more darn rain

Hi Folks, Guided a fly trip on the Winooski yesterday and the river was in pretty good shape.  Man can things turn in hurry around here.  Over 11/4" of rain at my house in Stowe yesterday has now stuffed our big streams.  High and dirty for a few days with more rain in the forecast for tomorrow.  The river was 63 degrees yesterday and we did not see much for hatching insects.  The first run we fished was pretty good.  We landed 3 wild rainbows between 7" and 11" and missed few fish.  Hooking the trout on a tiny #20 peacock body soft hackle.  If you can get the little fly to stick it does not generally come out.  The line will break before the fly falls out of a trout's mouth.  We moved up stream to try some other water and we did even draw a strike.  It was like someone flipped the switch and the fishing shut down.  Pretty weird.  Well we did not need any more rain and it looks like I might lose a couple of trips this weekend including today.  Not good.  Lake fishing is an option for smallmouth and pike, but there is going to be a nasty north wind that could make fishing tough from a boat.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

upper Winooski

Hi Folks, I have not fished on the Winooski main stem since the Hurricane.  The last month I have spent most of my time trout fishing on tribs. of the Winooski or the Lamoille watershed.  I was pleased to see the Winooski in good shape yesterday afternoon.  Real summer day with air temps almost to 80 and pretty bright and sunny.  Looks like that is all going to change here shortly.  The foliage is starting to come around.  Water temperature was 65 degrees.  It was interesting to see that all of the holes i visited were still intact.  Of course there was some wood and big rocks moved around and the bank beat up in places, but the riffles and pools still held together. Subsequently the fish were there for the taking.  Saw a decent number of #20 BWO's hatching, but no rising fish.  I rigged a #16 hare' ear flashback with a #20 BWO nymph as a dropper.  Caught 3 wild rainbows and lost 2 all on the #20 BWO nymph.  Good sized trout between 11" and 14".  I did hook and play a real monster rainbow for about 30 seconds.  Got the fish pretty close to me before it ripped off a bunch of line and ran under some wood.  Did not break off, just had the fly pop out.  I would have guessed this trout in the 18" class.  Put it this way, when hooked it ran up a riffle with its back out of the water like a salmon migrating.  Pretty exciting and it is there for someone to catch still.  The main focus of my trip yesterday was to investigate the state of affairs on the river and I was pleased with what I discovered.  Off to guide trout over the next week every day so lets hope we do not get too much rain.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

wild bow, small water

Is there anybody out there?

Hi folks, Spent an nice afternoon guiding a father son fly fishing pair on a small tributary of the Lamoille.  I have not seen another angler in weeks.  I have been guiding pretty much every day and moving around we are having the water to ourselves, perfect.  The stream we fly fished yesterday I do not visit as often as I should.  I use to fish a lot more and yesterday reminded me of how good it can be.  Nice warm sunny day with beautiful foliage and early am fog.  Water temperature was 60 degrees and the flow was perfect.  Lots of pocket water on this brook and it involves some walking in order to be fished correctly.  We had to nymph the entire time and we never changed flies.  We set up a short 2wt. and 3 wt. with white yarn indicators and #14 prince nymph and #14 copper john nymph.  Literally the third cast of the morning produced a large brown trout that schooled us in the pool and buried itself under a huge boulder.  I did see the fish and it was the one that got away.  However, all was not lost as we did manage to land a dozen wild trout including one of every species rainbow, brown, and brook trout.  Missed another half dozen fish. Some nice fish as well with brown trout and rainbow trout between 11" and 14".  The star of the day was my young angler friend who has held a fly rod since he could walk.  I have guided this pair of anglers many times and this young kid caught all 3 species on his own.  He did a better job with the fly rod then a lot of adults.  Really nice small stream experience.  Should be nice weather for the next few days before some more wet weather and cooler temperatures show up.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

