Your Cart is Empty
Fishing Reports
LOOKING TO UP YOUR GAME OR FIND SOME NEW IDEAS TO TAKE YOUR FISHING TO THE NEXT LEVEL? CHECK OUT OUR COMPLEAT JOURNAL FOR TIPS, TRICKS, AND INFO FROM THE FIELD.
Northeast Fishing Report: 3/3/2022
Greetings Compleat Anglers! Colder temperatures this past week saw a pretty significant drawdown in the quality of our fly fishing. That coupled with poaching and angling pressure resulted in tough days on the water. Things are looking up however. We have some nice weather on the way starting this Sunday. Conditions will certainly be better than the past week as the water warms. We do have rain in the forecast so keep an eye on those flows. I would expect all of the rivers to go up quite a bit but the smaller streams should subside pretty quickly. The Farmington is still fishing very well. It was one of the most recently stocked rivers and reports are great. While most of the fish being caught are stockies, there have been some nicer wild fish caught with the bump in water temp. The Salmon River up in New York came down quite a bit but is still over 1000. I would still wait until that water comes back down. For the rest of the Northeast, you certainly need to pick your days but provided the weather is 40 degrees or warmer, the fishing should be good or great. Read on for more!
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 2/25/2022
Greetings Compleat Anglers! While we have another decent weekend and week coming up, the early season flurry seems to have cooled down. The fishing will certainly be good, however we are hearing that things are beginning to slow down in many of the rivers that were recently stocked. That could be due to angling pressure or to poaching but is probably a mixture of both. That said, the Farmington is fishing very well. It was the most recently stocked river and reports are great. While most of the fish being caught are stockies, there have been some nicer wild fish caught with the bump in water temp. The Salmon River up in New York blew out this past week and is too high. I would wait until that water comes back down. For the rest of the Northeast, you certainly need to pick your days but provided the weather is 40 degrees or warmer, the fishing should be good or even great. Read on for more…
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 2/16/2022
Greetings Compleat Anglers! Another good weekend is on the way with a phenomenal week to follow. Some more warm weather is right around the corner, and that, coupled with great flow and the Little Black Stones beginning to hatch, all indicates an awesome week for us fly anglers. The Connecticut DEEP has begun stocking our TMAs and the fly fishing has been solid. There are multiple small streams that have been stocked across the state and will have fish willing to take a fly. The Farmington will be another great choice this weekend. The water is warming up and the flows are perfect. The fishing should be spectacular and there could even be some bugs coming off. The Little Black Stones were coming off last weekend and fish were rising on them. So that almost guarantees that they will be popping this weekend into next week. The Salmon River up in New York looks great as well. Great flows and temps in the 40s means that the fish will be actively feeding. You can’t miss this weekend if you are strategic. Get to your spots early, bring lots of flies, and have fun. This is a rare weather window. Read on for more…
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 2/10/22
Greetings Compleat Anglers! This weekend could not look better. Saturday will be in the 50s which means one thing - it’s time to fly fish. The Connecticut DEEP has begun stocking out TMAs with two streams stocked so far. That means this weekend the fishing will be phenomenal on these rivers. The Saugatuck and Mill have received fish on the 9th and more rivers will soon follow so if you need to get out of the house, these two rivers will be fishing very well. The Farmington will be another great choice this weekend. The water is warming up and the flows are perfect. The fishing should be spectacular and there could even be some bugs coming off. The Salmon River up in New York looks great as well. Great flows and temps in the 40s means that the fish will be actively feeding. You can’t miss this weekend if you are strategic. Get to your spots early, bring lots of flies, and have fun. This is a rare weather window. Read on for more…
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 2/4/2022
Greetings Compleat Anglers! Not much to report this week. No surprise there. Our local streams have been tough of late. That is not to say the warmer days have not produced an uptick in fish activity. They certainly have. However, on the whole it has been cold and the fish have been lethargic. Icing conditions are prevalent on most streams and the fish are hunkered down, unwilling to move far for a fly. To compound that there have been a surprising number of anglers out on the water, far more than previous years. It is great to see more fly anglers out there but this has created a few “bottlenecks” on the most productive streams this time of year. If you do plan on fishing, it would be smart to fish during the week or try some off-the-beaten-path spots. The Salmon River in New York is fishing well when the water is low or on the warmer days. However, it remains high and cold this week. The frigid temperatures and icing up of rivers have kept most anglers off the water. With any of these fisheries you simply need to pick your window and go when conditions are advantageous. For now, best to stay home and tie flies. Read on for more...
