New Hours:

Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm. This will be our schedule through the end of the summer. 

News:

Longtime UpCountry employee Don Butler passed away this summer, and Grady wrote a nice tribute piece on our blog. Click here for a link to this post. 

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

Pictured up top is a perfect Farmington River brown trout that Brent M. nymphed up on Sunday, it looks wild to my eyes (always an educated guess). The spotting patterns on browns are like fingerprints, every fish is unique. This one has a LOT of spots on it!

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

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 books in stock available in the shop and in our online store here:

https://www.farmingtonriver.com/fly-fishing-guide-to-fishing-the-farmington-river-by-steve-culton/

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.

An Orvis rod & Lamson reel was lost near the Ovation/Hurley Building recently, please turn it in at UpCountry if you found it, or give us a call so we can reunite it with its owner. We also have a fly box that was turned in.

We are fully restocked on Smith sunglasses, and we are doing 10% off on Smith this week though 9/3, for instore customers only. Some great new styles and lenses in the case.

River Report:

Nice hatch of #20-24 Blue Winged Olives late yesterday afternoon into the evening, with plenty of trout rising. It's been a good summer here for dry fly fishing. #10-12 Isonychia, #16-22 assorted Caddis, #24 Tricos, #16-18 Hebe's (Yellow Quill/Fall Sulphur), #16-24 Flying Ants, #12-14 Summer Stenos/Cahills, #18-24 Summer/Winter Caddis are all possibilities. Iso's (Isnonychia) are great because they are a big Mayfly and they can be blind-fished in the fast water, even if nothing is rising. Don't forget about terrestrials like beetles & ants. If you are nymphing in late summer/early fall, usually that means go small, as in #18-22. Exceptions include big Stoneflies #8-10 in the mornings, and #12 Iso nymphs in the afternoons/eves. Try mousing after dark with a short leader and heavy tippet to target trophy browns. 

We received a little less than 1/2" of rain overnight, water levels are virtually unchanged- more rain is in the forecast for this afternoon through Thursday. The total flow below the Still River in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release is an excellent 227cfs, a statistically normal flow for late August/early September and a medium-low level. It's 213cfs at the Rt 20 bridge in Riverton, and a little below that the Still River is adding in 21cfs. The water temperature in Riverton above the Still River is running in the low 50's, and New Hartford is mid 50's to low 60's. All this means you can fish down to New Hartford and even Canton- You don't need to migrate upstream in the afternoon to stay in cold water. These are fantastic late summer conditions. Kudos to the CT DEEP for being conservative with their water management and keeping the river cold and keeping water in the river. As we get into the second half of September and daytime highs starting averaging mid/upper 60's and night consistently get cold (50's and even upper 40's), the lower river in Collinsville, Unionville, and Farmington will be back in play. You're looking for water temps below 68 degrees, and ideally 65 degrees or less. Bring a thermometer! 

Lots of happy anglers walking through out doors, and there has been very good dry fly action, albeit it can be technical at moments. Trout fishing remains solid, with fish being caught on dries, nymphs, wet flies/soft hackles, streamers, and mouse patterns at night. 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. Make sure you 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.  

You will often find trout rising in the fast water to Caddis & Isonychia between late afternoon and dusk. You can even blind fish the Iso's even when trout are not rising, they are used to seeing them and are constantly on the lookout. Iso's start here in June and go through October and even into November - they slowly get smaller as the season progresses. Right now they are mostly #10-12, and by October they will average a #14 and have a more olivish cast to them. There are plenty of trout being caught on the surface by matching the hatches throughout the day, 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. 

Summer & early fall usually means mostly smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range- ging smaller can be the difference between a rough day or one filled with fish. The main exceptions are #12 Isonychia from mid afternoon through the evenings, and first light to about 10am with big #8-10 Stoneflies. Ideally I'd use 5x for bigger nymphs, and 6x for the others. Nymphs can be fished Euro style, with an Indicator, or underneath 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 on sunny days, even better.

There are morning Trico hatches & spinner falls on most of the river. The main event with Tricos is the spinner fall, which happens in the mornings at an air temp of approximately 68 degrees. The spinners will often 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 longer the better).

