River Report
River Flow 296 CFS - Visibility - Clear - Increasing clouds, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. - AM Water Temp 67' - AM Air Temp 54' - Daytime Air High 85' - PM Air Temp Low 61'
Unlike last summer, this summer has seen rain in the river system every few days, cool nights and some overcast days. We are already at the end of July with an AM water temp of 67'F. All these conditions has taken a lot of stress off the trout. The riffles in the TMA are holding a good mix of smallmouths & trout. Now is the time to get ready for August evenings as we are anticipating a WHITE FLY HATCH in the next couple of weeks.
Summer, Good Water Flow, Smallmouths & Wet Wading on the Housy !! Who has better fishing days then this !! Start off swinging streamers to find aggressive smallmouths. During bright daytime sun light; Nymph or Swing Streamers in all the riffles and pocket water. Towards late afternoon when the shadow line touches the river then it's popper time !!
Trout Thermal Refuges for the tributaries of the Housatonic River are in effect starting 06/15/17 thru 09/15/17. Fishing is prohibited within 100 feet of the CT DEEP black & white posted signs near the tributary mouths.
On the outside table next to HRO's front door we have a tremendous assortment of trout and bass flies on sale and all specially marked at $1.50 each !!! Refill your fly boxes with this is an amazing assortment of dry, wet & nymph fly patterns !!
Now for the fishing conditions. The river is at 296 CFS, 67'F and clear. Summer, Good Water Flow, Smallmouths & Wet Wading on the Housy !! Who has better fishing days then this !! Start off swinging streamers to find aggressive smallmouths. During bright daytime sun light; Nymph or Swing Streamers in all the riffles and pocket water. With the water temps going up the smallmouths are in all the pools and riffles in the TMA. Trout will move into the Thermal Refuges where they are protected from fishing until 09/15/17. For streamers swing John's Lion Bugger, G's Catch'Em All, Circus Peanuts, Zonkers, Woolly Buggers, Pick Yur' Pocket, Conehead Muddlers. Swing soft hackles like; Spiders, Hares Ear or Pheasant Tails. For nymphs high stick big yellow stones with a caddis pupae dropper or fish with BH Hares Ears & BH Princes. 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: Bass Poppers: All Colors - Dry Flies: Caddis', Cahill's, Alders, ISO's - 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!
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!
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 Bass Fishing!!! - Start thinking about summer and book your guided fishing trips now! We look forward to providing you with a great fishing experience this summer. 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.