CT Freshwater Report as of 7/24/2026

CT Freshwater Report as of 7/24/2026

The Farmington

Pictured here is Brent with an amazing brown trout. The river still is very low and clear with the West Branch Farmington in Riverton is at 114 cfs with the Still at 19 cfs for a combined flow of 133 cfs. Cooler temps this week with overnights in the 50’s, however temps were still getting up to around 68 in New Hartford. Have a thermometer on you when fishing. With the water is so low the lower river could warm up a bit too much downstream, by 10am you should really be church pool and up. Here is the link to the hobo unit behind upcountry to check water temps as well: LI-COR Cloud

 

Early morning caddis have been productive especially upriver. Dry dropper with a pupa is a great technique. While not very strong needhamis are happening in the morning church and down. BWO should strong in the evenings and are especially good on the cloudier overcast days (#18-24). That is a pretty important hatch right now and the fish are keeyed in on the bug. The smaller the better for the most part right now. Evening ISO hatches in the fast water have been very, very good. Spinners of various sizes (mostly small) should be something you have for the evenings. For nymphs think small mayfly stuff, with caddis and stones in the morning. Lots of spinners in the evening (BWO and Sulphurs). Larger stones in the morning is also a productive bug right now.

The best fishing right now is the morning and the evening. With the low water and hot temps, mid day has not been great. Fish are currently in the faster water, as long as you have some relative depth you will find fish. Fish have moved into pretty summery water so start fishing the faster lies and runs. Morning stonefly bite is good as of late. Prospecting with Iso’s is a good thing to try all day. Terrestrials is a good option to blind fish right now. Ants are a great pattern to throw to the banks.

Around CT

Please be mindful of water temps on small streams. Now is the time when they start to warm up so have a thermometer on you. With that being said, bugs off the Farmington are about the same. Right now is terrestrial time so IF the water is cold enough be fishing ants and beetles even stubby chubby dry droppers. On smaller freestone rivers there aren’t as many bugs (typically) 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. Dry dropper has been a great technique for the small stream as of late. Saty stealthy and try your best to approach from behind the fish.

Warm Water

Small mouth are in full swing. They are on frogs pretty good right now, fish them slower for smallmouth, they eat a lot better on a slow delicate retrieve. Mix in the “wigglies” which are just the insect like imitation’s, fish them slow with light movements. They will eat those pretty well. They are tight to structure so look for log jams or big rocky areas. The CT river is very low in the upper part of CT right now. Take advantage of this! Small mouth are a blast and there’s always the chance to run into a pike or other fun fish. Wade fishing as well as kayak opportunities are great options right now especially if you want to give the trout a break. Look to the weed patches and fish above, below, and in the pockets. Also, fish ledges with heavier flies and bounce them along the shelf. We have some big flies from hooksetters in the shop for the bass around the state.

Carp are also a hot fish right now to target. They can also be found along the grass with easy access to deeper water. We have a good selection of some carpy flies as well as the materials you need to tie some up for yourself!

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. As always, tight lines!

 

Location: 37 Greenwoods Rd, New Hartford, CT

Number: (203) 343-0775

Hours:

Monday - Thursday                    8AM – 6PM

Friday – Saturday                        6:30AM – 6PM

Sunday                                            6:30AM – 5PM