CT Freshwater Report as of 12/6/2025

CT Freshwater Report as of 12/6/2025

Pictured here is Jeff Weisman with a nice brown! Good flows coming out of the damn. The West Branch Farmington in Riverton is 260 cfs with the Still at 82 cfs, combining for 342 cfs, a very good flow. Please be mindful of redds as you wade around the river. Temps this week are going to be in the low 30’s with lows dipping below 20. A pretty chilly week so dress warm. Keep in mind that the Farmington River from the dam to the Rt 177 bridge is now catch and release until April.

BWO (#20-24) will hatch into mid December. Some midges will hatch around the afternoon but for the most part its all small bugs. Bigger flies to use would be stoneflies or other junky type flies. Overall, the bugs this time of year are small around #20-22 so size down your flies to account for this. Streamers can still be productive this time of year but fish tend to slow down in the cold so you want to slow down your retrieves or even dead drift in some cases.

Look to the slower water now as the cold air drops the water temps. Most fish are spawned out right now and eager for an easy meal so there are plenty of fish to catch. As trout continue to spawn, eggs will become more and more effective. Downstream from spawning areas, trout will pick off eggs that come loose and float downstream. With fish looking for big meals don’t forget larger buggy flies like mops, squirmies, and flashy stuff.

Bugs off the Farmington are about the same. On smaller freestone rivers there aren’t as many bugs as there are on the Farmington so fish feed more opportunistically. Don’t be afraid to go a little bigger in fly choice on the smaller rivers. With cold water small stream fish tend to stack up in the deeper pools and at times can be tricky to find. Moving around the river is key to finding small stream fish in the winter.

Lots of rivers across CT have been stocked, fishing is going to pick up so it’s a good time to get out! A recently stocked river in the area is the Naugatuck TMA. The Still river was also recently stocked with trout.

If you go out and have any questions, feel free to stop by the shop, we are more than happy to help you with whatever you need. Swing by the shop to take advantage of our holiday deals!. As always, tight lines!

Location:139 Center St, Bristol CT, 06010

Number: (203) 343-0775

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