CT Freshwater Report as of 9/7/2026- Happy Labor Day!

CT Freshwater Report as of 9/7/2026

Jim DeCesare with an excellent brown landed this holiday weekend on a dry fly. Happy Labor Day weekend! We hope you all have a great holiday! 

Labor Day Hours: 8am-2pm

REMINDER: As of 9/1, the entire river from the Goodwin Dam in Riverton to the Rt. 177 bridge in Unionville is now catch and release only. 

The Farmington:

The start of September has come in with great cooler weather and consistent minor rains. This is keeping the river in great shape and the trout mostly happy! September is historically a tough time of year, but current conditions have helped keep the fishing decent. The USGS gauge in Riverton reads 213 cfs, the Still River USGS reading 29 cfs for a combined total flow of 242 cfs in the Permanent TMA. Water temperature from the dam is still coming out in the low 50's, aiding in keeping the river fishable through New Hartford. In the mornings, fishing down through Unionville has been possible with nightly temps dipping into the low-mid 50's. The current conditions offer a lot of diversity in fishable water; you can pick apart fast pocket water, fish pools and hunt heads, and everything in between. While less of a concern with current conditions, it is still important to keep a thermometer on you while fishing and practice taking water temperatures, especially in the afternoons. The HOBO unit is currently under maintenance, meaning all readings are currently down until further notice. We will update as soon as this changes. 

Current Hatches:

From mid-morning on, multiple species of caddis begin to hatch and trickle throughout the day. A mixture of Winter/Summer Caddis (#18-24) and various other tan or black caddis (#16-22) have been coming off. Throughout the day you can see sporadic Light Cahill species (#12-18), and Isonychia (#10-14). These become more prevalent into late afternoon/evening, along with Yellow Sally stoneflies (#14-18). With the cooler, cloudy weather we've had recently, Blue Winged Olives (#22-24) have been on the menu. For evening fishing, a great trick is to employ flies like a cream Usual or White Wulff in larger sizes (#8-14). They work well at fooling fish in those last few moments of daylight into darkness. Also, be sure to have flying ants (#16-24) on you in the afternoons,  especially on days with high humidity. Areas of best hatches for ants are around fields near the river, as the ants emerge from open areas and end up in the river. Other terrestrial patterns, such as larger ants, beetles, and small hoppers  can produce best from late morning through mid-day, fished blindly through shaded areas or to sporadic rising fish. They also make great prospecting patterns used on a dry dropper setup.

Below the Surface:

Subsurface fishing has been fairly consistent as of late, most likely due to the increase in water levels. In general, smaller nymphs are your best tools for success. Outliers to this would include a large stonefly nymph (#8-12) fished early mornings, or an Isonychia nymph (#10-14) fished in the afternoons; both in fast water. Overall this is the time of year more generic patterns that cover lots of bases tend to be more successful than specific, hatch matching patterns. Just a handful of patterns can cover a wide subset of important bugs to imitate. Go-to's include Pheasant Tail/Frenchies #16-22, Walts Worms #16-22, and Perdigon style nymphs #18-22 in various body/bead colors. Higa's SOS in black or olive #18-20 is a current shop favorite small attractor nymph, along with #18-20 Egan's Rainbow Warrior's in pearl or black. For emerging caddis, a unique pattern only available at Local Fly is BMAR's Extended Body Caddis Pupa in tan or olive, #16. This unique fly works exceptionally well fished in many different ways when caddis are present. With all the terrestrial activity, try a sunken ant pattern (#14-18) on your nymph or wet fly rigs. Numerous customers have taken nice fish recently on various sunken ant imitations. 

Around CT

This is a great time of year for small streams and freestone rivers. This cooler weather and consistent rains have made local wild trout fisheries a player again, especially in the mornings when air temps are coolest. In general, these smaller freestone rivers lack strong hatches (typically) as compared to larger rivers like the Farmington. Fish in these systems tend to feed more opportunistically, especially since spawn is only roughly a month out for many of these fish. If you do find a hatch, you most likely will see some sort of caddis or small mayfly, which can be matched accordingly. However, prospecting with terrestrials or attractor dries, along with small streamer patterns are very productive and a great way to approach these rivers. A dry dropper setup is also effective. It is important to stay stealthy and try your best to approach each piece of water with a game plan so you spook less fish before you even make a cast. 

Warm Water

September is a fantastic month to catch Smallmouth! They are a slightly less technical option to mix up from trout, and there there is a noticeable shift in aggression and feeding levels. Water temps begin to trend cooler and cooler, and the Smallmouth take notice. Smallmouth are very migratory, and cooling temperatures will shift them around to areas they can feed heavily going into the fall. A variety of tactics work well; from surface flies like poppers, various larger nymphs similar to those used for trout, to streamer patterns fished on an intermediate or sinking line. Mix up your retrieve styles and focus on fishing structure, such as log jams, boulders, transition lines, weed edges, and drop offs. They are often tight to structure so getting your fly as close to structure as you can and keeping it there is important. Smallmouth love to hang in pods, so if you find one you may find a pile of them together. Smallmouth often regurgitate recently eaten prey when caught, which can help you clue in to their current feeding patterns and aid in your fly selection. 

If you're looking for a more technical, but very rewarding large warm water fish to target, carp are a great option. September is one of our favorite months to target carp! With cooling water temps and consistent rains, carp begin to feed much more heavily coming out of the heat of summer. I've begun to notice this shift already in my recent outings and have had some great sessions. Sight fishing is the name of the game here, with success heavily relying on stealth and accurate presentations. You must have some sort of sight of the fish; at least enough to tell its positioning so you can accurately place your fly in front of it. The reward is encapsulated by a hard fought battle and a fish potentially in the 15-20lb range! We have a great selection of some specific carp flies, as well as great materials to tie some for yourself! 

Have further questions or need more advice/tips before your next outing? Please feel free to call or stop by the shop! We are more than happy to help you have success on your next fishing adventure! Tightlines! 

Location: 37 Greenwoods Rd, Unit 407, New Hartford, CT (4th Floor) 

Phone Number: (203) 343-0775

Fall Store Hours:

Monday - Sunday: 8AM - 5PM