Tag Archives: Farmington River report

FRAA Awarded the Order of Pizza with NEIPA Clusters, and other late October musings

Many thanks to the FRAA for hosting me last night. I’m beyond giddy with all the positive feedback I’m getting about the book — it’s truly gratifying to hear that people are digging not only the content, but also the writing. There will be no dull textbooks from this author! We had a strong turnout last night at Brewery Legitimus, and I helped myself to several slices of pizza, washed down with a delicious Dr. Strangehaze NEIPA before hitting the floor to speak. The book tour continues next week, October 27 at the Crossroads Anglers in Foxboro, MA.

We’ve reached peak foliage time on the Farmington, and that means two things. First, the leaves will soon be brown and tumbling down, which can muck up a fly presentation. You may want to avoid breezy days, which can produce whirlwinds of vegetal matter in the air and then on and in the water. Second, the browns are now firmly in pre-spawn, if not actual spawn mode. Be on the lookout for redds, the cleared out gravel beds where browns like to deposit their eggs. Think smaller gravel, and shallower, moving water. Redds are usually easy to spot; if you see a light oval patch surrounded by dark substrate, that could be a redd. The presence of trout holding on or nearby, doing some kind of canoodling dance, is another indicator of spawning activity.

Wild fish come from somewhere, so it’s important to leave that somewhere — and its procreating inhabitants — alone to do their thing. This dramatically spotted brown was sampled from the PTMA in September 2024.

Note the locations of these redds for future reference. You don’t want to be walking over an egg bed in January. Crushing the next year class of wild fish is disastrous and avoidable. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t be targeting spawning fish. That’s unsporting and plain bad form. Sometimes non-spawning fish will set up a few dozen feet below a redd to pick off stray eggs. Targeting those fish with egg patterns can be productive, but please take care to watch where you plant your feet — and please leave those active spawners alone.

Farmington River Mini-Report 10/13/26; Croton TU awarded the Legion of the Cheeseburger with IPA Clusters

I guided Owen on Tuesday. Owen is pretty much a beginner, but very enthusiastic — just the kind of student I like to teach. We spent our afternoon on the water from the Riverton bridge to several hundred yards above. It was a chilly, overcast day, and we started off with some indicator nymphing. That was surprisingly a blank — and then a trout slashed at the indicator. We tied on a mini streamer, but no love. A bait angler below us got into two fish, but we decided to head upriver.

At the next mark, Owen locked into a fish on the nymph rig, but the trout sadly became unbuttoned. By this time, there was a decent amount of trout-eating-emergers activity. It was caddis action, and I was surprised by the last on tiny BWOs. We moved over to wet fly, and were rewarded with some bumps, and then an eat. It might have been the ugliest stocked rainbow I’ve ever seen in this river — ragged tail and fins, fins missing, scales gone AWOL — but it was exciting to see Owen connect with his first Farmington River fish. We headed upstream again and got one more bump, but that was it. Great, job, Owen!

So, Owen lands his first Farmington River trout, and I get to present the Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River to a roomful of enthusiastic anglers. I’ll drink to that.

Then last night, I spoke to the fine people of the Croton Watershed TU Chapter. Croton TU knows that a fed presenter is a happy presenter, so they are hereby awarded the Legion of the Cheeseburger with IPA (Singlecut) Clusters, and all the privileges associated with that honor. According to the chapter president, the crowd was excellent, and from my point of view, very enthusiastic and welcoming. We had a good post-talk Q&A session, and I want to thank the people who bought a copy of the book. I’m already looking forward to my return.

Next up: Wednesday, October 21, Farmington River Anglers Association, 7pm, Brewery Legitmus, New Hartford, CT. This meeting is open to the public. And it’s at a brewery! If that’s not a doubleheader sweep, I don’t know what is. More info is here.

Small stream mini-report and yes! to some rain

I fished a favorite small stream last Friday and the water was painfully low. Those of you who are acquainted with me know that I detest low water. On this day, it meant that the longer, deeper pools had precious little movement. Sometimes the only discernable flow was at the extreme upper end of the head. Leaves were a problem, not because they were interfering with drifts, but rather because they had amassed in large quantities on the surface, essentially creating a sheet of leaves. Great for fish to hide under; not so great if you’re trying to present a fly to them.

This is what I’m talking about. That lower end looks like a pile of leaves on dry land; they’re actually resting on the surface of the water.

My solution to the low flow/leaf problem was to fish a dry-dropper in the faster sections, and to go heavy subsurface with micro-jig streamers. Both produced fish, although most of the dry/dropper hookups were on the trailing bead-head nymph rather than the dry. I’m all about watching wild fish slash at the dry, but there’s something cool about using it as a strike indicator — now you see it, now you don’t. Set that hook!

I’m not sure yesterday’s rain qualifies as a blowout, but it certainly should have been enough to move some leaves. The Farmington gauges bumped up a bit, but most of it was generated by the Still River. I expect the Farmington to be in excellent shape for most of the week.

