Hello Compleat Angler Friends! Happy Holidays from all of us at the shop, and we hope you all had a happy and healthy New Year! Freshwater fishing has seen an improvement in fishable flows, and with that an improvement in the actual fishing. The weather is starting to get colder, in the mid 30s to low 40s, with potential for snow this weekend. Now is the time to consider a good layering system, as well as breaking out the fingerless gloves and wool socks to keep you toasty and fishing longer. Our local rivers are still fishing well as fish have held over from Spring and Fall Stocking. This time of year the most productive methods will be subsurface either fishing streamers or nymphing. Having a variety of Midges, Caddis, and Mayfly nymphs from sizes 12-20 will be best, and egg flies are still working. On the Salmon River anglers are seeing Steelhead spread throughout the river, with some fresh fish still pushing into the lower system. Most of our anglers are reporting single digit numbers of fish each day. Saltwater fishing has quieted down, and one of the only games in town is the Housatonic River. With that said, there have been a late run of fish still pushing into the mouth of the river from the Sound. Read on for more…

Connecticut

Local Rivers

While flows are still high they have subsided to fishable and wadable levels for all our local options. The Saugatuck River is flowing at 277 CFS, and while hatches will be slow, there are a variety of subsurface techniques that should work. Anglers are still catching fish on streamers, and some patterns to consider are conehead Woolly Buggers fished on a floating line and larger articulated patterns paired with a sinking or sink tip line. One of our favorite streamer lines for this technique is theAirflo Streamer Max Short,as well as theScientific Anglers Sonar Trout. The Short head loads rods well for our smaller rivers, especially when targeting the opposite bank and sinking the fly quickly into the strike zone. The most productive technique is currently nymphing. Patterns to have with you this time of year include Zebra Midges, Pheasant Tails, Prince Nymphs, Caddis Larvae, Hare’s Ears, and Perdigones in sizes 14-24. A double nymph rig is a good way to cover multiple columns of the water and offer multiple options. Fishing a larger fly as your point fly will help get your dropper down to an appropriate depth without the use of split shot. During these flows it helps to use nymphs with a tungsten bead as they will plummet faster getting you to the strike zone quicker.When nymphing and dry fly fishing in our smaller river and streams we like having a shorter leader, such as theRio Powerflex in 7.5ft. Both 5x and 6x will have you covered for most dry fly and nymphing scenarios. In addition, at the end of your dead-drift let your nymphs swing to the bank as this will imitate an emerging insect. Trout will be spread out during these flows, so covering different water types and holding lies will improve your success. Areas to consider include the Saugatuck, Mianus, Mill, and Aspetuck Rivers. There are still fish to be had from Spring holdovers and Fall stockings. And our anglers are reporting the Saugatuck is still fishing very well.

Naugatuck River

The Naugatuck and Shetucket were stocked with Atlantic Salmon and Trout in the Trout Management Areas. The last Atlantic Salmon stocking occurred on December 8th. Flows are high but have improved for wading, reading 864 CFS at Beacon Falls. Bringing some junk flies will catch the less educated stocked trout and look to fish similar offerings we are using on our local streams: Caddis, Blue Winged Olives, and Midges. With respect to other insects, having a range of sizes from 12-24 in nymphs/dries will have you covered, and egg patterns are still working. Overall, fishing will be most productive with streamers and nymphs. Fishing drab colored Woolly Buggers and streamers 3-5” should work for the more aggressive fish. The Naugatuck is a good alternative for areas with more crowds/pressure. When targeting Salmon, your traditional Atlantic Flies and hairwing streamers will work: Grey Ghosts, Blue Charms and Mickey Finns. Don’t be afraid to throw some larger intruders and flashy streamers in Pink, Black, Blue, and Purple, especially after they’ve just finished stocking. Try swinging these streamers slowly as you first fish the pool, and if you don’t get any takes, switch to a faster retrieve/swing. The fish will let you know what they prefer.

