Hours:

Wednesday 10am-3pm. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8am-6pm. Weekends 8am -5pm. We will stay on this schedule through the end of the summer.

News:

Pictured up top is an incredibly colored brown trout that Brent M. landed on Saturday, just a large and spectacular specimen of a trout. Maybe this fish colored up early for the October/November spawn? Or maybe it just ate a ton of crayfish. It's cool how different every brown trout looks. 

We are still looking for one more part-time employee, someone who knows the river well, is experienced and knowledgeable about flyfishing, and has a flexible schedule.

We will match most advertised deals and sales from other stores, local or on the internet. We want your business, and as your friends and local fly shop please come to us first if we can help. Our business only survives because of your support.

We’ve taken in 4 different book collections recently, we literally have so many used books there is not room on our bookshelves! There are some excellent titles in the recent batches. FYI we also have quite a few autographed books.

Steve Culton's brand new book "Fly Fishing the Farmington River" is out now, and it is fantastic. Sold our 125th and last copy this morning, and just when we thought we would be out, UPS came to the rescue with another 80 books this afternoon. The book contains detailed information on the river, from the Hogback Dam in Riverton down to Tariffville Gorge. There is an updated hatch chart, new fishing locations, specific techniques and strategies for the Farmington, suggested fly patterns, plus detailed info from guides & river regulars. Steve will be doing a book signing on August 22nd, 11am to 2pm at UpCountry. Copies will be on hand for purchase or bring yours.

River  Report:

We are sitting pretty with plenty of cold water being released from the dam, which is keeping the river cooler, and creating trout-friendly temps further downstream. After months of low flows, we finally have optimal water levels. The water temp behind UpCountry in New Hartford, 11 miles below the dam, is a cool 54.2 degrees at 8:45am this morning. At the top of the river, Riverton is an icy cold 48 degrees at the Rt 20 bridge. The flow at the 318 bridge in Barkamsted is 309cfs, with the Still River providing 42cfs of that. I'd call this a medium and excellent water level. The state (DEEP) will trim the release back to 225cfs sometime today, giving us about 270 CFS total through our Catch & Release area.

For you nymphers, these improved flows means a lot more fishable water. Summer & early fall usually means mostly smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range, even 24's. The exceptions are #10-12 Isonychia from mid afternoon through the evenings, and first light to about 10am with big #8-10 Stoneflies (Stones in the early/mid mornings is a cheat code for bigger trout). I'd use 5x for bigger nymphs, and 6x for the others. Nymphs can be fished Euro style, with an Indicator, or underneather a buoyant/visible dry fly (Dry/Dropper). Focus on the faster, broken water, look for current breaks and structure. If you can find shaded water, even better. 

We are getting morning reports of Tricos as far up as Campground Pool, albeit the peak hatch is in New Hartford and the lower half of the Permanent TMA/C&R. Typically the main event with that hatch is the spinner fall, which happens in the mornings at an air temp of approximately 68 degrees. The spinners will form a literal ball in the air over the riffles right before they drop and fall to the water. During hot weather, it can happen as early as first light. When you have truly cold nights with cool air in the mornings, I've seen it happen as late as 10am. Tricos average a #24, and require a long leader 12' plus, with a long tippet of 7x.

The most dry fly activity lately seems to be from Campground Pool upstream to the dam during the afternoon and early evening, toward dark almost anywhere on the river will produce. Nymphing the fast water will provide the most consistant catches, but there are plenty of trout being caught on the surface, as well matching hatches, plus pitching terrestrials (ants, beetles), or even tossing attractor drys on fast water (Chubby Chernobyls, Stimulators). Blind fishing ants & beetles is highly underrated this time of year. Don't forget about Dry/Dropper rigs, with a small weighted nymph 1.5-2' below a buoyant and visible dry fly.

Current hatches include Tricos #22-26, Isonychia #10-12, small Blue Winged Olives #20-24, Rusty Spinners #12-24, Cahills/Summer Steno’s #12-16, Attenuata #18-20, and egg-laying Caddis #18-22 (tan, black). Sulfurs continue to hatch in the Riverton area but are likely near the end. Morning bugs include Tricos #22-26, Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24, Needhami Duns #22-26, Needhami Spinners #22-26, and Tan Caddis #18.  Dry/Dropper combinations are working well for many anglers. Try an Isonychia Comparadun trailed by a tiny nymph like #18-20 Baetis or a Zebra Midge to catch trout in fast water, or a Caddis dry trailing a Caddis pupa.

The Farmington has trout-friendly water temps for a good ways downriver, but if you go far enough below the Hogback Dam, you will eventually run into water temps that are too high to ethically trout fish (over 68 degrees), especially in the afternoons and evenings on hotter sunny days. Mornings after a cool night allow you to start your fishing further south and work your way upstream to stay in cold water as the day progresses and water temps increase. Typically you can start as far downstream in the mornings as New Hartford/Canton, but you may need to move upriver a bit in the afternoons & evenings. Use your thermometer to guide you. Riverton just above the Still River has been ranging from about 48 degrees (mornings) up to the low/mid 50's in the afternoons. 65-68 degrees should be used as a cutoff to move upriver and find cooler water.

