Hello Compleat Angler Friends! We are experiencing a true blue nor'easter right now, with wind, rain, and colder temperatures blanketing New England. The increased flows should help the freshwater bite once things calm down, although the colder weather might push trout deeper.
However, the strong weather and last week's new moon might mean the end of our saltwater fishing season. Matt and John got out in the canoe near the Saugatuck the other day, and saw plenty of birds and bait, and even a few pods of striped bass, but things are definitely starting to slow down. While fishing should be possible through Dec. 1, the numbers will slowly start to fall off from here on. If you do get out, focus on finding birds and bait, and size down your offerings.
Read on for more…
Connecticut
Local Rivers
Flows in our local rivers have jumped thanks to last night and today's rain. Saugatuck is at 117 CFS. This time of year, and with higher water, streamers and nymphs are going to be the ticket to hooking up with stocked or holdover trout. Swinging a dark colored CH Woolly Bugger through a pool with good flow or a boulder strewn river is always a good bet. Colder temperatures mean everything needs to slow down.
The Naugatuck is now at 219 CFS. The entirety of the river has been stocked, including the trophy trout and the Brood Stock Salmon sections. Things have been slow in the river the last few days, but if you end up in the section south of Naugatuck, you have the chance to encounter a nice sized fish. Nymphs this time of year will be your best bet.
Farmington River
Total flow below the Still River and in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R) is 224cfs (154cfs in Riverton below the dam at the RT 20 bridge, with the Still River adding in 70cfs a little below that). Morning water temp in Riverton is about 54 degrees, it peaked around 55.5 degrees yesterday afternoon. Unionville USGS gauge is reading 292cfs.
Often the best fishing this time of year is more in the afternoons & evenings, when water temps rise and the bugs appear (mostly Tan Caddis & Blue Winged Olives). Mornings can be slow due to water temps drops after cold nights, but milder nights can lead to better morning fishing. Having said that, there can be a good bite in the first hour or two on eggs or streamers. During the spawn, the early morning egg bite can be very good some days. Pair an egg fly up with a drabber nymph.
The entire river from the dam in Riverton down to Unionville and even well below that is all in play, very wadeable and fishing well. Collinsville/Unionville and down was stocked in early October, and Riverton got a modest stocking by the MDC in early October.
Blue Winged Olives (BWO's) #20-24 (and smaller!) and Tan/Brown Caddis #16-18 are the two most common bugs out there right now. Having said that, I'm seeing less risers than I was a few weeks ago. More and more as you move toward late Fall & Winter and colder water temps, subsurface with nymphs will be the way to go most of the time. Iso's have been very light and mostly hatching in Riverton, they are usually much heavier. You will also see some Winter/Summer Caddis in the early to mid mornings, and the occasional Giant October Caddis in the afternoon/evening (but that is coming near the end). When they are not rising (a frequent occurence), nymphing has been a reliable producer. Smaller nymphs #16-24 and Junk Flies such as Eggs & Mops have all been producing at moments. Bigger Stonefly nymphs #8-10 can also be a good choice. Also an excellent choice after a flow bump. Big Stoneflies also appeal to bigger trout- many of the absolute biggest wild browns I've caught, the true giants, have been on large Stoneflies in the #6-10 range. You may not catch as many as on smaller nymphs, but it often sorts out the better fish. Fall also means more aggressive brown trout due to spawning, and then. when the spawn is done brown trout are depleted and HUNGRY, which can lead to some good streamer fishing. If you like to throw some truly large streamers for bigger trout, some worth trying include: Strolis Ice Pick, Gamechanger Brown Trout, Schmidt's Viking Midge, Rio's Precious Metal, Rio's Flashdance, and the Dolly Llama. When you are streamer fishing, make sure to keep moving and cover plenty of water. You are looking for the more aggressive trout, and typically you will get them quickly or not at all. So shoot your shot and keep moving and show your fly to fresh trout.
The browns are colored up for the spawn and look absolutely stunning. 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 a few in December. We are getting near the tail end of the spawn. 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. 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 being disrupted. There are more wild browns in the river than most anglers realize. 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.
When fishing streamers its important to cover lots of water and get your offering in front of as many trout as possible. Only a minority of the trout are willing to eat a streamer at any given moment. 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.
The gauge at Falls Village is 456 CFS. The fishing on most of the Housy remains strong right now, with big, aggressive, browns taking streamers and dries. Afternoons with low wind between 1-4 have seen great BWO hatches, with fish rising almost every 10 seconds in certain sections. Stocked trout are in the river as well, mostly rainbows. We spent the afternoon on Wednesday fishing a few spots below the covered bridge, and found a good mix of fish. If you are looking to make a trip and want the inside scoop, hit up Bob Strassel Jr. of Right On The Fly.
The current dam release is 185 CFS, where it is projected to remain until 11/12/26 11:59 PM. The CFS at the Pineville gauge is currently 268 CFS as of 4:00 PM. The morning water temperature was 45 Degrees Fahrenheit as of 4:00 PM.
UPPER SECTION
Angling success was described as “slow” throughout all parts. The fish species reported were Steelhead. The fish were mostly moving upriver throughout this section. The volume of anglers was “quiet” throughout the section.
MIDDLE SECTION
Angling success was described as “moderate to good” through this section. The fish species reported were Steelhead as well a fresh Chinook (King) Salmon and Coho sighted. The fish were actively holding in pools throughout this section as well as moving upriver. Density in this section was described as “ low”” throughout the section.
LOWER SECTION
Angling success was described as “good” just upriver, no one in the estuary. The fish species reported were Steelhead. The fish present were holding pools and some moving upriver. Angler density in this section was “low”.
CT Saltwater
Well ladies and germs, I think that might be it. There are still some small schools of bass around, and plenty of peanut bunker, but the fall run is definitely winding down. This nor'easter had them charged up for a short window on Wednesday, but once it clears, a majority of the fish will hang tight to our bays and estuaries before making their final push south. Targeting these final fall bass comes down to timing and location. If you are still chasing birds and bait, it will feel like playing wack-a-mole, so trawling the back bays on higher tides might yield better chance of success for schoolies. Like I said, you can always find a bass if you work hard enough, but the work is definitely going to get harder as the weeks press on towards Thanksgiving.
