We are open 7 days a week, current hours are:
8am-6pm
Monday & Tuesday, Wednesday
10am-3pm,
8am-6pm Thursday & Friday, and 8am-5pm on Saturday &
Sunday.
Memorial Day, Monday 5/25/26 store hours will be 8am-2pm.
*****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 one
of the nicer browns I (Torrey)
landed yesterday while out nymphing.
Current
Sale Items:
-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 (only small & XXL
left)
-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
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, new low profile single foot guides, and
one snake guide (right next to the tip top), you also get
dramatically less tip wrapping with micro leaders.
Thursday
Morning
5/21/26
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. They are sweet! I (Torrey) now have
spent a good amount of time
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.
Weekday
store
hours now extend one hour later to 6pm, except for Wednesday
(10am-3pm).
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday will be 8am-6pm.
Weekends remain at 8am-5pm.
We will stay on this schedule through the end of the
summer.
Memorial Day, Monday 5/25/26 store hours will be 8am-2pm.
We
are now a Guideline
dealer,
the product arrived late on Wednesday. They are a Scandanavian
company that makes some great rods & reels. Zach & Derrrick
are both BIG fans of their products. We have Euro, dry fly, and
streamers rods from them. We also have Euro leader butt material in
3x to 5x.
No
more heat wave! High
now drop into the upper 50’s to mid/upper 60’s through the
holiday weekend, with cool nights in the 40’s. Caddis are still the
main bug, with #16-18 tan Caddis hatching in the mornings &
afternoons. There are also assorted smaller Caddis in the mix. Seeing
a few big #10-12 March Browns, and a #12-14 Vitreus here
& there. Both bugs aren’t strong hatches yet, but should be any
day now. Vitreus are most active on cooler, overcast, and even wet
days, and tend to hatch between late afternoon and evening. They are
a fast water bug, close cousin to the Quill Gordon. March Browns are
also a fast water bug, they tend to hatch one here, one there,
sporadically between late morning and evening, with spinner falls at
dusk. Caddis are most active from about mid/late morning through
early/mid afternoon, and come back later in the day to egg-lay over
faster water in the eves.
Trout do not always rise to
hatches, so be prepared to go subsurface with nymphs & pupa. I’ve
caught many thousands of trout over the years nymphing Caddis pupa in
the fast water from May to October, even November. Wet flies &
soft hackles are also good options. And don’t rule out streamers,
especially early & late in the day, and on rainy and/or high
water days. I see rain in the forecast for Saturday & Sunday
(about ½” for each day), could be a good time to fish streamers.
We could
use
the rain, the river is moderately low and very fishable and wadeable,
but at about 50% of normal flow. It
is 178cfs
total flow below the Still River as I write this- more
like the water levels we normally see in July. We have a flow of
129cfs
in Riverton above the Still, from the Rt 20 bridge Hitchcock/Riverton
Self Storage) to the dam, normal/median flow for today
would be 248cfs. Just below that,
the Still River is adding in 49cfs, normal/median flow for today
would be 136cfs. Unionville USGS gauge is reading a
low 244cfs, normal/median flow would be 555cfs. Riverton water temp
was 44.5 degrees at 8am this morning, it peaked at 50 yesterday.
Behind UpCountry it is 56.2 degrees and dropping this morning, it
peaked yesterday afternoon at 64.3.
Typically
they stock above (Riverton) and below (New Hartford, Canton, upper
Collinsville) the
Permanent TMA/Catch & Release section right
before Memorial Day weekend. I
know they stocked the lower river (lower Collinsville all the way
down to Tariffville) last week, and I’m guessing they will have the
above & below Permanent TMA/C&R sections stocked by the
weekend (this is an educated guess, not a guarantee). They will have
stocking info updated by late Friday afternoon, you can go on their
interactive stocking maps or on the Connecticut Fish and Wildlife
Facebook page at that point. They normally also stock again for the
4th
of July, and one final time for Labor Day weekend. Also MDC does a
rainbow trout stocking in Riverton in October.
#16-18
Tan Caddis remain the dominant bug, but there are several varieties
of smaller Caddis including the “Hatch from Hell” #24 micro
Caddis- we don’t have an imitation for that one because it’s a
hard bug to match and the hatch (it’s actually an evening/dusk
egg-laying event) doesn’t last very long. We are on the cusp of
both #10-12 March Brown & #12-14 Vitreus hatches- we are seeing a
few of both, but not enough to call either
a
legitimate hatch as yet. Should
pick up a bit by the weekend though. #18-20
Olives
are hatching on cloudy afternoons, usually in gentle riffles &
pools. With total flows just under
200cfs as
I write this report,
the
trout
are definitely looking up now when bugs are on the water. And
nymphing the fast water can be very effective when they aren’t
rising (which is most of the time!). Dry/Dropper
could be a good option now, especially in shallower and slower runs.
