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.
This week we will be open on Tuesday 4/14 from 8am to 3pm, and Wednesday 4/15 from 10am to 3pm.
*****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
absolute
giant
rainbow landed over the weekend by Tom Gwin on a Mop, it was one of
many trophy fish stocked for the Riverton Derby.
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 have arrived!
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 get dramatically less tip wrapping with micro leaders.
Monday
Morning 4/13/26
River
Report:
This week we will be open on Tuesday 4/14 from 8am to 3pm, and Wednesday 4/15 from 10am to 3pm. All other days will be our usual 8am-5pm.
*****We
are looking for a 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.
Fishing
season is in full swing now. The Riverton Derby is behind us, the
winning fish on Saturday was an 11+ pound rainbow, and many other
trophy fish were landed. The state lowered the river waaay down for
this past weekend, it should go back to a normal release around 9am
today. I’ll update this report this afternoon with the flow change
once I know what it is. Friday 4/10 they cut the dam release from
300cfs down to 90cfs for the Derby/Opening Day weekend. I don’t
know why they cut it below 100cfs, they usually only go down to a
150-200cfs
dam
release.
Total
flow below the Still River and in the Permanent TMA/C&R is 182cfs
as I write this Monday morning, normal/median historical total flow
would be 543cfs. Riverton above the Still River (dam down to the Rt
20 bridge) is only 89cfs (historical
normal/median flow would be 264),
but as mentioned above they should be bumping it back up this
morning, probably 200+cfs.
The
Still River is adding in 93cfs and slowly dropping right below that,
normal/median flow would be 279cfs, we could use some rain again.
Riverton
is 42 degrees this morning, it reached 48 degrees Sunday afternoon!
Behind UpCountry it’s 47.3 degrees this morning, it reached 51.8
degrees yesterday afternoon. Unionville USGS is low
at 317cfs,
the
normal/median
flow for Unionville would be 1,050cfs
for today.
Very
mild/warm
weather for this entire week right through the weekend. 73 today, 81
Tuesday through Thursday, 70’s for Friday/Saturday, 60 next Sunday.
Mild
nights in the 50’s and even low 60’s. Water temps are coming up
fast, and combined with the lower flows over the weekend there were
more bugs flying around and even some rising trout here and there.
Hatches start first in the lower river (warmer
water down there),
and then work their way upstream, with the last section to see a
particular hatch being Riverton below the dam (due to the coldest
water being up there). I’m guessing we will see the Hendrickson
hatch starting up soon, possibly
by the weekend (this is an educated guess). We’ve been seeing some
Baetis/Blue Winged Olives #16-20, more so on cooler/cloudy afternoons
(they
don’t like warm/sunny days),
and there were a lot of #20 gray/brown Caddis in the air over the
weekend.
It’s
still
mostly a nymphing & streamer game, but the dry fly fishing will
be picking up. Everything
outside of the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) has been
stocked 1-2x already, with more to come soon. The Permanent TMA/C&R
will probably get stocked this week or next week. The stocked trout
are biting well, and if you find a pod of them you can rack up some
numbers. The holdover & wild browns are harder to catch, but of a
large average size. The best overall tactic of late has been nymphing
with flies in the #14-20
range.
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+
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.
Baetis/Blue Wing Olives
#16-18 are
hatching currently,
they are an afternoon deal
and
can bring trout to the surface in slower water. You can also fish
nymphs imitating them. Early Black Stoneflies #14-16 are
almost over, you are most likely to see them upriver.
Flies
that are workning include Caddis
larva (cased & regular), Blue Winged Olive nymphs #16-18, nymphs
#14-20 (Midges & Mayflies), flashy Perdigons #16-20,
Rainbow Warrior #16-18, Junk Flies (Eggs, Mops, Worms, Green
Weenies), various streamers (Woolly
Bugger, Zuddlers, etc.)-
fish them all slow & deep. 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.
Strikes to
nymphs can
be VERY subtle, so set the hook on anything. Remember, “hook sets
are free”. Some days there can be a good
streamer bite. Top colors this time of year are white, olive, tan,
and black.
Baetis/Blue
Winged Olives (BWO’s) #16-18,
Midges, and
Early
Black Stoneflies
#14-16
(hatch is almost
over,
more upriver now)
are
the
afternoon hatches, Early
to mid mornings, Winter
Caddis
#18-24 is the bug and may
bring some trout to the surface. The lower the flow, the more apt you
are to find some
risers.
*******************************************************************************
Dries:
-Baetis/Blue
Winged Olives/BWO’s #16-18: afternoon hatch, best action on cloudy,
crappy days
-Early Black Stoneflies #14-16: Mild sunny
afternoons are best. Hatch is almost
done and
upriver now.
-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:
-Pheasant
Tails/Frenchies #14-20: imitates a wide range of Mayflies including
Baetis/Blue
Winged Olives, Sulfurs, Isonychia, Vitreus, small Stoneflies, and
more
-Baetis/BWO
Nymphs #16-20 (afternoon hatch)
-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, especially in March/April.
-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 have been white, olive, 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 effective