still looking up

Hi folks, guided from my canoe yesterday afternoon for smallmouth bass.  The foliage is almost at peak where we fished.  Of course the elevation of this lake is over 1000' so the leaves are a little further along.  Nice muggy afternoon with air temps. in the high 70's.  We did get rained on pretty good for half an hour, but it did not deter us or the fish.  Water temperature was 68 degrees and the surface was pretty calm.  a slight north breeze did kick up half way through the afternoon.  We spin fished with 1 rod rigged with a top water and second rigged with a jig.  We pretty much stuck to the top water.  We cast a fire tiger rapala and a blue and silver popper.  Had 19 fish come to the top to eat.  Pretty damn impressive for September 24.  Water temperatures and weather have been generous enough to allow us to fish top water so late into September.  We landed 5 smallmouth and one good sized pickerel.  Lots of big fish eating of the top as well.  We had one rather large smallmouth come all the way out of the water and back down on the lure.  The lesson of the day is patience on the take by the fish.  When surface fishing for smallmouth you need to give the bass the chance to eat the lure and not respond to the push or splash of water from the take.  We were a little quick striking some of these large fish and subsequently we missed them.  All of our bass were holding off downed wood.  It was theme of the day.  Especially if the wood dropped off into deeper water.  The fish were holding on the outside edge of the structure.  Might not be too many days left in the season for this type of surface feeding and the weather looks good for it over the next couple of days.  Off to guide a smaller stream today for trout.  We had some rain lately so our rivers are up again.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Really good fly fishing

Hi Folks, spent a full day on the Lamoille yesterday with a client guiding with the fly rods for trout.  Water temperature was 60 to 61 degrees.  Levels were perfect for fishing as they wee slightly above the seasonal average flow.  That might change today as we just received 5/8th" of rain at my house in Stowe.  Should settle out quickly either way.  We had trout rising throughout the day.  Every spot we fished had a rising fish. Saw a good number of #20 BWO's hatching as well some #12 Isonychia, and #16 caddis.  My client was fine fly caster and he had a 4wt. that he had made out of split cane. It cast beautifully.  We carried two rods and did not change flies all day.  On the Bamboo we cast a #12 foam ant and on the nymphing rod we rigged a #14 Prince nymph and #20 BWO nymph.  Fished dry flies for most of the day and we had in excess of over 30 wild trout eat the fly.  I think a good percentage of the trout were all eating yesterday.  The wild rainbows in the Lamoille are scrappy and put up a good tussle.  I bet the trout fishing was good everywhere yesterday.  We had a lot of takes on the dead drift, but we also missed a lot of fish on the swing.  You get an awful lot of takes letting the fly swing down stream this time of the year.  The fish are are willing to chase with the current water temperatures and the Isonychia hatch prompts some of this behavior as well.  Anywho, get out there, the fly fishing around here for trout is in its prime time period.  I am off to guide smallmouth this afternoon.  Should be really good as it will be a warmer muggy day.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.

back after it on the Lamoille

Hi Folks, Had a nice group yesterday afternoon for fly fishing on the Lamoille. Perfect weather day for fishing with over cast, a little muggy, and an occasional shower.  River flows are perfect right now and water temperatures could not be better.  Temperature yesterday was 62 degrees.  Saw a good number of #20 BWOs hatching and some #16 caddis popping off.  Even found a few wild fish that wanted to eat on the surface.  Had 3 wild bows take a #16 Goddard caddis on a dead drift.  Hooked the rest of our trout with a #16 green caddis pupa and a #20 BWO nymph under indicators.  We hooked wild rainbows in every hole we fished.  We visited a spot that I had not been to since the end of May.  No stocked fish which is fine, but a good amount of wild rainbows in the 7" to 14" class.  Looks like good fishing weather for the next few days and I will out guiding and taking advantage of the early fall fishing.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

