I was in Hartford, CT for the weekend and took a quick trip to the Farmington River on Sunday.  The weather was perfect, and I saw quite a lot of fisherman as I drove to my destination. When I fish the Farmington, I usually fish the TMA catch and release area near the People’s State Forest.  It’s been a productive spot for me, and it’s admittedly easier than scouting out new water.  On Sunday, I wanted to try something new.  I’ve heard that a lot of people hire guides to figure out the Farmington, and I know that would be much easier, but I have enjoyed my time exploring it.

I decided to fish the area a mile or two below the Windsor Dam towards Riverton.  I ended up fishing a section off Hogback Road, which seemed like an inviting stretch of river.  When I arrived, I was one of two fisherman on this stretch, and the activity seemed a little slow.  Every time I’ve come to the Farmington, I only have about two hours to fish, which is not a lot of time when you’re figuring a river out.  I was there from about 9:30-11:30am, and saw a couple of rising trout, but had no takes on the nymphs I was fishing.  By 10:30, there were about 5 fisherman in the area, and no one had caught anything by the time I left. 

Right as I was leaving, a hatchery truck pulled up and they dumped a bunch of fish in on each side of the spot where I was just fishing.  I thought about staying and catching a couple stockies, but needed to head back towards Hartford as I had already plans.  I look forward to learning and writing about my experiences on the Farmington more this summer.  I already know about the popular named spots of the river, but I’d love to find a lesser known spot that fishes well.  Like everything, it’s only a matter of time, and it’s always nice to be outside.

Tough to beat a day like this