Fishing Report: May 28th

Greetings Compleat Anglers!   Here is your fishing report for May 28th.

Trout fishing has been strong in both Connecticut and Catskill rivers. The past two weeks have seen consistent dry-fly activity on all rivers, with a bit of the activity slowing down this past weekend due to the chilly weather/rainy front that passed through. Even when the bugs were a bit scarce there seemed to be a head or a beak here and there and there were good fish to be had. While I'll cover each river individually, all Connecticut and New York rivers are experiencing hatches of March Browns, Tan and Olive Caddis, BWO's, Rusty Spinners, and Paraleps. When the fish weren't on top, nymphing was very good with some really big fish taken. All rivers are dropping and wading is becoming good. Rivers that had some color over the weekend have cleared nicely. Water temperatures range from the low 50's to the mid 60's.  Here's your breakdown:

In Connecticut, the Farmington River fished very strongly over the past week - particularly Friday and Saturday. Water temperatures have been in the mid-high 50's with the exception of Riverton where the water temperatures are still in the high 40s. Because of that, there are still some remaining Hendricksons to be found in the stretch between the Still River and the Dam in Riverton. Rusty Spinners will continue for the next week or two throughout the upper system. For those fishing dries there have been Tan and Olive Caddis (#14-#20), BWO's (#18-#20), and Vitreus (#14-#16).  With the water temperatures rising there are fish holding in the deeper runs and riffles and a nymph drifted deep can be deadly. Key nymphs have been Caddis Larva (#14-#18), Stoneflies (#6-#12), Olive Nymphs (#14-#20), Frenchies (#14-#20), and Zebras (#16-#22).  

In the Housatonic, Rob Nicholas of Housatonic Anglers  housangler@yahoo.com  reports that dry fly action has been excellent, with Tan and Olive Caddis (#14-#18), Cahills (#14-#16), BWO;s (#16-#20), Sulphurs (#14-#18), March Browns (#10-#14) and Stoneflies all hatching. Rob reports that flows are now much better for wading. Along with the action on top, anglers have been taking fish on nymphs and streamers as well. Key nymphs have been Pheasant Tails (#12-#18), Stoneflies (#6-#12), Caddis Pupa and Larva (#14-#18), Scuds (#14-#16), Prince (#14-#18), Copper Johns (#16-#22), Zebras and Frenchies (#18-#22).

Connecticut river flows are as follows:

Farmington River West Branch at Riverton:  316cfs at high 40's;

Still River at Robertsville:   66cfs;

Farmington River through the TMA:   382cfs in the mid-high 50s;

Housatonic at Fall River:   639cfs in the high 50's-low 60's;

Saugatuck River at Ford's Road TMA:   31cfs;

Norwalk River in Wilton:  27cfs;

As well, some of the smaller Connecticut rivers are still fishing well. Water flows in the Saugatuck, Norwalk, Mianus and Mill rivers are still healthy. There's lots of fish to be had in all four rivers, but Jeff Yates of Fly Fishing Connecticut  guide@flyfishingct.com  reports that the Saugatuck fish have been well-schooled by now and are a bit pickier. Jeff reports that the Norwalk is still a good bet with lots of fish through Wilton, as well as the Mill with it's wonderful wild fish designation.

Photo below: A Delaware Brown leaps from the water as David Nelson holds on:

In the Catskills, the Delaware system, Beaverkill and Willowemoc are in great shape - clear and dropping. Ben Rinker from East Branch Outfitters  info@eastbranchoutfitters.com  reports that both the Delaware West Branch and lower East Branch are both in transition with plenaty of targets. Ben reports that the Upper East Branch has also been fishing well.  The Delaware East Branch and West Branch are in good shape for wading, with the Main Stem still a bit too high for most wading areas. The Beaverkill and Willowemoc are very wadeable. On the Delaware East Branch, Beaverkill and Willowemoc the Hendricksons are ending with a straggler here and there, but there are still good Rusty Spinner falls and the fish are all over them. Overall hatching has dropped, but David Nelson reported that over this past weekend, although the bug activity was reduced there were still heads to be found and fish looking up. Check out this lovely EB Brown that David stuck over the weekend:

There are March Browns (#10-#14) throughout the entire Delaware River system, Beaverkill and Willowemoc, along with Sulphurs, (#14), Tan Caddis (#14-#18), BWO's (#16-#20), Midges and Paraleps (#18). When the fish aren't looking up, try nymphing with a Caddis Pupa or Larva (#14-#18), Stonefly (#6-#12), Pheasant Tail (#14-#18), or swing a soft-hackle or a traditional Catskill wet fly pattern such as a Dark Cahill (#12-#16) or Leadwing Coachman (#12-#16.) There are still lots of fish holding in the tail-outs of riffles and faster runs and a swung fly is very effective and great fun!

Right now there are lots of Shad in the Delaware Main Stem and East Branch. (The Shad run this year contained some huge Shad.)  When they're on the move you can see their wakes as they travel in large schools just below the surface. Should you be fortunate enough to find a stationary school - put on a small streamer or Clouser minnow and have some fun. These fish are upwards of 5-8 pounds and amazingly strong - many will take you into your backing. Here's one from a school that Ben Rinker and I ran into on the Delaware East Branch - you can see the Clouser in it's mouth:

Here's the Catskill river flows:

Delaware East Branch at Fishs Eddy:   1020cfs at 65 degrees;

Delaware West Branch at Stilesville:  574cfs at 52 degrees;

Delaware West Branch at Hale Eddy:  726cfs at 56 degrees;

Delaware Main Stem at Lordville:  2210cfs at 63 degrees;

Beaverkill at Cooks Falls:  507cfs at 60 degrees;

In Long Island Sound, Captain Roger Gendron from Connecticut Island Outfitters  info@ctislandoutfitters.com   reports lots of schollie bass -especially on the outgoing and low tides. Capt. Roger's clients have been scoring lots of bass on Deceiver patterns. As well, there have been some big fish reported in Western Connecticut, and lots of schoolie action (with a few bigger fish mixed in) along the river mouths - the Housatonic has been producing some good numbers. There have been a few Bluefish in the mix as well - especially in the shallows after dark. There are substantial bunker schools all along the coast from Stamford to Stratford.  Here's a striper migration map from "On The Water."

That's it for this week. Fishing is hot so try and find some time to spend out on the water! And please stop by the shop - we're fully stocked with all the best in rods, reels, waders, boots, fly lines, accessories, clothing, fly-tying equipment, luggage and so much more! We carry all major brands such as Sage, Scott, Winston, Hardy, Loomis, Abel, Nautilus, Hatch, Lamson, Echo, Reddington, Simms, Patagonia, Rio, Airflow, Sci-Anglers,Korkers, Regal, and so much more!

Hope to see you on the water!

Len