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.

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.

Pictured up top is customer and friend John Antolini with a sweet brown he caught over the weekend. 

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.

Last week we received Steve Culton's brand new book. "Fly Fishing the Farmington River", and it looks fantastic. Books are starting to run low but we have plenty more on the way. The book contains detailed information on the river, from the dam in Riverton down to Tariffville Gorge. Seasons, hatches, locations, techniques, 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. Bring a copy or buy one on that day.

The Farmington River water height gauges are finally working again on our website. USGS changed the way they provided the information a few months back and nuked our page. Thanks to a web developer we now have have updated water height, cfs, temperature, wind, and weather available to anyone traveling to the river again. The page is actually better than it was before. See it from the Local Conditions page on the menu.

River Report:

Live water level and weather data can be found on our Local Conditions page. The Farmington is 206cfs (medium) in Riverton below the Hogback Dam with a light stain, 746cfs and very brown from Pipeline Pool / The Ballfield through the year round Catch & Release area. Time to throw some streamers and Junk Flies! - Tuesday should be a really good streamer day as the flow drops and clears. We will update later in the week as water conditions change. Once the rain stops later today, the Still River will drop and the Farmington below Riveron will clear. Tuesday & Wednesday will be mostly sunny with zero rain.

The Farmington is like two different rivers above and below the Still River, especially after a significant rain like we just had. It can be high and dirty below the Still, and low to medium and clear above that. In the summer the water comes out of the dam ice cold and clear (we are still in the mid 40's!!!), while the Still River runs much warmer and gets dirty after a good rain. It goes up fast when it rains, but it drops almost as fast. Be aware that when the Still River comes up in the summertime, it is adding in warmer water and can cause the river to warm up faster as you move away from the dam. The HOBO temperature gauge right behind UpCountry will also be a big help in determining how far downstream you can ethically fish in the summer.

You can still use normal flies and tactics in the upper river above the Still River, but at least for today in the high, water you need to adjust your tactics and flies. Medium to large bulky streamers, Junk Flies (Mops, Squirmy/San Juan Worms, Egg Flies), and large nymphs such as Princes, and Stoneflies and are top choices when the flow is up and colored. Fish closer to the banks, out of the main current. Look for inside bends, current seams, and big rocks that create softer holding water behind them. As flows drop and clear, return to smaller, more imitative patterns. If you are flexible about where on the river you fish there is always catchable trout. 

Current hatches include 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. Morning bugs include Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24, Needhami Duns #22-26, Needhami Spinners #22-26, and Tan Caddis #18. Ants & Beetles are good dries to fish between late morning and early evening when there aren’t too many bugs hatching. 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.

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 afternoonsand 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. Use your thermometer to guide you. Riverton just above the Still River has been ranging from about 47 to 55 degrees. 65-68 degrees should be used as a cutoff to move upriver and find cooler water.

Fishing is more technical in August due to 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:

-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. Typically and 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 moving upriver, not sure of the downstream limit. 

-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 #14-18 (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

-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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If you like our fishing report, please consider buying your gear from us. We generally ship the same day, for free anywhere in the country for all orders over $75. We ship small orders via mail or UPS for a small cost. Our shop can only exist with your patronage.

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.

2026 Connecticut fishing licenses are available in store at our front counter.

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