Tag Archives: Farmington River report

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.

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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.

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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.

Squirrel & Ginger

Farmington River Report 3/16/16: Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin’ alive.

I had the good fortune to spend several hours in the permanent TMA today, and what the catching lacked in numbers was more than made up for in overall size. Three trout, one mid-teens wild brown, and two high teens Survivor Strain browns. You can always tell when you have a substantial fish on from the head shaking and the sulking along the bottom — and if those fish are stream-born or long-term residents, they come even less quietly.  The water was cool, clear, and running about 480cfs. Midges, early grey stones, and some un-IDed spinners about a 16-18. And, lest we forget, a magnificent Casa Fernandez Toro from Miami.

What the hellgrammite? I fished him out of the water as he was making his way downstream. As General Patton would say, you are one ugly sonuvabitch.

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All my fish today came on the top dropper, a size 14 Hare-and-Copper variant (you can see the fly here). This was my second Survivor Strain and the last fish of the day. No mistaking the takes today, as the indicator went under hard each time.

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Stayin’ alive. You can identify a Survivor Strain brown from its clipped adipose fin.

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Off you go. One of the more satisfying aspects of landing a nice fish is giving it the opportunity to swim away. When next we meet…because I know where you live.

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Farmington River Report 3/8/16: Enough to keep me interested

I fished multiple locations today above and within the permanent TMA. The purpose of my forays above were to see if I could locate some pods of recent wards of the state. Those efforts were a failure, unless you count one brown, a delicious cigar, 60-degree March sunshine, and not working to be the benchmarks of success. Wait. Hold on a minute here. I may need to recalibrate my thinking…

The fishing today was mostly streamers, save for about a half-hour of nymphing. Nothing on nymphs, but given the water I fished, I wasn’t surprised. The trout have not yet spread out into the faster sections. All my action today came in slower, deeper pools and runs. They liked the Hi-Liter and the Deep Threat in olive/grey. The lone fresh stockee I caught took the Hi-Liter as it was wallowing in the current below me; the other more seasoned residents came on very slow retrieves in fairly deep water, some of it over-head deep. The flow was 480cfs, 40 degree water temperature. Lots of active early grey stones, sz 14-16. Nothing rising to them.

It was mobbed for a Tuesday in early March. If you’re heading out over the next few days, gird your loins. It may look more like a weekend in late April. Perhaps the warmer weather will get the bite going. Every angler I spoke to today reported little to no action. Thanks to those who struck up conversions and introduced themselves. It’s always a pleasure meeting people who read my stuff or follow currentseams.

Is it me or are we missing an R?

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Farmington River Report 2/23/16: Laughter in the rain

For once this winter I guessed right that a lousy weather report would keep most anglers home. I find it generally unbearable when the temperature is in the mid-thirties and it’s raining, but when you’re catching, elements-induced misery somehow slides to the rear.

Winter nymphing on the Farmington this season has been as predictable as Donald Trump’s hair. The fish are in the usual pools, then concentrated within certain sub-areas of those pools. Get your fly into those sub-areas, and you’re an instant expert. Miss them by a few feet, and you’re Baron Von Blankenstein. Today I had a prime spot; the angler across from me did not. We fished the same general area, but I out-caught him 6:1. (This has nothing to do with ability and everything to do with real estate.)

I started with a size 12 BHSHPT on the bottom and a size 18 midge-type on top dropper. They loved the PT. After I lost my rig, I re-tied with a size 14 Hare and Copper and took two more on that. It rained on and off; five minutes into one of the heavier spells the fish put on the feed bag; sadly, it only lasted for about ten minutes. The permanent TMA was running 340cfs, clear, and cold, although I expect the levels and clarity are changing dramatically as I write this.

On the menu today: creamy micro-midges and W/S caddis.

