I’m super-excited to announce that I just signed a book contract with Stackpole. The working title is Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River. This will be a comprehensive resource for the West Branch, from the river to trout to maps to access to hatches to how-to-and-when. I plan on including information from local experts and guides, as well as a selection of must-have fly patterns. If you have any of Stackpole’s “Fly Fishing Guide To” river books, you know the level of detail I’ll be delivering.
The final manuscript isn’t due for over a year, so it’s going to take some time for this to get to press. In the meantime, please wish me luck as I set off on this big adventure. As always, I thank you for your support and readership, and of course I’ll keep you updated as the project progresses.
Coming soon to a bookshelf near you! While this isn’t the working title or cover shot, the description is spot-on.
Yeah, baby, it’s getting to be about that time. OK, maybe not for a couple more weeks. We’ll see what Ma Nature has in mind as far as warmth and rain are concerned. But indeed it is coming. And right now is the perfect time for you to stock the box with your favorite Hendrickson patterns.
If you’re not fishing under the Hendrickson hatch with wet flies, you’re missing out. In fact, you’re missing out on some of the best trout-on-the-fly action of the year. Tie these up, place them over a rise, and hold on. Oh. And be prepared to clip one or two flies off your three-fly team. Such are the travails of the angler getting doubles and triples!
On the surface, you may be unthrilled (rather than enthralled) by this topic. But I think it’s worth your time, especially if you tie soft hackles. I get a lot of questions about hen hackle types, and this article covers the subject nicely.
There’s something very satisfying about finding a top-shelf hen cape. While the price of both has gone up, you still occasionally see these in deep discount fly shop and show bins..
Looking back at this post, I can happily say that I’ve given many of these patterns far more than a test drive. I find it highly satisfying that the flies that Leisenring fished with confidence on his beloved Pennsylvania streams work just as well on the Farmington River. The post is formatted so that if you click on a pattern title, you’ll be taken to the recipe, along with a little blurb about the fly.
Hot tip: try Liesenring’s Old Blue Dun in a size 12 during the Hendrickson hatch. The original works, but if you want to make it a little truer to the natural, use dark dun for the tail and hackle.
When I went back to this oldie-but-goodie article, I was struck by two things. First, I love how Leisenring incorporated the soft hackle into these nymph patters. And second, I have not fished these patterns nearly enough, whether on a dead drift near the bottom or as a swung wet fly. None of them have beads or UV dubbing or special sparkle flash, but they all look like they’re alive and something fish would like to eat. To the vise (again)!
On Wednesday night I spoke to the East Jersey Trout Unlimited group about wet flies — specifically, getting into wet fly fishing, with the program title being “Wet Flies 101.” What a great group, very involved audience, and a gratifying turnout. The passion this group has for fly fishing is very evident. I’m already looking forward to coming back, especially if I can start the evening off with a burger and an IPA at ReBar just a few minutes away.
During the post-presentation Q&A, I was asked a really good question. I didn’t like my answer, and it bothered me all the way home. I’d like to represent the question, and give what I think is a much better answer.
Q: You say when you’re swinging wets, you have to wait a few seconds before you set the hook or you’ll lose the fish. How come when you’re nymphing you need to set the hook right away? A: I don’t know if this is a definitive answer, but I can tell you my best calculated guess. When you’re swinging or dangling a wet fly downstream in current, you’re fishing a tight line. There’s tension present. And then, you have a moving fish applying force, and then quickly changing the direction of that force. My advice to clients is to feel the hit, ask the question, “Are you still there?” and then set the hook. Do that, and the fish essentially hooks itself. When you’re nymphing, the fish behaves differently. It doesn’t rise from the depths, then turn and swim a few feet back down to the bottom. It’s typically feeding on station, near the bottom, perhaps not moving much at all, or maybe just a few inches. It sees your nymph, opens its mouth, and eats the fly. It’s a far more passive transaction. Setting the hook forcefully downstream seals the deal before the trout can reject the fly (if it does that at all). When you’re nymphing, you can still catch fish without setting — we’ve all had instances when we’re not paying attention and we manage to hook and land the fish regardless — but setting the hook had and fast will certainly result in more trout to net.
