Hello Compleat Angler Friends! With Halloween in our rear view, we are truly approaching the end of the season, but just because its ending doesn't mean there aren't fish around!
In our local rivers, trout are still eating throughout stocked and wild rivers, taking primarily streamers and nymphs, with the occasional BWO or small midge hatch keep the dry fly bite alive.
Saltwater fishing is still going, and should stay consistent for the next few weeks before things really taper off. Peanut Bunker and Silversides are the primary forage, so make sure you can get on a pod of bait to find the bass.
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 113 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.
The Naugatuck is now at 323 CFS, so be careful. That is not an exceptionally high reading by any stretch, but any time you get a good slug of rain, it's wise to be cautious. Effective flies right now are anything that would work on larger rivers, again, streamers, nymphs, and dries. The entirety of the river has been stocked, including the trophy trout and the Broodstock Salmon sections. For hatches, think BWO's Caddis, and Terrestrials.
Farmington River
Water conditions are improved due to water being released from Highland Lake, which ultimately flows into the Still River, and the Still dumps in a little below the Rt 20 bridge in Riverton. They lower Highland Lake every year in November. Total flow as I write this Thursday morning is about 200cfs, which I would call medium-low and very fishable. We have rain inbound for today between late morning and early afternoon mainly, and then more forecasted for Friday & Saturday. Looks like highs in the 60's through Saturday, and then in the mid 50's for Sunday. Glad to see rain in the forecast, it's been very dry and we need some precipitation. This will only help to improve the water conditions/level.
Total flow below the Still River and in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release is 201cfs and 134cfs in Riverton below the dam at the Rt 20 bidge. The Still River is adding in 67cfs. This is a very wadeable/fishable level. Morning water temp in Riverton is 55 degrees, it peaked at 57.5 degrees yesterday afternoon. They started letting water out of Otis Reservoir in MA last week to do their annual fall lake lowering, and that goes into the upper Farmington River along Old Rt. 8 and ends up in Colebrook River Lake, and by agreement that water has to be passed out of Hogback/Goodwin Dam in Riverton. Unionville USGS gauge is reading 259cfs.
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, 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. Now that the spawn is going, the early morning egg bite can be very good some days. Pair an egg fly up with a drabber nymph.
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. Iso's were a very light hatch in October, they are usually much heavier, and they were great in September. You will also see some Winter/Summer Caddis in the early to mid mornings, and the occasional Giant October Caddis in the afternoon/evening. When they are not rising (a frequent occurence), nymphing has been a reliable producer. Smaller nymphs #18-22 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 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 the upcoming spawn. 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. After a late start, the spawn has finally kicked off last week. 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.
Yellow in a streamer will often trigger fall 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. Smaller streamers and Wooly Buggers will bring a lot of trout to the net in the coming weeks. 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. If they won't commit to a streamer eat, try drifting a nymph to them now that you know their location.
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.
Nymphing remains the most consistent producer. A lot of the best fishing currently is still 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 averaging in the 50's. After a cold night, the trout may drop back into deeper, softer water. And as water temps rise and bugs get active, they will move into the current to feed. 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. This allows you to put your streamer right in their face, which makes it easier to eat than traditional streamer methods that force the trout to chase and move further to eat your fly. Junk Flies (Mops, Eggs, Worms) are also good "clean up batter" flies after you fish a spot and are ready to move. Don't be afraid to try some gaudy flies in the fall, due to the spawn trout often react well to funky colors. Could be a bright hot-spot, a fluorescent tag/tail, or a colorful bead. Sometimes they will prefer drab flies, so experiment. I often have one drab, natural fly paired with a gaudier one. The trout will tell you which one they prefer.
Fall often means using smaller nymphs in the #18-22 range, even #24's, especially in low to medium flows- this can sometimes 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 gauge at Falls Village is 389 CFS, a very comfortable level. The fishing on most of the Housy reamins 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 11/06/26 11:59 PM. The CFS at the Pineville gauge is currently 236 CFS as of 4:00 PM. The water temperature was 52 Degrees Fahrenheit as of 7:30 AM
UPPER SECTION
Angling success within the entire part was “moderate”. The fish species reported were Steelhead along with a pair Brown Trout in the upper part of this section. The fish were reported to be moving upriver. The volume of anglers was “high” in the upper part of this section and “moderate” in the middle and lower portions of this section
MIDDLE SECTION
Angling success was described as “moderate” throughout this section. The fish species reported were Steelhead in all portions of this area. The fish were actively moving upriver and holding in pools throughout this section. Angler density in this section was described as “moderate” throughout the entire section.
LOWER SECTION
Angling success was described as “moderate to good” throughout the section. The fish species reported were Steelhead, and Brown Trout throughout this section. The fish present were moving upriver throughout this section. Angler density in this section was “moderate” throughout this section.
Catskills
Today we have clear skies after a day of light rain yesterday. We got pretty lucky with the rain yesterday, maybe got a half inch the first part of the day, which barely brought any of the rivers up much.
The water levels have remained very steady lately with the upper West at 459 cfs and 51 degrees and down at Hale Eddy we have 689 cfs and 54 degrees.
The mainstem is in good shape and temps are safe, hopefully for the rest of the fall with 1730 cfs and 60 degrees at Lordville this morning. The lower half of the West and main have been fishing pretty well lately, as the upper West has quite a bit of algae this time of year.
We are seeing #18-24 Blue Winged Olives in the afternoons into dark as well as their small rusty spinners. There are some scattered #12 Isonychia and #14-16 summer Cahills too that are good to drum up some fish. Winged ants in #18-24 are good flies for fussy fish this time of year.
Dry-dropper fishing and nymphing is hard to beat for the majority of the day until you can hopefully find some bugs and fish working.
The West has a pretty decent fall stain which will stick around for a few months and can be good for streamer fishing. Early mornings are a good time to run some streamers before the sun gets too high. It looks like mild temps this week with a bit of scattered rain but nothing to raise the rivers much.
CT Saltwater
Striper fishing in the Sound has seemed to improve a bit and is holding at that level. There is plenty of bait around right now, mostly peanut bunker and silversides, with some large bunker mixed in. The back bays and estuaries are LOADED with them, so much so that schoolie bass have been seen blitzing most nights. However, as I can woefully attest, they are being extremely picky. If it is not an exact profile/color match, they will ignore your offering. They are keyed in heavily on the food in front of them, and convincing them to hit something else can be challenging. The incoming tides for these spots have been hot, and outgoing has been good but not as productive as the incoming. We still have a few solid weeks of fishing, and this weather system and moon cycle should get things moving. Get out and take advantage while you still can!
