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.
*****We
are looking for one more
part-time
employee, someone who knows the river well and and is knowledgeable
about flyfishing*****
Pictured
up top is a
banger wild male brown by guide Derrick Kirkpatrick of CT Fish
Guides. He hit a good Hendrickson hatch on Monday afternoon and
manged 4 wild browns on dries (emergers)- two 18’s, and two 20’s.
He was strictly targeting bigger trout and looking for big heads on
the surface.
We
have the brand spanking new Simms
Flyweight Waders
in
stock now, check ‘em out. Super lightweight and fold into their own
pouch for easy carrying.
Perfect for traveling when you need to
pack light.
Current
Sale Items:
-Thomas
& Thomas Contact II Euro rods $499 (were $895): all sizes are
completely sold out. The all new Contact III+ is available now in the
store.
-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 lines are 40% off while they last, we are almost out of
them.
***Sales
apply only to
in-stock merchandise and can be bought in-store, 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 our
website.
We
will match most
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.
The
brand spanking new
Thomas & Thomas
Contact III+ Euro rods are now available.
We are happy to accept various trade ins toward the III+ to make them
more affordable, and you can also trade in your Contact II. They have
two different tips, including a solid one that enables you to more
easily cast lighter flies, cushion lighter tippet, fish thin Micro
Leaders, and it also 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 greater accuracy. 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 (3" longer). If you
break a rod tip on these, T&T has an expedited repair program for
the Contact III+ series that should have you back on the water with a
new tip in a week, instead of the usual 6-8 weeks. Between the
improved damping/recovery and one snake guide (right next to the tip
top), you also
get dramatically less tip wrapping with micro leaders.
Friday
Morning 4/23/26
River
Report:
*****We
are looking for one
more
part-time employee, someone who knows the river and is knowledgeable
about flyfishing*****
Don’t
forget to get a 2026 CT fishing license, you will need a new one as
of January 1st. You
can get a license here at UpCountry, on the CT DEEP website, or you
can get one in person at most town halls. Don’t forget to also
purchase the $5 Trout/Salmon Stamp, you need it to fish the
Farmington River and any other river that is a TMA (Trout Management
Area).
We
currently have almost all models of the Thomas & Thomas Contact
III+ rods in stock,
with the exception of the 4 weight, we just received our third batch
of them. They are sweet! I (Torrey) now have spent several days
fishing the 11’ 5” #3 and the 10’ 9” #2, loved them both,
happy to describe how they fish if you stop by the store.
The
big news is the Hendricksons are finally a full-blown afternoon
hatch, stretching from the lower river in Collinsville/Unionville,
and at least as far upstream as the Campground. We hit a very good
hatch of them Tuesday, at the peak there were duns every 1-2 feet on
the water, and a bunch more in the air. You don’t always hit it
like that, but it was great to see a very good hatch of them, as the
last 5-6 years has seen spotty hatching of them. There
was a good hatch Monday too. Now
having said that, there were not a lot of risers, but there were some
here & there.
Sunny/mild days will normally see the best Hendo hatches, colder
cloudy days can be much slower.
The nymphs get active
subsurface 2-3 hours before the main event, and can give you some
great nymphing, and if your a “nympho” like me, you can even fish
them during the hatch and do well. The lower the water, they more apt
your are to see rising fish. We have a good supply of BMAR
Hendrickson nymphs in stock. If
trout are not rising, fish subsurface, I guarantee the fish are
eating, just not always on the surface where you want them to be.
Typically the hatch comes off between mid to late afternoon, starting
around 2-3pm, and going until 4-5pm. Hatch
times are not set in stone, and can sometimes occur earlier.
Spinner falls (egg-laying) can happen anytime from mid morning to
dusk over the riffles, even though the books say it’s an evening
event. Spinners will only fall when it’s mild out, dry, with
minimal wind. If it’s cold or windy you may see them in the air,
but they fly back into the trees and often fall the next day in mid
to late morning, before the Hendrickson fishermen arrive in the
afternoon. Make sure to have Hendrickson nymphs, emergers, duns, and
spinners to cover all of your bases.
Other
bugs we are seeing include
small assorted Caddis #18-22 (gray/brown, black), and
also a few #16-20
Baetis/Blue Winged Olive (BWO) hatches- BWO’s
are almost over. There are
good numbers of wild fish in
the faster water now, due
to rising water temps and more bugs. The nymphing has been very good
lately, the fish are feeding well underwater. Good
nymphers are racking up some serious numbers the past few weeks, and
catching some big fish too. If
you are nymphing and not catching fish, you are doing something
wrong! Move, change your weight, change your depth, experiment with
different flies, change sizes, etc. Going smaller often helps.
The
Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) was stocked on 4/13 with
a large number of trout, predominately browns, including 1,000 larger
Two Year Olds that average 14-18” and are quite fat. Fishing is
getting very good.