Current hatches include Tricos #22-26, Isonychia #10-14, small Blue Winged Olives #18-24, Rusty Spinners #12-24, Cahills/Summer Steno’s #12-16, Hebe's #16-18 ("Little Yellow Quill"), Yellow Sally #14-20, and Caddis #16-22 (tan, black). Morning bugs include Tricos #22-26, Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24, Needhami Duns & Spinner  #22-26, and Tan Caddis #18.  Dry/Dropper combinations are working well for many anglers. Try an Isonychia Comparadun/Sparkle Dun 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. 

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. 

-Isonychia #10-12: 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. 

-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) 

-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 later in the day when the sun goes off the water. Don’t sleep on #18-22 rusty spinners at dusk.

-Yellow Sally #14-20: hatches in August & September. It's a smaller Stonefly that lives in fast water, looks like a miniature Golden Stone

-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, 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 #10-12: 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. 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.

-”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

___________________

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 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.

New Hours:

Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm. This will be our schedule through the end of the summer. 

News:

Longtime UpCountry employee Don Butler passed away this summer, and Grady wrote a nice tribute piece on our blog. Click here for a link to this post. 

Pictured up top is local guide Dave Machowski with a BIG rainbow (between 4.75-5 pounds on my scale, about 21"), definitely a holdover from the April Riverton Derby. It was fooled with a #20 nymph in some fast water. It took a fly change and a weight adjustment to get her to eat. Some serious girth on that big girl. I guess elephants DO eat peanuts, lol. 

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

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 books in stock available in the shop and in our online store here:

https://www.farmingtonriver.com/fly-fishing-guide-to-fishing-the-farmington-river-by-steve-culton/

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.

An Orvis rod & Lamson reel was lost near the Ovation/Hurley Building recently, please turn it in at UpCountry if you found it, or give us a call so we can reunite it with its owner. We also have a fly box that was turned in.

We are fully restocked on Smith sunglasses, and we are doing 10% off on Smith this week though 9/3, for instore customers only. Some great new styles and lenses in the case.

River Report:

Tiny Flying Ants were all over the place yesterday evening, and the trout were rising all over the river. I saw quite a few Blue Winged Olives (BWO's) from about #18-22 in the late afternoon and evening. Caddis trickled off throughout the day, especially in the latter morning. Saw some Trico's in mid-morning. 

The total flow below the Still River in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release is a beautiful 230cfs, a statistically normal flow for late August and a medium-low level. It's 213cfs at the Rt 20 bridge in Riverton, and a little below that the Still River is adding in 17cfs. Riverton above the Still River is running in the low 50's, and New Hartford is mid 50's to low 60's. Lowest water temps are in the mornings. This means you can fish down to New Hartford and even Canton- you don't need to migrate upstream in the afternoon to stay in cold water. These are fantastic late August conditions. Kudos to the CT DEEP for being conservative with their water management and keeping the river cold and keeping water in the river.

Lots of happy anglers walking through out doors, and  there has been very good dry fly action, albeit it can be technical at moments. Trout fishing remains solid, with fish being caught on dries, nymphs, wet flies/soft hackles, streamers, and mouse patterns at night. 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. Make sure you match the size, or you will 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.  

You will often find trout rising in the fast water to #16-18 Tan Caddis and #10-14 Isonychias between late afternoon and dusk. You can even blind fish the Iso's even when trout are not rising, they are used to seeing them and are constantly on the lookout. Iso's start here in June and go through October and even into November - they slowly get smaller as the season progresses. There are plenty of trout being caught on the surface by matching the hatches throughout the day, 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. 

Summer & early fall usually means mostly smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range. The main exceptions are #10-12 Isonychia from mid afternoon through the evenings, and first light to about 10am with big #8-10 Stoneflies. Ideally I'd use 5x for bigger nymphs, and 6x for the others. Nymphs can be fished Euro style, with an Indicator, or underneath 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 on sunny days, even better.

Morning Trico hatches on most of the river. Trico hatching & spinner falls. The main event with Tricos 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 longer the better).

Current hatches include Tricos #22-26, Isonychia #10-14, small Blue Winged Olives #20-24, Rusty Spinners #12-24, Cahills/Summer Steno’s #12-16, Hebe's #16-18 ("Little Yellow Quill"), Yellow Sally #14-20, and Caddis #16-22 (tan, black). Morning bugs include Tricos #22-26, Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24, Needhami Duns & Spinner  #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. 

