Out store hours have moved to closing at 6pm on weekdays, but staying at 5pm on weekends. We are also closed on Wednesdays, at least for a while.
Store
hours currently are 8am-6pm Monday & Tuesday, closed on
Wednesdays, 8am-6pm Thursday & Friday, and 8am-5pm on
Saturday & Sunday.
Pictured up top is a beautiful
wild brown I landed Wednesday night just before dark, it ate a nymph
and jumped 6 times!
We have a lot of used reels at the
moment. As such, we have a 20% off sale on the used reels in that
specific case. Get ‘em while they last! This is an in-store
promotion only, no mail order on these.
We received a
small batch of the new Diamondback Gen IV Nymph Rods with carbon
grips- the first batch prior to this was all with traditional
cork grips. Carbon grips are very sensitive, more than cork, as well
as quite durable (they won’t chip like cork can). There is a $25
upcharge for the carbon handle. We got them in the popular 10’ 7”
#2 & #3 rods, and the 10’ #2. We can order the carbon grip in
any size rod you want though. We have very limited quantities on this
first batch, so don’t wait if you want one.
The store
is stocked with tons of books at the moment, both used
& new books. Also, more used
rods & reels came in, we have a LARGE inventory of
used stuff.
We are once again carrying the very popular
Frabill Landing Nets. They are
very reasonably priced ($35-45), lightweight, and capable of netting
large trout. Rubber coated mesh nets with flat bottoms make it easy
to handle the trout once you net them. Hard to beat for the money.
This first batch sold out, but we have another big batch of them on
the way any day now.
Diamondback
Generation IV Euro nymphing rods are available. I know
many of you have been eagerly anticipating them, and we have the full
line-up, minus the 10' 7" #4 (not available yet, probably in
early/mid fall). The models we have include 10' and 10' 7"
lengths in #1, #2, #3, and 10' 7" in #6 & #7. These rods are
very nice with crisp, responsive tips that recover fast with minimal
wobble. The 10’ 7” #1 is a very interesting option for Micro
Leaders, lighter tippet, and lighter flies.
After walking
through the woods, check yourself for ticks-
they are extremely active. I’m picking 1 or more off the dog on a
near daily basis, and also finding them on me regularly when I walk
in the woods or through tall grass
Friday
morning 6/20/25 Report:
Some
seriously hot weather is moving in by Sunday with a 4 day heat wave in store for us next week, but fortunately
the water is still coming out of the dam in the low 50’s and
keeping the river trout-friendly for many miles below that. Anywhere
from about Canton/New Hartford & upstream should be fine in terms
of water temps when the hot weather moves in. If you are fishing further downstream, stick to the
mornings when the water is the coolest, and take water temps- look
for water 68 degrees or less, and definitely don’t fish in water
that is 70 degrees or higher. Water levels are currently excellent at
a total flow of 361cfs downstream of the Still River and in the
Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R). Riverton is 198cfs from
the dam down to to the Rt 20 bridge (Hitchcock/Riverton Self
Storage), and the Still River is adding in 173cfs & dropping
below that. The absolute coldest water is from the bridge to the dam,
about 2 miles, it currently is staying in the 50’s even on a hot,
sunny day.
Hatches are starting to shift gears. I didn’t
see Sulfurs in New Hartford when I was out Wednesday. I did see some
smaller Caddis #18-20 (tan/brown, black), a few #18-20 Attenuata (a
bright yellow olive Blue Winged Olive that some people mistake for a
small Sulfur). Saw a few bigger Caddis too. And some Olives in about
a #18, maybe Cornutella? But overall bugs were very light. I did well
nymphing with Caddis-y looking patterns like specific pupa &
Walt’s Worms. I fished from mid afternoon until dark. First spot
was so-so, the second spot was pretty good, and I got some big trout
in the 45 minutes of daylight in the last spot between 8:15 and 9pm.
