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Northeast Fishing Report 7/24/26
Hello Compleat Angler Friends! We hope you survived the deluge from earlier this week. Massive rainstorms across the state have blown out rivers and left basements flooded and spirits dashed. Thankfully, the inclement weather ushered in some cooler, bighter weather, so fishing should steadily improve throughout this weekend and into next week. Despite the rain, heat, and humidity, we've heard some great reports from our regulars about the Farmington River, which has stayed cool thanks to the dam. The Sound is still finicky, with out east being the reliable hotspot for stripers. Still, big bass can be found in the early evenings and at night, as they push up from the reefs to feed.
Read on for more…
Connecticut
Local Rivers
Flows on the Saugatuck have understandably skyrocketed, but are now back to just above mean at 78.5 CFS. Trout have been extremely picky with the low, clear water, so hopefully this should open up the bite a bit more, if you can find any holdovers. Local hatches are still consisting of Sulphurs and Caddis and BWOS, and evening dry fly fishing has been productive.
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 dropped back to fishable levels as well, now at 133 CFS. With warmer water, seeking out trout during the early morning and late evenings will be better for the fish and for your chances of success. If you are itching to get on the water, focus on smallmouth or largemouth bass in the river during the sunlight hours of the day, and transition to trout once the light and temperatures have dropped.
Farmington River
The state did a small flow cut of about 20 CFS at the dam Wednesday morning, which came as a surprise given that we’ve had a good amount of rain in July. We only got 1/3” Tuesday, but we are at 3.5” for the month, which puts us slightly ahead for the month. And they got 1.5” above Colebrook Reservoir up in Otis on Tuesday, and about 4.5” for July. They are being conservative because they want to maintain a bank of cold water to get us through August & September, even if there is a drought. The flow cut drops Riverton from 120+ CFS down to 100 CFS, with the Still River adding in 27 CFS, giving the river a total flow of 127 CFS below that and in the Permanent TMA/Catch & Release (C&R). Historically the normal/median total flow in years with typical rainfall would be about 225-250 CFS in late July. The water coming out of the dam is reading 46.5 at the Route 20 bridge (River Self Storage/Hitchcock), it peaked yesterday at 53 degrees.After cooler nights you can easily fish in the mornings down in New Hartford and even Canton, but you may need to move upriver at least a few miles as you get toward lunchtime and into the afternoon. Ideally try to stay in water below 65 for the best fishing. Make sure you have a thermometer, and use it!
Still getting some good to excellent dry fly reports, especially from those fishing in the evenings, so don’t leave too early! Later in the day look for Isonychia (Iso’s) #10-12, small Blue Winged Olives #20-24, Rusty Spinners in the same sizes, Cahills/Summer Steno’s #12-16, Attenuata #18-20 (Riverton only), and egg-laying Caddis #18-22 (tan, black). Sulfurs are basically done in the Permanent TMA/C&R, but you will probably continue to see some hatching in Riverton above the Still River. Morning bugs include Summer/Winter Caddis #18-24, Needhami duns & spinners #22-26, and tan Caddis #18. Ants & Beetles are good dries to fish between late morning and early evening when there aren’t too many bugs hatching. FYI, you can blind fish Isonychia dries in riffle water, even when there are no fish rising. Also they are a good fly to do Dry/Dropper with.
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 467 CFS, which is much better than where we were before the rain event. Streamers have been working well with smallmouth in white and pink, and craw patterns are also performing. Pike should be starting to shift into gear in the deeper sections of the river, so if you are after toothy critters, thinks longer, slower sections further souther. Certain sections of the river have pressured and subjected to warm water, so hiking on foot between Cornwall and Kent is not a bad idea, although the low humidity and increased flows might help shake things up. Trout are hard to come by due to the warm weather, but 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 one angler fish the run today with slow angling success. He was able to land a few Smallmouth Bass ranging from 8-10 inches.
Catskills
The release from Cannonsville is 500 cfs. The air temps will be in the 80’s for the next few days but the nighttime temos are staying surprisingly cool. The West Branch is at a good level for floating and wading. The daytime sulphurs are hatching in Deposit mixed with some olives and a few Isonychias. Smaller seems to be better. Stick to the lower West if you want to nymph. The algae has been bad up top making it a dry fly only game.
Today will be 82 degrees and sunny. Wind will be light and variable.
What’s Hatching:
Dark Blue Wing Olive – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Sulphur – 16 – 20 – Ephemerella dorothea
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydrosyche sp
Light Cahill – #14 – Epeorus vitreus, Ephemerella invaria, Stenacron spp.
Slate Drake – #12-2xl – 12 – Isonychia bicolor
CT Saltwater
Nothing new to report, some sporadic success found deep and during low light times of day (morning/evening). Standard procedure through the next few weeks of the summer doldrums: try to find pods of fish in the Sound, and try targeting fish from shore during the evening or at night. Bunker and sand eel are the primary forage, and most anglers have had success by throwing larger flies on sinking line in deeper water. For now, try to enjoy the lower humidity and calmer weather, and hopefully we should see the bite turn on as we approach next week's full moon.