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. 

-Isonychia #10-14: Fast water bug, usually about 4pm to dark. Can also be on the water in the late mornings/early afternoons sometimes

-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) 

-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.

-Yellow Sally #14-20: hatches in August & September. It's a smaller Stonefly that lives in fast water.

-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, 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 #10-12: 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

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

-”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

___________________

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 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.

New Hours:

Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm. This will be our schedule through the end of the summer. 

News:

Longtime UpCountry employee Don Butler passed away this summer, and Grady wrote a nice tribute piece on our blog. Click here for a link to this post. 

Pictured up top is a beautiful Farmington River brown caught by our newest employee Aiden. He tricked this trout during higher, off-color water with a tan & black streamer. Aiden works with CT DEEP fisheries six month out of the year, and is is very knowledgeable about the Farmington River and fly fishing in general. 

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

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 books in stock available in the shop and in our online store here:

https://www.farmingtonriver.com/fly-fishing-guide-to-fishing-the-farmington-river-by-steve-culton/

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.

Monday Afternoon 8/24 Flow Update:

CT DEEP is doing a flow reduction this afternoon, going from 200cfs to 75cfs for some fisheries work, putting the total flow in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release down to about 100-115cfs after you add the Still River flow in. This is low but very fishable. They will put the dam release up to 175cfs Tuesday afternoon on 8/25, and back to a full 200cfs on Wednesday 8/26. The 200cfs release will be maintained at least through Labor Day weekend. 

River  Report:

New Hours: Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm We are now back to full hours on Wednesdays.

An Orvis rod & Lamson reel was lost near the Ovation/Hurley Building parking lot this week, please turn it in at UpCountry if you found it, or give us a call so we can reunite it with its owner. We also have a fly box that was turned in.

Beautiful conditions continue, with nice weather, nice water levels, and cold water. It's 56.7 degrees this morning in New Hartford behind UpCountry, and it peaked yesterday at 59.3. This means you can fish down to Canton and you don't need to migrate upstream in the afternoon to stay in cold water. Total flow this morning is a normal & medium-low 219cfs, with 177cfs from the dam, and 42cfs from the Still River. Riverton above the Still River at the Rt. 20 bridge is reading 50.7 degrees this morning, and it peaked yesterday at just over 53. These are fantastic late August conditions. Kudos to the CT DEEP for being conservative with their water management and keeping the river cold.

Plenty of good reports over the past weekend, and at moments there has been a lot of dry fly action. Trout fishing remains solid, with fish being caught on dries, nymphs, wet flies/soft hackles, streamers, and mouse patterns at night. Flying Ants were out several days this past week. There were a mix of sizes including #16's, but the majority of them were #24's. Typically a mid/late afternoon to evening deal. Make sure you match the size, or you will 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.  

You will often find trout rising in the fast water to #16-18 Tan Caddis and #10-14 Isonychias between late afternoon and dusk. You can even blind fish the Iso's even when trout are not rising, they are used to seeing them and are constantly on the lookout. Iso's start here in June and go through October and even into November - they slowly get smaller as the season progresses. There are plenty of trout being caught on the surface by matching the hatches throughout the day, 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. 

Summer & early fall usually means mostly smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range. The main exceptions are #10-12 Isonychia from mid afternoon through the evenings, and first light to about 10am with big #8-10 Stoneflies. Ideally I'd use 5x for bigger nymphs, and 6x for the others. Nymphs can be fished Euro style, with an Indicator, or underneath 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 on sunny days, even better.

Morning Trico hatches on most of the river. Trico hatching & spinner falls have been sporadic and a bit unpredictable this year. Typically the main event with Tricos 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 longer the better).

Current hatches include Tricos #22-26, Isonychia #10-14, small Blue Winged Olives #20-24, Rusty Spinners #12-24, Cahills/Summer Steno’s #12-16, Hebe's #16-18 ("Little Yellow Quill"), Yellow Sally #14-20, and Caddis #16-22 (tan, black). Morning bugs include Tricos #22-26, Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24, Needhami Duns & Spinner  #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. 

