Three the Hard Way

Fished for about 3 hours this afternoon, and I had to work for my fish. The final tally at the day's end was 3 browns, here are the two nicer ones I caught:

This slender brown had a left eye green dye mark-
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...mDec108001.jpg

This one was in full spawing colors and had pefect fins, no dye mark, and no hook marks, despite living in the most popular pool in the river-
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...mDec108003.jpg

All fish took a #10 Czech nymph with an orange hot-spot-
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...mDec108002.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...mDec108004.jpg

I tried quite a few different patterns, but that nymph seemed to be what they wanted today. Here is a scenic spot I fished with zero success, which suprised me because I virtually always catch fish out of it when the water level is up. Go figure-
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...mDec108006.jpg

For you detail freaks, the water temp was 42.5-43 degrees and the clarity was pretty good despite the water coming up from yesterday's rain. The USGS morning flow was somewhere around the mid 600cfs range in the morning, but it hadn't peaked on the graph at that point. The combined flow as I write this is currently listed at 760cfs, but I can tell you that the river had already peaked & was dropping while I was there.

Those are some really good looking trout! I am sure that three the hard way taught you not to count your chickens before they hatch ;D I know that we usually crush the fish under those kinds of conditions. However, we have to remember that the later half of the summer and much of the fall has seen the river fish much differently than what we are used to.

I think the fish were just a bit off the bite today, the takes I got were all quite subtle.

Nicely done, as always. Like I said, when I fished there Friday (before the rain), I also found the fishing to be slow, although I didn't try the section you mention (thanks for the tip!). Based on my observations, I think a lot of bait fishing lately has skewed the odds towards that style. The lakes I fish in Maine are "artificial lures only," and sometimes I wish the Farmington could be the same. Nothing against bait (I sometimes fish it myself, but not there), but boy do those TMA fish take a beating!

No worries though, our time will come.

"Three the Hard Way" or as some people know it: "The Tred Barta Way" ;D

Gorgeous Browns. I gotta get me some of them. Are they past an egg bite now?

Dejon, they are still hitting egg patterns, and in fact they usually take them all Winter on the Farmington and even into the early Spring. Actually, I've always found egg flies to be top Winter flies on virtually all the trout streams I fish. None on eggs this trip though, but I certainly tried fishing several different varieties of them. Most days I've caught at least some of my trout on them.

I think the fishing will actually get better when it gets colder and the water temps go down into the mid/upper 30's and the trout stack up in the pools & deeper runs, concentrating them. Then we will "get 'em good".

I fished the Farmy on Saturday, and also found it very slow, just two hits in about two hours of fishing. Thankfully, I hooked and landed both of them, a beautifully colored, hook-jawed brown of 17 ir 18 inches, and a dark rainbow of about 16 or so inches. Both fish were in great shape, thick and strong. After reading Alain's report about Friday, I was pleasently surprised to find very few fishermen out (I fished from about 2 PM till 4) and I did not see even a single bait fishermen. I did see 3 or 4 other guys nymphing, and did not see a single fish caught, so we are not the only ones finding it slow.

On Wednesday (five hooked, two landed, both small) all fish hit an egg, but on Saturday a size 20 micro mayfly tempted the brown while the rainbow took . . . the Vladi worm!

have you guys tried slow rolling some Sculpins and wolly buggers i know that usually gets me a few nice trout over this way this. It has saved a few days for me.

I fished a popular 1/4 mile stretch of the farmi last week putting my usual fall/winter nymphs in eavry slot. got to the top of my walk w/ 2 fish. switched to a 100 gr. sinking tip and a 4'' double bunny and fished extremely slow swings back to the truck. the walk back produced 6 fish a few 16''+ browns and a dozen or more short strikes and hook spits.

Now I would call that "Two the Hard Way and Six on the Bonus Round!"

Craig,

Nice job changing gears and taking fish that you didn't on the first pass.