Connecticut in October Help

[Wednesday Caster]

I will be visiting the Hartford area in October and hoping to get a morning or two to fish some of the highly regarded east coast fisheries. I have done some ciber-research and found 2 well recognized fisheries: the Housatonic River TMA and West Branch Farmington River below Still River. I will be wading and commited to bringing only reed- available 7.5' 5#, 8.5' 6# and 9' 7#. Ammunition to include both dry and wet flies (nymphs). Would like to know which fishery you locals would select (why) and which stick(s) to bring. Thanks.

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God Blesses!
A wing & a Prayer! ----*<(((><~ ~ ~ ~
Quinn

[rswezey]

I live on the housatonic river, but fish the west branch of the farmington more...Most all the guy's here use a 3 or 4 wt. with 7x or 8x tippet maybe 9x with size 28 flys...Best flys are caddis and bwo...size 16 to 20 but the smaller flys with lighter tippet produce better... This info. may not of helped...we hope to see you on the river in Oct...Bob...

[Catch 22]

Quinn,

I live between the 2 rivers, and know both pretty well. Send me an e-mail, and I can give you some good info.

Jeff

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I work only so that I can afford to fish

[Ray]

Fishing the Farmington TMA in October you will want to bring your 7 1/2' 5wt. Don't forget your 8-10x tippet. Probally the only fly you will see is a 26-28 Blue Winged Olive, and lots of them. The fish will rise steadily to them too. Dress in layers, the mornings are chilly (could be in the 30's or low 40's in the AM) But you can catch some beautiful 65 degree days, and lots of nice fish. Last years shocking showed us the 1 in 10 fish in the TMA is over 16 inches.

[dudley]

I live east of Hartford and there are many smaller streams that do not have the star power of the Farmington and the Housy but are fine smaller streams in there own right.
You can find some info on the Willimantic River, which is just east of Hartford,
<A HREF="http://www.ctflyfish.org/" TARGET=_blank>
here </A>.
The Thames Valley TU Chapter also has an excellent book detailing every steam in eastern Connecticut
You may email me for specifics

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May the fish that you catch always be larger than the hole in your net

[Wednesday Caster]

Thank you gentlemen for your recommendations and sharing of your local knowledge.
Looks like I'm heading to the Farmington River due to the proximity of my stay and limited fishing time.
Some additional questions: What is the average width of the Farmington in the TMA area; is it wadeable flows during Oct. or is it normally a wet month?

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God Blesses!
A wing & a Prayer! ----*<(((><~ ~ ~ ~
Quinn

[Catch 22]

The size varies greatly - any where from 20 feet wide to over 200 feet. Most of it is wadeable, though. As far as October flows, it's usually pretty decent. Rain will usually muddy the water more than make it unwadeable.

You can check the flows at: [url=http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ct/nwis/current/?type=flow:6ecab]USGS website.com[/url:6ecab]

You'll have to add the flows for the Still River to those of the Farmington, as the gauge for the Farmington is located just above the confluence with the Still River, and most of the fishing is below that.

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I work only so that I can afford to fish