Pictured is customer Mike Andrews holding on of the many quality brown he has caught recently.

Hours:

Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm.
 

News:

The entire upper 21 miles from the dam in Riverton down to the Rt. 177 bridge in Unionville is Catch & Release now, from 9/1 through the 2nd Saturday in April 2027. 

Steve Culton's brand new book "Fly Fishing the Farmington River" is out now, and it is fantastic. 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. We have of plenty of  in stock available in the shop and in our online store here: Book

UpCountry is busy improving our twice weekly fishing reports and expanding our online store. We will match most advertised deals and sales from other stores, local or on the internet. Don't hesitate to ask. As your local fly shop please come to us first if we can help. We do what we do because of our love of the Farmington River, spending countless hours in pursuit of its conservation, and genuinely regard our customers as friends. We hope to continue to earn your business with better service and an unending support of the future of our precious river.

We offer in store pickup if you are coming to the Farmington plus free, fast shipping on orders over $70 if you can't make it. Our goal is to have more of our products online to buy so you can see what we have before coming out to the shop.

For more fish photos, store announcements and river news visit our Facebook page.

River Report:
The good conditions & excellent fishing continue. Flow is medium-low and normal for this time of year, at 223cfs in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release, with water temps ranging from the low the 50's in Riverton to the mid 60's in the lower stretches toward Canton. Seeing some pretty decent hatches, including #10-14 Isonychia (Iso's), assorted Caddis averaging #16-20, #20-24 Blue Winged Olives (BWO's/Olives) #20-24, Flying Ants #16-24, Hebe's/Yellow Quills #16-18, Summer Stenos/Cahills #12-14, and Yellow Sally #14-16. The majority of these bugs are typically on the water from late afternoon through darkness, but with the Farmington being a cold tailwater they can also be out in the latter mornings and afternoons. Early to midmorning has been bringing Trico's #22-26 & Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24.

Nymphing has been a consistent producer when trout aren't rising. Focus on the choppy water with some current. A lot of the best fishing currently is in riffly water with a bit of current and some chop to it, whether you are fishing dries or nymphs. Many bugs live and hatch in faster water, and the evening egg-laying/spinner falls occurs where the riffles are. Smaller, heavy jig streamers fished slow & deep are a great fly to fish after you are done nymphing a run, often producing a bonus fish or two or three. Junk Flies (Mops, Eggs, Worms) are also good "clean up batter" flies. 

Make sure you have Flying Ants with you. There have been a mix of sizes from #16's to #24's. Typically a mid/late afternoon to evening deal. Match the size, or you may be highly frustrated. Trout love ants and will often key on them to exclusion of anything else. The ideal scenario for flying ants is a humid day with a little rain the day before to get them to do a mating swarm.

September often means using smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range. A good strategy at our current flows is to use a heavier #16-18 nymph at the bottom of your rig, and a smaller lighter pattern on a dropper 18-24" above. Two nymphs that break the rules are Isonychia #12-14 in the afternoon & evening, and Stoneflies (black, brown or yellow) #8-10 from daybreak to 9-10am. Use 5x for the large nymphs, and 6x for the others. Look for areas of faster current with rocks and structure plus places where the water is slowing into the heads of pools. A "pool" can be large, or just a deeper spot inside of larger runs. Look for water shaded by trees and hills, keeping an eye on the angle of the sun on bright days. Euro nymphing is working well in fast water. Traditional indicator nymphing is better in slower water, when fishing at distance, or on really windy days. Dry/Dropper with a small weighted nymph 18-24" under a buoyant and visible dry fly is also effective and fun. They normally eat the nymphs, but you do get some bonus dry fly eats.

Hatches: 

Dries: 

-Isonychia #10-14: Fast water bug, usually about 4pm to dark. Can also be on the water in the late mornings/early afternoons sometimes. Even if you don't see any hatching and no trout are rising, you can successfully blind-fish these in riffly water that you would normally nymph. 

-Blue Winged Olives/BWO’s #20-24: afternoon hatch on cloudy days, also on the water later in the day when the sun goes off the water. Don’t sleep on #18-22 rusty spinners at dusk.

-Hebe #16-18 (Little Yellow Quill): a dull yellow Sulfur-type mayfly we see in August/September in the late afternoon & evenings. Standard Sulfur patterns will work for this hatch.

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

-Tricos #22-26: the main event for this morning hatch is the spinner fall, which normally happens when the air temps hit 68 degrees.

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

-Yellow Sally #14-20: A smaller Stonefly that lives in fast water, looks like a miniature Golden Stone.

-Light Cahill/Summer Steno #12-14: 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, Hebe's (Yellow Quill), 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 #10-14: 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. Dead-drift, swing, twitch, and strip the nymphs. Use BMAR Iso, and also large Princes & Pheasant Tails. 

-Baetis/BWO Nymphs #16-22

-Yellow Sally #14-18: small Stonefly that looks like a miniature Golden Stone. Lives under rocks in fast water. Active & hatching in September here. 

-”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. Look for the empty shucks on top of rocks where they crawl out to emerge in fast water.

 -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. They are a good clean-up fly to try before right before you leave a spot. 

-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 cash 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.