16” wild brown that jumped 6 times, a very small wild rainbow (a true
rarity and maybe the 5th or 6th ever that I
caught on the Farmington), and the last fish at almost 9pm was a 21” FRAA rainbow
that weighed 4# in my McLean Weigh Net. Also had a Sucker (the “true
native” lol) that I at first thought was a big brown, that legit
ate a Walt’s Worm. And a Salmon Parr, for 5 species of fish total, including the "Hat Trick" of trout (mostly stocked bows, some browns, and one pretty Brookie).
The
bigger #16 Invaria Sulfurs are moving upstream, probably need to be
at Mathie’s Grove or Campground and above to hit them, and #18
Dorothea are mixing in. There are some Isonychia, some even into the
Permanent TMA/C&R, but they have been very light in numbers.
Caddis have been the most numerous bug, with the hot weather look for
them in mornings and again at dusk, especially in riffled water. In
general, during hot weather the best bug activity is early to mid
mornings, and again at dusk. Upriver closer to the dam you may see
some hatches in the late morning to early evening time slot. Overall,
bug activity has been light this week. Best bugs seem to be Caddis in
the mornings in faster water, and right at dusk and even beyond into
the dark. Be prepared to fish subsurface if you don’t have a hatch
or rising trout. Caddis pupa (tan, olive/green) and Walt’s Worms
are working well in #14-18, and Pheasant Tails too (#12 for
Isonychia, and #16-20 for Sulfurs & Blue Winged Olives/BWO’s).
You may still see some Vitreus and even March Browns up
closer to the dam, but both hatches have moved up and are near the
end. Light Cahills #12-14 are a possibility anywhere on the river at
dusk. You may see #18-24 Blue Winged Olives on cloudy days.
Now
that we are coming into warmer/hotter weather, don’t neglect
terrestrials such as Ants & Beetles, both can be VERY effective,
especially when there isn’t a good hatch but you have sporadic
risers. Air temps in the upper 60’s and above get terrestrial
insects active, so they will be in play from now through October. You
can also blind fish them over likely water. The books say Sulfurs are
a late afternoon to evening hatch, and they often are, but with the
icy cold water coming out of the dam they can also come off in the
mid/late morning and early/mid afternoon. Tailwaters like the
Farmington and Delaware system often have hatches at times of day and
times of the year that deviate quite a bit from standard hatch
charts.
July is normally the peak month for big Iso’s
in the Permanent TMA/C&R, but there are a few around in the TMA
even now. The nymphs can swim like a tiny minnow, so play around with
dead drifting, swinging, twitching, and even 6-12” strips like a
mini streamer. The trout will tell you what they want. You can use a
#12 BMAR Iso nymph, Prince Nymph, or a big Pheasant Tail to imitate
this bug.
Hatch intensity has varied from day to day, with
light typical most of 2025, but there has been some good hatching
when you are in the right place at the right time and the weather
cooperates. FYI, in general, most of the hatches get heavier as you
go further downriver as the river picks up increased fertility from
the tributaries. It has also varied a lot depending upon location,
with some pools seeing better bug activity than others, and it’s
not 100% predictable either. Caddis pupa patterns #14-18 nymphed in
the fast water work very well when Caddis are active, and there can
be some good dry fly action during milder eves when they come back to
egg-lay in low light.
Streamers can be a good option when
you don’t have bugs hatching (early AM, cold days, in between
hatches, etc.), if you want to cover a lot of water quickly, or when
you have high and/or dirty water. Make sure to get them down,
experiment with different retrieves, change colors, and play with
different fly sizes & designs (length, bulk/sparseness, shape,
etc.). I usually start with a fast strip his time of year with water
temps mostly in the 50’s to 60’s. But if that doesn’t work,
slow it down, change your presentation angle, swing them, twitch
them, fish them on the dangle- experiment based upon the trout’s
reaction (or lack thereof lol). Go smaller if you cannot get eats on
bigger patterns. Also try trailing a nymph or wet fly/soft hackle
about 18” behind a weighted streamer, very effective for converting
follows to eats, and a great way to “nymph” if you aren’t
proficient at nymphing.