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. 

-Isonychia #10-14: Fast water bug, usually about 4pm to dark. Can also be on the water in the late mornings/early afternoons sometimes

-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) 

-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.

-Yellow Sally #14-20: hatches in August & September. It's a smaller Stonefly that lives in fast water.

-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, 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 #10-12: 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

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

-”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

___________________

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 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.

Don Butler aka "The Fish Fox", was a fixture on the Farmington River for years, teaching others through his guide service and the magazine articles he wrote. Don worked behind the counter at UpCountry all through the 1990s and 2000s. His jovial laugh and varied tales were always entertaining when things were slow at the store or when the fishing was less than stellar on the river. A true Church Pool disciple, Don would often be found below the Route 318 bridge with his tiny two weight Loomis rod, casting his own dry-fly creations to finicky trout. In addition to trout fishing, Don spent time chasing bonefish on Exuma.

Don passed away a few weeks ago, having lived and loved a full life of fishing and family. I thought that there would be no better way to honor him and share who he was by presenting this slightly abridged excerpt from one of Don Butler's many stories:

Don't Bore the Trout

by the Fish Fox

Crowded conditions and no room to move. So I was "stuck" with the dozen or so browns in front of me. Cast, drift, no, cast, drift, no, cast drift, NO! From time to time I checked on my upstream neighbor, he was either playing a fish or playing with his pipe. A half hour passed. My frustration grew. My forearm was tired but still I cast. 

"Your Borenem!"

"What"

"Your boring the fish."

It was the fellow to my left. A gnome of a man, more waders than person. The nine foot rod he used looked like a flagpole by comparison.

"These No-Kill fish aren't skittish so they will keep feeding even after you tried to beat them to death with your fly line. By this time they know how many wraps of silk you put around the wing of that fly and what your brand of head cement is."

He reloaded his pipe and really got into it.

"Try acting like a bird. An osprey today would be out of the question with the mass of humanity that's out here, you can't move up and down the river looking for targets of opportunity. Now a Great Blue Heron is a another matter. He waits. When he does move, it's for a purpose. You think I enjoy smoking this nasty old pipe? Bull, it gives me something to do with my hands, and keeps me from casting too much. Today be a heron. Wait. Watch, and don't bore the fish." 

With that he put the nine footer in action and laid a perfect cast slightly up river and struck the fine brown that came up to the offering.

Sermon and example.

So I changed my tippet, counted my flies, cleaned my line, and tried to do the long legged bird bit. After what seemed like an hour, I cast again. With no hesitation the FISH OF THE DAY came up and slammed the fly. ZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Thank God he didn't know about going down stream. An honest 18 incher and maybe 3lbs. As I held him in the current, prior to release my eyes met the old timer, and I said "Thank you."

"Your entirely welcome"

I had the impression he got a bigger kick out of that fish than I did. The lesson was learned.

Since that day I have taken notice of the better fishermen at both the Housatonic and the Farmington. Ed Eveleth of the Wilderness Shop in Litchfield is definitely an osprey type. He's all over the river, expecially the other side of the Housatonic. The first time I saw him fishing the wrong side of the river after the water came up, he scared the Hell out of me. With that hair and beard walking "on" the water to get back to his car was too much. In reality he knew where the rocks were.

Pete "White Hat" Forte is another osprey. Pete of the two weight rod, 8x leaders and #28 flies. Lord does this man catch fish. He throws in a little blue Heron in his movements and makes smart accurate casts that are more than productive. 

"Waterbury Wide" is for sure a blue Heron with a difference. He's a fly changer. From Dun to Spinner, from Emerger to Terrestrials. "Go lighter, go darker, up a hook size, down a hook size." He says.

As for myself, since , that memorable day four years ago, I've tried never again to be accused of "Borenem".

The No-Kill areas of the Housatonic, Farmington, and Willimantic, are working. There's always fish to fish to and when there's fish there's fishermen.

Start by trying to "match the hatch". Then be an osprey, if it's too crowded be a blue Heron. Use that non-hatching "Royal Coachman", try a "Renegade". Go from Mayfly to Caddis. The two volumes of the Orvis Pattern books, list at least one hundred and fifty different dry-fly recipies. Multiply that by four or five hook sizes and you can see the assortment is limitless. You won't bore the fish, and more important, you won't bore yourself.

