Fishing Report: July 11th

Greetings Compleat Anglers!  Here is your fishing report for July 11th.

Overview

We are in full summer mode. Many Connecticut rivers and Catskill rivers are too warm to trout fish, but there is still plenty of available water on Connecticut, Croton and Catskill watersheds - and in fact, the fishing has been good on those waters. As well, there have been some great fish caught in Long Island Sound, but key fishing times are now early morning (sun-up) and evening into night. If you are trout fishing key hatches on all waters are pretty uniform - Sulphurs, Isos, Olives, Caddis and Cahills as well as ants and beetles. And it is prime fishing time for warm water species such as Carp, Pike, Bass, Perch and other warm-water species, so look to your closest ponds, lakes, rivers and reservoirs. 

Connecticut

The Farmington River has been fishing well. water temperatures continue to be ideal - in the high 40s in Riverton, and in the mid 50s-low 60s as you fish lower in the river. There have been Sulphurs (#14-#18), Isos (#10-#12), Olives (#16-#22), Caddis (tan and olive) (#14-#18), and Cahills (#14).  Also, terrestrials such as ants and beetles have been effective. For the Farmington smaller tippet size is Noe an essential. Nymphing has also been very effective with nymphs such as Pheasant Tail (#14-#22), Sulphur (#14-#18), Zebra (#18-#24),Frenchie (#16-#20), Copper John (#18-#22), and other standard patterns such as Hare's Ear, Leadwing Coachman, Prince, etc. (Below is a nice Farmington brown caught by Dima Dudnyk on a #20 BWO around midday.)

Our friend, Rob Nicholas from Housatonic Anglers  Housangler@yahoo.com  reports that the Housatonic is now too warm to trout fish without endangering the fish so we are asking anglers to refrain from trout fishing this water. However, Bass fishing remains very good and now is the time to take advantage of this great sportfish.

The smaller streams such as the Saugatuck River, the Norwalk River, and the Mianus River are all low and warm and its probably best to give the fish a rest in these waters. The Mill River is also low, but water temperatures are a bit better here so grab your 1 and 2 Weights and long fine tippets (6X and 7X) and take on the challenge of fooling some wary, wild fish. Ants, beetles and Caddis are great choices to start at the Mill, along with small nymphs such as Zebras, Copper Johns and Princes. Try a dry fly/dropper combination with the nymphs 6-12 inches off the dropper.

New York

If you are fishing in the Catskills, there is some splendid fishing to be had but take heed - The Lower Delaware East Branch, The Delaware Main Stem, the lower Beaverkill and the Willowemoc are all much too warm to fish. The Delaware West Branch and upper East Branch are the only fishable waters at this time. In both the East and West Branches, there are strong hatches of Sulphurs, Isos, Cahills, Caddis and Olives - as well as good spinner falls. (And don't forget your ants and beetle imitations.) For the most part, it is now an evening game, although on cloudy days you should be able to see heads all day long. Our good friend, Sal Renzuella, from Riverkeeper Guide Service  netroutbum@gmail.com  reports that they had targets yesterday on the West Branch from 5:00PM on including BWO's, Sulphurs and spinners.

Sal reports that most of their action came on size-10 Isos fished blind. Sal reports that they lost a heartbreaking Delware beast at the boat hooked on a mouse pattern after dark. (below - our friend - master-tier Jason Taylor getting it done with a great Delaware Brown.)

Flow information for Connecticut and the Catskills:

WB Farmington River at Riverton:  319cfs at mid-40s;

Still River in Robertsville:  16cfs;

Farmington River through the TMA:  335cfs in the mid-50s -mid 60s;

Housatonic at Falls River:  238cfs at 70 degrees;

WB Delaware at Stilesville:   383cfs at 44 degrees;

WB Delaware at Hale Eddy:  464cfs at 48 degrees;

EB DEeaware at Harvard:  185cfs at 60 degrees;

EB Delaware at Fishs Eddy:   304cfs  at 68 degrees;

Mainstem Delaware at Lordville:  862cfs at 71 degrees;

Beaverkill at Cooks Falls:  100cfs at 70 degrees; 

Long Island Sound

Our very own Patrick Fowler fished the sound early in the AM on Saturday and took several of the amazing beast pictured below. Pat reports that the bite is on from first light to about 9:00AM so the key is getting out early. Most of the big fish were caught on top with big flies. (Yeah, Pat!)

As well, I had two of my grandkids out on Saturday with Capt. Roger Gendron of Connecticut Island Outfitters  info@ctislandoutfitters.com. Roger kept the kids busy and happy catching some nice Fluke, Porgy (and of course a Sea Robin or Two.)  They even picked up a schoolie bass.  (Lee (below) proudly displays one of his Fluke).

Just a reminder that it isn't always about the bass, Blues and Albies - for young anglers there's a huge selection of fish ready, willing and able to provide a great day of fishing! If you're planning to fish the Sound, remember that early AM and later afternoon/PM are probably your best bets. Deceivers, Clousers, and Sand Eel imitations along with topwater poppers and crease flies are all potent weapons.(Below, one of Captain Roger Gendron's clients with a nice bass this week.)

And don't forget to stop in to the shop for all your angling needs. We carry a full line of rods, reels, fly-lines, waders, boots, clothing, luggage, flies (many tied right here in the USA!), fly-tying equipment and tools, and accessories such as leaders, tippets, wading staffs, and much much more!  Our huge inventory includes all major brands such as Sage, Scott, Winston, Hardy, Reddington, TFO, Echo, Loomis, Thomas & Thomas, Abel, Ross, Lamson, Tibor, Hatch, Nautilus, Orvis, Hardy, Simms, Patagonia, Yeti and so much more. We have the inventory and we have the knowledge on how to, what to, and where to go!

That's it for now - Wishing you tight lines and hope to see you on the water!

Len