A very late Farmington River mini-report from 10/2/26: When the going gets tough, the tough fish a mini-jig streamer

I guided Anthony last Friday and we had the blessing of a glorious Indian summer day. Sunshine, good flows, warm air, and…leaves. Organic matter in the water was only an occasional nuisance, but I expect that it will get exponentially worse in the next couple weeks, especially if we have a breezy day. (This is why I typically end my traditional wet fly fishing around mid-October.)

But back to our day. We swung the hell out of a team of three wet flies, but the locals just weren’t having it. We hit two marks below the PTMA (many thanks to the angler who shared water with us!), then headed below Collinsville. Same story in two other marks. Up to this point, we’d had a few bumps, very likely from small fish, and no real eats. There were a few tiny BWOs in the air, some caddis, and then a smattering of Isos, but this was a day where the fishing was great and the catching stunk. Anthony deserved far better, as he was making multiple dozens of fish-worthy casts, mends, and presentations.

I’d finally had enough. I knew there were fish in front of us, and if we couldn’t get them to come up to a wet, let’s try to get them deep. I clipped the Iso fly off point, and added a black and silver mini jig streamer. Voila! We also banged up a decent smallmouth. Way to hang in there, Anthony, and we’ll get ’em next time.

A small stream outing, a Farmington lesson, and all this rain.

Last week I snuck out for a few hours on a local small stream. The water was medium-low, crystal clear, and the fact that the sun was out meant the locals were on high alert. Holy sandbars! The bottom structure of this stream had shifted quite a bit over the summer. In some sections, it felt like I was in brand new water. I fished a bushy dry (AFR Humpulator) and a BHPT dropper, and pricked four on the dry and two on the nymph. At the end, I switched to the Jiggy Squirmy Thingy and had a few small guys bull-rush the fly, but no char were brought to hand.

On Thursday, I guided Tim for a subsurface lesson. Like the small stream, the Farmington was low and clear, but plenty cold. We fished the mid and lower river sections. Mid-river was nymphing, and I was astonished that we didn’t even get a touch. What?!? We headed downstream to try our hand at wet flies, and we managed to stick three fish, although all of them became unbuttoned. Like many new to wet fly fishing, Tim needed to wait on the hookset after the hit. You feel the hit, and you want to set, but if you do, you’ll pull the hook right out of the fish’s mouth. You feel the strike, pause, asking, “Are you still there?” And if you do, the fish will always answer yes, having hooked himself neatly in the corner of his mouth. We will absolutely get them next time, Tim. A pleasure fishing with you, sir. Oh — we had hatches. Caddisflies and tiny BWOs and especially Isonychia. I love Isos.

If you own my book, Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River, then you’ve seen this photo. I love swinging wets for Isos, and I’ve done very well with my Iso Soft Hackle pattern.

Finally, all this rain. It really depends on where you live — we got pounded in Durham on Saturday, while the rain barely made a dent in the Farmington flows. Today, the storm is finally manifesting — the Unionville gauge has jumped from 230cfs to 540 — but I expect the river will clear up quickly.

Reminder: Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River book signing this Saturday at UpCountry Sportfishing

My apologies for not having a more fun or substantive post for today, but I am being relentlessly harassed by the Time-Space Continuum. I’m sure you understand. So for today, a reminder that I will be doing a book signing on Saturday, August 22 at UpCountry Sportfishing in New Hartford from 11am-2pm. You’ll be able to bring a book you’ve already bought for signing, or UpCountry will have books available for purchase. Also, one week later, Saturday, August 29, I’ll be at The Compleat Angler in Darien, CT from 11am-2pm. Hope to see you there, and I hope you’re enjoying the river, the summer, and the book.

We got books and pens and we’re ready to sign.

Farmington River Mini-Report 8/6/26: Wet flies rule!

This can be a challenging time of year to fish the Farmington, but I arrived on the river with a plan: swing wets in snotty, treacherous pocket water, then find a dry fly spot for the evening rise. The water bump from the dam, which put the flow in the PTMA at around 290cfs, was a welcome enhancement. (I got 54 degrees just above the PTMA at 6pm, which is wheelhouse water for trout.)

I was wading and swinging a team of three (Drowned Ant on top, LaFontaine’s Diving Caddis in the middle, my Iso Soft Hackle on point) by around 5pm. After a slow start, I connected with what would be the first of 6 trout on the wets — 5 of those fish were wild browns. And 5 of the 6 fish took the Iso soft hackle. While I didn’t see a single Isonychia flitting about — I’d rate the overall hatch activity on this evening a 2/10 — this underscores the importance of that bug as a food source for trout. Every year, some of the biggest fish I hook on a wet fly come in August on the Iso.

I’d already locked into a mid-teens wild brown when a big old buck ate the fly. Prior to this hookup, every take had come on the dangle. This one was on the dead drift, close enough to the surface for me to see the take. Three times the fish bulldogged its way upstream, twice, he seemed ready for the net, only to bolt. Between the speed of the current and the size of the fish, my forearm was on fire. I carefully walked downstream to a more favorable LZ. Finally, to the net.

Best trout of the year. No wonder this guy looks so excited!

