April 21st - Happy Easter and Passover - Saw 3 Hendrickson’s Friday - not a hatch just 3 lonely flies - River is high and offcolor - fish the tribs or the Shepaug - All big rivers high and off color - catskills are high again - I will be in the store only for a short while today shipping out a bunch of orders - then heading out to fish a favorite small stream and digging up some ramps - TAKE THE HOUSY CHALLENGE - HOLDOVER TROUT IN A NATURALLY FLOWING RIVER - The Housatonic is flowing at 2900CFS today 1-2 foot visibility — We did not get as much rain last night as predicted - however - a couple cells came over this morning - Mass is getting lots of rain - also looks like the catskills got whacked again - the neversink is 10 times normal flow - and they had rain to the south of us - We will see what the rain brings us the next couple of days - we will see - I have a feeling the rain is going to make all the larger rivers higher - I would go explore the Shepaug River over near Washington Depot and Bee Brook - it is flowing well - nice and clear and this is a great time to be on the Shepaug - a truly beautiful river - also Macedonia and Furnace Brook are flowing at great levels - the Forsythia’s are just starting to bloom bright yellow - it should be only a few days until we begin to see Hendrickson’s get out there and go fishing and if you dont want to fish shoulder to shoulder - head over this way - Come fish for holdovers - but wait - that’s all we have in the river now until they stock in a few weeks - so if you want to come fish a bigger river with only holdover fish - this is the place for you. Can’t sugar coat it anymore. It’s big - sometimes bad - but when it is on - it’s just on and with Natural Flows - unpredictable on a day to day basis - a truly challenging river - woohoo and the river will continue to drop - and with warm weather for the next few days - I sense some big fish being caught - just saying high of 55 degrees today then a beautiful weekend of weather low 70’s both days - - - and there are tons of bear sighting so spring is upon on us - we had a bear in our front yard last night - in like a lion out like a lamb - ticks are out so check yourselves make sure and fish the deeper runs - drove by the covered bridge yesterday and there were people fishing in the fast rapids - not man fish there - we got just enough rain to raise the river - clarity still good - look to the smaller tmas for lower water - they should fish nicely - - so if you want to come up and fish a river that is running naturally as it should in the spring with big holdovers (which you may or not catch) bring your favorite cigar, sunscreen, waders - warm socks and sense of humor and fish a river like it should be “Natural” without people lined up like a picket fence - this volatile weather reminds me of many an opening day in New York in the Catskills - snowy wet cold - and so many fishermen who had camped out cooked shared secret lures and bait recipes - had cocktails - people were there with their kids and families - we had prepared all winter for the grand opening day of trout season - as with all things - they change - the magic has greatly diminished in the opening day and braving the truly crappy weather to land your first trout of the year - we will see what the weather brings for now the river is in great shape - smaller TMA streams for today - - - nice weather saturday and sunday - fish are hungry - its a heat wave Remember non TMA’s are closed until the 2nd Saturday of April -March is big fish month - - the tributaries are clear - spring is here - the fish are stacked up - so where you find one - you find many - If you go out fly fishing this time of year, you should plan to fish near the bottom of the water column, the fish will stack up in the deeper runs. Egg patterns, worm patterns, Mop flies, and heavy nymphs are the trick.
-Come on in and check out the new fly tying materials from Wapsi Fly. If you have a certain technique that you are having difficulty with; just bring in your fly tying vise and tools. - Then sit by the stove and we'll help you with any fly tying problems that you have.
For your eyes only ! We now have in stock - Cortland Line Co's Brand New TOP SECRET ULTRA PREMIUM FLOUROCARBON TIPPET MATERIAL !! - HRO TROUT FLY SALE!!! In the front section of the store we have a tremendous assortment of trout and bass flies on sale for ONLY $1.50 each !!! Refill your fly boxes with this is an amazing assortment of dry, wet & nymph fly patterns !!
Tune-up your fly vest by cleaning out the last year's leaders & tippet spools and replace them with fresh leaders & tippet spools for this year. Reorganize your flies into new boxes. Check your vest to see if you need more floatant, lead shot, strike indicators or tippet rings. If your fly line is becoming stiff or cracked it's time to change it. You can bring your fly reel into the shop and we can machine wind a new fly line with free backing !! If your favorite rod has broken guides, tip tops, missing hook keeper or needs new wraps.......Bring it down to the shop for repair.
We like the following patterns: Isoynychia Nymphs - Pheasant Tails - Prince Nymphs - Black and yellow Stoneflies Eggs, Sucker Spawn, Scuds and San Juan Worms. - Streamers: John's Lion Bugger, G's Catch'Em All, Circus Peanuts, Zonkers, Woolly Buggers, Pick Yur' Pocket - Soft Hackles: Spiders, Hares Ear or Pheasant Tails - Nymphs: Golden Stone (8-10) BH Hares Ear (12-16), BH Princes (10-16), BH Pheasant Tails (12-18), Rubber Legs (all colors), 20 Incher's (8-16) & Euro Bead Head Princes. Don't forget to try a Chartreuse or Yellow Stone Mop Fly, too. We recommend a drop rig for maximum effectiveness and use an indicator to make sure you don't miss any takes. Try the AirLock indicators if you haven't already. They are the best!
Don't forget we offer a FULL ROD REPAIR SERVICE Bamboo, Graphite and Glass. - Reel Seat Replacement, Cork Grip Repairs, Guide Replacement, Rod Wrapping and Rod Finishing. - Repair or refinish your old favorite rods and fish them as if they are new again!!
Our Guides are Ready to Take You Wade Fishing!!! - Book your spring guided fishing trips now! We look forward to providing you with a great fishing experience for 2018. A BIG THANK YOU from all of our guides!
Don't forget we buy, sell or trade used and antique fishing equipment rods, reels, lines, duck and fish decoys, fishing lures, books, artwork, collectibles and tying materials/tools. If you are looking to trade in, sell, or are just scaling down as they say, bring your items in or take pictures and email them to us and we will happily purchase or offer a trade up. I have been purchasing and selling used and collectible items for over 25 years and our fishing/hunting library in the store is the finest and largest probably in the country. We will happily show you the value of your items and then offer trade-in or purchase prices. So give us a call (860-672-1010) or send and email (hflyshop@aol.com). We also purchase estates and will gladly come over to your house to assess the value of your collection and purchase the entire collection.
Since you're reading our river report, please consider purchasing your gear from us. We are happy to have the opportunity to match any deals out there you may come upon. Give us a call first and let us have the first chance. Thanks