Store
Hours:
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 the moment
(not a permanent change).
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 customer
Tim O’Shaughnessy's stunning wild brown he landed this past
week, wow! Caught on a #22 nymph. Said he lost an even bigger one
right before that. Helluva Consolation Prize.
Nymphing
Tip:
Small
nymphs are often the ticket in the summer, and by small I mean #18
and smaller.
Exceptions would be Isonychia #10-12, and Stoneflies #8-10. Most
nymphs are small to very small this time of year. And they are
certainly more numerous by far than bigger ones. Some
days this makes a huge difference.
Frabill
landing nets are finally back in stock!
Took forever for our order to arrive, but we are once again stocked
up. Very functional lightweight nets with rubber coated mesh, and can
handle very big fish. Flat net bottoms make it easy to deal with the
fish and unhook them without the fish being all bent up. These nets
are very popular with the competition guys. A great value at $40 to
$55, depending upon the size.
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
previous batches were 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.
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.
Diamondback
Generation IV Euro nymphing rods are available. 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 afternoon Temperature update:
Took a temp in New Hartford after my lunch break, and the 1pm water temperature was 68.5 degrees. At the same time, the USGS gauge at Riverton was reading 58.5 degrees 2 miles below the dam at the Rt 20 bridge. This means that as the day progresses, you need to move upstream of New Hartford to stay in trout-friendly water temps (68 degrees or less, and preferably 65 or lower). Mornings until about 10am should be fine down to New Hartford & Canton, but then you need to slide upstream as water temps rise. From lunchtime ownward, I'd stay from Church Pool up to the dam, and the further you go up, the colder the water will be. Water temps normally peak in the late afternoon, and are at their lowest at first light. The Still River is adding in warm water in the summer, and after the rain on Wednesday, it's adding in 100cfs+ of warmer water, but dropping fast. As it goes down it has less of a warming influence. Just use common sense and don't fish too far downstream, work your way upstream as the day progresses, use a thermometer, and you should be able to stay in cooler water and have good fishing without stressing the fish out.
Friday
morning 711/24
River
Report:
The
cloudy, overcast weather is keeping things cooler and making it a lot
more pleasant outside. Looks like the mostly cloudy weather will go
straight through Monday, with highs low to mid 80’s. Blue Winged
Olives are most apt to hatch when it’s cloudy, so keep your eyes
out for them. In July they can run as big as #18, but I’d also
expect to see smaller ones, can be down to #26! Match the size.
Total
flow below the Still River and down in the Permanent TMA/Catch &
Release (C&R) is 341cfs,
a very nice & medium
water level. There is
currently 222cfs
between the dam in Riverton (Goodwin/Hogback Dam) and the Rt 20
bridge (Hitchcock/Self Storage), and the Still River is adding in
119cfs
& dropping steadily
below that. Water temp in Riverton is 55.5
degrees this morning, it peaked at 57.5
late yesterday afternoon. Cloudy weather this weekend
should keep the river
cooler, sunny days see the biggest water temp increases, so
overcast weather is ideal in July.
The Still River is the
first major tributary that comes into the Farmington River (a little
below the Rt 20 bridge in Riverton, just above Lyman Rock), and it
runs warm in the summer, so water temps increase below that
(depending upon the volume
of water in the Still- the lower it is, the less warming effect it
has), and also increase as
you go progressively further downriver and
as the day progresses.
Lowest water temps are
always at first light, and they peak out around 4pm, give or take. If
you are fishing downstream, make sure to take water temps, especially
on sunny days as you get toward late morning & beyond. A good
strategy is to work your way upriver as the day progresses and water
temps rise, that way you stay in cooler water all day long. Typically
you can drop back down into the Permanent TMA/C&R in the evening
as long as things cool down. Water temps drop as the river goes into
the shadows.
Hatches overall have been light in 2025, with
the river above the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release seeing more
consistent bug activity overall, especially in the typically slower
late morning through late afternoon time slot. Hotter days will tend
to push the bugs to either early or late, and cooler/cloudy days will
see the morning fishing go later, and the evening fishing start
earlier. Hatches have been very hard to predict this year. Right at
dusk to dark has been a fairly consistent peak hatch time, and during
the daytime the upper river (Campground & up) has been the place
to be. If you leave before full darkness, you may miss out on a brief
but very good window of dry fly fishing. Some nights it’s only
15-30 minutes and happens just as it’s getting dark. Other specific
predictions have been harder to make in terms of what bugs will hatch
where & when- you just need to be observant and match what you
see.
Check different river sections out when the fishing
& hatches are slow. Fish in the shade whenever possible, hint
hint. When bug activity is light to non-existent (not
uncommon, especially midday),
the high percentage techniques are nymphing, dry-dropper, wet
flies/soft hackles, or blind fishing attractor/bigger dries &
terrestrials. Beetles & Ants are great for the non-hatch times in
the summer, very effective. Don’t waste your time trying to force
feed hatch-matching mayflies when they are not on the water and/or
the trout are not rising. Isonychia are definitely an exception, you
can blind fish #10-12 Iso patterns in riffly water and do well.
Sulfurs are still hatching if you go upriver, I’d stay from
Campground and above for that hatch- mostly 18’s now. They normally
go into August, and by then they will only be up near the dam. Don’t
confuse them with the bright greenish-yellow #20 Attenuata, because
the trout can tell the difference. This is normally an evening
hatch.
