…as did this chunky mid-teens wild brown. Note full adipose, scarred mouth, and healing old wound (raptor?) mid-flank. This buck has seen a little action.
Tag Archives: Farmington River report
Farmington River Mini-Report 7/13/16: 1-for-90
I had 90 minutes to fish mid-day today. Sunny, hot, and a gusty south wind, so I figured the terrestrials-blown-into-the-water energy might work in my favor. Fished a three fly team of (from top to point) a drowned hopper, Drowned Ant, and SHBHPT. The venue was a long, snotty run that would be a very manageable wade at 240cfs (59 degrees at 3pm if you’re keeping score at home).
Didn’t I feel like a genius when a fat rainbow jumped on on the second cast. But, it was on the PT. And it was the only fish to net today. So that proves how little I know.
On the other hand, while much of the east coast was working, I was standing in a gorgeous river, fishing.
Maybe I’m not so dumb after all.
Farmington River Report 6/21/16: Cane and able
Gadzooks! Can it be June 21st and I have not yet fished the Farmington with my beloved cane pole during my beloved Sulphur hatch? Begone, oh evil scheming time-space continuum! Here are some notes:
Fished the upper TMA. Water was 313cfs, clear, and cold. So cold, that I was shivering. Got to remember the fleece next time.
Hatches: Excellent! Sulphurs (16-18), caddis (18), a few small BWOs (18-20) and the ubiquitous midge. When I arrived at 5:00pm, there were sulphur duns on the water and the trout were enjoying them immensely. I find emerger patterns like the Usual and the Magic Fly to be less effective when the trout are eating duns, and that was the case last night. A classic Catskills-style dry worked nicely. By 7pm, the duns were off the water and the trout were on a second sulphur emergence (splashy rises) and spinners or something smaller (gentle porpoising). Small comparaduns and the Magic Fly size 20 worked for me.
A summer evening, a bent rod, and a My Father Le Bijou 1922 box-pressed torpedo. For one shining hour, all is right with the world.
~
My tastes in dry fly water vary, but I think what I enjoy the most is technical water that requires tricky mends. You know the kind — nasty cross-currents and variable speeds, and if you get one good, natural drift out of ten casts, you’re doing well. My first dry fly session of the year usually exposes the rust — from presentation to hook set — and last night was no exception. I stuck six fish that I lost moments after the strike. I had another dozen quality rises to my fly that came up empty. Still, I landed enough browns and rainbows to keep me chuckling.
I still don’t understand why people leave the river at 8pm. As I point out in the current issue of American Angler, the last hour of twilight in the summer is when the fish go nuts — and get reckless. The rise activity was steady and solid from 5pm-8:15pm, but in the next hour it went off the charts. And I had 75 yards of prime water all to myself. I like a size 10-12 Light Cahill Catskills dry during this time.
Once I can no longer see the fly, I use the bucket method (look it up) of strike detection. That is, unless my line suddenly comes tight because a mid-teens wild brown slaughtered the fly and is now swimming upstream with fierce conviction. Note the kype, haloed spots, white edges and full adipose.
Observations from yesterday’s Farmington River outing
I nymphed in and out of the permanent TMA for several hours and found trout in every spot. Water was around 320 cfs, 56 degrees, and clear. Not much in the way of hatch activity, although there were some caddis and midges. Four things stood out to me.
— My fish were evenly divided between the top dropper (sz 14 March Brown wingless wet) and bottom fly (sz 12 BHSHPT). So it’s good to give the fish a choice.
— One of the fish was a juvenile salmon. When I was stripping him in, a big brown gave chase and bailed just as I was lifting the salmon out of the water. I think it’s time to tie up a JV salmon flatwing.
— The last fish, a substantial wild brown in the high teens, took the fly on my first cast after I witnessed a smaller fish clear the water and another boil at the surface. Clearly, there was a caddis emergence in that brief window, and I was not surprised that he took the top dropper (which looks very caddis-y — see point number one.)
— In one spot, there were several anglers fishing in the run above me. All of them blanked. It could have been that it was just a slow day, or it could have been that they were all standing in the same place, fishing the same water for 45 minutes. If you’re not catching, move and find the fish.
Farmington River Report: “I usually get skunked.”
That was Wayne’s general assessment of his Farmington River experiences.
Of course, that was before Thursday. Wayne put on a wet fly clinic, hooking nearly double-digits in trout and landing most of them. I had Wayne fishing a traditional three-fly team, and he saw action on both the top dropper (Squirrel and Ginger size 12) and the point fly (SHBHPT size 12). We fished three locations within and outside of the permanent TMA, and found customers in all of them. Caddis, midges, and in the afternoon some Light Cahills and smaller BWOs. Water a terrific wet fly height, 350cfs, and a cool 54 degrees. Hats off to Wayne for an outstanding day.
“Are you still there?” Yes, he was, and as a result we have this bent rod to deal with.
~
Wayne admires his handiwork.
~
A different perspective on the release.
Farmington River Mini-Report 5/11/16: Hot and not
I fished below the permanent TMA yesterday from 11am-2pm. I started off indicator nymphing in a pool that was infested with rainbow trout. I caught a ridiculous number of fish in a half-hour — not a testament to any skill on my part, but rather to the aggressive nature of these trout. Most of the action was on the bottom fly, a SHBHPT. I was pleased to get one on the top dropper, a new fly for me, Liesenring’s Blue Dun Hackle (size 14). Then I went to explore some virgin wet fly water. Nice run, but I blanked with my team of three. Did likewise in two other favorite runs. (Harrumph. I covered a good third of a mile of river without so much as a tap. Nice day for wading, though.) Finished up nymphing and took one more fish. I have to say that while recently stocked rainbows are not why I fish the Farmington, some of these fish are fat and healthy and display tremendous fighting and leaping instincts. Lots of midges and a few small (size 16) caddis.
