Friday 10/24/25 Farmington River Report: Another beautiful weekend

Store Hours:
We are once again open 7 days a week, current hours are:
8am-5pm Monday & Tuesday, Wednesday 10am-4pm, 8am-5pm Thursday & Friday, and 8am-5pm on Saturday & Sunday. 

Pictured up top is John Manginelli with a picture perfect Farmington River brown trout that was the result of a successful guided fishing trip with Derrick Kirkpatrick (CT Fish Guides).

Tom Ames new & updated "Pocketguide to Eastern Hatches" book is back in stock, we received a big batch of them recently. Definitely 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, it’s been flying off the shelves. 

Nymphing Tip: 
Small nymphs are often the key to subsurface success this time of year, and by small I mean #18 and smaller, all the way down to #22-24. Exceptions would be Isonychia #12-14, and Stoneflies #8-10. Most nymphs are small to very small this time of year. They are by far more numerous than bigger ones. Some days this makes a huge difference. Dry/Dropper nymph rigs can be effective, especially in softer and shallower currents. I know a guy from central 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 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. 

We have some 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.

Diamondback Generation IV Euro nymphing rods are available. 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, and lighter flies - 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 including jigged streamers, but the #2 is great if you fish mostly 6x or lighter tippet, it 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, as well as King Salmon and other larger fish where you need a stiffer rod with some serious backbone. Could also be a good choice for hot fresh Fall Steelhead in heavy water & rapids on heavy tippets. 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. 

Friday morning 10/24/25 River Report:
Last weekend we hit peak foliage, and it’s still quite colorful and beautiful out there, but we are on the downside now and some trees have shed part or all of their leaves. Other trees are just starting to change though. Still at least 2 weeks of fall color left. Love this time of year! Nights down in the 30’s this week should really get those last green leaves changing colors. Trout are starting to spawn now, so keep your eyes out for redds. Seems like the peak foliage was a little late this year, and also the brown trout spawn. I imagine in both cases it is due to water temps.

Total flow below the Still River in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release is 127cfs, with the Riverton USGS gauge above that reading 70cfs, and the Still River is adding in the additional 87cfs and dropping. Riverton water temp is 56 degrees this morning, it peaked yesterday afternoon at 60 degrees. Downstream in New Hartford behind our fly shop, it is 49.7 degrees, and it peaked yesterday at 55 degrees. Look for water temps to overall decline with highs in the low/mid 50’s and nights in the 30’s.

They will start releasing water and steadily lowering Otis Resevoir (in MA) very soon, and once that happens that same volume of water has to be added to the dam release in Riverton. I won’t bore you will all the details, but you will likely see a small bump (probably about 15cfs) in the release from Goodwin/Hogback Dam on this upcoming Monday 10/27, and then as they get into the final steady release and official lowering of Otis Reservoir, on Monday 11/3 it will likely end up adding 50-100cfs to the dam release in Riverton. Last year I believe their release ending up adding 70-80cfs to the flow, which would put Riverton above the Still River in the low to maybe mid 100cfs range. Below that the Still River has been adding in an additional 70cfs or so (due to the annual Fall lowering of Highland Lake), bumping up naturally after each rain. This would put the total flow at a minimum of about 200cfs. And with our area getting back to weekly rain lately, the flow will likely be higher than this. This is all very good news.

Trout are finally starting to spawn recently, we are seeing a small number of redds, and males are chasing each other around and sparring with each other. Look for spawning to really ramp up in the next week or two as water temps drop. A lot of the spawning takes place in the gravelly tails of the pools. Don’t target spawning trout, and don’t wade through or below the redds or you will crush the eggs. See a few paragraphs down for advice on what you should and should not do during the spawn.

Mornings & evenings have been the best time slots lately, afternoons have been slower. While hatches are overall light this year, at moments there are good numbers of tan/brown Caddis #16-18, small Blue Winged Olives (BWO’s) #22-26 on cloudy afternoons, and a few #12-14 Isonychia (Iso’s) are still around. When they are not rising, which is the majority of the time, fish streamers, Junk Flies (Mops, Eggs, Worms, Green Weenies), and small nymphs #18-22. Egg flies get hot once trout begin spawning in good numbers, right around now. Trout move around a lot in October/November, so they can be in one spot today, and a totally different spot tomorrow. This is prime time for streamer fishing, browns get extra aggressive due to the impending spawn. Early & late in the day are the peak streamer times, and also on overcast days and anytime the water rises and/or gets off-color. Play with retrieves and fly color. In general, in October faster more aggressive retrieves tend to produce better, getting those quick reaction bites.

