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.
Holiday Hours:
We will be closed on Wednesday 12/24, and Thursday 12/25.
Pictured up top is a beautiful 19” brown by customer Brent, caught on a jigged streamer. Streamers don’t always catch the most fish, but they often sort out bigger than average fish. Post spawn brown trout are HUNGRY.
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
-All Airflo fly line 40% 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, a
$100 deposit will reserve a rod for you.
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 inside
of a week.
Monday 12/22/25
River Report:
We
will be closed on Wednesday 12/24, and Thursday 12/25.
3
days until Christmas! Yesterday, 12/21, was the shortest day of the
year in terms of daylight, every day will be
a smidge lighter starting
today. Last week’s rain took out the last of the snow & ice,
and put some nice water back into the river and tributaries. Another
8” of snow is forecast between Tuesday & Saturday, with the
brunt coming Friday (5”).
The
total flow downstream of the Still River and in the TMA/Permanent
Catch & Release (C&R) is 277cfs
(medium & nice)
and steadily decreasing.
Riverton above the Still
River is 126cfs
(medium-low).
The Still is adding in 151cfs
(medium)
and dropping.
Riverton water temp is 35.5
degrees, it peaked yesterday afternoon at 38.
Behind UpCountry the water temp is about 31.7
degrees at 7:45am,
it peaked at 35.2 Sunday
afternoon.
Overall, fishing has been good most days in December, which is historically typical. Double digit catches have not been uncommon some days for better anglers. Trout are done spawning and they are hungry. Lately the best time slow overall seems to be about 11am to 3pm, when water temps rise and are at their highest. It’s also the most pleasant time of day to be outside. Nymphing has by far been the most consistent method this month, with various nymphs #16-20 getting it done, as well as Junk Flies (Squirmies, Eggs, Mops). Flows are currently very nice, medium and slowly dropping. You may or may not see a flow adjustment at some point today, and if so it would probably be a decrease at the dam. We will see. Water temps are still cold because it is Winter, so focus on presenting your nymphs & streamers slow and deep.
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 #14-22
nymphs such as Pheasant Tails/Frenchies
and Walt’s Worms. Other good December
nymphs include Midges #18-22 (black, olive, red), small flashy
Perdigons, Rainbow Warrior #16-18, Princes #10-14,
Caddis Larva, Mops, nymphs with pink beads (PT’s, Walt’s, Hare’s
Ears, etc.), and Stoneflies #8-10.
Some days there can be a good streamer bite. Trout are virtually done spawning now, and they lose weight during the process. They are looking to bulk up afterwards, which can make streamers a tempting choice for them. With cold water temps here now, slow down your streamer presentations and get them deep. The easier you make it for the trout to eat, the more strikes you will get on streamers.
When
water temps drop, look for most of the trout in Winter lies. That
means deeper, slower water like pools, softer runs, and deeper
moderate riffles. Be aware that during afternoons when the water
temps bump up a little, trout may move into the riffles and
into
the current to feed at the pool heads. There are often bite windows
in the Winter, when all of a sudden after slow fishing, the trout
feed actively subsurface for 1-3 hours, so be patient &
persistent. Colder water means less bug activity and less feeding by
the trout, so expect to work for trout this time of year. Having said
that, I’ve had some surprisingly productive days in the Winter,
especially in December and the first half of January. Fish will start
to pod up, and if you can locate the pod and catch a bite window, you
can do well. Keep your expectations reasonable though. Work the water
more thoroughly with extra casts, because in the Winter trout
normally won’t move far at all for your fly. Think slow & deep
for your nymphs and streamers, and set the hook on anything, even
just gut instinct.
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. The
exception to warm days being best of all is when there is a decent
amount of snow on the ground. Warm sunny days can melt the snow and
send 32 degree ice water into the river, dropping water temps by
lunchtime and totally shutting down the afternoon bite. Sunny days
with highs in the 30’s or less are better when we have a good snow
cover on the ground.
Midges are
becoming the afternoon hatch now that the Fall Blue Winged Olive
hatch is just
about done. Early
to mid morning, Winter
Caddis
#18-24
is
the hatch.
****************************************************************
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.
-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:
After
Fall 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 white, olive, tan, and yellow. A little yellow
paired with another color (olive, tan, etc.) in a streamer can
trigger brown trout. 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