Fishing Season: January 1 - December 31 (Prime: April 1 - November 1)

Farmington River - CT

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Water Temp:

67

Orvis Avon's Tip of the Week

Before you step foot in the river take a water temp! Flows are low and even though the water coming out of the dam is cold, it is heating up very quickly downriver. Look for water temps below 68 degrees and ideally temps below 66, the colder the better for catch and release! The evening dry fly action has been pretty good up river. Small sulphurs and Attenuate are still hatching in the upper TMA and throughout Riverton. Isonychia are still hatching consistently throughout the river in the fast water.

Directions open in app

Map of Farmington River

Water Flow Data

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby

Antoine Bissieux

5-Day Outlook as of 7/13/26

Today (July 13th) the flow coming out of the dam in Riverton is low at 134cfs and the Still river is adding an additional 21cfs making for a low flow of 155cfs in the TMA. Expect flows to stay consistent throughout the week with little rain in the forecast.

Techniques & Tips as of 7/13/26

Dries, nymphs, and streamers will all catch fish right now. The dry fly fishing in particular has been excellent some days with lots of fish rising in the evenings. Nymphing is good regardless of the time of day and there are plenty of ways to do it. Tightline nymphing is great but the dry-dropper fishing is excellent right now and you can still definitely run an indicator rig with plenty of success. With the flows being low and clear it's not a bad idea to downsize tippets to 6x for nymphs/dries unless you're throwing a larger fly like a March brown. If you are fishing streamers and want to throw some larger articulated patterns your best bet is after a strong rain which we will hopefully receive soon that will bump the flows up. Some of our smaller-medium sized patterns are working very well that we have in stock in the store tied locally by Rich Strolis.

Local Species Available January 1 - December 31 (Prime: April 1 - November 1)

  • Fish Icon

    Trout

Orvis Avon's Recommended Fly Patterns

"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:

Name: Colors: Size(s):
Sparkle Dun Yellow 16-20
CDC Caddis Olive/Tan 14-18
Tunghead Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail Brown 12-16
Bead Head Brassie™ Black,Red,Olive 18-24
Jig Sculpin Olive 10
Croston's Micro Sculpin Tan/Olive 12
Quasimodo Pheasant Tail BROWN 16-20
Tungsten Twisted Tactical May Brown/Olive 16-20
Traditional nymphs(pheasant tails, princes) brown, olvie, white 16-22
BWO Nymphs Olive 16-20

Sparkle Dun

A must-have in every box of trout flies

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Item #749F

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Orvis Avon's Recommended Gear

Description: About Farmington River

The Farmington River is the premier trout fishery in the state. It is a bottom draw tailwater fishery that creates consistent water temperatures, water flows, and hatch activity. The river from Farmington to Riverton is the most consistent stretch. Down stream the river slows and becomes primarily a warm water fishery. The river is of moderate size. The bottom is consistently softball-sized cobble making wading fairly easy. Access is very good, many roads run along its banks through the best trout water. Encounters with large trout are most consistent within the trout management area. These fish are, however, difficult to catch due to consistent angling pressure. Accurate imitations and light tippets are typically required.

Nearest Airport:

Bradley International Airport

Hatches:

Small Sulphur (Dorthea) Isonychia Cahill BWO

Best Time to Fish:

Afternoons

Best Stretch:

Riverton - Canton

Best Access:

Beaver Pool, Hitchcock Chair, Campground pool, Church pool, Ovation,