return to summer

Hi folks, Nice late summer day yesterday afternoon with sun and warm air temperatures. Beautiful day to be on the water with the foliage beginning to turn.  Had a group of aspiring fly anglers visit the main stem of the Lamoille.  Water temperature ranged from 58 degrees to 60 degrees.  The level is still above the seasonal average, but a fine flow for fishing.  I have to say after over 20 years of fishing the Lamoille and 17 years guiding on it, the fishing has not been very good this season.  The tributaries have been excellent and producing lots of wild trout, but the main stem has challenging.   The stocked fish are not part of the equation and I have to assume that they have been flushed with the various high water events of the year.  It shows how few wild trout really exist in the Lamoille.  Another factor I have to believe is the introduction of northern pike into the Lamoille below Cadys Falls.  The group I guided yesterday had a van transport them to the river and the driver spin fished above where we were fly fishing.  He caught a 24" pike and had another chase his lure.  Not good in trout water and what will happen is it will cull the population of trout.  Probably the strongest and biggest will survive, but the impact of northerns in a trout river can not be good.  Pike are the top line predator in this state and their ideal forage when becoming adults is a soft finned bait fish i.e trout.  Oh well, back to the fishing.  Some #20 BWO's hatching and we did find one fish rising in a back eddy that was impossible to put a good presentation to.  We nymph fished with #14 copper johns and #14 prince nymphs as well as swung a some #10 olive buggers and #12 olive leech patterns.  Trying to imitate craw fish.  We hooked a total of 3 trout and missed 3 more.  Did not land a fish, but that I attribute to my anglers learning the ropes of fly fishing.  Still, we should be hooking more trout than that this time of the year.  Off to chase trout again today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

exploring

Hi Folks, I am often asked if I get a chance to fish?  I make time to fish and yesterday was one of those days.  Can't guided every day and it is nice to catch some fish myself every so often.  I like to river fish by myself for the most part.  So, I walked in the morning a small stream that is part of the Winooksi drainage and in the afternoon a tributary of the Lamoille.  I explored some water that I had not been on in a long time and even a strectch I had never walked.  You can only figure out a stream by getting in it.  Water temperatures have been between 52 degrees and 56 degrees.  Nice damp day yesterday with over cast conditions.  I did change waders and boots before moving from stream to stream.  Though I am not so sure many people are taking precautions to prevent the spread of non-native species in our streams.  In the morning the brook I fished was really clear and had with stood the heavy rains of Irene.  Lots of downed wood in this brook and not a lot of trout but the ones that are there are good sized.  I managed to spot 2 large brook trout holding in pools with wood.  Pretty fun watching them in action.  However, the moment I attempted to set-up for a cast, the fish spooked.  Always need to be really cautious in clear water streams.  I am sure that we fly anglers often spook a fair number of trout before we even get to cast to them.  No other fish in the morning and I did not even get a strike.  The afternoon made up for the morning  with lots of action.  The stream I was on does not get fished very often and I think most people think that it is dead water when they drive by it.  I had 20 wild rainbows come to the fly in a beat that was no more than 1/2 mile.  I rigged on a 3wt. a #14 stimulator with a #16 copper john nymph as a dropper.  I had fish eat both flies.  The bows were holding in the riffled water and not the pools.  No hatching insects, though the biting insects were fierce.  No monster fish but lots of jumping rainbows between 8" and 11" and the place to myself.  Back to guiding and watching people catch fish.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

fine fly fishing

Hi folks, Awful nice being on the water this time of the year.  Guided a fly trip yesterday on several small brook that hold brookies, browns, and rainbows.  We were looking to hit for the cycle and catch all 3 species in a day.  Water levels are about at the seasonal average and the clarity was excellent.  Water temperatures ranged from the low fifties to mid fifties by afternoon time.  Been sunny and bright out there so we have been fishing on shaded streams.  Interesting to see all of the Japanese knot weed along the banks of our rivers get blown over from recent floods.  Probably just spreads the stuff around even more.  The Japanese knot weed is a non-native species introduced by landscapers that has taken over our stream banks.  It has no redeeming qualities and spreads like wild fire.  So, fishing yesterday morning was solid with over 20 fish coming to the fly.  We landed rainbows and brook trout, but missed and lost a couple of brown trout.  Still good fishing with most of our takes on a #10 royal rubber legged stimulator.  Love watching trout come to the dry fly.  Never gets old.  No matching the hatch in these little brooks, but more say making a good presentation and being ready for the take.  Looks like nice weather fishing this week and I plan to take advantage with trips.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Feels like fall

