Tag Archives: Farmington River guide

Farmington River Report 5/21/18: Working hard on a glorious day

Adam won the weather lottery when he picked yesterday for his wet fly lesson. It was easily one of the ten best days of the year. The river was 415cfs and 58 degrees in the permanent TMA. The trout were a bit less cooperative, but we stuck with it and ended up with several to net.

The plan was to walk a couple long stretches, actively fishing and picking pockets, swinging through runs, and dangling over likely holding areas. This was one of those days where Mother Nature tells you, “Nice try, boys, but today the trout are going to be stuck to the bottom.” High pressure sometimes does that. So after 90 minutes all we had to show for our efforts was a bump and a missed hookset.

We were standing in a run that I knew held fish. We added a shot to the middle dropper for  a short-line deep presentation, and what do you know? We hooked up on our demo cast. Adam went to work and had a customer in short order.

Bug activity was about a four on the 1-10 scale: small (size 18) caddis, midges, BWOs, and a couple larger un-IDed mayflies. We did see some smutting trout in a classic dry fly pool. Our persistence paid off in the second run we walked through, with the trout nodding their approval to Adam’s soft hackles. Well done, young man!

What we like to see and hear: a bent rod and a singing drag.

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A rambunctious rainbow moments before capture. With the warm of the air and the refreshing splash of cold water on your hands, all is right with the world.

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Farmington River Report 5/5/18: A wonderful day for wets

Every once in a while, the planets align and the fishing and weather and dam release gods smile upon you. Such was the case for yesterday’s “Fishing Wet Flies and Soft Hackles” class. We had beautiful weather, a perfect 375cfs in the permanent TMA, respectable hatch activity, and cooperative trout. What more could you ask for? How about having the two runs we fished all to ourselves (on a sunny Saturday in early May)? What?!? The answer was yes.

Great job by Andrew, Adam, Ihor, John, and Lou, who are all now officially certified wet fly and soft hackle threats. Guys, it was a pleasure being your instructor.

Every class participant got into trout, and Andrew really lit it up. Here he is doing battle with a spirited rainbow. We had a lot of interest from the fish today on bead head soft hackles fished in the point position.

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Ihor’s first of the day, taken on the swing in some classic wet fly water. We had a tough time later on trying to get a couple of his (the trout’s, not Ihor’s) cousins to eat, despite some tactical positioning and flawless dead drift presentations. I’ve seen it play out so many times on this river: if your wet fly choice and presentation are good, and the fish doesn’t take within the first three drifts, he’s not having it. Let the fish rest and try again later.

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The smallest trout of the day might have been the loveliest. This wild gem courtesy of John and Mother Nature.

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We experienced a moderate Hendrickson hatch in the afternoon, and the trout were clearly on the emergers. Not surprisingly, the action was best while it was feeding time. A wet fly that matches the hatch and is properly presented to an actively feeding fish remains one of my favorite ways to catch trout. Here’s Adam brandishing a pugilistic rainbow. (Note the water runoff. If the fish isn’t dripping wet, it’s time to get it back in the water.)

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Finally, I need to offer a sincere apology to Lou for not getting any shots of his fish. Lou did a great job, and I especially liked how he positioned himself to target a pod of trout during the afternoon rise. We’ll get you a photo op next time!

Farmington River Report 5/4/18: T.G.I.W(ets)

How divine to be swinging wet flies again. The cast, the mend, the tug — it’s all good stuff. Just a quick zip in and zip out today. Three locations on the lower river in two hours. Water was 600+cfs and 54 degrees. The Hendricksons are all but over in the locations I fished, and the activity was spotty, two. But where it was good it was wonderful.

Run A was en fuego. All fat rainbows, interested in every fly (Squirrel and Ginger, Dark Hendrickson winged, SHBHPT), but mostly on the S&G and Hendrickson and a blast in a ripping current. I had trouble getting one in — oh, look, it’s a double, so that’s why. Run B was less productive — one fish in 15 minutes. Run C was mobbed with anglers and I didn’t get so much as a tap. And that was it.

Wet Fly class tomorrow at UpCountry. See you on the river!

Not from today but you get the picture. F-A-T rainbows, with several steelhead aerials into the bargain.