Brown trout are in the beginning of spawning time now, keep your eyes out for redds, the light colored oval areas in shallow gravelly riffles where trout drop their eggs. Avoid walking through them, and the first 15 feet or so below them as the eggs will often wash 5-15 feet below the redd. Favored spawning areas typically include side channels and pool tailouts, but riffles at pool heads can also have spawners if there is pea gravel present. The bulk of the spawning on the Farmington River is typically from about mid October through late November, and the eggs/fry hatch out in February through early March. Walking on the eggs in this time period will crush and destroy them and future wild trout. Please also refrain from fishing to spawning trout on redds, it’s unsporting & unethical. They are stressed enough already, just let them do their thing and make more wild brown trout. There are always lots of non-spawning trout to catch, as well as trout that are still pre-spawn, and soon there will be plenty of trout that have completed spawning. Some trout will position in the first deeper water downstream of spawning fish to eat loose eggs in the drift.

Don’t forget about the early to mid morning Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24 that hatch 12 months a year. There are a few Giant October Caddis around later in the day, typically they are light in numbers. You may see small numbers of some other bugs like #16-18 Hebe’s (Fall Sulfurs), Yellow Sallies & Summer Steno’s, but those are the main ones. Long leaders 12’+ paired with long/light tippets (3-6’ and even longer) of 6x-7x (depending upon fly size) will help present small dry flies properly to our picky trout in flat water. Be stealthy in your wading, and it doesn’t hurt to dress in drab clothing. 5x-6x tippet is appropriate for nymphs. Streamer fishing requires 0x-3x tippet depending upon fly size and the size of the trout your are targeting. Jigged streamers on a Euro rig typically match up nicely with 4x-5x.

A big Hareline tying materials arrived recently and it’s up on the walls now. I’m working on a Nature’s Spirit fly tying order at the moment, and Joey is workinig on another Wapsi fill-in order. Time to tie some flies for the Fall!

A good October nymphing tactic is to target mornings with large #8-10 Stonefly nymphs- this can put some bigger trout in the net. 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. Egg flies can be very effective this month. 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, even 24’s) on your nymphs can be the key to success this time of year.

Assorted Caddis #16-22 will be present daily right into November until the truly frigid weather sets in, 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 #8-24 are catching fish, skewing mostly toward the smaller sizes. Caddis pupa are working subsurface in #16-22 (tan mostly). You can use specific pupa patterns, Walt’s Worms, and Sexy Waltz (has flashy rib & hotspot).

The fast water is currently holding good numbers of trout. 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! And when they sampled the trout recently (early September 2025), they shocked up a lot of trout and the fish were in good condition. 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. Also hard to go wrong with a #14-22 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. Bigger PT’s can imitate Iso nymphs. From May through early/mid November, if I’m nymphing, at some point during the day there will definitely be a Caddis pupa pattern #14-18 on my rig.


****************************************************************

Dries:
*Assorted Caddis #16-22 (tan, gray, black): Various species. Active mostly in the late mornings and evenings, nymphing with a small pupa is currently a productive tactic for them. They typically egg-lay later in the day in low light, in the faster water. 
*Blue Winged Olives (BWO’s/Olives) #22-26: afternoons & eves, especially during cloudy weather. Rusty spinners also in the same sizes at dusk.
-Isonychia #12-14: light hatch, afternoons/eves in fast water, hatch is 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.
-Giant October/Pumpkin Caddis #8-12: light hatch, late afernoons & eves, use BMAR October Caddis in fast water
-Light Cahill/Summer Stenos #12-14: a few in the evenings, near the end for this hatch.
-Attractor Dries #10-16: Mini Chubbies, Stimulators, Amazon Ants, etc.
-Midges #20-28: afternoons/eves

Nymphs:
-Small Nymphs #18-24: various patterns, most of the bugs are small to tiny this time of year, with size of the fly often superceding the exact fly pattern.
-Assorted Caddis Pupa #16-22 in various colors (mostly 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
-”Junk Flies”: Mops, Eggs, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Green Weenies. Often work when standard nymphs fail. Especially good on recently stocked trout, and also during high or dirty water. Egg Flies are especially deadly from about mid October through April. Mops are a great “clean-up” fly after you already fished a run. And worm flies are good in higher, off-color water.
-Big Stonefly Nymphs #8-10: mornings in fast water- golden/yellow, brown, black, Pat’s
-Isonychia Nymph #12-14: mid afternoon through eves, fish in fast water. Use BMAR Iso nymph, Keslar’s Iso, also Princes & Pheasant Tails
-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 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, works all year long
-Midges #18-22 (black, olive): Zebra Midge, Flash Midge, Red Iris Midge.

Streamers:
Trout get aggressive on streamers in the fall due to spawning. The low-light conditions of early & late in the day are prime time for streamers, as are overcast days and periods of higher and/or off-color water.

Top colors have been olive, tan, white, and yellow. A little yellow in a streamer can trigger brown trout in the fall. 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.