nice variety

Hi folks, Guided the Lamoille yesterday morning with spin anglers.  Water level was twice it s seasonal average flow.  The temperature at 6:00am was 67 degrees and it warmed to 68 degrees by 10:00am.  Probably too warm to fish trout in the afternoon.  Nice morning fog which kept the sun off the water until about 8:00am.  Lots of crawfish scurrying about the shoreline and we fished a crawfish imitation on light spin rods.  Landed 14 rainbows between 8" and 14".  A combination of wild trout and stocked trout.  No fish left the water while being released and every trout swam off full of piss and vinegar.  The trick to catching the rainbows was to imitate the movements of the crawfish with a slow steady retrieve and a stop and go action.  Also, swinging the lure into the current and starting the retrieve at the end of the drift was effective as we had several fish follow the lure right up to the anglers feet before striking.  Saw a decent #22 trico spinner drop., but very few fish rising to eat the little mayfly.  Also, a few random #20 tan bodied micro caddis hatching and did see a several splashy rise forms which would indicate a trout eating a hatching caddis fly.  Have not seen any #12 isonychia nymphs on rocks, but it should be only a matter of time.  Mid day I visited a small brook where the temperature was 65 degrees and I caught two brightly colored brook trout on a #14 hopper pattern.  Both fish were holding in fast water section of the run due to the warmer water temps and their need for dissolved oxygen.  After that I went fly fishing with a friend on local smallmouth lake and tugged on smallmouth bass.  Wind out of the north with a the surface temperature of the lake being 77 degrees.  We located smallmouth around old beaver huts and weed beds that emerged around rocky bottoms.  The largest fish landed was 2lb smallmouth that put a good bend in the 6wt.  A frog popper pattern with a yellow belly and rubber legs was the fly of the night.  We probably could have caught more than 6 smallies if we had fished until dark, but we pulled the plug around 7:00pm.  Patience was the key as we let the fly sit for a while prior to making the first pop.  Amazing how often you draw strikes after the fly has being sitting on the surface of the water for over 30 seconds.  Taking the day off from fishing.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy