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 quality brown I landed last week- it was laying in a shallow riffle right off the edge of a big tree branch that had recently fall in.
A second batch of 50 copies of Tom Ames new & updated "Pocketguide to Eastern Hatches" books arrived recently and we are once again stocked up. The official “release date” is mid September and you cannot purchase it on Amazon until then. We sold through the first batch in 4 days, this book is popular. It is the BEST hatch guide for our area, nothing else comes close. This version has some new info, new pictures, and new fly patterns. We will do our best to try to keep this in stock.
Small nymphs are often the key to subsurface success in the late summer/early fall, and by small I mean #18 and smaller, all the way down to #22-24. Exceptions would be Isonychia #10-14, and Stoneflies #8-10. Most nymphs are small to very small this time of year. And they are by far more numerous than bigger ones. Some days this makes a huge difference. I know a guy from PA that catches an average of 6,000-8,000 trout every year. Yes, he is retired and fishes a LOT (about 300 days a year), but usually only part of each day. And yes, he’s a highly skilled nympher with excellent water reading skills, and he lives near the best streams in central PA (2,000 - 4,000+ fish per mile for some of his streams). If he has a secret, it’s that he mostly fishes nymphs averaging #18-24 on a Euro Mono rig (FYI he also does dry flies & dry/dropper). He typically uses a 4x micro leader and 6x tippet with 2 flies. He reasons that immature nymphs are small and grossly outnumber bigger adult nymphs, and it’s hard to argue with his results.
As
of 9/1/25, the entire upper 21 miles of the Farmington River from the
dam in Riverton downstream to the Rt 177 bridge in Unionville went
Catch & Release
until 6am on the second Saturday in April 2026. If you fish
downstream of the Rt 177 bridge you can keep 5 fish 9" or larger
through the end of February, then it also goes C&R until the
second Saturday in April. If
you see anyone illegally keeping trout, call the 24/7 turn in
poachers DEEP hotline at 860-424-3333.
Even if they cannot send somebody in time, they still log the call
and it helps us get more future enforcement.
Frabill
landing nets are in stock!
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 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 more sensitive 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, lots of used
rods & reels
currently.
Diamondback
Generation IV Euro nymphing rods are available. We
have the full line-up, minus the 10' 7" #4 (not available yet,
probably 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 and excellent option
for Micro Leaders, lighter tippets (6x and thinner), and lighter
flies (2-3mm)- the rod has more backbone in the lower half than you
would expect, while having a very soft tip. The 10' 7" #2 &
#3 have been the big sellers for us, perfect for the Farmington
River. The #3 is the all around and will do everything, but the #2 is
great if you fish mostly 6x, throws lighter flies a bit easier, and
is slightly better with Micro Leaders. The 7 weight is a new addition
to the Diamondback lineup, for those targeting larger Steelhead with
heavier tippets, as well as King Salmon and other larger fish where
you need a stiffer rod with some serious backbone. The 6 weight is
probably overall the better choice for Salmon River Steelhead in NY,
where you are often down lighter 3x & 4x tippets and still need a
rod that has some backbone to land 10# plus fish, but has a softer
tip so you don't break fish off.
Monday
morning 9/8/25
River
Report:
Aaaand
we are back to cooler weather! Mid 40’s out when I walked the dog
at 7am. Highs averaging low to mid 70’s, with nights down into the
40’s and low 50’s. This will keep the river cool and puts
virtually the entire river back in play, including the
lower river in
Collinsville & Unionville. Water temps behind UpCountry peaked
out at 64 degrees Sunday afternoon, it’s about 59.5 this morning.
Despite 1.3” of rain on
Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning, the total
flow in the Permanent TMA is 220cfs as I write this (166cfs from the
dam, and an additional 54cfs from the Still River). Riverton USGS
temp gauge is reading 61 degrees this morning, it peaked out at 64
degrees Sunday afternoon.
As
I mentioned up top, Tom Ame’s “Pocketguide to Eastern Hatches”
is back in stock. We also have the impossible to get Tiemco 518 tiny
dry fly hook in #28, 30 & 32 in stock in both 25 packs & 100
packs- when these sell out, that’s it. We are stocked up on tying
materials for Great Lakes salmon & steelhead, including Estaz,
Glo Bug Yarn, McFlyfoam, and Eggstasy (incluing the Electric/UV
version too). O’Pros 3rd
Hand Rod Holders are in stock again, they are a very popular and
convenient for clipping your rod to your belt when you need both
hands free. We also got in a lot of fly tying materials from a
collection, so check out the bargain bins.
Keep
your eye out for Flying
Ants- they
have mostly been either bigger #16-18 ones, or tiny #24’s.
Typically that’s an
afternoon/early evening deal.
Morning
Trico spinner falls are near
the end, bascially up by Riverton now and getting pretty light. We
are seeing decent numbers
of small Caddis averaging #18-22, in assorted colors like gray, tan,
and black. You will see the black caddis adults on the rocks, they
are very hard
to see on the water. FYI splashy rises generally means Caddis.
Isonychia can also create aggressive rises. Iso’s
typically hatch in fast water between late afternoon and dark. They
have been light in numbers, but this cooler weather seems to be
helping, they have been
runing #10-14. The
rocks in the fast water have a good number of large Stonefly shucks
on them, also some Yellow Sally Stoneflies on the rocks. There is a
mish mash of various insects at dusk, including some bigger #12-14
Light Cahill/Summer Steno’s and small assorted Caddis #18-22.
