CT Freshwater Report as of 6/20/2025

CT Freshwater Report as of 6/20/2025

Pictured above is Ben Toscano with a nice farmy brown. The Farmington River is finally at a good flow with the drops in flow we have received. The Still did receive a bump so the river is a little stained but that should clear up fairly quick. The West Branch Farmington in Riverton is 207 cfs with an additional 173 cfs from the Still River at Robertsville, which is a very fishable flow. Today there looks to be some afternoon thunderstorms to watch out for. Not a whole lot of rain but definitely wind (gusts up to 28 mph) and lightning. Other than that the rest of the week looks good with warm temps, mid 80’s to high 90’s. Other rivers in CT are at great fishing flows and should even drop a bit after the little bit of rain we received this week. Conditions this week look good just be mindful of the heat and bring some water with you out on the river.

Hatch wise we are seeing mostly sulphurs (~#16) and vitreus (~#14) on the water. In the mornings – mid-mornings caddis have been active (#16-18), look to fish the pupas in the morning. Larger stoneflies have also been on the menu, look to the banks to see some shuks and try imitate the size that are active. Pheasant tails size 12-18 will do a good job of imitating a lot of the bugs in the drift right now. I’ve had good luck with caddis pupas(#16-18). Smaller pheasant tails will be working great right now especially with something like a pat’s rubber leg. Sulphur nymphs have been killer too especially when fished a few hours before they start hatching.

Like mentioned earlier, Vitreus are hatching on the Farmington and they’re about a size 14-16 and look like Sulphurs except they have a little orange or pink in their bodies. We have a cool dry fly pattern in the shop to imitate them. Sulphurs (Invaria) are hatching strong and are around a size 16. Fishing sulphur patterns as nymphs as well as caddis pupas should be effective right now, especially a few hours before the hatch starts. Dry fly fishing will be much better now that the flows are lower so don’t leave too early. The bugs are hatching in the evenings and spinner falls usually happen right at dark. Spinners are on the larger side, around #12-16. Something to give a shot is throwing a mouse fly when you give up on seeing a dry fly. Every now and again you will catch a nice brown on a mouse walking back to the car.

Bugs off the Farmington are looking the same to last week as well. Lots of caddis with some larger mayflies mixed in. 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. Also think terrestrials. We are in that time now where trout will eat ants, beetles, caterpillars, ETC. as they fall in the river. Small streamers like woolly buggers and zonkers can be effective as well.

If you want to get away from the Farmington don’t be afraid to explore. There are a ton of rivers that are fun to fish. It looks like stockings are done for the most part, there are still trout to be found in a lot of rivers but don’t be afraid to try some different species. Smallmouth can be very fun to catch and are found in rivers and similar places as trout. Streamers are usually the ticket for these fish. If you want to fish ponds and lakes now is a great time as well. Bass are very active in the shallow water. We just got some bass poppers in the store too. Catching a bass on a popper is a blast and if you’re looking for something new it’s worth giving a shot.

Some TMA’s to check out if you aren’t convinced on the bass fishing are the Pequabuck TMA (61 cfs and right by the shop and recently stocked), Housatonic River (Upper TMA) (1060 cfs at falls village), and the Naugatuck TMA (151 cfs at Thomaston). When fishing a TMA make sure you have purchased a trout and salmon stamp in addition to your fishing license.

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. Be sure to stop by the shop and pick up some cool flies! Tight Lines!

Location:139 Center St, Bristol CT, 06010

Number: (203) 343-0775

Hours:

Monday – Tuesday           8AM – 5PM

Wednesday                         8AM – 8PM

Thursday                               8AM – 5PM

Friday – Saturday              7AM – 6PM

Sunday                                  7AM – 5PM