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Northeast Fishing Report 6/26/26
Hello Compleat Angler Friends! The rain gods have answered our prayers, and flows are finally back up after a long dry spell. The increased water has kicked off some nice bites on the Farmington, the Delaware, and in local our rivers for trout, but striped bass in the Western Sound are harder to come by. Anglers are having success out East near Fishers Island and Watch Hill, where bass are feeding heavily on sand eels and squid.
Read on for more…
Connecticut
Local Rivers
Flows on the Saugatuck are finally back up, reading today at 61.3 CFS. Trout have been extremely picky with the low, clear water, so hopefully this should open up the bite a bit more. Local hatches are still consisting of Sulphurs and Caddis, but with the increased flows, I’m sure a fair amount of debris and smaller bigs have been washed down river, so throwing on a nymph might not be a bad idea.
Dry Fly Hatches:
Nymphs:
General Mayfly Attractor 14-18
Streamers:
Krystal Bugger (Black, Chartreuse, Brown, Olive, White, Burnt Orange) 6-12
Naugatuck River
The Naugatuck has risen as well, now at 274 CFS. Again, increased flows will help with the bite, for everything from smallmouth to trout. The water might be a touch dirty, so giving it a day or two to clear up wouldn’t be the worst idea. Hatches are the same, Sulfurs and Caddis.
Farmington River
Total flow remains low at 139 CFS. They are being conservative with water released from the dam due to drought concerns, and maintaining a bank of cold water in the reservoir system. Main bugs are Sulfurs & assorted Caddis, but Isonychia are becoming a legit hatch that’s working it’s way upriver. Don’t forget about Terrestrials, especially Ants & Beetles, they are very active now. If they are not rising (often the case), go subsurface with nymph & wet flies/soft hackles, blind fish an Attractor dry fly, or do a Dry/Dropper rig with a nymph 18-24” under a buoyant/visible dry. Don’t go too heavy while nymphing the current low water conditions, or you will hang bottom constantly and not catch fish. Plus you don’t need to dredge bottom this time of year. Streamers are at their best during first and last light, and at their worst in the middle of a bright, sunny day. Mousing at night is a good option for big brown trout, keep your leader very short and heavy.
Hatches remain similar to what they were, but remember they work their way upstream, with any particular hatch happening last in Riverton due to the icy cold water coming out of the dam (mid 40’s). Sulfurs are a mix of #16 Invaria and #18 Dorothea- make sure you have BOTH sizes, trout can be picky on that. More of an evening hatch, but the further upriver you are the more the chances you may see an early to mid afternoon hatch of them. Assorted Caddis going from #16-24 (tan, olive/green, black, gray) are major players. Typically most hatching occurs from about mid morning to early afternoon, and then the adult Caddis come out in the evening to egg-lay in riffly water. Isonychia are picking up steam, with some good reports in New Hartford, and working their way upriver at least as far as Church Pool and likely above that. Iso’s are a big #8-12 fast water bug that typically emerge between late afternoon and dark. You can even blind fish them over likely looking fast water. July is the big month for this bug, one of my absolute favorite hatches. Iso’s will continue to hatch right into the mid fall time period, but they get smaller as the season progresses. #10 is about average for them currently, but some are bigger, some are smaller. Other bugs in the mix include #14 Light Cahills in the evenings, and #20-22 and smaller Blue Winged Olives (evenings, cloudy afternoons). #12-14 Vitreus are probably almost done, but there should still be a few up in Riverton near the dam.
Dry/Dropper with a Caddis dry and a trailing weighted pupa 1-2’ below can be an effective combo during a Caddis emergence- they usually take the pupa, and the dry acts as a suspender/indicator, but sometimes they eat the dry. Frequently the better dry fly action for Caddis is when they come back later in the day to egg-lay, usually in the low light of evenings. And sometimes swinging wet flies/soft hackles is the way to go when Caddis are hatching and/or egg-laying. On average, they are much better/faster swimmers than Mayflies, which is why the takes to them are often violent and trout will sometimes jump out of the water. They also tend to be most active in faster, broken water like riffles, pool heads, pocket water, etc. When fishing Caddis dries, sometimes the fish want them dead-drift, but frequently they won’t eat it unless you twitch/move it, the naturals are very active, not passive like a Mayfly.
Dry Fly Hatches:
Nymphs:
General Mayfly Attractor 14-18
Streamers:
Krystal Bugger (Black, Brown, Olive, White, Burnt Orange) 6-12
Larger Articulated Streamers on a sinking/sink tip line
Housatonic River
The Housatonic River at Falls Village is reading 332 CFS. Smallmouth fishing is active and lively throughout the river. Plenty of people have been in the shop picking up craw patterned flies, and when I was in Kent a few days ago, the entire river bottom was crowded with crayfish. Sightcasting to big bronzebacks is an amazing way to switch up your approach during summer months, and helps give pressured trout a much deserved break. Craw flies, poppers, hoppers, and streamers will all be effective, and might even scare up a nice brown.
Dry Fly Hatches:
Nymphs:
General Mayfly Attractor 14-18
Streamers:
Krystal Bugger (Black, Brown, Olive, White, Burnt Orange) 6-12
Larger Articulated Streamers on a sinking/sink tip line
New York
Salmon River
DSR had a handful of guests on the run this week with slow fishing reported. One of the guests indicated hooking and landing two big Smallmouth Bass.
The flow from the dam is currently at 200 CFS and will remain at that level until 11:59 PM tonight. The Pineville gauge is currently at 2236 CFS. Tonight: Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible.
Catskills
The release from Cannonsville is 500 cfs. They had some rain in the evening that was heavy for an hour or so. The West Branch got most of the rain but the levels are dropping and safe to wade. There’s a little color in the system but that should clear quickly. If the clouds stick around today, we could see hatching mid day. Bring all your summer favorites: sulphurs, Cahills, Isonychias, olives, and some caddis.
Today will be 81 degrees and cloudy. Wind will be 5 – 10 mph from the West.
What’s Hatching:
Dark Blue Wing Olive – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Sulphur – 16 – 18 – Ephemerella dorothea
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydrosyche sp
Light Cahill – #14 – Epeorus vitreus, Ephemerella invaria, Stenacron spp.
Slate Drake – #12-2xl – 12 – Isonychia bicolor
Dark Blue Sedge – #14 – Psilotreta sp.
CT Saltwater
Stripers have seemed to shut down in the Western Sound, with few catches reported this week. There are still ample numbers of fish and bait to the east near Fishers Island and Watch Hill, where they are taking everything from squid and bunker flies, to tiny sand eel imitations. If you were going to fish this weekend, I would suggest driving past the CT river. Hopefully the full moon next week shakes up and turns the bite back on in the Western Sound.