New Hours:

Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm. This will be our schedule through the end of the summer. 

News:

Pictured up top is once again Jim DeCesare holding a beautiful Farmington River brown trout he fooled this week in the evening on a dry fly. 

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

This week we are taking an extra 10% off our USED, SALE and CLEARANCE Fly Reels for walk in customers only. We have an entire cabinet of used and sale reels due to some collections we have purchased, along with lots of end of season clearance to move along. Brands include Sage, Ross, Redington, Orvis, Hardy, Lamson, Hatch and others. There are lots of reels sized for Farmington trout, Salmon River Steelhead and Saltwater sized for Stripers & False Albacore. There is also a collection of Traditional Spey reels. This sale is limited to walk in customers and will not be reflected in our online store.

Book signing for the new book "Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River" by local guide & writer Steve Culton on this Saturday 8/22, from 11am-2pm. .  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 plenty of copies in stock for purchase. Come in Saturday to meet the author. Steve is a character and has plenty to say that he couldn't fit into the book :)

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.

River  Report:

New Hours: Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm We are now back to full hours on Wednesdays.

An Orvis rod & Lamson reel was lost near the Ovation/Hurley Building parking lot this week, please turn it in at UpCountry if you found it, or give us a call so we can reunite it with its owner. 

Flows and conditions are looking good, with a medium-low and normal water level for this time of year 197cfs (180cfs below the dam in Riverton, with the Still River adding in 17cfs). Water temps remain cold: 50 degrees in Riverton this morning, and 57.7 in New Hartford behind UpCountry. New Hartford peaked out yesterday at about 63 degrees. These are fantastic water temps for late August, and it basically gives you from the dam all the way down to New Hartford & Canton to fish.

Trout fishing remains solid, with fish being caught on dries, nymphs, wet flies/soft hackles, streamers, and mouse patterns (at night). Flying ants were out on at least two evenings this week. Often when the flying ants are on the water, trout won't eat anything else because of their superior nutitional value. The ideal scenario for flying ants is a humid day with a little rain the day before to get them to emerge. The typical size ranges from #16-24. Make sure you have a few in your fly box. Expecially between late afternoon & dusk. 

Only had time to hit one spot before dark last night. Hooked a really big brown, over 20" I'd say, and after a minute he said "Bye!" and plowed into an exposed tree root and broke off. I'd call that a "partial success".... lol. Tactical fish playing error on my part, I could have moved him downstream away from the obvious snag nearby. 

It looks like we are going to keep receiving regular modest shots of rain. Combined with a water level in the reservoir, that is above average for this time of year, the state should continue providing good flows. DEEP worries about running out of cold water at the end of the summer, but it looks like we have plenty this year.

You will likely find trout rising in the fast water to #16-18 Tan Caddis and #10-14 Isonychias between late afternoon and dusk. You can even blind fish the Iso's even when trout are not rising, they are used to seeing them and are constantly on the lookout. Iso's start here in June and go through October and even into November- they slowly get smaller as the season progresses. Beetles & Ants are also great dry flies to blind fish and prospect with. 

Summer & early fall usually means mostly smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range. The main exceptions are #10-12 Isonychia from mid afternoon through the evenings, and first light to about 10am with big #8-10 Stoneflies. Ideally I'd use 5x for bigger nymphs, and 6x for the others. Nymphs can be fished Euro style, with an Indicator, or underneath 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 on sunny days, even better.

Morning Trico hatches on most of the river. Trico hatching & spinner falls have been sporadic and a bit unpredictable this year. Typically the main event with Tricos 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.

Nymphing the fast water will provide consistant catches when trout are not rising, but there are plenty of trout being caught on the surface by matching the hatches throughout the day, 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 #10-14, small Blue Winged Olives #20-24, Rusty Spinners #12-24, Cahills/Summer Steno’s #12-16, Hebe's #16-18 ("Little Yellow Quill"), and Caddis #16-22 (tan, black). 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. 

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. 

-Isonychia #10-14: Fast water bug, usually about 4pm to dark. Can also be on the water in the late mornings/early afternoons sometimes

-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) 

-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, 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 #10-12: 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. Also 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

___________________

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 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.