Hi Folks, Took a couple of days off from fishing and we got some rain in the mean time.  Received about 3/4" of rain at my house in Stowe on Thursday. Also, a cold front pushed through and we have our first frost warnings  of the fall.  Guided a tributary of the Lamoille today for a full day and we did not see another angler.  Beautiful sunny day with morning frost, fog, and then afternoon sun. Leaves are starting to turn.  All of our rivers are up and above the seasonal average flow.  Probably will not change for the rest of the season as the ground is saturated and its been wet.  Still the trout are biting.  Water temperatures ranged from 50 degrees at 9am to 55 degrees at 4pm.  Saw a decent number of #20 BWO's hatching as well some BWO spinners late in the day.  A few #12 Isonychia spinners and random caddis hatching.  No rising fish.  Lots of cased #18 tan bodied caddis on the tops of rocks in riffles indicating that they are getting ready to hatch.  So, we nymph fished all day with a #12 prince, #14 copper john, and even through a #10 bead head wooly bugger in the mix.  Landed 2 wild rainbows over 15" with one measuring 16" and another measuring 17" and had to have weighed 3lbs.  Helluva of a trout and fought like crazy.  My client did a good job landing it in a tough spot with a waterfall and not much maneuvering room.  Also, landed a 14" bow and several smaller wild bows.  Missed a few fish and lost one brown trout but we did not have tons of action all day.  I always like to ask folks what they prefer, "1 or 2 large fish or lots of small fish?"  One to ponder, but I like seeing the large adult bows.  Fishing should stay consistent and the weather looks pretty good to me.  Off to chase trout again tomorrow.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

big fish small brook

Hi Folks, Fishing has been pretty darn good lately.  Guided another good fly angler yesterday on small Winooski tributary.  Water temperature was 60 degrees, clear, and at its seasonal average for flow.  No hatching insects as this is a pretty nutrient poor stream.  The trout in this stream want a good drift.  Also, caution is needed in order to avoid the spook factor.  We fished 2 different 3wt. outfits with one rod rigged with a #14 yellow foam terrestrial pattern and and other with an indicator and a #14 tungsten prince nymph.  We tangled with all wild rainbows and were pleasantly surprised to land measured rainbows of 14" and 15".  Really nice trout in a small brook that you could spit across.  Pretty crazy fighting fish like this in a small area.  Some of their jumps were almost above our heads.  A lot of electricity in the rod tip on these fish.  One ate the dry and one ate the nymph.  Most of our takes were on the dry fly.  All of our presentations were up stream with minimal slack in the line.  Just really drifting the leader. We did land several other smaller fish, but the big boys were the cream of the crop.  It seems to me that the small water trout fishing has been outstanding and the big water has been slow.  I have not done very well in the Lamoille lately, but the tribs. have been outstanding.  I am supposed to fish this afternoon but looks like rain out there so we will see what happens.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

wild rainbows

Hi Folks, Guided a fine fly angler yesterday for trout on small Lamoille tributary.  Water temperature was 60 degrees and the water level was inline with the seasonal average.  Not much for hatching insects.  Saw a few #12 Isonychia and fair amount of #20 Blue Winged Olives.  No rising fish.  Pretty breezy day with bright sun.  The fish were certainly tuned into the nymphs we were fishing.  We rigged a #14 prince nymph with a #20 BWO dropper under a white indicator.  I think there was a wild rainbow in every hole we fished.  We had a lot of strikes and lost fish.  We did manage to land 4 bows.  All fish between 7" and 11".  No monsters but good steady action.  We nymphed up stream keeping the slack line out of the equation.  Lots of strikes on the up stream drift where you just have to trust the indicator.  Good fishing.  Off to fish a small stream again this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

