perch, pike, smallmouth, and the rusty spinner

Hi Folks, Really  have been mixing it up the last couple of days.  Some old school and catching different types of fish on the fly.  Remember fly fishing is not all about trout, merely some of its origins.  Visited a local lake river system with a friend the 2 days ago in search of big yellow perch for fish sandwiches.  Nothing better than garden hackle for catching fish to eat.  Water was 60 degrees, a little off color, with a nice early morning mist.  Did see a Bald Eagle, pretty cool. We used light spinning rods with small #10 red octopus hooks and bloobs of worms from our vegetable gardens.  Long casts and then working the bait back towards the bank from a deeper channel produced a wild rainbow, a native brookie, a sucker, a fall fish, a smallmouth bass, and yes enough large yellow perch for fish sandwiches. By the way, we did not hook anything deeply and were able to release the trout and bass with out any issues.  Today I guided in my boat all day with a very good father son fly angler combination.  We started the morning in pursuit of northern pike and spent the afternoon chasing prespawn smallmouth bass.  Bright colored flies were the order of the day.  Red and Orange and Red and Yellow seducers and deceivers worked well on the pike.  Chartruse seemed to be the color for the smallies.  Beautiful weather day with early morning clouds and afternoon bright sun.  Water temperatures ranged from 60 to 64 degrees by late afternoon.  Nice mix of fish today and we even caught a large bullhead on a fly (first for me as a guide), yellow perch, and sunfish.  Tonight I attended the Lamoille River Anglers Association meeting on the Lamoille River with Fish and Wildlife Comissioner Pat Berry.  The Lamoille was twice it s normal flow for this time of the year and the water temperature was 62 degrees.  Water clarity was good with a Hendrickson Spinner fall and numbers of #16 egg laying caddis.  Found a rising fish in the main current of the tailout of a giant primary pool.  Eating spinners at dusk.  So, #12 rusty spinner and little patience produced a beautiful jumping wild rainbow.  Good day of fishing.  Off to do it again tomorrow.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-natives at home.  Have Fun, Willy