Ed Mitchell Outdoors

Part Four:  In the following days I waded as many pools and runs as I could. It was a vivid reminder of how much terrific trout water exists on this river. Naturally my main goal throughout stayed the same – to fish and learn about the “sulphur” hatch on the Farmington River.

Farmington River

For the duration of my trip, this year’s “sulphur” hatch continued to prove difficult to nail down. I saw duns appear as early as 11:30am, and as late as 7:45pm. And on more than one occasion, the hatch came off twice in the same day – once in the afternoon and once in the evening. Typically the afternoon hatches were the weaker of the two, being shorter in duration and containing fewer duns. That said, the afternoon events hosted less anglers which allowed you a better shot at the fish. And in the evening, there was an increasing number of smaller duns down to size 18#.

When the hatch wasn’t underway,  I resorted to nymphs, trying indicator-style and tight line Euro-style. Both methods caught fish. Primary I stuck with bead-head caddis pupa.  My indicator was a product new to me, called an Air-Lock. Unlike other indicators, these employ a threaded slot to grasp the leader. It worked well, although the threaded assembly is small and a bit hard to handle, particularly midstream. Once it is in place,however, it can be quickly moved up or down and doesn’t kink the leader. Good news.

During slow periods, caddis pupa such as Rich Strolis’ Rock Candy worked

Air Lock Indicator

Overall, I enjoyed fishing the”sulphur’ hatch on the Farmington River, but found it challenging. Now, perhaps I just hit the hatch in an “off”year. Such things can happen. Regardless, I feel confident in making the following recommendations.  If you come for the hatch, be sure to have “emergers” in your fly box. If you get caught without them, hang a size 16 pheasant tail nymph about a foot off the bend of a dry. Could save the day. And you’ll need “sulphur”dries in three sizes 14,16, and 18# – along with a selection of  “sulphur” spinners. Also in your dry fly box should be size 16# tan caddis, Isonychias in 10# and 12#. And don’t forget to bring “Usuals”; this homely looking dry can works wonders.

Blue Sky Foods

In closing, let me mention two fun places in New Hartford. If you’re feeling hungry, Blue Sky Foods on route 44# is a gem, serving up good food with a funky Caribbean flare. Off Greenwoods road, by the Ovation guitar factory, is a new spot called the Parrott-Delaney tavern. Excellent food and a fine selection of craft beers. I really liked the spot. Enjoy!

Part Three: Bright and early the following morning I stopped into Upcountry Sportfishing, located right on route 44 in New Hartford.  Upcountry is fly-fishing central in these parts. Besides being a well-run, well stocked fly shop – the kind that’s harder and harder to find these days – Upcountry has a very informative website with river reports, weather, guides, and lodging.

Vest and a Kabuto Fly Rod

In the shop I ran into Bruce Marino. Bruce has been wading these waters for years as a full-time, year-round Farmington River guide, and noted fly tyer.  Bruce quickly confirmed what I saw the previous day. He told me the “sulphurs” can come off much earlier than expected. And he added they can also come off again around 5pm. And there are even day when the “sulphurs” may wait until nightfall before appearing. In other words, the “sulphur” hatch on the Farmington River can be unpredictable.

Then I told Bruce about my lack of luck with dries. He wasn’t at all surprised. He said the trout often show little interest in the “sulphur” dun and spend much of their time keyed to the “emerger”. As Bruce put it: “It pays to get the fly wet.”

That evening I fished down river down in Collingsville with Gary Steinmiller. Gary is a highly skilled angler and president of the Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association. We got in around 4:30pm. There was no action to speak of until near 7pm. At that point we saw “sulphurs”, “isonychias”, and a few “cahills’ come off. This time Rick Strolis’ “shucked up emerger” worked very well indeed, taking several good fish. Gary caught several very nice trout too, including a big chunky rainbow that put up a real show, running the pool.

Francis Better ‘s Usual – note red thread in body

As darkness descended, I was having trouble seeing the “emerger” so I switched to a Usual,  a great dry fly invented in the Adirondacks by the late Francis Betters. The Usual looks deceptively simple, but believe me it can be a killer. It rewarded me with the final fish of the night, a heavy brown of near 18 inches that bent my Kabuto glass fly rod right down into the corks. Exciting fishing!

Here’s Part Four

Part Two: Ok, lets talk more about the “sulphur” hatch on the Farmington River. My first day on the river was filled with surprises.  Now the text book time for “sulphurs” to appear is 5pm, just as the light begins to leave the water. But rather than wait all day, I opted to get fishing just after lunch. Hey, I was anxious to see the river and anxious to wet a line.

When I got in, I saw a few caddis coming off. They were tan and about size 16.  Then around 1pm, I noticed something unexpected – “sulphur” duns begin to appear.  Seemed more than slightly early for the hatch, but the fish started moving. Wow, I felt lucky to be there.  Great I thought, here we go. I dug out a size 14 dry fly to match, and presented it above the “rises”. Believe me, my anticipation was running high. The trout continued to work, yet not one of them took my fly! Ouch. OK, I figured my presentation must be a little off, so I adjusted my angle to get a better drift. Still no dice.

“Shucked up” Sulphur Emerger

At that point I stopped and watched.  There were five trout feeding sporadically within 20 feet of me. They didn’t appeared to be large fish. Still I badly wanted to connect. After a couple of minutes, my observations paid off. Although the duns were floating right over the trout, not one dun disappeared. Instead the trout were busy immediately below the surface, taking “emergers”.

Before coming up to the river, I had bought some “emergers” from Rick Strolis. Rick is a fine fly tyer and author. The fly in question was his “shucked up”  “emerger”. I had them in size 14 1nd 16. Quickly I tied one on and bingo, sure enough, now the fish would at least come up and look at my offering. We were finally getting somewhere. Unfortunately for me, however, before I could connect, the afternoon hatch quickly petered out, without me taking a single trout. Drat. Not off to a good start!

Onward to Part Three