Store Hours:
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 are
THREE 20” or bigger trout Derrick Kirkpatrick (CT Fish Guides)
landed in one hour on Tuesday while nymphing, two big browns and a holdover FRAA 22” rainbow (stocked in April 2025). That was one helluva hour. The wild & holdover
trout are definitely waking up now and putting on the feed bag.
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
get dramatically less tip wrapping with micro leaders.
Thursday
Morning 4/16/26
River
Report:
*****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.
Lots
to update. The Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) was
stocked on Monday 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 good. Water
temps in the Permanent TMA/C&R cracked 60 degrees Wednesday, the
air temps got into the mid 80’s. There were TONS of Caddis out,
#18-20 gray brown ones, and Black Caddis #20-22. Caddis
always seem to hatch heavier on warmer days.
Didn’t see rising fish, but they were gobbling up size 20-22 Caddis
pupa/nymphs
subsurface. A lot of the better wild & holdover browns have moved
into the fast water now. I
had a very productive day nymphing the fast water, and hooked quite a
few wild trout mixed in with the more recent stockers.
Saw a few Hendricksons hatching as early as 10am, but not enough to
call it a legit hatch yet and
no risers. Should improve
each day, hopefully we
will have a fishable hatch this weekend,
but that’s hard to
predict nowadays. In
recent years the Hendrickson hatch has been hit or miss, with some
good days but plenty of slow ones on the surface. Be prepared to fish
subsurface though,
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 last Saturday on the Farmington, it weighed 16.47#, 31” with
a 21 ¼” girth. This was
stocked for the Riverton Derby.
We
received just over 1” of rain Wednesday
night during some intense thunder & lightning. This is overall
a good thing because the
water table is still
recovering from the
drought in the second half
of 2025. Flows
are off color as I write this, but should clear up rapidly
and drop into the low/mid 400’s by Friday, and probably
in the mid/upper 300’s
by Saturday morning. Total
flow below the Still River and in the Permanent TMA/C&R is 544cfs
(medium-high)
as I write this Thursday
morning, normal/median
historical total flow would be 533cfs.
I will update the river
conditions here on Friday morning, you will
see a drop in flow.
Riverton above the Still
River (dam down to the Rt 20 bridge) is 196cfs
(historical normal/median flow would be 281).
The Still River is adding in 348cfs
right below that, normal/median flow would be 348cfs.
Riverton is about 46
degrees this morning, it reached 48+
degrees Wednesday
afternoon. Behind UpCountry it’s 54
degrees (!)
this morning, it reached 59+
degrees yesterday
afternoon. Unionville USGS is 911cfs
and still rising a bit
more (should peak out shortly),
the normal/median flow for Unionville would be 1,010cfs
for today.
Another
hot one in the mid 80’s for today, cooler
Friday in the mid 70’s, 70 and partly cloudy for Saturday, and a
big temp drop Sunday with ¼” rain and a high of 51 degrees. It’s
still a nymphing & streamer game, but the dry fly fishing will be
picking up. The Permanent
TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) was
been stocked on Monday
4/13, and everything outside of that are has been stocked
1-2x already, with more to come soon. The stocked trout are biting
well, and if you find a pod of them you can rack up some numbers. The
holdover & wild browns have
really woken up this week, and the subsurface fishing for them has
noticeably improved. With the warmer water temps, the trout’s
metabolisms are revved up and many are in fast water now.
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.
Flies that are working
include Caddis larva (cased & regular), #8-10
Stonefly nymphs, smaller
Walt’s Worms, Blue
Winged Olive nymphs #16-18, general
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.). 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.
We’ve
been seeing a lot of smaller Caddis #18-22, gray/brown ones &
black ones. A few
Hendricksons have been popping, but not enough to call it a legit
hatch as yet. 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. So far, not a lot of rising fish, but
that should change in the very near futute.
*******************************************************************************
Dries:
-Assorted
Caddis #18-22 (gray/brown, black): dominant bug
currently
-Hendricksons #12-14: a few (not many), not enough to
call it a hatch yet
-Baetis/Blue Winged Olives/BWO’s #16-18:
afternoon hatch, best action on cloudy, crappy days, hatch is near
the end
-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, Hendricksons, Sulfurs, Isonychia, Vitreus,
small Stoneflies, and more
-BMAR Hendrickson Nymph #14
-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 effective