Farmington River

Flows have been cut on the West Branch of the Farmington River and are currently reading 260 CFS in Riverton. The Still River flows have gradually tapered off to 206 CFS, which means that overall, the flows are back near average with good wading and visibility. Temperatures near the Riverton gauge are fluctuating in the low 40s with colder temperatures downriver of the Still. The main hatches this time of year will be Winter Caddis in sizes 18-20 during the morning hours, and Midges in sizes 18-24 during the afternoons. Some Blue Winged Olives may still be around in sizes 20-24 as well. Again, subsurface will be the most effective technique. For streamer fishing try using jigged streamers under a tight line system, weighted flies (cone head Woolly Buggers, Sculpin Helmets) under a floating line, or neutrally buoyant articulated streamers with a sinking line or sink tip. Trout will be looking for a large meal to stock up on calories for the long winter. Now is a good time for our Trout Spey anglers to break out theSkagit Heads andT Tips which will turn over larger intruders and streamers. Fishing a wet fly swung on aless aggressive sinking tip can pull additional fish during the afternoon when insects will be emerging. For nymphing, junk flies will catch the recently stocked Trout (Mops and Squirmies) in addition to Stoneflies in sizes 8-12. One technique is to use these larger flies as your point nymph paired with a smaller dropper nymph: Pheasant Tails in sizes 12-20, Caddis Larva 14-18, Perdigones 12-20, Hare’s Ears 14-18, and Zebra Midges in 18-24. These nymphs are all safe bets from Fall and well into Winter, and nymphing will be the most productive method. Most of your smaller nymphs will be more productive this time of year, especially with these average flows. In terms of rigging, look to use 5x-6xFluorocarbon when nymphing. As water temperatures continue to become colder, strikes will be more subtle and harder to detect. Remember to not high or low hole anyone. Let’s be respectful to other anglers. Good luck! Keep in mind:Please report any suspicious activity and poaching to DEEP by calling 800-842-4357.

Housatonic River

The Housatonic River has gradually dropped but is still above average at 1530 CFS. Most sections will be fishable, however please use caution when wading. Those anglers that have braved the flows and weather have reported some good fishing with a lot of nice size fish. For hatches you may encounter some Midges in sizes 18-24, and Blue Winged Olives in similar sizes during the afternoons. Streamer fishing and nymphing are going to be the most productive techniques this time of year. Anglers that have been streamer fishing are swinging flies on a floating or sink tip line with either single handers or trout spey rods. If you are fishing articulated neutrally buoyant streamers (Mini Dungeons, Drunk and Disorderly, Circus Peanuts, etc), you will want to pair these with asinking line and a short 5’ leader tapered from20lb to 10lb. For our floating line Streamer Anglers, consider drab colored Conehead Woolly Buggers paired with a 9ft 2x leader. Now is also a good time for our Trout Spey anglers to consider throwing larger patterns during the afternoon in combination with swinging soft hackles in the mornings and evenings. During the mornings nymphing still remains the most effective method. For nymphing with an indicator (we’ve had great feedback on theOros Stike Indicators), a 9ft taperedfluorocarbon leader in 5x-6x is recommended. Nymphs to consider bringing include Caddis Larvae, Prince Nymphs, Hare’s Ears, Waltz Worms, Perdigones, and Yellow/Golden Stoneflies in sizes 12-18. For smaller nymphs, Zebra Midges in 18-24, will fool fish well into Fall and throughout Winter. While the spawning season is over, egg flies are continuing to produce, and consider more washed-out colors like Tan, Light Pink, and Cheese.

New York

Salmon River

With flow cuts and a steady decrease throughout the week, the flows on the Salmon River are currently 1030 CFS at the Pineville Gauge. As water levels continue to drop look for fish holding in the typical Winter lies (softer water in the larger and deeper pools). All sections of the river will be holding Steelhead, and there are still fresh fish pushing into the lower sections daily. Most anglers are reporting single digit numbers of fish each day. While swinging flies will still be attracting the most aggressive fish, the most productive method in the cold weather will be nymphing. Estaz Eggs, Glo Bugs, Squirmy Worms, Stoneflies, Steelhead Slammers, and Sucker Spawn will all take fish. Having a variety of colors and sizes, as well as switching flies often will help you determine what they are keying in on. The surrounding tributaries will also hold Brown Trout and Steelhead.Beads in different colors will also work well (such as Chartreuse and Mottled Tangerine), so switching up flies/colors and techniques will be the key to success. As a bonus, these flies will also work on Brown Trout. Having amicro barrel swivel incorporated into your leader will help avoid splitshot sliding down your leader, as well as aid in quicker rerigging during breakoffs and snags. For our two handed anglers, Skagit has been the most productive method, and we like Rio’sSkagit Max Power head combined with either amono orcoated running line. Having a variety ofMOW Tips is helpful for fine tuning the depth of your fly based on flows, depth, and current. For tippet, we like usingMaxima Ultragreen in 10lb when swinging flies. Having a variety of colors to rotate between is the name of the game: Brown, Olive, Black, Blue, Purple, and Pink are all good considerations. Now that the weather is getting colder and into the low 30s, it will be beneficial to bring a goodlayering system as well as a pair of warmfingerless gloves.