Hello Compleat Angler Friends! Things are seeming to finally pick up in the Sound, with Bonito and Striper being found in the Western Sound. Conditions for today and tomorrow look great, with a fat glug of rain projected for Sunday. If you do get out, remember to keep moving, these bass are staying active and looking for bait. Also practice your cast! The wind has been pretty gnarly and most times you only get one shot at shallow fish before they bolt, so being prepared makes all the difference.
Trout are still feeding heavily in the Housatonic and the Farmington, with BWOs, Caddis, Dry Droppers, and Streamers all being effective. Hopefully the rain on Sunday keeps levels up, which should help sustain the bite as the temperatures continue to drop.
Read on for more…
Connecticut
Local Rivers
Flows on the Saugatuck have dropped a bit to 72.9 CFS, which is still a comfortable flow for this time of year. The Saugatuck was recently stocked this week, and fishing has picked up with better weather and more hatches. Hatches are primarily BWO's and Caddis. Terrestrials should be a good offering as well with the recent rain.
The Naugatuck is now at 151 CFS. Keep an eye on the calendar and the DEEP website as stocking for both trout and salmon should start soon. Again, BWO's Caddis, and Terrestrials will be effective.
Farmington River
The browns are coloring up for the spawn also, some of them look absolutely stunning, especially the larger males. Spawning on the Farmington River usually takes place between the latter part of Ocotober and goes through mid November, with a few outliers spawning early and others well into December. Keep your eyes out for redds, the oval light colored patches in the gravel where trout spawn and deposit their eggs. Redds are typically located in the gravelly tails of pools and side channels, sometime pool heads too if the gravel is suitable. Don't walk on redds, and don't step on the first 10-15 feet of water below them as many eggs wash a little downstream of the redds. Please do not fish to fish sitting or spawning on redds- it's unsporting, and you want to let the browns make more future wild browns without be disrupted. There are more wild browns in the river than most anglers realize. It's perfectly fine to fish below the redds where other non-spawning trout are waiting to eat the eggs that wash downstream, as well as eat dislodged insect larva. Be careful handling female brown trout right now, they are full of eggs. Try to keep them in the water if possible, and do not squeeze them. Brown trout get more aggressive before & during the spawn, which can make streamers a good choice. Small nymphs #18-22 continue to be consistent producers, and dry fly are working well during hatches. The main October bugs are tan/brown Caddis #16-18, Blue Winged Olives #20-24, and Isonychia #12-14, with several other bugs in the mix too.
Yellow in a streamer will often trigger October trout- can be all yellow, or olive & yellow, brown & yellow, etc. Other good colors to try include olive, tan, white, and brown. Play with retrieves- start with a fast, aggressive presentation and then adjust depending upon the trout's reaction. This is a time of year to play with big streamers in the 4-6" range. You won't catch as many trout, but it ups your odds of landing a true trophy. For catching greater numbers of trout, 3-4" can be a sweet spot- big enough to interest a larger fish, but small enough that the 12-14" fish will still try to eat it. The total flow in the Permanent TMA/Catch &Release (C&R) is normal for today's date at 164cfs (historical median/normal total flow is 191cfs). Riverton USGS gauge is reading 157cfs two miles below the dam (median/normal is 125cfs), and the Still River is adding 17cfs just below that (median/normal is 66cfs). River water temp is 60.5 degrees in Riverton this morning, and it peaked yesterday afternoon at just over 63 degrees. The entire river from Riverton to Unionville is fishing well, so don't limit yourself. Its now the time of year when due to cooler air temps, shorter days, and longer nights, water temps are colder as you move away from the dam on most days.
As mentioned above, big streamers can be a very good fall fly choice, but smaller streamers and Wooly Buggers will bring a lot of trout to the net in the coming weeks as well. If you favor quantity over just chasing big trout, smaller offerings will produce more fish overall and still catch the monsters, but to a lesser degree. Big trout consider them less of a threat and put up less of a chase.
One technique for catching trout on streamers is to work upstream, making long casts to the bank, followed by a rapid stripping retrieve. Look for current breaks such as rocks, and features that protect trout from birds like overhanging branches, big rocks, undercut banks, and logs to cast around. Keep moving slowly upstream on foot, making just enough casts to cover an area thoroughly. Most of your strikes will come on the first couple of presentations, so don't spend too much time in one spot. Use polarized glasses to help see your streamer underwater and to see any trout chasing them down. If a trout chases but doesn't commit, immediately follow up with another cast. If that doesn't work and the fish is big enough, consider changing your streamer to get another chance.
When fishing streamers its important to cover lots of water and get your offering in front of as many trout as possible. Use heavy tippet for this method such as 0x-2x (depending upon fly size) - the trout are looking at your fly, not at the tippet you use and you want to be able to set the hook HARD, using a hybrid of a strip-set and an angled sideways lift.