Caddis remain a major hatch and
will be present daily straight through mid fall. They are most active
in the faster water: pool heads, riffles, runs, rapids & pocket
water. Trout will gorge on the pupa surface, hint hint. Vitreus hatch
and are active between late afternoon and dark, and they hatch best
when it’s cooler and cloudy- look for this hatch in the upper river now (Riverton). Various other nymphs from
#10-20 are catching fish. Caddis pupa are working great subsurface in
#14-18 (olive/green, tan). You can use specific pupa patterns, Walt’s
Worms, and Sexy Waltz (has flashy rib & hotspot). For Caddis
dries think tan #14-18, olive-green #16-18, and black #20. Seeing
clouds of tiny cream Midges at moments. On crappy, cooler overcast
afternoons, we’ve been seeing #18-24 Blue Winged Olives
(BWO’s/Olives).
The fast water is currently full of
trout, they are literally everywhere. FYI after the CT fisheries
sampled the trout population last September, they estimated the trout
per mile in the Permanent TMA/C&R at 2,800+ fish- that’s a lot!
Tight-line nymphing with one or two weighted nymphs is your best
option to probe faster riffles, runs, rapids & pocket water, but
Indicator nymphing is effective also. Make sure one of your flies is
a pupa-type pattern. Junk Flies such as Mops (also Eggs & Worms)
are still very effective at moments, especially on the stocked fish
that aren’t totally dialed in on real bugs yet. Also hard to go
wrong with a #14-20 Pheasant Tail or Frenchy (just a hot-spot PT).
FYI, small PT’s work 12 months a year and are a great dropper fly
when you are not sure what to put on. From May through October, if
I’m nymphing, at some point there will definitely be a Caddis pupa
pattern #14-18 on my rig at some point.
In case you
missed it up top, we have gone to a 6pm closing time on weekdays.
Also, we are now CLOSED on Wednesdays at least for a
while, so please plan accordingly.
Caddis
& General Fishing Tips:
We are seeing
multiple different Caddis hatching. FYI, all Caddis look tan while
flying in the air, you have to get one in hand and flip them over to
determine the true body color. And they are not easy to catch by
hand, as they will actively try to avoid your hand, unlike a mayfly.
You can look for them in spiderwebs. Pupa color should match the
adult BODY color. Tan and olive/green are the two most common body
colors, and small black Caddis are very common now and hatch all year
long on the Farmington River. Tan Caddis can be as big as #14, but
also commonly are #16-18. At the moment the subsurface nymphing with
Caddis pupa and other nymphs is the most consistent & predictable
method. I’m still catching trout on Junk Flies at moments, so make
sure to have some Mops, Eggs, Worms & Weenies. Junk typically
either works great, or not at all. Pair them up with a more natural,
imitative nymph. Caddis are a great bug to imitate with wet
flies/soft-hackles too, and that’s a fun method. You will find the
best Caddis action where the water is broken and has some current. If
you have fish breaking on the surface during a Caddis emergence, a
Dry-Dropper rig works well. Run a pupa or soft hackle wet 12-18”
under a buoyant Caddis dry. 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. They are at their best early & late
in the day, on cloudy days, and during higher flows. Make sure to
cover lots of water, play with streamer color/patterns, and vary your
retrieves. Try tan, olive, white, yellow, black, or combinations
thereof.
Kudos to CT DEEP for their wise management of
the water in Colebrook Reservoir since they took that over around
June of 2024. They were dealt a crappy hand in terms of weather
(and by that I mean an incredibly dry 9-10 months in a row), but they
did the right thing and ran the dam release low so they could fill
the reservoir back up, instead of running the flow according to
historical norms that are no longer relevant due to changing
weather/climate. After the April & May rains we are finally full.
This means we don’t have to worry about running out of water in
July & August.
