CT Freshwater Report as of 9/6/2025

CT Freshwater Report as of 9/6/2025

We have a big brown caught by Trevor Nguyen caught on a stone! We had some great fishing this past weekend with lots of reports of flying ants! We will continue to see cooler temps through next week, overnight lows are helping keep the river cool. The West Branch Farmington in Riverton is 164 cfs with a negligible influence from the Still 17 cfs. It is officially September and Fall is just around the corner. This week (Besides from today) will be in the low 70’s with lows right around 50. Looks like a few scattered showers today and tomorrow but nothing too bad. Still going to have some gusts but it hasn’t affected the fishing too much. A quick note for Tuesday – Thursday, the Fisheries Division will be conducting the annual survivor brown trout collection. This means that flows will be lowered in order to safely conduct this work. Keep this in mind when fishing.

Stoneflies #8-12 are the most active in the early part of the day and will work great if nymphed. Isos typically hatch sporadically through the day in faster water #10-14. When nymphing them play around with the drift, they like to swim so a swing at the end of your drift can trigger some bites. BWO (#18-20) have also been active on cloudier/overcast days. Active caddis are around a #18-120.  There are some Light Cahills #14 hatching too. Pheasant tails and other slim flies size 18-24 are going to be imitating a lot of the bugs in the drift right now. Small bugs are definitely the ticket right now as they are most prevalent in the drift. Don’t neglect terrestrials, mostly ants and beetles but also throw in some bigger hoppers. Look to see more flying ants #16-20 around especially after the showers we will be getting today and tomorrow.  Make sure you stock up on ants and have them with you. When they’re on the water trout love them.

Early morning tricos are still falling but are moving further upstream. They fall at about a #20-24, so go small. They may fall earlier or later in the morning depending on the temps overnight. In general fishing has been better in the morning with the most amount of bugs being active. Focus on the faster water when nymphing as that’s where most of the fish will be this time of year because of the higher amounts of dissolved oxygen. When bugs are slow don’t forget about streamers, especially as browns begin to transition to their fall habits. Evening dries have been slow overall but with the potential for flying ants throughout the day, dry fly fishing is still viable. Something else to give a shot in the evenings is throwing a mouse fly when you give up on trying to seeing a dry fly in the dark. Every now and again you will catch a nice brown on a mouse walking back to the car.

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. Bugs that could be active are Isos, Cahil’s, and other smaller mayflies as well as assorted caddis (#14-18). Terrestrials should be a go to right now. Dry dropper is a great technique right now to hook some wilds. Fall is a great time to fish for colored up brookies and as the water keeps cooling, and hopefully gets a recharge with some rain, the fishing should be good.

If you want to get away from the Farmington don’t be afraid to explore, smallmouth and bass in general are super fun on the fly. There are a ton of rivers that are fun to fish. Small mouth love streamers and will surprisingly eat pretty big streamers but don’t neglect smaller crayfish/baitfish imitations. Bass are going to be moving into their fall habits soon and will be gorging baitfish getting ready for winter. Look at the deeper water off structure as they begin to move. Cycle through different presentations but a faster strip works great. I have had lots of luck with game changers. Some other good patterns are woolly buggers, zonkers, and dungeon’s.

If you want to try for some smallies, look to fish rivers that open into the Connecticut river like the Farmington River in Windsor and Mattabesset River in Middletown. The Housatonic River above the dam in Falls Village is another popular spot to try. Beyond these there are a plethora of lakes, ponds, and rivers that hold bass. They are usually found where the water is a bit warmer. If you aren’t convinced and want to trout fish, the Farmington River is a safe bet. A lot of the smaller rivers are starting to cool down but may be low with how little it’s raining.

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. If you don’t have any ants stop by the shop and pick some up. As always tight lines!

 

Location:139 Center St, Bristol CT, 06010

Number: (203) 343-0775

Hours:

Monday                                  Closed

Tuesday                                 8AM – 5PM

Wednesday                         8AM – 5PM

Thursday                               8AM – 5PM

Friday – Saturday              8AM – 6PM

Sunday                                  8AM – 3PM