Housatonic River Fishing Report – Kent, CT – June 17, 2026
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Updated Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at 9:33 AM · Housatonic River at Kent / Falls Village, CT
Conditions at a glance
| Reading | Now | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Flow | 379 cfs | ▬ steady (+9% vs yesterday) |
| Gauge height | 2.32 ft | flood reference: 7 ft |
| Barometer | 992 hPa | ▲ rising (+1.7 hPa/6h) |
| Sky | 62% | daytime cloud cover — mixed sun |
| Water temp | — | no nearby live gauge; watch for 68°F+ on hot afternoons |
| Condition | Ideal Wading | clarity not gauged here |
USGS 01199000 (Housatonic River at Falls Village, CT) · observed Jun 17, 9:15 AM · pressure & sky via Open-Meteo
Today's call
Good wading flow — cross with care and cover the riffles and pocket water.
Best windows: First light around 5:17 a.m., last light near 8:31 p.m. — the low-light edges are prime. Sulphur is the bug to watch — evening, last two hours before dark. · Waxing Crescent (6% lit)
Solunar: Majors (peak feeding): 2:13–4:13 a.m., 2:37–4:37 p.m. Minors: 7:22–8:22 a.m., 10:41–11:41 p.m.
Weather on the water
- Today: 79°F, Mostly Sunny then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms (wind 0 to 6 mph S · precip 31%)
- Tonight: 57°F, Mostly Cloudy then Rain Showers Likely (wind 1 to 5 mph S · precip 55%)
Planning a trip? The next few days:
- Thursday: 79°F, Showers And Thunderstorms (wind 6 to 10 mph S · precip 90%)
- Juneteenth: 79°F, Sunny (wind 3 to 8 mph W · precip 3%)
- Saturday: 76°F, Sunny (wind 6 to 10 mph W · precip 13%)
- Sunday: 77°F, Sunny (wind 3 to 8 mph NW · precip 11%)
What's hatching now
| Insect | Size | Try these |
|---|---|---|
| Sulphur (Ephemerella dorothea / invaria) Evening, last two hours before dark |
#14-18 | Sulphur Comparadun #16, Sulphur Usual #16, Sulphur Spinner #16-18 |
| Light Cahill (Stenacron / Stenonema) Evening into dark |
#12-16 | Light Cahill Catskill #14, Cahill Comparadun #14-16 |
| Isonychia (Slate Drake) Late afternoon and evening; nymphs migrate to slow shallows |
#10-12 | Isonychia Parachute #12, Zug Bug #10-12, Leadwing Coachman #12 |
| Tan & Green Caddis (Hydropsyche / Rhyacophila) Evenings; fish the soft water behind rocks |
#14-18 | Tan Elk Hair Caddis #16, Green Rockworm #14, LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa #16 |
| March Brown / Grey Fox (Maccaffertium) Sporadic through afternoon and evening |
#10-14 | March Brown Parachute #10-12, Grey Fox Variant #12-14, Hare's Ear Nymph #12 |
From our shop hatch calendar — stop in for what’s working this week.
Spin fishing — what to throw
Good flow for covering water — fan 1/8–1/4 oz inline spinners and small spoons through the riffles, runs, and pocket water; cast across and let the current swing them through the seams. High pressure settling in — slow your retrieve right down and fish deeper, tight to cover, for a pickier bite. Trout are keyed on the Sulphur right now — a small silver spinner swung just under the surface, or a casting bubble trailing a Sulphur Comparadun #16, can out-fish a bigger lure when they're locked on bugs.
Species: Trout are the main target on spinning gear. Smallmouth are active in the warmer water — work tubes, jerkbaits, and swimbaits through the faster rocky runs. Carp on the slow flats, plus the odd pickerel or fallfish, round out the warmwater options.
| Lure | Size | Colors & when |
|---|---|---|
| Inline spinners Mepps Aglia, Panther Martin, Rooster Tail |
1/16–1/4 oz (#0–#3) | silver/gold blade, natural or black-fur bodies; brighter in stain The workhorse for trout in moving water — riffles, runs, and pocket water. |
| Casting spoons Acme Little Cleo, Kastmaster, Phoebe |
1/12–3/8 oz | silver/gold; hammered or painted (chartreuse, firetiger) when water's up Cover water and reach deeper or faster flows; great flash for stained water. |
| Soft plastics & jigs Trout Magnet, small paddle-tails, tubes, Ned rigs |
1.5–3 in on 1/32–1/8 oz heads | natural/translucent in clear water, darker or chartreuse in stain Finesse for low, clear water and pressured stocked trout; also the go-to for smallmouth. |
| Jerkbaits & stickbaits Rapala Original & Countdown, small suspending jerkbaits |
2–4 in | silver/black or rainbow-trout in clear; gold or firetiger in stain Match baitfish for bigger trout and smallmouth; shines in higher, stained water. |
| Micro jig under a float Trout Magnet / micro jig below a casting bubble or float |
1/64–1/32 oz | pink, white, olive Dead-drift for stocked and clear-water trout when they won't chase. |
Our standard Housatonic spin box — stop in and we’ll match it to today’s water.
Much of the Housatonic is open to spin fishing with artificial lures. The marked Trout Management Areas — the long TMA between Falls Village and Cornwall Bridge, and the Bulls Bridge TMA at Kent — are year-round catch-and-release, artificial lures and flies only, single barbless hooks: spinning gear is welcome there as long as you pinch your barbs and release fish quickly. Other stretches allow bait and trout harvest in season. Regulations change year to year — check the current CT DEEP Angler's Guide or stop in and ask us before you fish.
Stocking
- Housatonic River Bulls Bridge TMA (Kent, New Milford) — last stocked 57 days ago (April 21)
- Housatonic River TMA (Salisbury, Canaan, Cornwall, Sharon) — last stocked 58 days ago (April 20)
Stocking is between seasons right now; dates above are from the most recent round.
Data: USGS 01199000 · CT DEEP trout stocking · National Weather Service. This page refreshes automatically each morning. Conditions change fast — use your judgment on the water.