Farmington River, CT

[mediafly]

I am taking a short trip for business mid-July outside Boston, MA; so naturally my first thought was finding the closest/most productive fly fishing. After doing a little research online I stumbled across the Farmington River in Connecticut. From a few different sites I got enough info to make an educated attempt at fishing this river, but I always like to hear if anyone has personal experience. Anyone fished this river and can offer some basic info?

 

[David]

Yes... it gets warm in the summer and you aren't allowed to fish near thermal refuge (tributaries) to protect the trout. It does have great fishing if the water isn't too warm. Pound the banks if the water release is high. If it's only one turbine running, you can wade pretty much anywhere. Great array of hatches.

I would recommend the swift river or the Deerfield... both are bottom releases and will hold trout. swift is smaller water, but easier access. Deerfield is bigger water with better hatches and some pig fish.

 

[JeffK]

Farmington upper section should be cool all summer with excellent fishing from Rte 20 down a few miles. However, it draws crowds - especially at the popular pools like Church Pool. Try heading down some of the dirt roads in the State Forest for less crowds and pretty much the same fishing.

In my experience the summer hatches are tiny things like chocolate duns (needhamis), microcaddis, and midges. It's not a bad idea to carry some terrestrials (bring a red ant). These trout are fished hard all year, so they can be a little snooty in the summer.

UpCountry Sportfishing in New Hartford is the local shop.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

I second the swift. Also, explore the streams feeding the quabbin reservoir. I routinely caught wild brookies in the 10-14 inch range back in the mid- 90s when I was out in that area. They stayed cool.
Bring bug repellent! I had it all over but my hands (protect fly line) and I came out of there with many mosquito bites between my fingers! But, the fishing was great

 

[turkey]

http://www.farmingtonriver.com/index.htm

I've bought a rod or two off of this shop. They've always been good to me.

 

[mediafly]

Thanks for the tips, I saw the same thing about cooler temps in the upper section of farmington in the summer. Good info on the bugs and terrestrials, I'll definitely talk to the guys at Upcountry to see if they can offer any other tips.

I'll look into swift and deerfield too. I have 2 days to fish afternoon/evening so depending on conditions it would be nice to have options. Thanks everyone, always open to more insight if theres more I should be looking at

 

[Machocheese]

Most likely, depending on exactly where outside Boston you are the Swift will be the closest to you. Park at the Rte. 9 bridge and work up stream. The water is cold, crystal clear and mostly slower moving. It's mostly sight fishing to big stocked rainbows that are extremely well educated. The wading is effortless.

The Deerfield can be a lot of fun if conditions are right. It's a tailwater and the dam is an on demand power generating dam. Translation, the water can come up quickly with no real warning. Pay attention to the flow at all times and if it starts picking up get out quickly. Usually the daily releases are a daytime thing and then the flow drops on the evening. Start fishing below Fife brook dam or anywhere along Zoar Rd. that looks enticing. This is a daily release schedule, but it's not carved in stone. The wading ranges from easy to ridiculous.

The Farmington Is the best fishery of the three overall. It will probably also be the farthest away. Water temps in the upper C&R area should be okay. Access is easy throughout the stretch and as usual if you walk a bit and fish the pocket water you can avoid the worst of the crowds. The wading is mostly easy to moderate.

Good luck and watch out for the Masshole (like me) drivers.