Matt's Rainbow

Spring fishing madness and current(seams) events

Just a quick post to catch up with you. Warmer weather is finally here, and who among us is not stoked? You haven’t been hearing much from me lately, and that’s due to it being a very busy time between kids’ sports (hockey and lacrosse); yard work (Trivia question: what do me and Bob Pop have in common besides fly fishing for stripers? Answer: We are both avid rose growers); and regular work, work, work. Oh, I’ve been fishing, too. Reports to come.

The Farmington River has gone through an extended high, cold phase. They’ve recently dropped the flow from the dam, and after the Still settles the river should be in fine shape for the weekend. Would you believe I haven’t fished the river in months? That will change next week.

I fished the lower Hous last week and the Bass-o-Matic was on. I fished a full sink integrated line and a variety of soft-hackles and I don’t think I went more than three casts between bass. (You too can become an instant expert.)

I’m starting to get a lot of guiding requests. If you want to book an outing/lesson with me, you can find out everything you need to know here. A reminder that I started doing short striper trips last fall that are geared toward you learning the methodology of trout fishing for striped bass. Also, most of my weekends are booked — so now you’ve got a great excuse to blow off work and fish.

The spring speaking circuit is winding down. My next gig will be September 4 at the Long Island Flyrodders. If you’re the person in charge of booking speakers for your club, fear not and click here.

And yes, there are articles in the magazine pipeline. Details as they come in.

See you on the water!

All in favor of an epic Hendrickson hatch, say aye.

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Did you know that I give private fly tying lessons?

I didn’t either, until a few weeks ago. Bill stopped by my table at the CFFA Expo and asked if I’d give him some fly tying lessons. He wanted to learn some new patterns and refine his technique. We met on Friday, and a swell time was had by all. In addition to tying, we talked about tactics and strategies, from wet fly to nymphing and stripers to trout. So yes, I can speak at your club or show. Yes, I can take you out on the water. And yes, I can work with you on tying and fly fishing theory/practical applications.

I am a teacher. It’s what I do.

Here’s a free lesson for everyone: use only as many thread wraps as you need. Use only as much material as you need (you’re probably using too much.) Here’s how much fur I use for the hackle on a Squirrel and Ginger. And did I mention that you first need to clear out the longer guard hairs and all that underfur dross with a mini comb? What you leave out of a fly is as important as what you put in.

Fur hackle dubbing loop prep

Et voila.

S&G ready to finish

Happy Monday and other items of minor interest

Greetings, fellow reader. Just a note to say hello, give some thanks, and update you on current(seams) events.

I had a blast tying at the CFFA Expo on Saturday. Many thanks to those who gathered ’round my vise, said hello, and asked questions. I escaped the show with a just a patch of opossum fur and a bag o’ tungsten beads. Hopefully you found the treasure you were looking for.

Next up: “Trout Flies for Local Rivers” Tying Demo, Saturday, March 31, 10am-2pm at The Compleat Angler, Darien, CT.  I’ll be tying some of my favorite patterns: wets, dries, nymphs, and streamers, from traditional classics to new designs. These are all high-confidence, proven flies, and I’ll also discuss how and when I like to fish them. For directions and stuff, visit the CA website.

I may also be doing a class at UpCountry. I’ll let you know if that happens.

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Hey, we’re getting close to 600 followers! Once we get there, we’ll do our traditional  fly giveaway. 

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I’m starting to get a lot of inquiries for guiding on the Farmington this spring. As usual, my schedule will be tight with other commitments, and weekends will almost always be out. If you have your mind set on a certain date, that’s fine, but if I were you I’d wait a few weeks to see how the spring shakes out. Remember, the Farmy fishes well year round, so there are plenty of options as we move through April, May, June, July, and beyond. I’ve also had some interest in small stream and striper outings. Those are doable as well. If you want to discuss any of this, please send me an email or call me. You can find my contact info here.

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Finally, the word machine is humming along. I have pieces in the pipeline for American Angler, Field & Stream, Fly Tyer, and more. Stay tuned. And thanks for your loyal support!

Before you know it, you’ll be able to stick your hand in the water without it flash-freezing.

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New gig Wednesday, October 4: “The Little Things” at CT Surfcasters in Madison

Short notice, but I will be presenting “The Little Things” at the October 4 meeting of the Connecticut Surfcaster Association at the Surf Club in Madison, CT.  The meeting starts at 7pm and is open to the public. For more information, visit the Surfcasters’ website.