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Farmington River Report 2/10/16: A few extra foot-pounds per second

Maybe if I had applied that measured pressure to my gas pedal, I would have gotten to the river sooner. But here I was, and the prime water — where I got all my fish Tuesday — was on lockdown. (So much for inclement weather and mid-week timing. Bah. I liked winter fishing better when you could expect half-miles of the TMA to yourself.) I decided to make do with points elsewhere in the same run, usually a fair bet. But today that water was the difference between fishing and catching. I fished hard, and I fished well, but whatever was seeing my flies wasn’t eating. Silver linings? There’s something about cigar smoke twisting through snowflakes that brings out the romantic in me. River was 230cfs in the permanent TMA, very lightly stained and cold.

Jack explains the finer points of winter nymphing to Lloyd.

Jack Torrance

Farmington River Report 2/4/16: Ixnay on the Unkskay

There’s a time and a place to be an intrepid explorer, and that time was…Tuesday. Today I wanted to catch some trout. Winter fishing being like buying real estate — location, location, location — I headed for the retail district. Not too crowded, and people willing to share the water (thanks, Zach and friend).

So it wasn’t stupid good, but it was good enough that after 90 minutes I had enough house money to want to go spend it elsewhere. A few notes about the river and fishing:

The permanent TMA was about 400cfs and slightly off-color. The closer you got to the Still, the murkier the water. And it was cold. I’m guessing 34/35 degrees.

Indicator nymphing was the method. The water I fished was neither slow nor deep, but I decided early on to fish two BB shot on my drop shot rig to slow the drift. It seemed to work.

I took several trout in what I would describe as “softer water,” that transition zone between current seam and frog water.

The takes were on the subtle side. No indicator screeching to a halt, or dramatically plummeting to the depths; it was the equivalent of a trout sipping a midge off the surface. It was simply no longer there. Hook set downstream, and off we go.

All my fish today had an intact adipose and were in the 12″-15″ class. I fished a size 12 (2x short) SHBHPT on bottom, and a size 16 (2x short) new midge emerger/nymph thingy I made up last night on the dropper. I am mildly depressed to report that there was no interest in the new fly. But I’m confident that some day there will be.

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See you Saturday!

 

 

 

Farmington River Report 2/2/16: Blankety-blank

I’ll make a long story short: I blanked today. In keeping with the time-honored tradition of making excuses, I spent most of the day out of the permanent TMA, fishing in spots I don’t usually fish in the winter. Serves me right for wanting to explore and avoid the crowds. So while the catching stunk, the fishing was extraordinary. Mostly nymphing, but I tried streamers as well. I know I was getting deep enough, as several rigs and flies were donated to the river gods. We’ll get ’em next time. Rain on the way. That’s good, because I don’t like the river at this height (205cfs/305cfs).

I know where you live. I just didn’t visit today.

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Farmington River Report 12/15/15: Low and slow

I really don’t like the river at this height (170cfs and falling in the the permanent TMA), especially in winter. Still, it’s hard to argue with air temperatures in the mid 50s in December. I bounced around to a bunch of spots today, switching between nymphs and streamers. Not a touch on the nymphs. The streamer thing was a little more interesting.

I had one solid bump (no hookup), bagged a juvy salmon, and had over a half dozen quality chases/follows that did not result in a hookup. A couple of the spots I fished allowed me to stand on submerged rocks or riverbank boulders. In addition to making casting easier, these also offered a tremendous vantage point for sight fishing to cruising trout — and to watch how they reacted to my offerings.

There’s one spot on the river where I’ve moved a fish my last two outings. He comes out of his hole, flashes at the streamer, then bails. Since I know where he lives, it is a moral imperative that I catch him this winter. Another fish today was an upper teens brown that was waiting in ambush below a ledge. Every time I changed flies, he came out to inspect it. During one follow — there were three of them — he even nudged the fly (Deep Threat) with his nose. But no completion of the transaction. Again, we have his address.

I had a conversation with Grady at UpCountry about all this on my way home, and we were in agreement that a faster retrieve is probably a good plan of action. Although I did plenty of speedy retrieves today, such as you can do with the fly rod.

If you’re heading out, be prepared for crowds. Of the six places I fished today, there were people in four of them — unheard of most Decembers — and none of the pools were named for a house of worship.