Housatonic River Fishing Report – Kent, CT – September 30, 2026

Updated Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM · Housatonic River at Kent / Falls Village, CT

Just had a customer coming in and agreeing with last weeks tip, the fish are biting on isos and ants well

From the shop, Wednesday 9:23 AM

Good wading flow — cross with care and cover the riffles and pocket water. The barometer's sliding ahead of a system — fish often switch on right before a front, so the next few hours could be the best of the day. Heavy overcast — about as good as it gets for a Blue-Winged Olive afternoon, and a good time to swing streamers through the runs.

  • Flow: 399 cfs steady · wading yes
  • Weather: 71°F partly sunny
  • Last light: 6:36 p.m. first light 6:49 a.m.
  • Hatch: BWO #16-22
  • Spin: spinners smallmouth on
  • Stocked: Sep 21 9 days ago

Conditions

Reading Now Notes
Flow 399 cfs ▬ steady (+5% vs yesterday)
Gauge height 2.36 ft flood reference: 7 ft
Barometer 998 hPa ▼ falling (-2.1 hPa/6h)
Sky 74% daytime cloud cover — overcast
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 Sep 30, 4:15 PM · pressure & sky via Open-Meteo

Weather on the water

  • This Afternoon: 71°F, Partly Sunny (wind 1 mph W · precip 0%)
  • Tonight: 56°F, Mostly Cloudy (wind 1 mph S · precip 1%)

Planning a trip? The next few days:

  • Thursday: 73°F, Partly Sunny (wind 0 to 7 mph SW · precip 6%)
  • Friday: 78°F, Mostly Sunny then Chance Rain Showers (wind 3 to 8 mph SW · precip 51%)
  • Saturday: 67°F, Sunny (wind 5 mph N · precip 1%)
  • Sunday: 67°F, Sunny (wind 0 to 5 mph SE · precip 3%)

Best times today

Best windows: First light around 6:49 a.m., last light near 6:36 p.m. — the low-light edges are prime. Blue-Winged Olive is the bug to watch — afternoons, best on cloudy or drizzly days. · Waning Gibbous (84% lit)

Solunar: Majors (peak feeding): 2:40–4:40 a.m., 3:06–5:06 p.m. Minors: 11:05 a.m.–12:05 p.m., 8:05–9:05 p.m.

What's hatching

Insect Size Try these
Blue-Winged Olive (Baetis)
Afternoons, best on cloudy or drizzly days 		#16-22 BWO Comparadun #18-20, Pheasant Tail Nymph #16-20, CDC Olive Emerger #18
Isonychia (Slate Drake)
Late afternoon and evening; nymphs migrate to slow shallows 		#10-12 Isonychia Parachute #12, Zug Bug #10-12, Leadwing Coachman #12
Flying Ants (terrestrial)
Warm, humid afternoons after rain 		#14-20 Cinnamon Flying Ant #16-18, Black Ant #16-20
Trico (Tricorythodes)
Early morning spinner falls 		#22-26 Trico Spinner #22-24, CDC Trico Dun #24
Terrestrials (hoppers, beetles, ants)
Midday along grassy banks 		#10-18 Foam Hopper #10-12, Foam Beetle #14-16, Parachute Ant #16

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. The barometer's dropping ahead of a front — fish turn aggressive, so pick up the pace and trigger reaction strikes while the window's open. Overcast skies have fish roaming and willing to chase — work the open runs and keep at it right through the day, not just the low-light edges.

On our wall today

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 9 days ago (September 21)
  • Housatonic River TMA (Salisbury, Canaan, Cornwall, Sharon) — last stocked 9 days ago (September 21)

CT DEEP stocking is in season — numbers update as trucks go out.

Questions about the water?

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Sportsmen’s Connection · 15 N. Main Street, Kent, CT · 860-592-0130 Data: USGS 01199000 · CT DEEP trout stocking · National Weather Service. Conditions change fast — use your judgment on the water.

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