Tag Archives: Farmington River report

Farmington River Report 11/18/15: Old Reliable

I had the pleasure of guiding Mark for a half day on Wednesday. Mark is just getting back into fly fishing for trout, and we spent most of our time indicator nymphing, with a half hour dedicated to streamers. The river was low (250cfs in the Permanent TMA), clear, and cold (sorry, no temp.) Not much in the way of hatch activity, but there were fish feeding subsurface. We witnessed several trout taken, among them a healthy, fat buck rainbow that Mark nymphed up on a bead head Pheasant Tail.

Old reliable produces again. We hit two spots within the Permanent TMA, and found fish willing to take a nymph in both of them. Well done, Mark!

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Farmington River Report 10/29/15: More leaves than water

Even after Wednesday’s rain and a healthy bump in water levels (up to about 450 cfs, slight stain), the story yesterday was leaves. Lots and lots of leaves. A couple midges, a stray caddis, some lonely mayflies, and what seemed like the castoffs from every tree in People’s State Forest. Streamers were the plan, and if I threw enough mends to sink the fly I hooked less flora, but for the two hours I fished there was a distinct lack of fauna.

And there it is, in a nutshell.

Streamer leaf

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And it almost didn’t happen. I opened the back of my truck to discover I’d left my waders at home. Sal to the rescue! Sal is a friend and the owner of Legends On The Farmington. Did he have a pair of waders I could snag for a couple hours? You betcha. A JR Cuban Alternate robusto for a pair of Simms. Done and done. Sal’s place is gorgeous, and it’s right on the river at Greenwoods.

So much depends on a pair of tan waders, glazed with river water beside the white door.

Hanging waders

Farmington River Report: Low and slow

That would describe both the river and the fishing. I was on the water yesterday from 9am-2pm. I skipped the permanent TMA and visited the Lower River and some water up in New Hartford and then Riverton way.

Nymphed in five locations. Blank. A mix of deep runs and swift riffles. Tried big (sz 8 stonefly in a run whose stream side rocks were covered with shucks) and small (tiny SHPTs) and in-between. I did catch a very nice stick.

It wasn’t until I switched over to a bright yellow streamer that I saw any action. And even that was spotty as I blanked in two of the three pools I fished.

Current conditions: water is 135cfs in the permanent TMA and barely 200 in the lower river. The water was slightly off-color yesterday, although it felt cold enough everywhere I went.

If you have plans to head out this weekend, this report should not discourage you; I was very likely fishing at the wrong time (middle of the day, bright sun, hot air, low flows) and simply had bad luck with the nymphing. The trout should be gathered in the deeper pools and faster, oxygenated water. I did see some fish rising in some classic dry fly water, but I was too lazy to switch out leaders. Caddis, midges, and a few stray Light Cahill-type mayflies.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have swung wets — and followed my own advice about crickets. 🙂

Not yesterday. 

Icy guide

A few courtesy bumps. Thank you for playing.

The t-shirt would read, “I slogged all over the Farmington River for three hours in the dark, and all I got was a handful of small hits.”

Maybe it was the weather change. Maybe it was the slight stain in the water from the rains. Maybe the DEEP pulled all the big fish out for breeding. Maybe it just wasn’t my night.

After outings like this, I tell myself this is the price you pay for those off-the-charts nights where you get two dozen bumps and three or four quality fish.

Truthfully, it was worth it alone for starting off in the rain and finishing under starlight, watching my smoke rings drift off into the cool blackness of the night.

Wherefore art thou?

Big wild brown hen 8-2015

Why I love the Survivor Strain program

Not every big fish in the Farmington is wild. Here is a Survivor Strain brown from a recent outing. Large, well-developed fins, clipped adipose, and some distinctive haloing around the lower spots. I wonder what else is in that belly? The fish’s attack was textbook big brown: hit, hit, then the take. You read so many reports of people catching 18″ trout on the Farmington that I suspect a good percentage of those fish are actually short of 18, what with it being such a nice, round default number. But I can tell you with certainty that this fish was at least 18″, measured against my landing net, which I’m pleased to report had some difficulty accommodating the catch.