Glad to see we’ve stayed out of a drought so far
in 2025,
and there is plenty of water in the reservoirs currently
(about 701’ of elevation as of Thursday 7/3,
708’ is the max level the Army Corps of Engineers will allow in the
lake during hurricane season, which is now). CT DEEP has a flow plan
for the Farmington River, and the target release from Colebrook River
Lake Dam is 250cfs for July & August (assuming normal
precipitation/resrvoir
levels)- this
is a target flow number, and not an absolute.
During dry periods this would be reduced, especially
if the lake level is too low. If
we get lots of rain it’s
increased if the lake level is too high. They also sometimes
temporarily bump it up extra during heat waves to cool the river
down. So far they have
been conservative with the releases, with the fear being if they draw
the reservoir down too much and then we end up in a drought, that we
could be in bad shape in late summer/early fall and
not be able to let out enough water.
Summer
is a good time of year to own a thermometer and use it. Ideally look
for water temps of 65 degrees or less for the most active trout,
which should not be hard to find. The water is coming out of the dam
at about 54-55
degrees currently, and then gradually increasing as you move
downstream. Try to stay under 68 degrees, and definitely don’t fish
in 70 degree plus water or you will stress out or even kill the trout
(warm water holds less dissolved oxygen, and
also increases the trout’s metabolism and oxygen demands).
Water temps are lowest in the mornings, and peak out in the late
afternoon. Sunny days see the biggest temp increases. The coldest
water is up near the dam, above the Still River confluence. Water
temps gradually rise as you go downstream, and also as the day
progresses. Lots of trout are in fast water in the summer. There is
more oxygen in faster water, and that is also where many
of the bugs live &
hatch.
Nymphing is a mainstay right now, especially in
the late morning to early evening time slot when hatches are scarce.
A great summer tactic
is to target the first light (about 5am) to mid morning time period
with large #8-10 Stonefly nymphs. The naturals crawl out to emerge at
that time of day, and some of them get knocked into the drift. Pair
them up with a smaller nymph, something like a Caddis pupa or small
Pheasant Tail/Frenchy.
The fast water at pool heads and in between pools is loaded with
trout. It’s also more oxygenated and
holds more bugs. Mousing
after dark for big trout is popular in the summer, and an especially
good choice when it’s really hot during the day. A lot of the
biggest trout become mainly nocturnal in the summer.
There
are some Isonychia hatching in the fast water, they have been light
in numbers overall. Having said that, it doesn’t take many Iso’s
to get the fish on them. Caddis have been a common bug, with the best
action 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 #14-20,
and Pheasant Tails too (#12 for Isonychia, and #16-20 for Sulfurs &
Blue Winged Olives/BWO’s). Light Cahills #12-14 are a possibility
anywhere on the river at dusk. You may see #18-26
Blue Winged Olives, especially on cloudy days.
With
summer here, 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. 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. You can
also blind fish big Iso dry flies in #10-12. They typically hatch
between late afternoon & dark, but I’ve also seen them here at
other times of the day.
Streamers can be a good option
during low light (early/late in the day), 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.
Assorted
Caddis will be present daily straight through mid fall, and anglers
often overlook them because they are so obsessed with Mayflies.
Caddis are most active in the faster water: pool heads, riffles,
runs, rapids & pocket water. Trout will gorge on the pupa
surface, hint hint. Various nymphs from #8-20 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. On crappy, cooler overcast
afternoons, we’ve been seeing #20-24 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. 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.
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.
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.
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) & #18 (Dorothea): upriver only now (Campground &
above), anytime from mid/late morning through evening, varies from
day to day and in different river sections. Seeing mostly #18
Dorothea currently, the #16 Invaria are on their way out.
-Assorted
Caddis #14-20 (tan, green/olive, black): major hatch on all of the
river, very active mid mornings to mid afternoons, nymphing with pupa
is currently the most productive tactic for them. They typically
egg-lay later in the day in low light, in the faster
water.
-Attenuata #18-20: evening hatch, often confused with
Sulfurs. Up at least as far upstream as Pipeline & Lyman Rock,
and probably also above that by now. Slightly smaller than a true
Sulfur, and more of a bright greenish yellow, almost chartreuse right
when they are freshly hatched (they darken up to a medium olive
within minutes).
-Blue Winged Olives (BWO’s/Olives) #18-26:
afternoons & eves, especially during cloudy, cooler weather.
Rusty spinners also in the same sizes at dusk.
-Rusty Spinner
#12-26: imitates the spinner of many different mayflies. Most
commonly on the water at dusk.
-Light Cahill/Summer Stenos
#12-14: eves, entire river
-Isonychia #10-12: light late
afternoon to evening hatch in fast water, upstream at least as far as
Pipeline/Lyman’s Rock.
-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
-Ants & Beetles #14-20: deadly in the
summertime!
-Mouse patterns: fish after dark for BIG trout, use
a short/heavy leader
Nymphs:
-Assorted
Caddis Pupa #14-20 in various colors (olive/green, tan). Use specific
pupa, plain 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
-Big Stonefly Nymphs #8-10: early to mid AM in fast water-
golden/yellow, brown, black
-Caddis Larva (olive to green)
#14-16: lots of these in the river (most other rivers too), imitates
the common Hydrospyche, good all year
-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: mid afternoon through eves, fish in fast water. Use
BMAR Iso nymph, also big Princes & Pheasant Tails
-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