The dry fly action from 7:30pm to 9pm was rather disappointing, having nothing to do with already landing such a fantastic fish. I found one fish working a foam line, but he was small, and though I rose him 4 times on three different patterns, there was no hookset. Finally, on the walk out in the fog, I spied a sipper that ended up clobbering my size 12 Catskills-style Light Cahill.

My victory cigar was one that I truly relished.

This is fly, minus the bead. This time of year, in lower light situations and moderate flows, there’s a good chance the fish will be looking up.

Meanwhile, back on the Farmington…

I have neglected the Farmington this month most cruelly. I understand the fishing has been excellent in spite of the low water, but I have been pulled in some other directions.

But not yesterday. Yesterday was one of those summer flow spikes I look for, the kind that puts some color in the water and chases most of the anglers away. The plan on those days is to throw streamers and look for a big ol’ brown that’s been hiding under a logjam for the past few weeks and is now in the hunt for a protein payoff. Yesterday I fished a full-sink tip line with an assortment of weighted and non-weighted streamers — trying to present at several levels in the water column — in both muted and bright colors. I walked about 500 yards of water, pounding the banks, waiting for that roll at the surface or that dull thud below.

It never came. The plan was go big or go home, and since I didn’t do the former — not a touch in two hours — I did the latter. But oh, man, it felt wondrous to be back.

Bring your waders if you want to sit. The water was moderately stained, 650cfs, and 64 degrees in the PTMA. As you read this, the flow has dropped dramatically and has cleared up, making for excellent conditions this weekend.

Back in the saddle, a Farmington first, and other Tuesday Tidbits

I just finished a yummy egg-and-cheese omelet with a side of bacon and a glass of my spicy tomato juice. And, I’m drinking a lovely cup of Columbian coffee with a tiny splash of milk as I write this. That’s right, folks, the colonoscopy is over and we’re eating with a vengeance for the rest of the day. I think perhaps pizza for lunch. Dinner is going to be leftover pulled pork and other trad BBQ sides. What?!? No beer after anesthesia? I’ll have to suffer through. Speaking of which, those of you who have suffered through the 24-hour pre-procedure prep know of which I speak. I mean, I eat five meals a day. For me, no solid food for 36 hours is a Greek tragedy. It’s hydration day, too, and then tomorrow we’re back on the program.

Last week, I guided Sheila and Nikki on the Farmington for a wet fly lesson. We fished the mid-to-lower PTMA. Hatches were light — this was mid afternoon. They both did very well with the method, and Nikki scored a gorgeous mid-teens wild brown on a Partridge and Orange (you can see the fish on my Instagram account @stevecultonflyfishing). This was her first Farmington River trout, and her first on a wet fly. We put one more in the hoop and called it a very successful outing. Great job, ladies! My spies tell me that the PTMA has been fishing well from evening into dark. It’s cornucopia bug season with Sulphurs, Isos, caddis, BWOs, midges, and more. Get on it while it’s hot.

I just finished an article for Surfcasters Journal on the importance — or not — of striper fly color. In addition to my perspective, you’ll glean insights from both surfcaster extraordinaire Toby Lapinski and sight fishing guru Alan Caolo. It’s called “Color Me Curious,” and I’ll let you know when it’s out.

I bought some new shake-and-dry product from UpCountry and will be testing it soon. I have been using Loon’s Top Ride, which I liked. This product is from TMC.

The finger is healing up nicely, as is the ankle. If you are ever in a slice-off-the-tip of your finger and the skin is hanging by a flap, the medical advice is to keep the flap on to cover the wound. Of course, you need to thoroughly clean the wound. While dead or soon to be dead, that skin is a fantastic natural bandage, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the way it healed.

Finally, with this heat dome setting up, please carry a thermometer, use it, and fish responsibly. Carry on. 🙂

My bizarro Farmington season continues

This is a late report from last week, but it’s a report that I think is worthy of your attention. I fished the evening (virtually non-existent) rise with surfcaster extraordinaire Toby Lapinski at popular dry fly mark within the PTMA. We fished from 4:30pm-9pm. When we arrived, I was delighted to see that there were no other cars in the small dirt parting area; in hindsight, I wonder if it was because everyone else knew something I didn’t.

Here’s the bottom line: the sulphur hatch stunk like a salt marsh at low tide. I’d give it a 1 out of 10. So, that was disappointing. What was even more disappointing was the lack of fish over 8″ long. What was rising was, by and large, small wild fish, mostly brookies, with a few browns in the mix. Now, this could also be considered good news. In fact, I’ve never run into such a substantial pod of wild brook trout on the Farmington. Between us, we easily landed a dozen of them. Once, at dusk, I hooked one, and as it sped into the shallows in a desperate attempt to get free, a larger brown charged out of its hole in hot pursuit. I could see the bulge in the water as the predator neared its target; unfortunately at the last moment, the hunt was aborted. But that was cool to witness, and I wish you could have been there to see it, too!

We only put one decent fish in the hoop, this some-teen wild brown by Toby. It had three bird wounds; you can see one of them on the midway point of the fish’s flank.

I’ve been so busy in the yard this spring that I haven’t been able to get out to the Farmington as much as I’d like. But the rest of the summer is still ahead, in all its lazy, hazy, crazy glory.