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

Farmington River - CT

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Water Temp:

47

Orvis Avon's Tip of the Week

The river has been stocked heavily from the Goodwin dam down to the start of the TMA as well as from the 219 Bridge down through Collinsville. Junk flies and small streamers will work for these freshly stocked fish but if you are looking for some higher quality wild/holdover fish they will be more pattern specific. Downsizing your flies/tippet and nymphing with small winter stones, pheasant tails, caddis larva, and small BWO nymphs will be good methods to target these fish that have been in the river for a while.

Directions open in app

Map of Farmington River

Water Flow Data

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby

Antoine Bissieux

5-Day Outlook as of 4/14/25

As of today (4/14) the flow coming out of the Goodwin Dam in Riverton is 175cfs and the Still River is contributing an additional 218cfs making for a medium flow of 393cfs in the TMA. Look for flows to drop slightly as the week goes on.

Techniques & Tips as of 4/14/25

Nymphing is your best bet with afternoons being most productive, just be sure to lighten up your rigs and use some 6x for most applications. Jigging small streamers on a tight-line setup is another effective method to target fish. As water temps start to increase some larger streamers will also be a good choice to target fish with. As far as dry fly activity is concerned, winter caddis are hatching early mornings and slower sections of the river like as Church pool and Greenwoods. Some trout will also be rising to BWOs (#16-20) during the afternoons in the same slower moving water especially on warm cloudy days. Long range temps look to be finally warming up which will increase hatch activity and get us closer to the Hendrickson hatch.

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):
Blue Wing Olive Parachute Olive 16-20
Blue Quill Blue/Gray 16-18
Bead Head Hendrickson Brown 12-14
T.H. Soft Hackle Caddis Pupa Cream/Yellow 18-22
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

Blue Wing Olive Parachute

Image Not Found

Item #0924

Buy Now

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:

BWOs Blue Quill Winter Caddis

Best Time to Fish:

Afternoons

Best Stretch:

Riverton - Canton

Best Access:

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