Pat Torrey is our resident Zen Master of nymph fishing. Here is a quick tip from his wisdom.

Blue Winged Olives and the Wet Fly

If you are the type of angler who is looking for a different kind of fall fishing experience, we at UpCountry just might have the answer for you: fish the fall Baetis with little Blue Winged Olive wets.

Almost every afternoon from mid October until the first week of December  the Farmington River has a very consistent hatch of small Baetis mayflies, size 26-28. The extended time frame of the hatch allows the fish to get pretty familiar with this food source. Most anglers fish this hatch with standard dry fly and emerger patterns, which become less and less effective as time goes on.

As an alternative: try fishing the Baetis hatch below the surface with soft hackled wet fly imitations that are seldom used. To paraphrase the late Gary LaFontaine: if you want to catch more fish, fish when other fishermen don’t; fish where other fishermen don’t, and fish how other fishermen don’t.

Blue Wing Olive Wet
Hook: 
Tiemco 100 or 2487

Body: 
Olive brown fur or olive thread

Tail: 
Blue dun wet hackle or brown zelon

Rib: 
Gold wire (optional)

Hackle: 
Blue dun wet hackle

Updated
  07/30/10 08:55 AM

Northwestern Connecticut Weather  

Water levels for the Farmington River & Still River

2010 Licenses available for residents and nonresidents

  Hours: Mon to Fri 8am - 6pm / Sat & Sun 6am - 5pm

Gift Certificates Available in Store or by Mail

Friday 7/30/10 - The Farmington is flowing through the catch and release area at 220cfs. Water temps are in the lower 60's

Tricos (sz 22-28) have begun to show up in the West Branch Trout Management area. Expect the Trico Duns to hatch at daybreak, followed by Trico Spinners from 7:30am on. Tan Caddis (sz 18-20), Black Ants (sz 14-18), Beetles (sz 12-16), Needhami Duns (sz 22-26) Midges (sz 22-32) and Winter/Summer Caddis (sz 18-22) are strong during the day. Isonychia (sz 10-14) have been hatching strong from 5pm to dark.  Terrestrials and Attracters have been as the best bet during the Afternoon with trout being caught on Hoppers, Crickets, Stimulators, and Carpenter Ants.

Added Some great rods to the Used/Store Specials page, including Sage, Winston, Orvis, Loomis and more.

Outdoor enthusiast and River Guide Michael Carl has launched a new website promoting his business Eastern Ct Fly Fishing.  

Upcoming Classes:

Beginning Fly Fishing with Marla Blair. FFF certified casting instructor Marla Blair will be holding her next beginning fly fishing class at Upcountry on Saturday July 31th, from 7am to 4pm. Her class a comprehensive look at what it takes to begin fly fishing from the basic knots, equipment and insect identification to proper casting, presentation and catching trout. tuition is $150. Contact Marla Blair at www.marlablair.com to register. Two spots left

Links:

www.TroutPredator.com - Aaron Jasper's website offering Farmington and Housatonic River information, plus great articles and information on specialized techniques for catching big trout. 

www.Catching-Shadows.com - Rich Strolis's great website featuring information on fishing the Farmington River plus a growing collection of videos detailing Rich's unique fly patterns. 

www.Flyaddict.com has now grown to over 1000 members since its launch and is fast becoming the premier place for fishing reports and conversation in the region. If you haven't yet... I suggest registering for free on the forum page and checking it out. The site is receiving daily reports from the Farmington, plus reports from the Naugatuck, Willimantic, Housatonic and others

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Friday 3/12/2010 - 2010 Licenses are now available. The Farmington is flowing through the catch & release area at 700cfs. Anglers have been catching trout all week though the fishing has been a bit more challenging due to the increased flow from the dam. Gray Stoneflies (sz 16), Little Black Stoneflies (sz 20-24), Winter/Summer Caddis (sz 18-22), and Midges (sz 22-32) continue to produce on the surface. Nymphs and streamers of all types are working underneath. The lower catch & release in Collinsville was stocked this week though the larger trout are still coming from the upper TMA. River Guide Rich Strolis reported that he had caught more than one 20" plus trout this week.

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Matt Sweeney caught this 27"+ monster rainbow on 5/31/09 using a small caddis pupa. click the photo for a better look.

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Aaron Jasper caught this 28" Brown on 4/17/09

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