Farmington Survivor Strain brown

Tag Team Nymphing

I’ve been teaching Rob how to fly fish, and Friday afternoon we met for a quick indicator nymphing lesson. Even though Rob is completely new to the fly game, he landed a juvenile Atlantic salmon his first time out. Friday was our second session, and it was slow going. There wasn’t much (if any) visible hatch activity, and the water was slightly stained from the day’s earlier rains. Rob did great job casting, mending, and presenting.

Everyone learns differently, and after an hour Rob said he wanted to watch me fish. We were targeting a riffle that dumps into some deeper water, and as the two-fly rig completed the dead-drift phase, the flies began to swing up. The indicator went under, and I handed the rod off to Rob, who landed this fine wild brown.

Some substantial shoulders on this wild Farmington brown. You can just make out the faint parr remnants, and those haloed spots speak volumes about how lovely these fish can be. Taken on the bottom fly of a two-fly rig, a size 14 olive Iron Lotus.

wild Farmington River brown

Farmington River Report: I have 20. Do I hear 21?

Some fish are gifts. Others are earned.

I got a little of both on this one. Earned by putting in my time for the past six weeks, then slogging through woods and water for thirty minutes on a steamy water-pouring-down-your-face August night, dodging beavers and raccoons and who knows what else just to get to this bloody out-of-the-way spot. Then, gifted with a sharp tug just five minutes into the fishing.

Battle details: taken in water moving at a good walking pace. The hit came as the dead drift transitioned to the swing. Two sharp tugs, then hook set (it has been reaffirmed this summer that the big ones rarely miss if you let them finish the job). Once hooked, the fish sounded as is the habit of larger trout. The interior dimensions of my net are 17×13: It took multiple attempts to net him, including one botched swipe where aluminum rim collided with spotted flank in a manner it probably ought not. The fly was an olive over black Master Splinter foam-backed mouse.

For some reason, the walk out seemed quicker.

Fishin’, writin’, ‘n’ stuff

Busy is the word here at currentseams, although I have been able to get out a little bit. Due to my schedule it’s all been night action.

I fished the Farmington twice this week with mixed results. The first night was painfully slow; two or three bumps in two hours, all small fish. Last night was far more active with over a dozen bumps. One standard-issue brown to net, and one big mysterious hit that failed to hold. I did do something stupid last night: I walked down a side stem I hadn’t fished in two years to discover it was basically unfishable, then decided to walk back up a different stem that was fast, deep, and should have been the one I fished. What a workout! It wasn’t a total waste of time as I did find some very fishy hide holes that I will investigate on a future outing.

On the writing front, I just submitted a steelhead piece to Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide, and I’m putting the finishing touches on a soft-hackled flies for stripers article for American Angler. There are a few other things in the pipeline at some other pubs; I’ll let you know if they are accepted.

Finally, currentseams has reached 300 followers. Hooray! That means a fly giveaway. Details on that coming soon.

As always, thank you for your loyal readership. Writers aren’t much without readers, so I truly appreciate it.

Come say hello to currentseams. I know it’s my site, but really, most of it doesn’t suck. While you’re here, sign up to follow. You’ll get fishing reports, how-to articles, essays, fly tying, photos, videos, random stuff like this, and the occasional chance to win some flies tied by yours truly. 

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Farmington River Report: The rewards of putting in your time

After more blanks and (relatively speaking) dinks than I’d care to mention, finally a really good night. Hit four spots and found hungry fish in three of them. I had more bumps than I could count. Four fish to net, three in the upper teens, and the fourth just in at 20″.

This buck was hiding under a tree, waiting to ambush. Taken on the dead drift.

Brown Buck 8-15

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A substantial hen that crushed the fly on the swing.

Brown Hen 8-2015

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Saving the best for last. She whacked the fly on the swing, then followed up, but no hook set. Two casts later, I started to strip at the end of the swing. Ker-POW! I had a little trouble fitting her in the net.

Big wild brown hen 8-2015

Why I like foam-backed mouse patterns

Because if the gator brown photos come out lousy, you still have a record of a good night.

Evidence from a recent outing. This fly is called the Master Splinter (not my design). You can find the pattern recipe if you do an online search.

Chewed Mouse