New Hours:

Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm. This will be our schedule through the end of the summer. 

News:

Pictured up top is a big brown trout tail that belongs to a hefty trout, caught by customer Brent M. With a motor like that, you know it gave him a good fight!

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

This week we are taking an extra 10% off our USED, SALE and CLEARANCE Fly Reels for walk in customers only. We have an entire cabinet of used and sale reels due to some collections we have purchased, along with lots of end of season clearance to move along. Brands include Sage, Ross, Redington, Orvis, Hardy, Lamson, Hatch and others. There are lots of reels sized for Farmington trout, Salmon River Steelhead and Saltwater sized for Stripers & False Albacore. There is also a collection of Traditional Spey reels. This sale is limited to walk in customers and will not be reflected in our online store.

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. Steve will be doing a book signing on August 22nd, 11am to 2pm at UpCountry. We will have plenty of copies on hand for purchase or bring yours.

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.

River  Report:

New Hours: Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm We are now back to full hours on Wednesdays.

Conditions remain excellent with good flows and cold water. DEEP has made a modest flow cut this morning bringing the release will from 225 to 175cfs. They are doing this to make sure we don't run out of cold water to release in September and October. Right now we are sitting pretty with good water levels in the reservoirs. The water temp in New Hartford behind UpCountry is a nice cold 55.6 degrees this morning, and it peaked yesterday here at about 60 degrees.  

Today looks like a good fishing day with heavy cloud cover and highs in the mid 70's. I'd expect to see some small #20-24 Blue Winged Olives hatching in the afternoon, and this kind of weather is also good for Isonychia hatches. You will likely find trout rising in the fast water to #16-18 Tan Caddis and #10-14 Iso's between late afternoon and dusk- maybe even earlier today due to the mild/cloudy weather. You can even blind fish the Iso's even when trout are not rising, they are used to seeing them and are constantly on the lookout. Iso's start here in June and go through October and even into November- they slowly get smaller as the season progresses.

Summer & early fall usually means mostly smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range, even 24's. The main exceptions are #10-12 Isonychia from mid afternoon through the evenings, and first light to about 10am with big #8-10 Stoneflies. Ideally I'd use 5x for bigger nymphs, and 6x for the others. Nymphs can be fished Euro style, with an Indicator, or underneath 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 on sunny days, even better.

Morning Trico hatches are as far up as Whittemore/Pipeline/Lyman's Rock. Trico hatching & spinner falls have been sporadic this year. Typically the main event with Tricos 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.

Nymphing the fast water will provide the most consistant catches, but there are plenty of trout being caught on the surface by matching the hatches throughout the day, 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 #10-14, small Blue Winged Olives #20-24, Rusty Spinners #12-24, Cahills/Summer Steno’s #12-16, Attenuata #18-20 (Riverton), and Caddis #16-22 (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. 

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. 

-Isonychia #10-14: 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.

-Hebe #16-18: a dull yellow Sulfur-type mayfly we see in August/September in the late afternoon & evenings

-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 about done 

-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

___________________

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.

New Hours:

Monday to Friday 8am-6pm. Weekends 8am-5pm.

News:

Pictured up top is customer Alexis with a quality brown from yesterday on a nymph. 

This week we are taking an extra 10% off our USED, SALE and CLEARANCE Fly Reels. We have an entire cabinet of used and sale reels due to some collections we have purchased, along with lots of end of season clearance to move along. Brands include Sage, Ross, Redington, Orvis, Hardy, Lamson, Hatch and others. There are lots of reels sized for Farmington trout, Salmon River Steelhead and Saltwater sized for Stripers & False Albacore. There is also a collection of Traditional Spey reels. This sale is limited to walk in customers and will not be reflected in our online store.

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. Steve will be doing a book signing on August 22nd, 11am to 2pm at UpCountry. We will have plenty of copies on hand for purchase or bring yours.

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.