Be prepared to fish subsurface, so far that’s been the main deal in
2026. Trout are always feeding subsurface this time of year, even
when you don’t see risers or bugs.
FYI there is a new
state record rainbow, caught on the Farmington, it weighed 16.47#,
31” with a 21 ¼” girth. This was stocked by the state for the
Riverton Derby.
Total flow below the Still River and in
the Permanent TMA/C&R is a beautiful 365cfs (medium) as I write
this Thursday
morning, normal/median historical total flow would be 477cfs.
Riverton above the Still River (dam down to the Rt 20 bridge) is
236cfs
(historical normal/median flow would be 278).
The Still River is adding in 129cfs
right below that, normal/median flow would be 199cfs.
Riverton is about 43
degrees this morning, it peaked
Wednesday afternoon at 43
degrees. Behind UpCountry it’s 43.3
degrees this morning, it
peaked yesterday afternoon at 45.4 degrees.
Unionville USGS is very
nice at 581cfs (medium),
the normal/median flow for Unionville would be 941cfs
for today.
Colebrook Reservoir is full after being low for
many months due to the drought in the second half of 2026. The
reservoir height/elevation has come up about 40+ feet since early
March, from about 670 feet up to 711.8
feet, “full” would be considered to be 716’ of elevation this
time of year, and once it goes over that the Army Corps will dump
extra water to get it below that.
Flies that are working
include BMAR Hendrickson nymphs #12-14, Pheasant
Tails/Frenchies #12-14, Caddis
larva (cased & regular), #8-10 Stonefly nymphs, smaller Walt’s
Worms, Blue Winged Olive nymphs #16-18, flashy Perdigons #16-20,
Rainbow Warrior #16-18, Junk Flies (Eggs, Mops, Worms, Green
Weenies), various streamers (Woolly Bugger, Zuddlers, etc.). In the
mornings (roughly 7am to 10am’ish) you may find some trout rising
to Winter Caddis, and during cloudy afternoons, there may be a few
trout rising to Baetis/BWO’s. Some days there can be a good
streamer bite. Top colors this time of year are white, olive, tan,
and black.
Hendricksons
are the current glamour hatch, now that they finally started.
Milder/sunny days are best of all for Hendo hatches. We’ve
been seeing
smaller Caddis #18-22, gray/brown ones & black ones. Some Blue
Winged Olives #16-20 are hatching on cloudy/cooler afternoons, but we
are near the end for that bug. Early Black Stones are about done, you
may still see a few up in Riverton. Midges are a daily
occurrence.
*******************************************************************************
Dries:
-Hendrickson
#12-14: finally a full-blown hatch, from the lower river in
Collinsville/Unionville, upstream at least as far as Campground.
Mid-afternoon hatch.
-Assorted
Caddis #18-22 (gray/brown, black)
-Baetis/Blue Winged
Olives/BWO’s #16-18: afternoon hatch, best action on cloudy, crappy
days, hatch is almost done
-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. Sometimes brings trout to the surface. If not, go subsurface
with Midge pupa & larva.
Nymphs:
-BMAR
Hendrickson Nymph #14
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #12-20: imitates
a wide range of Mayflies including Hendricksons, Baetis/Blue Winged
Olives, Sulfurs, Isonychia, Vitreus, small Stoneflies, and
more
-Baetis/BWO Nymphs #16-22
-Cased Caddis #10-14: above
average pattern in the early season, especially when flows are up
(high water knocks them into the drift, they mostly live in slower
water near the stream edges).
-”Junk Flies” (Eggs, Mops,
Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Green Weenies): Can work when standard nymphs
fail, especially when there are not many hatches. Also great in
higher and/or off-color water, and on recently stocked fish.
-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. Good choice when
flows are up. Some days when trout won’t move for a small nymph, it
takes a bigger bite of food to get an eat. Often catches larger than
average fish. Experiment!
-Small Nymphs #18-22: various
patterns, many bugs are small to tiny, 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.
-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, flashy Perdigons, etc.
Some days trout ignore natural/drab nymphs but will eat gaudy
attractors.
-Winter/Summer Caddis Larva #18 (yellow)- also
imitates Black Caddis larva & some Midge larva, works all year
long, one of the only bugs that is active & hatching in the
Winter.
Streamers:
Streamers
are 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. Also, anytime flows are higher is a great time to use a
streamer.
Top colors currently are olive, black, tan. A
little yellow paired with another color (olive, tan, etc.) in a
streamer can trigger brown trout. Black can be very 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. Can also be fished under an indicator, or
stripped/swung like a regular streamer. Great to use as a clean-up
fly after you nymph a run. White has been a top color, and olive and
tan are both very good.
-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 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: an oldie but a goodie, still VERY good