Do this when nymphing — a downstream set with a low, hard sweep — and your catch rate will soar. Hooksets are free, so look for a reason to set the hook on every drift!
The CT State Legislature is holding a public hearing on the Farmington River flow situation this Friday, March 8. All interested parties are invited to submit oral or written testimony to be entered into the public record. The deadline to register is Thursday, March 7 at 3pm. This is your chance to make an impact!
The following is taken from the Farmington River Anglers Association website and has everything you need to know. Let’s get to it, people!
“Establishing an optimum flow regime in the Upper Farmington River remains one of our top priorities.
To this end, House Bill 5355 – AN ACT CONCERNING CONSERVATION OF CERTAIN WATERS OF THE UPPER FARMINGTON RIVER, will receive a public hearing on Friday, March 8 starting at 11 a.m. I encourage you to submit written and/or oral testimony. If you testify orally (in-person or Zoom) it should be accompanied by written testimony. The deadline to register is Thursday, March 7 at 3 pm.
From early June, 2023. The water should be up past Michael’s knees, not just above his ankles. Help us end ridiculously low, unnecessary, harmful flows like this.
This old post tells you everything you need to know about building a team of three for wet flies. Well, almost everything. Looking back at the directions and diagram, I see how my leader formula has evolved. For starters, the tags should be a minimum of 6″, not 4″-6″. Certainly that old 4-6″ length works, but for me, the current sweet spot is probably more like 6″-7″. Next, the spacing between flies should be 24″-30″, not 18″-24″. My current thinking is that 18″ is too close. My current leaders are probably closer to the flies being 30″ apart, which I believe allows you to cover more water and achieve great depth. I almost always use a 3x tapered leader section for the butt. And no, I don’t use tippet rings.
I didn’t really have the time yesterday, but since my default setting is when in doubt, go fishing, I did. The venue was a small woodland stream, and the time frame was 3:45pm-5:30pm. It was mostly cloudy and very warm for February, with a water temp of 48 degrees. The stream was running medium-low and clear. No hatch activity, although I did see one lonesome sz 600 midge flitting about.
I’ve written before that I’m a massive creature of habit, but on this outing I decided to explore about 100 yards of new water. I was glad I did, as that turned out to be my most productive stretch. I fished mostly subsurface with the Squirmy Worm Jiggy Thingy, but I did get a hysterical swing and miss on a bushy dry for the 5 minutes I fished it. All told, I pricked about 18 and brought probably a third of them to hand. I did catch the same beautifully spotted hen I took in January at the same hole. She really clobbered the fly.
A few of my favorite things: a cigar, a glass rod, and a small stream, and if I can get them all at once that’s even better. What a glorious day to play hooky for a few hours and lose myself in a babbling brook.
Happy Friday, and and it’s a TGIF kind of day around currenseams HQ. It was a busier than normal week, what with two road hockey weekday games for #3 son Gordo and all the other stuff I’ve got going on.
On Tuesday night, I spoke and taught to the Yale Fishing Club. The Club is run by my good friend and paddle board angler extraordinaire Sean Callinan, and I’m always stoked to be able to teach the next generation of fly anglers. The subject matter was small streams, something near and dear to me, and we devoted plenty of time to preserving and protecting the resource. We finished by tying the Squirmy Worm Jig, which is both easy and highly effective. Many thanks again to the group for hosting me, and the pizza was swell, too!
Class is now in session!
I’m putting the finishing touches on a new article for Surfcasters Journal. It will be a little different in that it is story oriented, rather than how-to. It’s going to put a smile on your face when you read it. Of course, I’ll let you know when it comes out.
Finally, I just received some very exciting news that’s so big, it deserves its own post. My apologies for the teaser. I’m hoping to be able to share next week. I hope some of you are getting out to fish!
currentseams.com 