on clearance for
$330
(normally $525-550) until we
run out of stock,
(Generation IV Nymph rods have just replaced these).
Currently we are down to a few of the 10’ 10” #4.
Fishing
Tip:
After you nymph a fishy section of water, before
you leave make one more pass with either a “Junk Fly” (Mop, Egg,
Squirmy Worm) or a jigged streamer. It will often result in one or
more fish. My personal go to clean-up flies are cream mops &
jigged streamers (olive, tan, white, black). Although most of a
trout’s winter diet is small bugs, sometimes it takes a bigger
piece of food to entice them to eat. Their metabolism is slow when
water temps are in the 30’s & 40’s, and they don’t have to
eat much, but a big meal can be too enticing to resist. Plus they
will move further to eat a bigger fly. Sometimes you have to almost
hit them on the nose with a small nymph to get them to eat in cold
water, and those subtle eats can be very hard to detect. If you are
playing with jig streamers, make sure to try different colors, some
days it makes a BIG difference. Top 3 streamer colors lately have
been olive, tan, and white. Other colors can have their moments, but
usually one of those colors will get it done. Freshly stocked trout
(especially rainbows) like black streamers. Also experiment with
different presentations: dead-drift, occasional twitches, actively
jigged, swung, and stripped in with different retrieves. Sometimes
they will eat it on the dangle when it’s hanging straight
downstream of you, wafting around enticingly in the current until the
trout cannot stand it any longer.
There are definite bite
windows when the fish decide to actively feed, and it can go from
zero to 100 when the fish turn on, so be patient. Hours of slow
fishing can suddenly get good when they go on the bite. And
conversely, it can just shut off and go dead suddenly. These windows
typically last 1-3 hours. As water temps rise during the afternoons
and bugs get active (especially on sunny days), some trout
(especially wild browns) will push up into the riffles to feed. This
can also happen in mid to late mornings when it’s sunny and you get
some behavioral drift of nymphs. Sunny days will raise water temps
more than mild air temps will on a cloudy day.
If
you are nymphing slower/deeper water, fishing far away, fishing below
you, or fishing in the wind, using a strike indicator is generally
better than Euro nymphing. FYI you can fish an indy with either fly
line or a mono rig. Mono rig lets you hold line off the water and
also helps prevent your guides from icing up as fast, but fly line
lets you fish further away and you can also roll cast it (unlike a
Mono rig). Make sure to play with the depth you have the Indy set at,
it can make a big difference. Generally you want your flies just
above bottom, but sometimes a bit higher if fish suspend in slower
water. Trout like to feed at their level or a bit above, but not so
much ON the bottom or below them (with occasional
exceptions).
****************************************************************
Dries:
-Early
Black Stones #12-16: afternoon hatch, sunny/mild days are best.
-Blue Winged Olives/Baetis #16-18: Finally started, was late
this year. Afternoon hatch, often better on crappy, overcast days.
-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, sunny/milder days are best
Nymphs:
-Black
Stonefly #12-16: afternoons, mild sunny afternoons are the best of
all
-Blue Winged (Baetis) Olive Nymphs #16-18, good all year, a
common item in the drift, active & hatching now
-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, 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
-Egg Flies #12-20: Eggstasy, Otter Eggs,
Glo-Bugs, Sucker Spawn, etc. Shades of yellow, orange, pink, or a mix
of those. Try Otter Eggs on extra picky fish.
-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, especially in the
winter.
-Midges #18-22 (black, olive, red): Zebra Midge, Flash
Midge, Red Iris Midge. A staple winter bug, fish mainly in slower
water in the afternoons when the pupa are active & hatching.
Larva can be fished in mid/late mornings.
Streamers:
Don’t
neglect streamers! - top 3 colors have been olive, tan, and
white. Black is good on recently stocked trout, and also 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