If
the river is crowded, and it often is, remember that there are miles
of trout-filled water both above and below the 6.2 mile Permanent
TMA/Catch & Release (C&R). Don’t limit yourself to only
fishing that section, that’s a mistake.
There
are
4
miles of TMA above that up to the dam, and another 10 miles of TMA
below that down to the Rt 177 Unionville bridge, and it’s all great
water with lots of trout: stocked, holdover & wild. There is a
decent amount of trout for below that into the town of Farmington,
and even trout all the way down to Tariffville Gorge. The lower river
is good until the water gets too warm, usually around mid to late
June, and then it picks up again in September when things cool down.
Regardless of hatching activity and rising fish or lack
thereof, good nymphers have been successful. During
lower flows, make sure to fish lighter weight flies and/or use
smaller split shot and smaller strike indicators. Downsizing your
nymphs sometimes helps.
Don’t sleep on Junk Flies (Mops, Squirmies, Eggs), at moments it’s
been lights out on them when the trout aren’t responding to
traditional or more imitative nymphs. Also, remember
there
are always
lots
of smaller bugs in the river, so things like #18-22
Pheasant
Tails, smaller Hare’s Ears, and Walt’s Worms can be very
productive. If you are nymphing and not catching fish, you are doing
something wrong. Move and cover water, 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. Above & below the Permanent
TMA/C&R has been stocked 3 times now, with lots more fish to
come. Fishing is getting very good. Be prepared to fish subsurface.
Trout are always feeding subsurface this time of year, even when you
don’t see risers or bugs. Hope to fish dries, but be prepared to go
underwater- just because there’s a hatch does not always mean the
trout will feed on the surface. Especially if the water is cold or
high.
There is a new state record rainbow that was caught
in April
on
the Farmington River, it weighed 16.47#, 31” with a 21 ¼” girth.
This was stocked by the state for the Riverton Derby.
Colebrook
Reservoir is full after being low all winter
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 just
under 710
feet
of elevation, “full” would be considered to be 716’ this time
of year, and once it goes over that the Army Corps will dump extra
water to get it below that. Starting July 1st,
“full” changes to
708cfs,
that’s the begining of Hurricane
Season.
Subsurface
flies that are working include #14-20 Caddis patterns (pupa, larva),
Pheasant
Tails/Frenchies #14-20, #8-10 Stonefly nymphs, #16-18 Walt’s Worms,
Blue Winged Olive nymphs #16-20, flashy Perdigons #16-20, Rainbow
Warrior #16-18, Junk Flies (Mops, Eggs,
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
trout rising to small BWO’s. Some days there can be a good streamer
bite. Top colors this time of year are white, olive, tan, and black.
If you are streamer fishing, the more water you cover the more trout
you will catch. Play also with fly color & retrieves, it can make
a big
difference.
*******************************************************************************
Dries:
-Tan
Caddis #16-18: hatching about mid morning
through
mid afternoon, egg-laying in the evenings. Olive/green #18 Caddis
will be mixing in.
-Blue Winged Olives/BWO’s #18-20: afternoon
hatch on cloudy days
-Assorted small Caddis #18-22 (black,
gray/brown)
-March
Brown
-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: Sometimes brings trout to the
surface. If not, go subsurface with Midge pupa & larva.
Nymphs:
-Tan
Caddis Pupa #14-18
-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #12-20: imitates a
wide range of Mayflies including Sulfurs,
Vitreus,
Baetis/Blue
Winged Olives, Isonychia, small Stoneflies, Hendricksons,
and
more
-Baetis/BWO Nymphs #16-22
-Caddis Larva (olive to
green) #14-16: tons of these in the river, good all year
-Cased
Caddis #10-14: underfished
pattern,
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): Often
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 Generic
Nymphs
#18-22: various patterns, many bugs are small to tiny, with size of
the fly often superseding the exact fly pattern. Pheasant
Tail, Hare’s Ear, Walt’s Worm, etc.
-Midges
#18-22 (black, olive, red): Zebra Midge, Flash Midge, Red Iris Midge,
etc.
-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 good fly
-Muddler Minnow
#6-10: an oldie but a goodie, still VERY effective