I’m continuing to work on “Trout Fishing for Striped Bass” — been hard at it today. Still waiting to hear from the Arts of the Angler in Danbury, CT and The Fly Fishing Show in Marlborough, MA, and Edison, NJ. When I have presentations and dates and times, I will share them here.

Number One Son just passed the Florida Bar, but here he is working on his drag-free drift. 

Bill Dry

 

 

Long Island Flyrodders awarded the Legion of Cookout Merit

Many thanks to the members of the Long Island Flyrodders for their generous, welcoming spirit. What an impressive crowd — I believe it was nearly 60 — on a fine summer’s evening. The Long Island Flyrodders know that a fed presenter is a happy presenter, and I must say that my cheeseburger, dog, beans, and — bonus! — bag of Cheetos really hit the spot. (The beer was tasty, too.) Thanks again for hosting me, and I look forward to a return engagement.

These folks know how to hold a meeting. Good spread, good people, good energy — the bar has been set to a new height. 

LIFlyrodders

Celebrating summer

July is a darn good month to be an angler in these parts. I just returned from a week on Block Island, and while the fishing wasn’t great (spotty action and smaller fish) I did get into bass every night. Detailed report and pics to come.

I’m really looking forward to getting back to the Farmington, in particular to swinging some wets. The spring’s cool temps and voluminous water supply should make for some terrific wet fly outings over the next several weeks. Speaking of wet flies, there’s one more opening in Sunday’s UpCountry Wet Flies 101 class. Jump on it and become the envy of all your trout angling friends. You can’t sign up with me; you have to do it through the store here.

Speaking of jumping on things, if you’re planning on booking a lesson/outing/trip with me, best to inquire now. My days are filling up (two gigs next week) and I am going to jealously guard my personal fishing time. You know where to find me.

Client John with a fine example of what is possible on the Farmington River at noon on a sunny day in July.

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Farmington River Report 6/14/17: Confidence catches fish, Sulphur City

I guided Keith on Thursday and his goal was to leave the river with more confidence than when he arrived. I think we accomplished that. Where to fish, how to fish, which flies to use — keeping it simple is usually a good place to start. So we headed of to a spot below the permanent TMA for some nymphing basics. Spring mornings are almost always a good time to nymph. We did both short line and indicator, and on this day indicator was the more successful method. We took fish on both the dropper (size 18 2x short Starling and Herl) and the point fly (BH Squirrel and Ginger).

Next up: Wet Flies 101. I was disappointed with this second location, downriver from the first. Our drifts were good and we covered some fishy water, but you can’t catch what doesn’t want to eat — or what isn’t there — so we headed off to trout central, AKA the permanent TMA.

Good call. As we worked our way downstream into some slower water, we saw active feeders. Even though the water was better suited for dries, properly presented soft hackles can be deadly during a hatch. Caddis was the bug, and we had two caddis patterns on our team of three (S&G top dropper and Winter Brown on point) with a dark fly (Drowned Ant) in the middle.  It wasn’t long before Keith’s line came tight to beautiful brown.

Keith shows us how it’s done, much to the delight of his instructor.

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We took fish on all three flies, but only one on the dark middle fly. We got nearly into double-digit numbers, a mix of stocked browns, rainbows, a Survivor Strain brown and a few wild ones. I was intrigued by the parr marks on this rainbow. He wasn’t all that delicate, though, putting on an impressive aerial display during the fight.

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Finally, I fished from 5pm-7:15pm way downstream in an area that got torched by last summer’s drought. I wanted to see what the Sulphur hatch was like, and, more important, was anything taking advantage of it? Good news, bad news: tremendous sulphur hatch (I’d give it an 8 out of 10) with swarms of yellow bugs everywhere. Bad news: like my experience in April in the same area with Hendrickson, precious little surface activity. Sure, there were a few trout that were feeding, but the rises were infrequent and seemingly random. I rose three trout but failed to get a hookset. Also witnessed were caddis, tiny BWOs, and a few Isonychia. I think we’ll have to wait another year or two for the trout to re-establish.

Hello, old friend. Always happy to see your face.

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