Farmington River Report 5/6/16: Hendricksons (and then some)
Sometimes I have no idea what I’m talking about.
Exhibit A: As we waded into the Farmington at 2pm, I remarked to my client Paul, “We’re going to out fish those guys four-to-one.” Some splashy rises had me convinced we were going to clean up with wet flies in this snotty run. The two anglers below us were casting dries in a more moderate flow. Cue game show wrong buzzer sfx. They got one, we got one.
Exhibit B: On Wednesday, I said to Paul, “The Hendricksons are pretty much finished here,” “here” being near the bottom of the permanent TMA. Yesterday, we were fishing well downriver, and the splashy rises were due to an outstanding Hendrickson emergence. The water surface soon became littered with Hendrickson duns. How strong was the hatch? It was raining steadily, and the flies were still easy to pick out on a mottled surface flecked with raindrops. The problem was there was nothing feasting on these easy meals. Paul persevered, and induced a rainbow to eat the middle dropper, a gray/brownish wingless wet.
We decided to head upstream. This is where it got good. The hike to our spot took us past some glassy water where a large pod of trout were picking off Hendrickson duns at will. We gave them a brief sniff of the wets — nothing. Then I suggested that we clip off the subsurface patterns in favor of a dry. The Usual size 12 was the fly, and the trout loved it. (Apparently, sometimes I do know what I’m talking about.) All you had to do was drift it over a feeder, and BANG! Game on. It was one of the better Hendrickson hatches I’ve experienced on this river. I know Paul had fun.
We went back to the wets for the last hour and managed a couple more trout. A very productive four hours, in terms of both catching and learning. Paul is well on his way.
Water was 275cfs, 49 degrees and clear. Air was 60, clouds and rain. The fishing was quite a bit hotter.
~
This isn’t the best underwater shot I’ve taken, but I do like the reflection of the spots on the surface film. Since I know where you live, see you sometime this summer.
Farmington River Report 5/4/16: Another double-digit day
The river continues to be kind to those who are inclined to swing wet flies. I had Paul out for a full day yesterday to learn the ancient and traditional subsurface method. We fished three spots and found fish willing to jump on in all of them. They took the top dropper (old reliable Squirrel and Ginger), the middle dropper (Dark Hendrickson, even though we saw no such hatch), and the point fly (BHSHPT…what else?).
How gratifying to see so much action in some truly tough conditions: river up a hundred cfs or so (350cfs in the permanent TMA), slightly stained, cold at 47 degrees. The weather was downright chilly, overcast, and it rained or misted or drizzled on us for much of the day. Very little in the way of observed hatch activity: a few stray BWOs (16-18) and some micro midges. We did see swallows feasting on some unIDed flies a hundred feet overhead in the morning. Late afternoon found a mystery hatch below the permanent TMA that had a dozen trout slashing heartily at the flies.
Well done, Paul! You’re on your way.
It’s tricky trying to figure out the hook set of a tight-line presentation, especially when you’re fairly new to the game. Paul did a great job of locating that precious equilibrium — are you still there? — as this chunky brown can confirm.
Farmington River Report 4/19/16: “I suck at nymphing.”
That’s how my client David summed up his subsurface skills on the phone.
It may have been true a few days ago. But not today. No sir. Today, friends, David was a steely-eyed nymphing missile man. He put a hurting on the trout with a yarn indicator, a single BB shot, some Pheasant Tails, and a fierce resolve to overcome that northern banshee we call wind. I don’t usually count fish, but we surpassed the dozen mark today. Way to go, David!
It must be the height of Hendrickson madness if the UpCountry lot is full at 8:45am on a Tuesday. We fished two spots outside the permanent TMA, and did well in both locations. (You know it’s going to be a good day when you hook a fish on your first demo cast.) We fished a drop-shot rig under one of my home-brew yarn indicators; the top dropper was a size 16 soft-hackled Pheasant Tail, and our point fly was a size 12 BHSHPT or an Eagan’s Frenchie (thanks, Pete!) We took fish on all three flies.
Wind was a constant challenge, but I think we’ll take unfavorable conditions if a good bite is part of the package. Hatches were meh. There was a micro burst of Hendricksons shortly before 3pm, but it was over in a matter of minutes. David capped off his day by swinging a team of wets and hooking his first trout on that setup.
Yup. Today did not suck.
A portrait of a dangerous nymphing machine.
Farmington River Report 3/31/16: Beware of the Double-H
You know of the HH: Hendrickson Hype.
Yes, Hendricksons have been spotted on the lower river. No, the hatch has not yet begun in earnest. Of course, as a currentseams reader, you have a measured response to the HH. You know that nature is always on time no matter when she shows up. And that the hatch will happen when it happens, and not a moment before, no matter how much one wishes it were so.
I can tell you it didn’t happen today. I visited four locations on the lower river from Canton to Unionville, and there wasn’t a single subvaria to be found. On the other hand, there were plenty of caddis — the Rodney Dangerfield of early spring hatches — and though there were no risers, the trout were ready and willing to jump on a swung wet fly. On my second cast of the spring with a team of three wets, whack! A fine, fat rainbow on the top dropper, a Squirrel and Ginger. How glorious to feel that tug as the flies dangled in the current below me.
Warm but uncomfortably windy today. I nymphed for about an hour, but had no takers. The bite dropped off after all those seed thingys blew into the water. 420cfs and clear.
Soon, my friends in fly fishing. Soon.
My top dropper today — heck, it’s usually my top dropper from April through August. Size 12 on a 2x short scud hook.
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