Hello Compleat Angler friends! We hope you enjoyed a slight respite from the bone chilling conditions this week. Enjoy it while it lasts, because we are diving right back into the cold this weekend. While reports from our regulars have been slow, we do know that most Connecticut freestones have briefly thawed in sunny areas and near faster moving water. Thawed enough to wet a line? That’s for you to discover and to let us know! We are always hungry for customer photos of your time on the river, skunk or no skunk, so DM any fishing related content to our Instagram, @compleat_angler_ct. 

Hello Compleat Angler friends! We hope you’ve been able to stay warm this week. Temperatures have been brutal, but thankfully the cold weather hasn’t slowed down our intrepid presenters. The gents from African Waters and Alphonse Fishing Company put on a fantastic event this past Monday, and on Saturday, we have a tying event with Rhody on the Fly (Brandon Gomez) who will be walking through some jaw-dropping hollow and tube fly demonstrations. Check out our calendar for more info!

With the thermometer where it is, the fishing has been hard to come by. Matt and Pat from the shop hit the water in Easton yesterday in search of native brookies and struck out, but besides their willingness to brave the cold, we haven’t heard much from our regulars. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. Low and slow is the name of the game. We are looking down the barrel of some upsettingly low temperatures, so if getting in the river doesn’t sound appealing, maybe now is the time to focus on tying some flies for spring.  

Hello Compleat Angler friends! Are you prepared for SNOWMAGEDDON? Things are shaping up to be quite nasty on Sunday, with some snowfall totals topping out at 16 inches in areas across the tristate. To add insult to injury, it is going to be bitterly cold, so if you are hitting the river on Saturday, pack an extra pair of long johns. Above all else, be safe! We are hosting an event that is sure to warm the blood on Monday, 1/26, at 7pm with some great folks at Alphonse Fishing Company and African Waters, so feel free to swing by once you’ve dug out the car. 

On the fishing front, there hasn’t been much change since last week’s report. As we love to say this time of year, low and slow is the name of the game. Some anglers are still finding stocked Tiger Trout in the Mianus, which are taking nymphs and streamers bounced along the bottom. Again, on a warmer day you may see some Caddis and Midges hatching from late morning into the afternoon, but don’t hold your breath with the upcoming forecast. Both the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers are still at clear and wadable levels for the time being, but that could change with the weather on Sunday.

Read on for more…