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 1/28/22
Greetings Compleat Anglers! Not much to report this week. No surprise there. Our local streams have been tough of late. That is not to say the warmer days have not produced an uptick in fish activity. They certainly have. However, as a whole it has been cold and the fish have been lethargic. Icing conditions are prevalent on most streams and the fish are hunkered down, unwilling to move far for a fly. To compound that there have been a surprising number of anglers out on the water, far more than previous years. It is great to see more fly anglers out there but this has created a few “bottle necks” on the most productive streams this time of year. If you do plan on fishing, it would be smart to fish during the week or try some off-the-beaten-path spots. The Salmon River in New York is fishing well when the water is low or on the warmer days. However, it remains high and cold this week. The frigid temperatures and icing up of the rivers have kept most anglers off the water. With any of these fisheries you simply need to pick your window and go when conditions are advantageous. With the snow storm predicted for this weekend, best to stay home and tie flies. Read on for more...
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 1/21/22
Greetings Compleat Anglers! We’ve seen a bit of an improvement this past week. Slightly warmer weather and some warmer rain bumped the water temps up a bit. That kept the fish feeding fairly regularly. With another drop in temperatures this week, expect things to slow down again. The fishing is getting pretty tough out there. Some of the small streams have been fishing a bit better than others and although the fish are educated, these rivers are a good option for the near future. Fewer anglers are venturing out so you have a good shot at getting a good piece of water all to yourself. The Naugatuck and Shetucket have been stripped of most of their stocked Atlantic Salmon, which has been making it challenging to find fish. The Farmy and Housy are basically shut down. While warmer days on these rivers could yield a few fish, expect challenging fishing with the temperatures expected to plummet this coming week. The Salmon River is not faring much better. The water is at a good flow but with temperatures expected to be no higher than 12 degrees and as low as -7, slushing conditions will certainly be a factor. Conditions are marginal at best. Read on for more...
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 1/14/22
Not a great week for fly fishing across the Northeast. Flows coming down which is good, but temperatures are down even further. Not an ideal scenario. The fishing is getting pretty tough out there. Some of the small streams have been fishing a bit better than others and although the fish are educated, these rivers are a good option for the near future. Less anglers are venturing out so you have a good shot a getting a good piece of water all to yourself. The Naugatuck and Shetucket have been stripped of most of their stocked Atlantic Salmon, which has been making it challenging to find any fish to present flies to. The Farmy and Housy are basically shut down. While warmer days on these rivers could yield a few fish, expect challenging fishing with the temperatures expected to plummet this coming week. The Salmon River is not faring much better. The water has been high again and with temperatures expected to be no higher than 24 degrees and as low as 3, slushing conditions will certainly be a factor. Conditions are marginal, however the fishing has been pretty good. Read on for more...
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 1/7/2022
Greetings Compleat Anglers, and Happy New Year! The only difference between last week and this week is water flow and water temperature. Flows are up and temperatures are down. Not an ideal scenario. The fishing is getting pretty tough out there. The small streams that have been fishing a bit better than others have been hammered and the fish are weary and educated. The Naugatuck and Shetucket have been stripped of most of their stocked Atlantic Salmon which has been making it challenging to find any fish to present flies to. The Farmy and Housy are basically shut down. While warmer days on these rivers could yield a few fish, expect challenging fishing with the temperatures expected to plummet this coming week. The Salmon River is not faring much better. The water has been high again, and with temperatures expected to be no higher than 24 degrees and as low as 3, slushing conditions will certainly be a factor. Best to stay inside and tie flies. Read on for more...
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 12/31/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers, and Happy New Year's Eve! The report this week is much the same as the past few especially where trout are concerned. Expect standard wintering behavior which means targeting small warmer weather windows and stealthy tactics. In the great lakes, another bump of water has spiked flow levels so expect challenging conditions until it subsides a bit. That said, the fishing has been pretty solid thus far, well worth the trip up there this time of year. Read on for more...
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 12/22/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! On behalf of our entire team here in the shop, best wishes for a wonderful and safe holiday! With many travel plans having been changed by COVID, we know many anglers are planning to sneak out for a little fishing this upcoming week, so you can find the latest below. The short version is that trout fisherman should expect typical winter conditions and behavior, while those making the trip to the great lakes should be in luck thanks to some excellent water flows. Read on for more...
Read More
Northeast Fishing Report: 12/17/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! Our trout fishing has settled into normal winter conditions with the fish hunkering down to ride out the cold. For those who hit the river now it's all a matter of stealthy subsurface tactics. In the great lakes we continue to see high water levels, which has been good for fish but tougher on anglers who have had to cope with less-than-ideal conditions. That said, many people are doing well with a little patience and some modified tactics. Read on for more...
Read More