Fishing is more technical in August due to the normally lower flows and months of fishing pressure “educating” the trout, but it can be very good if you know what you are doing. Be stealthy, wear drab clothing, and use 12' or longer leaders with long & light 3-6' tippets in the 6x-7x range. This is prime dry fly time, but it is also good for nymphing, streamers can be good at first & last night (after rain too), and this is a great time of year to go throw bushy Mouse patterns after dark. Lower water also creates more dry fly fishing, as it makes it more efficient for trout to feed on the surface due to slower & shallower flows. Higher flows have the opposite effect and favor subsurface presentations.

This time of year when you are nymphing, look for fast water, and if it’s in the shade even better. Small nymphs #18-24 can be the difference between a slow day and a great one. 6X tippet helps, but 5x is typically okay if you don’t want to go light. Thinner tippet sinks lightweight flies better, and the greater flexibility lets you flies drift more naturally. Don’t sleep on smaller jig streamers in olive or tan. Try also switching to a Junk Fly after you have run your normal nymphs through a run, it will often add fish to your tally. 

Hatches: 

Dries:

-Tricos #22-26: the main event for this morning hatch is the spinner fall, which normally happens when the air temps hit 68 degrees. Getting Trico reports as far upstream as Campground. 

-Isonychia #10-12: Fast water bug, usually about 4pm to dark. Can also be on the water in the late mornings/early afternoons sometimes

-Sulfur #18 (Dorothea): Still hatching in Riverton above the Still River, hatch is probably near the end. Typically an evening bug, but we sometimes will also see them hatch around mid afternoon, especially as you get closer to the dam in colder water.

-Attenuatta #18-20: evenings, often confused with Sulfurs but they are slightly smaller and more of a bright greenish-yellow almost chartreuse color. Hatch is in Riverton now and near the end. 

-Assorted Caddis (tan, olive/green #16-20, black, gray #18-22) 

-Beetles & Ants #12-20: great option from late morning to early evenings, especially when bugs are not hatching

-Blue Winged Olives/BWO’s #18-24: afternoon hatch on cloudy days, also on the water in the last hour of daylight in flat pool water. Don’t sleep on #18-22 rusty spinners at dusk.

-Needhami #22-26: mornings, spinners & duns

-Light Cahill/Summer Steno #12-16: evenings

-Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24: hatch is typically early to mid morning. Trout focus on the pupa first, and then as the morning progresses they normally switch to the winged adults when they return to egg-lay. Try both twitching & dead-drifting your fly, trout often key on movement with this bug. 

-Midges #20-28: 365 days a year

Nymphs:

-Caddis Pupa #16-18 (tan, olive/green)

-Caddis Larva (olive to green) #14-16: tons of these in the river, good all year

-Pheasant Tails/Frenchies #12-22: imitates a wide range of Mayflies including Sulfurs, Vitreus, Baetis/Blue Winged Olives, Isonychia, small Stoneflies, Hendricksons, and more

-Walt's Worms #14-20: great general purpose nymph that suggests many different bugs, especially Caddis on this river. 

-Isonychia Nymph #10-12: dead-drift, swing, twitch, and even strip them in. They are great swimmers, and some days trout prefer different presentations- you won't know until you experiment. Use BMAR Iso, and also large Princes & Pheasant Tails. 

-Baetis/BWO Nymphs #16-22

-”Junk Flies” (Eggs, Mops, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Green Weenies): Often work when standard nymphs fail, especially when there aren’t many hatches.

 -Stonefly Nymphs #8-10: golden/yellow, brown, black, Stoneflies are a mouthful that can be hard for trout to pass up, and there are a surprising amount of them in the river. Good choice when flows are up. Some days when trout won’t move for a small nymph, it takes a bigger bite of food to get an eat. Often catches larger than average fish. Best in early morning during summer

 -Midges #18-22 (black, olive, red): Zebra Midge, Flash Midge, Red Iris Midge, etc.

Streamers:

-Periods of higher/dirty water are a great time to fish big streamers and target big trout. Also early & late in the day during periods of low light.

-Woolly Bugger #4-12: assorted colors, try also Don's Peach Bugger

-Zonker #4-6: a classic fish catcher! In white, natural

-BMAR Yellow Matuka #6: deadly fly! Also standard Matuka in olive, brown

-Zuddler #4-6: olive, brown, white, black, yellow-

-Articulated Streamers 4-6" long: various patterns to target the biggest trout in the river

-Muddler Minnow #6-10: and old classic that is still deadly

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UpCountry Sportfishing is always looking for good used fly fishing gear for casth and trade. This is how we get those great items you list on our website and you see on our racks. We buy fly rods, fly reels, quality classic bamboo, and fly tying equipment etc. Bring in your old items and we can help turn them into something new. We give more for trade ins than anywhere else. Call ahead for an appointment.

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