Greetings Compleat Anglers! And just like that the weather has given us a brief glimpse of the spring season ahead. Warmer temps over the last week have made angling more pleasant, have spurred the trout from their winter sluggishness, and, in our local area at least, have allowed the stocking trucks to make their first forays out to local rivers. Consequently, there are a lot more fish out there to be had, and they aren't picky. As always this time of year, make sure to brush up on your early season regulations as there are typically more limitations this time of year, especially on more crowded fisheries. Read on for details!

New York

Freshwater

Ontario Tributaries

The Great Lakes fisheries have been holding steady. At this point, many anglers are waiting for the Spring Drop-Backs, and I don’t blame them. While the Salmon River and smaller tributaries have had their moments, we are not hearing much. Ones and twos are the norm. Many anglers have switched to stoneflies and worms as their primary patterns. The weather will be warming over the week and a bump in fish activity is expected. While it could be a bit of a grind, the fishing should be pretty good compared to the last few weeks. The higher sections of any of these rivers will have the highest concentrations of Steelhead and should fish a bit better. Keep an eye on the weather as well. Any rain in the coming weeks that leads to a bump in CFS will drive fish into these rivers giving you the opportunity to target chrome, unpressured fish. While fishing in the Northeast is on the upswing, fewer anglers will be making the trek up to the Great Lakes. Crowds should be at a minimum and if you find some good holding water you should be able to tie into some late season Steelhead. 

Connecticut

Local Streams

And in the blink of an eye, it is time to target trout with a fly rod! The big news is that the DEEP has done some early season stockings throughout the State. Needless to say, the fishing has been exceptional. In the past week the Mill, Willimantic, Hockanum, Hammonasset, Yantic, Moosup, Pequabuck, and Farmington Rivers have all been stocked with an initial run of trout. These are all Trout Management Areas (TMAs) and are all Catch and Release until mid-April. The big news for us is that the Fly Fishing Only section of the Saugatuck River has also received a good load of fish. Reports from the Saug are phenomenal. Double digit days are the norm and the fish are not picky. A wide variety of flies will work making this a great time for new anglers to get some positive feedback from uneducated fish. A nymph drifted under an indicator is tough to beat right now, size 16 Pheasant Tails, Hare’s Ears, Princes, or Beadhead Caddis are all good options. Small streamers will work as well but tend to take fewer and fewer fish as they get caught multiple times. I would recommend trying a size 6, 8, or 10 Woolly Bugger first thing and if 20 or so casts does not yield a fish, change to nymphs. These fish will learn quickly so have a good selection of nymphs with you. Often throwing a unique pattern, something the fish have not seen before, is all it will take to induce a strike. Make no mistake, this is not “match the hatch” type stuff. A somewhat random, albeit educated choosing of your flies will do just fine. The size will really be the key. If you are not getting a bite, switch to a smaller fly. That is often all it takes. That said, the warmer weather will almost certainly mean early season Stoneflies. If the wind stays down small stoneflies will begin flying around and if that happens, the fish will be on them. They will be small, around an 18 or 20. If you have the right fly, the dry fly fishing should be great! I would recommend having stonefly dries in your box from now on.

With the weather on the way expect good crowds to start showing up. I would highly recommend getting to your spot early and holding down the prime spot if you are able. If you can fish with a buddy, even better, as you can block off a good stretch of water and fish with a far more relaxed approach and problem solve the fish without interference. That is especially true for areas where spin fishing is permitted. The entirety of this weekend and into next week looks great as far as temps go. We might have some rain but that is ok. That should keep the fish happy as long as the rivers don’t blow out. A reminder that all non-Trout Management Areas close on February 28th. From March 1st until April 15th only TMAS will be legal to fish and will be Catch and Release Only. If you will be fishing for trout this weekend you will need a new 2021 Connecticut State fishing license with the additional Trout Stamp. You can buy it on the CTDEEP website. The DEEP tends to patrol recently stocked streams quite heavily. While the majority of fly anglers play by the rules, double check your license to avoid a hefty fine. If you have not renewed your license yet this year, it will be expired regardless of when you purchased yours last year. 

As always, if you do see any poaching or spin fishing in Fly Fishing Only areas, call 800-842-4357 and report it to the CTDEEP. It is a quick and easy call that can go a long way in keeping our fishing good until opening day. 

Farmington River

The CTDEEP has stocked the upper section of the West Branch of the Farmington from the Dam down to the abutments (aka Whittemor Pool). If you run into a freshly stocked section the fishing should be great. These fish will take a wide variety of flies and will not be too selective. Streamers are a good starting point if you are trying to locate fish. Move fast and cover water if you are not familiar with where the typical stocking locations are. Once you nail down a productive area, switch to nymphs if the bite dies down. Indicator nymphing will yield plenty of fish once you have located a freshly stocked area. Now, stockie bashing is a great way to dust off the cobwebs but with the weather we have on the way, the larger wild Browns will certainly be very active. Water temperatures are on the rise making conditions IDEAL for late winter fly fishing. While smaller midge nymphs tend to be the hot flies during cold months, don’t discount ridiculous stuff like mops or larger patterns like stones or caddis nymphs. Even mops flies and wormies will have their moments. With the weather we have, popular holes like Greenwoods, Legends, Church, Halfords or the Boneyard more than likely be overrun with anglers. These are big fish holes and everyone knows it. So if this is where you want to fish, it may be best to get there super early or consider fishing elsewhere. With increasing water temps, the fish may also push up into some faster water to feed as well. Now, they will not be in the shallow, faster stuff like in the summer, but they will encroach into the faster stuff just upstream of the slow holding water. Targeting these areas should yield results. We will also see the bite windows widen. A month ago the fish fed almost exclusively during mid-day, but we should see late morning and early afternoon start producing fish as well. Another reason to get there early. The next week on the Farmington should be pretty darn good. The fish will be active, the weather will be mild, and we might even see some fish rising ☺.

Keep in mind: As of September 1st, almost the entirety of the West Branch of the Farmington River is now all catch and release. From the Goodwin Dam, 21 miles down to the Route 177 bridge is all catch and release only from now until the second Saturday in April. Please report any poaching to the DEEP by calling 800-842-4357.

Housatonic River

Conditions on the Housatonic have been improving. The Housatonic has been running between 600 and 900 CFS the past week. A great water level to wade. The next week also looks very good as far as temperatures go. The trout will certainly be actively feeding for the next week. This is one of those weather windows I am always talking about. I would expect the fishing on the Housatonic to be as good it has been in months. Now, with the recent stockings and more accessible fisheries fishing extremely well, it is a tough call to pick the Housey over other rivers. I would say that other rivers will fish much better this next week. However, that is also a benefit. There will be far fewer anglers on the Housey compared to the Farmington. And the fishing will be far better than it has been. So, if you are looking to avoid the crowds, the Housey is a far better option. Another thing to consider is that if the Farmington has gotten fish, the Housatonic will also get them any day now. The same tactics for the Farmy will hold true. Smaller, sub-surface flies will more than likely be the most productive. That said, with the warming temps and fish being more aggressive, trying larger patterns such as mops or stones may pay off. The rising water temperatures should have the fish creeping into feeding lanes. They will move from slower and deeper holding water to actively feed. While the fastest riffles will be devoid of fish, moderately paced water should be holding fish during the warmest parts of the day. Move around to locate fish with a searching pattern. Smaller streamers or reasonable nymph are good options. Once pockets of fish are located, then re-rig with a more precise set up. This coming week looks great for fishing and the Housatonic is no exception. You could have some spectacular fishing with fewer anglers to hamper your efforts.