Bigger Stonefly nymphs #8-10 can be a good choice, especially in the mornings, but they can pull above average fish later in the day too. Trico Spinners #22-26 are still on the water, but have moved to late morning following the cold overnights we have had recently. Isonychia #12-14, have been out in the afternoons, with the trout eating them well in some areas. Blue Winged Olives (BWO's) #18-24 & Hebe's/Yellow Quills #16-18 are hatching in the afternoon & evening. Tan/brown Caddis #16-18 & big October Caddis are increasing in numbers and are producing trout throughout the day, particularly in fast water. Still seeing some big #12-14 Summer Steno's/Light Cahills in the eves, along with #14-16 Yellow Sallies.
Nymphing remains a consistent producer when the trout aren't rising. A lot of the best fishing currently is in riffly water with a bit of current and some chop to it, whether you are fishing nymphs or dry flies- water temps are still mainly in the upper 50's to low 60's. Many bugs live and hatch in faster water, and the evening egg-laying/spinner falls occurs where the riffles are. Smaller, heavy jig streamers fished slow & deep are a great fly to fish after you are done nymphing a run, often producing a bonus fish or two or three. Junk Flies (Mops, Eggs, Worms) are also good "clean up batter" flies. Don't be afraid to try some gaudy flies in October, due to the impending spawn trout often react well to funky colors. Could be a bright hot-spot, a fluorescent tag/tail, or a colorful bead.
Fall often means using smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range, especially in low to medium flows- this can be the difference between a very slow outing and a banner day. Most nymphs are small this time of year. A good strategy at our current flows is to use a weighted #14-18 nymph at the bottom of your rig to get your flies down, and a smaller lighter pattern on a dropper 18-24" above. On your top dropper, you can even use an unweighted fly, a brass bead nymph, or a soft hackle/wet fly if your anchor fly on point is heavy enough to get your rig down.
The Housatonic River at Falls Village is reading 203 CFS. The section below Bull's Bridge has just been stocked, as well as above the covered bridge in Cornwall. Browns are starting to flood the river as the temps drop, and they are taking a variety of offerings from large streamers to dry flies and nymphs. Reports from customers have been very positive, with browns being the major catch. Early mornings and evenings have been best, and locating deeper holes during high points of the day can lead to some nice fish. With the cooler temperatures and increased stocking, things are looking good for fall fishing on the housy!
The current dam release is 185 CFS, where it is projected to remain until 10/09/26 11:59 PM. The CFS at the Pineville gauge is currently 220 CFS as of 9:15 AM. Water temperature this morning was 50 degrees Fahrenheit at 7 AM.
UPPER SECTION
Angling success was described as “moderate” in the lower part and “good” further upriver. The fish species reported were Chinook (King) Salmon, Coho, Brown, and Steelhead throughout the section. The fish were holding in pools in the lower part, and both moving upriver as well as holding in pools upriver. The volume of anglers was “high” in the middle parts, and “low” in the lower part.
MIDDLE SECTION
Angling success was described as “good” in the upper and middle parts, and as “moderate” in the lower part. The fish species reported were Chinook (King) Salmon, Coho Salmon, Brown, and Steelhead throughout this section of the run, A couple of Atlantic were also brought to hand. The fish were all actively moving upriver throughout this section, downriver as well in the middle section, and holding in pools in all parts of the run. Angler density in this section was described as “low” in the middle part, and “moderate” in the rest of the section.
LOWER SECTION
Angling success was described as “slow” in the estuary, and “moderate” just upriver. The fish species reported were Chinook (King) Salmon, Brown and Steelhead upriver with just King’s being noted in the estuary. The fish present were moving upriver throughout the section, with fish also holding in pools just upriver. Angler density in this section was “low” in the estuary and “moderate” just upriver.
Catskills
The release from Cannonsville is 723 cfs. Again the additional increase is most likely to meet the minimum flow target at Montague, NJ. Check the Stilesville gauge link below for the most up to date information. The increased release probably knocked loose more algae in Deposit so nymphing will be less frustrating on the lower river sections. The plan hasn’t changed. Nymphs early with some dry fly action later in the day. Small olives have made up most of the hatch but there are some Cahills, hebes, and sporadic Isonychias out there. The West Branch has a greenish tint to it that is likely the reservoir turning. The fish and bugs don’t mind it and its actually better for streamer fishing.
Today will be 65 degrees with plentiful sunshine. Wind will be 10 – 15 mph from the North.
The better weather and cooler temperatures have helped turn the fall bite around, with blitzing fish found out front in the Western Sound. Bass and Bonito are on the move, so you should be too. Bait right now consists of all the fall staples, from bunker to silversides. As we approach the new moon this weekend, stick tight to areas with moving water at the top of the tide. Regardless of what you catch, getting out on the water this time of year is always exciting and a little bit bittersweet. Things are going to start wrapping up in the next month or two, so don't waste time.