Mornings with large #8-10 Stonefly nymphs is a good strategy for
bigger fish, think first light (6am) to about 10am’ish. Fish the
faster water- pool heads, riffles, runs, and pocket water.
Nymphing
the faster water with small nymphs & Junk Flies is effective.
Also larger Iso type nymph from about mid afternoon through dusk.
Seeing big Stonefly shucks all over the rocks in fast water lately,
which is a great sign. FYI also seeing Yellow Sally Stonefly shucks
on rocks recently, they typically run #14-20. Sallies are mostly a
nymphing deal, and they are a common bug here in September.
If
trout are not rising, be prepared to go subsurface and fish the
faster water. If you don’t
want to nymph, try
Dry/Dropper or fish 2-3 wet flies/soft hackles. All effective
summertime strategies. You can also blind fish dry flies (attractors
like Stimulators/smaller Chubby Chernobyls, bigger dries like
Isonychia, or terrestrials like ants & beetles) in broken water,
it’s surprisingly effective this time of year. You can do
Dry/Dropper and attach a small lightly weighted nymph 18-24” below
your dry to really increase your odds of success.
Hatches
continue to overall be light this year, but
the cool weather here now is improving that a bit.
Bugs
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, trout will often move into those
areas. 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 during
non-hatch times, very effective. Look for shady areas. 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 #10-14 Iso patterns in
riffly water and do well. Blue Winged Olives (Olives/BWO’s) can run
as big as #18, but I’d expect to see more smaller ones in the
#22-26 range. Match the size closely. Overcast days are best for BWO
hatches.
Glad to see we’ve mostly stayed out of a
drought so far in 2025 (we
did have a pretty dry August though, September is already much
wetter), and there is
enough water in the reservoirs currently. CT DEEP has a flow plan for
the Farmington River, and the target release from Colebrook River
Lake Dam is 200cfs for September (assuming normal
precipitation/resrvoir levels)- this is a target flow number, and not
an absolute. During dry periods
(like now) 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 on the
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. DEEP has done a great job managing the flows
since they took over in June 2024, and it should only get better as
they gain experience.
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 6am) to the
mid/late morning time period in fast water 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, Walt’s Worm, 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. As
I already mentioned in this report, often just going small (#18-22)
on your nymphs is the key to success this time of year.
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.
Iso
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, or a #12-14 Prince Nymph or Pheasant Tail to imitate
this bug. You can also blind fish big Iso dry flies in #10-14. They
typically hatch between mid 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. As
we move into the Fall, trout will get more aggressive on streamers
due to the impending spawn (mid October through November).
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. 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 #16-22 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
#6-24 are catching fish. Caddis pupa are working subsurface in #16-22
(olive/green, tan). You can use specific pupa patterns, Walt’s
Worms, and Sexy Waltz (has flashy rib & hotspot). On 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 (2024), 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
#16-22 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 during the day
there will definitely be a
Caddis pupa pattern #14-18 on my rig.
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.
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.
****************************************************************
Dries:
-Flying
Ants #16-24: typically afternoons/early eves, especially on warmer,
humid days. A September staple.
-Tricos #22-26: Morning deal,
it’s all about the spinner fall- they ball up in the air over
riffles and fall to the water when air temps hit the upper 60’s. We
are at the the tail end of this hatch, it's getting very light and
mostly in Riverton now.
-Assorted Caddis #16-22 (tan,
green/olive, black): Mostly on the smaller side now, various species,
especially Black Caddis. Active mostly in the mornings and evenings,
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.
-Yellow Sally #14-20: Fast water bug, you will see the
shucks all over the downstream side of rocks in fast water, look like
miniature Golden Stones. Mostly a nymphing deal.
-Blue Winged
Olives (BWO’s/Olives) #20-26: 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, including Iso’s & BWO’s. Most commonly on
the water at dusk.
-Light Cahill/Summer Stenos #12-14:
evenings
-Isonychia #10-14 light late afternoon to evening hatch
in fast water
-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. July/August are peak months for this
morning bug.
-Ants & Beetles #14-20: deadly in the
summertime and early fall
-Attractor Dries #10-16: Mini
Chubbies, Stimulators, Amazon Ants, etc.
-Mouse patterns: fish
after dark for BIG trout, use a short/heavy 0x leader
-Midges
#20-28: afternoons/eves
Nymphs:
-Small
Nymphs #18-24: various patterns, most of the bugs are small to tiny
in September
-Assorted Caddis Pupa #16-22 in various colors
(olive/green, tan). Use specific pupa, plain Walt’s Worms, Sexy
Waltz, Hare’s Ear Blowtorch.
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #12-22:
imitates a wide range of Mayflies including Sulfurs, Isonychia,
Vitreus, Blue Winged Olives, small Stoneflies, and more.
-Blue
Winged (Baetis) Olive Nymphs #16-22: all year long
-Big Stonefly
Nymphs #8-10: early to mid AM in fast water- golden/yellow, brown,
black, Pat’s
-Isonychia Nymph #10-14: mid afternoon through
eves, fish in fast water. Use BMAR Iso nymph, Keslar’s Iso, also
big Princes & Pheasant Tails
-Yellow Sally Nymph #14-18:
fish in fast water, prevalent in August & September. FYI
yellow/brown Sulfur Nymphs can also work to imitate them.
-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, even in the summer in low/clear 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): 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
-Muddler
Minnow #6-10: and oldie, but a goodie. Most anglers don’t fish this
classic pattern anymore, and that’s a mistake! Quite a versatile
fly that can be floated, skated, dead-drifted, swung, stripped, or
weighted down & nymphed.