We are 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 Jim DeCesare, once again grinding out a big Winter brown. Persistence + effort/time on the water = big trout.
Current Sale Items:
-Thomas & Thomas Contact II Euro rods $535 (were $895)- 10’9” #3 & #2 are sold out
-Scott G Series fly rods $660 (30% off, were $945)
-Thomas & Thomas Lotic fiberglass rods $450 (were $695)
-Sage Sonic fly rods 25% off
-Scott G Series fly rods 25% off
-Simms G3 Waders 20% off
-Simms Confluence Waders 35% off
-Scientific Angler Amplitude Smooth Trout fly lines 20% off
***Sales apply only to in-stock merchandise and can be bought inshore, or on the website & shipped to your door - call with any questions***
Gift Certificates are available and can be sent by mail or bought on out website
Between
the 40% off sale and our trade-in program,
those of you who have lusted after a T&T Contact II Euro rod but
are on a tight budget should be able to finally afford one. Next
year's Contact III+ (arriving mid to late February 2026) will bring a
new gold standard to the industry, but the Contact II is the
current best and will elevate your game. Bring the rods & reels
that are gathering dust in your closet and trade them for something
that will make your Christmas special.
We
will match almost
any advertised deals
from other stores local or on the internet if we have the item in
stock. We want your business, and as your friends and local fly shop
please come to us first if we can help. Our business only survives
because of your support.
We
are now accepting pre-orders for the first batch of Thomas &
Thomas Contact III+ Euro rods that will be available starting
sometime around mid-February.
UpCountry will be one of the first stores in the country to receive
these rods limited to an initial run of 500 nationwide, so get in
line by giving us a call now. T&T brought these rods to us
recently, and we were blown away. They have two different tips,
including a solid one that enables you to more easily cast lighter
flies, cushion lighter tippet, and makes it harder for smaller fish
to throw the hook. The Contact III+ is made of a new material that’s
twice as strong, and recovers noticeably faster/crisper. This will
translate into more casting distance, more accuracy, and greater
sensitivity. With the included second tip, it's like getting two rods in
one. Lengths remain the same at 10' & 10'9" with the
exception of the new 11 ‘5“ 3wt. If you break a rod tip on these,
T&T has an expedited repair program that should have you back on
the water with a new tip in less than a week.
Monday 12/8/25
River Report:
Small nymphs are often the key to subsurface success this time of year, and by small I mean #18’s all the way down to #22-24. Exception would be Stoneflies #8-10 & Mops. Most nymphs are small to very small right now. Some days this makes a huge difference. Nymphing is typically the ticket in December, with fish coming to flies like Egg patterns, and smaller nymphs such as Pheasant Tails. Other good December nymphs include Midges #18-22 (black, olive, red), small flashy Perdigons, Rainbow Warrior #16-18, Princes, Caddis Larva, Mops, nymphs with pink beads, and Stoneflies #8-10.
If you are headed out fishing, in general there is now no need to get out there at the crack of dawn. Give the water a few hours to warm up one or two degrees, that’s all it takes to get the trout feeding. The exception would be the Winter Caddis hatch, which goes on all Winter in the early to mid mornings (7am to 10pm would be typical, but it can vary). Other than that, I wouldn’t venture out before 10am, and I’d expect the best fishing to be late morning through mid/late afternoon, when water temps rise and are at their highest for the day. Sunny days are best of all, they warm the water up more than overcast weather. The general rule of thumb with trout is, fish at the time of day when air temps are the most comfortable for you, and it’s 90% accurate.
If you are headed out fishing, in general there is now no need to get out there at the crack of dawn. Give the water a few hours to warm up one or two degrees, that’s all it takes to get the trout feeding. The exception would be the Winter Caddis hatch, which goes on all Winter in the early to mid mornings (7am to 10pm would be typical, but it can vary). Other than that, I wouldn’t venture out before 10am, and I’d expect the best fishing to be late morning through mid/late afternoon, when water temps rise and are at their highest for the day. Sunny days are best of all, they warm the water up more than overcast weather. The general rule of thumb with trout is, fish at the time of day when air temps are the most comfortable for you, and it’s 90% accurate.
Downstream water temps are averaging in the mid to high 30’s now, depending upon time of day & weather. Sunny days will see the biggest water temp increases. Water temperatures in the 30’s will tend to push trout into the deeper, slower pool water as they drop out of faster flows. They will often pod up in the Winter. Locate the pod and catch a bite window, and you can have a surprisingly good Winter day if you show them flies they want with a good presentation (for nymphs that usually means a dead drift down deep). If standard nymphs are not working, try Junk Flies like Eggs, Mops, and Squirmy/San Juan Worms. Also, sometimes a bigger nymph like a #8-10 Stonefly or a #10-12 Prince can convince a lethargic trout to eat when they refuse smaller nymphs.
Midges are becoming the afternoon hatch now that the Fall Blue Winged Olive hatch is fading. Early to mid morning, Winter Caddis #18-24.
****************************************************************
Dries:
-Summer/Winter
Caddis #18-24: hatch is typically early to mid morning.Trout focus on the pupa first, and then
as the morning progresses they normally switch to the winged adults
when they return to egg-lay. Try both twitching & dead-drifting
your fly, trout often key on movement with this bug.
-BWOs & Midges
#20-28: afternoon hatch, especially on sunny/milder
days
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 superseding the exact fly
pattern.
-Midges #18-22 (black, olive, red): Zebra Midge, Flash
Midge, Red Iris Midge, etc.
-Blue Winged Olive (Baetis/BWO)
Nymphs #16-22: all year long
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #14-22:
imitates a wide range of Mayflies including Sulfurs, Isonychia,
Vitreus, Blue Winged Olives, small Stoneflies, and more.
-”Junk
Flies” (Eggs, Mops, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Green Weenies): Often
work when standard nymphs fail, especially in the Fall & Winter when there are not many hatches.
-Big Stonefly Nymphs #8-10:
golden/yellow, brown, black, Pat’s. Big Stones are a mouthful that
can be hard for trout to pass up, and there are a surprising amount
of them in the river.
-Caddis
Larva (olive to green) #14-16: tons of these in the river, good all year
-Attractor Nymphs #10-20: such as Sexy Waltz, Rainbow Warriors,
Frenchies, Prince, Triple Threat, Walt’s Worm.
-Winter/Summer Caddis Larva #18
(yellow)- also imitates Black Caddis larva & some Midge larva,
works all year long
Streamers:
Trout
get aggressive on streamers in the fall due to spawning, and then
after spawning brown trout are hungry and looking to put weight back
on. 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. Streamers are also a great “clean-up” fly to
fish after you have thoroughly nymphed a run, and often will produce
a bigger fish than the nymphs did.
Top
colors have been olive, tan, white, and yellow. A little yellow in a
streamer can trigger brown trout in the fall. Black can be good on
recently stocked trout (especially rainbows), during low light
(dawn/dusk), and high and/or dirty water.
-Jig 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