We are open 7 days a week, current hours are:
8am-6pm
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Wednesday
10am-3pm,
Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm
We
are still looking for one more part-time employee, someone who knows
the river well, is knowledgeable about flyfishing, and
has a flexible schedule.
Pictured
up top is our
shop employee Blake with a very nice fish from yesterday, fooled
subsurface with a Caddis pupa.
Current
Sale Items:
-Sage
Sonic fly rods 25% off
-Scott G Series fly rods 25% off
-Simms
G3 Waders 20% off
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.
We
are now a Guideline dealer, They
are a Scandanavian company that makes some great rods & reels and
more. 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, plus a cool mini chest pack
that you can attach 5 different ways.
Thursday
Morning
6/4/26
River
Report:
Hours:
Wednesday 10am-3pm.
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8am-6pm. Weekends remain at
8am-5pm. We will stay on this schedule through the end of the
summer.
Pleasantly
surprised to return from the Catskills and see they bumped the flow
from the dam in Riverton by an additional 100cfs on
Wednesday (and they bumped it up 30cfs Monday morning),
which brings the total flow from the upper 100cfs range up to 271cfs,
an excellent/medium water
level, and in the historically normal range. Unusual for DEEP to make
a flow change on a Thursday, maybe it’s to keep the river cooler
due to the mid to upper 80’s weather moving in today and going
straight through the 10 Day Forecast. Usually Monday is the day they
adjust flows when necessary. Very happy to see more water- this
creates more holding water, and keeps water temps cooler further
downstream. Win-win. We are seeing good #12-14 Vitreus (late
afternoon thru eves) and assorted #16-22 Caddis, as well as #16
Invaria Sulfurs in the evenings. As you get closer to the dam and the
water gets colder, hatches can happen at weird times of the day,
often earlier than the books say. If you venture downriver to
Collinsville/Unionville, you may even see a few #812 Isonychia
(“Iso’s”). Warmer water downstream means the hatches start
there first and make their way upriver. Be prepared to also fish
subsurface- just because there are hatches is no guarantee of dry fly
fishing & rising trout. But…. we are into the peak dry fly time
of year, with evenings being prime time for surface action. This flow bump is also good news for you nymphers, it creates better & more water that is good for nymphing. It will also make the trout less skittish, they feel safer from predators.
#10-12 March Browns continue to trickle off in the afternoons & eves, it’s a one here, one there kinda bug. Cloudy afternoons & eves have seen #20-22 Blue Winged Olives (BWO’s) hatching, with plenty of trout gently sipping them off the surface. They don’t hatch well on bright sunny days. We are getting toward that time of year where the best shot at good dry fly action tends to shift toward the evenings. Cooler/cloudy days can see the bugs hatch earlier, and hot/sunny days can push the bugs even closer to dusk. Caddis are the main hatch in the mornings; they return in the low light of evenings to mate & egg-lay over the riffles.
Vitreus
are most active on cooler, overcast, and even wet days, and tend to
hatch between late afternoon and evening when
shadows start hitting the water.
The winged dun emerges at the stream bottom from the nymphal shuck,
and then swims to the surface fully winged. Females have a
pinkish-orange cast to their abdomens due to eggs, males are more of
a dull yellow, kinda like a bigger Sulfur. 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 morning through early/mid afternoon,
and come back later in the day to egg-lay over faster water in the
eves. Hatch times in Riverton in the 2 miles right below the dam can
vary considerably from “normal” due to the abnormally cold water.
Trout do not always rise to hatches, and this seems to
surprise some experienced anglers, which amuses me because it’s
always been the case on every river I’ve fished in my life. 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. Caddis pupa are like candy
to big trout. Wet flies & soft hackles are also good options if
you don’t want to nymph, I
recommend fishing 2 or even 3 at a time, on tag end droppers.
And don’t rule out streamers, especially early & late in the
day, and on rainy days and/or during high or off-color
water.
Riverton is 229cfs
below the Hogback Reservoir, with the Still River is adding in 42cfs
a little below the Rt 20 bridge. FYI
the state has
overall been conservative
with water releases this
year to maintain a good
pool of cold water for summer distribution. We could
use more rain, other local rivers & streams that depend upon
rainfall are unusually low for early June, and we need rain to keep
the reservoirs full. Riverton
water temp was 44 degrees at 8am this morning, it peaked at about 51
yesterday. Behind UpCountry it was 50 degrees at 8am this morning, it
peaked yesterday afternoon at 61. Look for lower water temps now that
they are releasing more cold water.
There
are miles of trout-filled water both above and below the 6.2 mile
year round Catch & Release area. 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 water even below that. 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.
Subsurface
flies that are working include #14-20 Caddis patterns (pupa,
larva),Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #14-20, #8-10 Stonefly
nymphs (mornings), Blue Winged Olive nymphs #16-22, flashy
Perdigons #16-22, Rainbow Warrior #16-18, Junk Flies (Mops,
Squirmies, Eggs) are still working well 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.
*******************************************************************************
Dries:
-Sulfur
#16 (Invaria): Typically hatch later in the day
-Tan
Caddis #16-18: hatching about mid morning through early/mid
afternoon, egg-laying in the evenings. Olive/green #18 Caddis can be
in the mix too.
-Vitreus #12-16: late afternoon through eves
-Blue Winged Olives/BWO’s #20-22: afternoon
hatch on cloudy days
-Assorted small Caddis #18-22: black, olive/green, gray/brown
-March Brown #10-12: sporadic fast water
hatch
-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:
Nymphs:
-Tan
Caddis Pupa #14-18
-Sulfur Nymphs #14-18: 14’s imitate
Vitreus, smaller ones imitate Invaria & Dorothea
-Pheasant
Tails/Frenchies #14-22: imitates a wide range of Mayflies including
Sulfurs, Vitreus, Baetis/Blue Winged Olives, Isonychia, small
Stoneflies, Hendricksons, and more
-March Brown #10-12: can also
use big Hare's Ears & Fox Squirrel Nymphs
-Baetis/BWO Nymphs
#16-22
-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: tons of these in
the river, good all year
-”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.
-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. Best in early to mid mornings.
-Midges #18-22
(black, olive, red): Zebra Midge, Flash Midge, Red Iris Midge,
etc.
-Attractor Nymphs #14-20: 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)
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 or off-color is a great time to
use a streamer.
Top colors currently are 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.
-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