River  Report:

We are still in great shape in terms of water levels & water temps. A 225cfs release from the dam is providing nice water levels and keeping the river cold quite a ways downstream, at least as far as New Hartford & Canton. The Still River is adding in 27cfs, bringing up the total to 252cfs in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release. It's a cold 55 degrees for a water temp behind UpCountry in New Hartford this morning, 

Yesterday saw some good Caddis & Isonychia (Iso) hatches.There were quite a few trout rising in the fast water to #16-18 Tan Caddis and #10-14 Iso's between late afternoon and dusk. You can even blind fish the Iso's even when trout are not rising, they are used to seeing them and are constantly on the lookout. Iso's start here in June and go through October and even into November.

For you nymphers, this medium flow creates a lot more fishable water. Summer & early fall usually means mostly smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range, even 24's. The main exceptions are #10-12 Isonychia from mid afternoon through the evenings, and first light to about 10am with big #8-10 Stoneflies. I'd use 5x for bigger nymphs, and 6x for the others. Nymphs can be fished Euro style, with an Indicator, or underneath 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, though the peak hatch is in New Hartford and the lower half of the Permanent TMA/C&R. Typically the main event with Tricosis 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.

Nymphing the fast water will provide the most consistant catches, but there are plenty of trout being caught on the surface 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 #10-14, small Blue Winged Olives #20-24, Rusty Spinners #12-24, Cahills/Summer Steno’s #12-16, Attenuata #18-20 (Riverton), and Caddis #16-22 (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. 

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 #10-14: 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.

-Hebe #16-18: a dull yellow Sulfur-type mayfly we see in August/September in the late afternoon & evenings

-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

___________________

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.

For more fish photos and river news please visit our Facebook Page here.

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

___________________

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.

For more fish photos and river news please visit our Facebook Page here.

                                                                           

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 Zach St. Amand's son Declan with an impressive Farmington River brown trout he caught yesterday

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.

We just received another 20+ copies of Steve Culton's brand new book. "Fly Fishing the Farmington River", and it is fantastic. Our initial 100 copies sold out in only 2 weeks. I expect this batch to go just as quickly but we do have plenty more on the way. 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.

Thursday 8/6/26 afternoon Flow Update:

Some great news, CT DEEP has decided to up the dam release from 110cfs up to 225cfs at 9am this morning. This is a very good thing, as it will put us at a historically normal release level and significantly cool water temps well downstream from the dam. They were being very conservative with water releases due to the drought in May and June, but they now feel we have enough water, and specifically enough cold water in Colebrook River Lake to support this release for at least a few weeks. Hopefully we keep getting regular shots of rain so they can keep this up for longer. When they release more cold water, not only does it keep the river colder, but it keeps it colder for a long ways downstream. This means anglers can once again spread out, and everybody doesn't have to cram into the upper 4 miles in the afternoons & evenings. You should now be able to fish all day long down to New Hartford, and maybe even Canton. I would still stay above Collinsville & Unionville, they are just a little too far downstream of the dam, plus you have two small dams in Collinsville that create more warming. Use your thermometer in the afternoons & evenings when you are downriver in New Hartford & Canton, and you can now get the New Hartford water temp right off our website from the HOBO unit behind our store- it updates throughout the day. 

USGS changed the way they provided  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.

Thursday Morning River Report:

The river has come down nicely and cleared up since the rain at the beginning of the week. The water is still coming out of the dam icy cold in the 40's, but with the Still River adding in warmer water, and the Sun's infuence the Farmington warms as you progress downstream- use a thermometer and keep an eye on water temps. Look for water under 68 degrees, and ideally 65 or less for the most active trout. Water that is fine to fish in the mornings can become too warm in the afternoons & evenings, move upstream as necessary. A thermometer is truly invaluable this time of year. 

We are getting morning reports of Tricos as far up as Campground Pool. 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). 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. 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.

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 will likely need to move upriver 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. 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, probably mostly in Riverton now. 

-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

-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

___________________

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.

For more fish photos and river news please visit our Facebook Page here.

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:

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.

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.

River Level:

The Farmington is releasing at 47degrees, 120cfs in Riverton below the Hogback Dam, 270cfs from Pipeline Pool / The Ballfield through the year round Catch & Release area. 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:

I expect good fishing today from the Hogback Dam, downstream to Rte 219 in New Hartford. This encompasses the top 10 miles of the river and includes all of the Catch & Release area. The most dry fly activity 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 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).

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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