The first Sulfur we see is the
Invaria, they average a #16 and have a yellow body. They hatch
in a variety of water types, mostly in the medium-slow to medium-fast
range. While I think of them as an evening hatch, on the cold
tailwater Farmington River it’s common to see them in the mornings
& afternoons too. You can imitate the nymph with a Pheasant Tail,
or tie up a specific nymph with a yellow/brown body. Sulfur spinners
fall at dusk. The second Sulfur is the #18 Dorothea, they are
just starting up and now mixing in with the slightly bigger Invaria.
Very similar to the Invaria, the main difference is size. And they
often hatch later, as in at dusk.
Don’t be afraid to
explore and fish new water to get away from the crowds, there are
literally fish EVERYWHERE, including all the water in between the
pools. You are also more apt to get into wild fish when you fish
water that isn’t as busy. Wild fish don’t like being constantly
disturbed by anglers. The 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. Most anglers focus on the famous named
pools that have easy access, and skip the water in between. The water
outside of the Permanent Catch & Release/TMA gets less pressure
for the most part.
Fishing reports have varied widely,
depending on the angler, river section fished, time of day, and
methods/flies used. Overall we are getting a quite a few good reports
from smiling anglers. Dry fly fishermen have come into their time
now, June & July are peak dry fly months here normally. Expect to
work for the high quality bigger holdover & wild fish. 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 Permanent TMA/C&R
was stocked in mid April with a lot of brown trout of various sizes-
that section gets stocked once per season. Most sections outside that
have been stocked 3-4 times now, with more to come for July 4th
and Labor Day. FYI, 20% of the trout they stock throughout the state
are over one foot, with some much larger. The Permanent TMA/C&R
gets 1,000 fat Two Year Old Browns that average 14-18”, and some
are bigger than
that.
****************************************************************
Dries:
-Sulfur
#16 (Invaria): more upriver now (Mathie’s/Campground & above),
anytime from mid/late morning through evening, varies from day to day
and in different river sections.
-Sulfur #18 (Dorothea): mixing
in with the slightly bigger Invaria Sulfurs. Best from about Church
Pool & up
-Assorted Caddis #14-20 (tan, green/olive, black):
major hatch on all of the river, very active in the morning and sometimes into the afternoon, nymphing with pupa is currently the most productive
tactic for them. They typically egg-lay late in the day in low
light, in the faster water.
-Attenuata #18-20: evening bug, midriver (New Hartford) & down, maybe into bottom/middle of Permanent TMA
-Vitreus #12-14: late
afternoon & eves, fast water, hatch is mainly upper river
now
-March Brown #10-12: light hatch, sporadic fast water bug,
afternoons/eves. Spinners fall over fast water at dusk. Mainly
upriver now.
-Light Cahill #12-14: eves
-Isonychia #10-12:
light hatch so far, a few even up well into the Permanent
TMA/C&R
-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.
-Blue Winged Olive #18-24: afternoons, especially on cloudy/crappy days
-Midges #20-28: afternoons/eves
-Ants
& Beetles #14-20
Nymphs:
-Assorted
Caddis Pupa #14-20 in various colors (olive/green, tan). Use specific
pupa, Walt’s Worms, and Sexy Waltz.
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies
#12-20: imitates a wide range of Mayflies including Sulfurs,
Isonychia, Vitreus, Blue Winged Olives, small Stoneflies, and more.
-Blue Winged (Baetis) Olive Nymphs #16-20: all year
long
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: lots of these in the
river (most other rivers too), imitates the common Hydrospyche, good
all year
-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.
-Isonychia Nymph #10-12: late
afernoon through eves on the lower river, fish in fast water
-Cased
Caddis #10-16: all year, but especially after rain or flow bumps
(higher water knocks them into the drift)
-Winter/Summer Caddis
Larva #18 (yellow)- also imitates Black Caddis larva & some Midge
larva
-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,
including plenty of bigger articulated patterns.
***Don’t
neglect streamers! - top colors have been olive, tan, white, and
black. Black is good on recently stocked trout (especially rainbows),
during low light (first & last light), and high and/or 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