full on

Hi Folks, Been a busy September with trips almost every day even with some bad weather in the mix.  Guided yesterday for smallmouth and today for trout.  The bass fishing has been great and the surface fishing in particular.  Caught 5 smallies yesterday between 1.5lbs and 2.5lbs.  Good fighting fish that got air time.  There was a pretty stiff north wind so most of our takes were below the surface, yet when the wind calmed down the bass seemed to key in on the surface.  It was cold morning so the fishing only improved as the day progressed.  Today I spent a full day with clients chasing trout.  Started on the Lamoille which was 60 degrees.  Not much for insect activity and the fishing was slow.  We hooked and missed 5 trout which I think were all rainbows.  We cast terrestrial patterns tied out of foam.  All of out takes were on the top, but we covered a lot of water to get 5 fish to the fly.  So, instead of flogging a dead race horse we jumped into a small brook for some afternoon brook trout action.  Water was 56 degrees and very clear.  All of our river levels are still up.  We had well over 20 brookies come to the fly and the ones we landed were pretty brightly colored.  We cast #12 royal stimulators and #14 hopper patterns.  Not sure the fly totally mattered, but instead a good accurate cast and drift.  Kind of seemed like summer out there today so hopefully things will cool off.  Back at again tomorrow.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

back to the well

Hi folks, Could not get enough of a good thing so I went back to the well with my clients yesterday morning and chased smallmouth bass from my boat.  The bass fishing the last few days has been excellent and I am all in favor of taking advantage.  Trout fishing is not going anywhere and that will only get better as things cool down.  Nice cool night last night as it is 40 degrees at my house right now.  Yesterday morning was another calm flat morning with good fog cover.  The leaves are starting to turn higher up.  A little north wind kicked in mid morning but for the most part it was not a factor.  Surface temperature of the water was 65 degrees.  The bite was a little slow off the get go.  We missed one really large fish and a couple of small fish before getting our groove on.  We pounded shoreline, but paid particular close attention to downed wood in the water.  We caught almost all of our 14 smallmouth yesterday on wood.  Floating rapalas in blue and silver and a fire tiger popper were the ticket.  All surface strikes with fish from 6" to 19" .  The 19" smallmouth was all of 4lbs and fought like a champ.  Great fish!  Most of our takes were when the lure hot the water or was slightly moved.  Nice morning for fishing and hopefully today will be the same.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

feeding binge

Hi Folks, Been chasing smallmouth the last couple of days with clients.  Yesterday morning we spin fished a large body of water under foggy conditions.  The water's surface was like glass.  Temperature was 69 degrees and not a breath of wind.  We cast a popper and fire tiger and perch colored floating rapalas to shoreline cover.   We landed well over 20 smallmouth and had as many come to the lure.  The largest fish of the of the day was just shy of 18".  We caught a nice assortment of size ranges.  Most of the fish were holding in relationship to downed wood.  You had to be ready for strike the moment the lure hit the water as the takes were pretty quick.  Really important to eliminate any slack in the line in order to be able to strike the fish on the surface take.  The smallies we have been catching have been stuffed and coughing up an assortment of minnow and crawfish.  Looks like they have been putting in the fed bag.  Looks like a cool down tonight and will be good for our trout streams.  Water levels are still up, but should continually drop over the next few days.  Off to chase smallmouth bass again this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

smallmouth bonanza

Hi Folks, had been shut out of fishing the last 2 days with the rain.  More rain was the last thing we needed, but we still took on another 1/34" of rain at my house in Stowe from Monday through Wednesday.  Our rivers are up and the Lamoille and Winooski are not approachable presently.  I have been exploring some tribs. on both rivers and thought they are high, they are very fishable.  Tonight I took a long time guest spin fishing for smallmouth out of one of my canoes.  We fished a high elevation lake that does not allow motorboats.  I think we were the only people on this body of water.  Nice foliage starting especially from the soft maples.  Dead calm on the water with a surface temperature of 69 degrees.  My guest was dialed in tonight and the fishing was excellent.  We never change lures as we stuck with a fire tiger colored floating rapala cast on a light spinning rod with 4lb test.  The first cast of the night produced a violent surface strike.  Usually a good sign.  We landed 15 smallies between 1/10thlb to almost 4lbs.  We landed 3 fish over 3 lbs.  My guest only missed a few takes and he really took advantage of his opportunities.  We lost a couple of decent fish, but all in all we brought a good percentage of fish to hand.  The pattern of the night was wood.  The water level is way up and the fish were in close to shore hanging off fallen timber.  We only had one long submerged rock point where fish were stacked up, but for the most part it was wood tonight.  We did have 2 very large smallmouth chase in smaller bass we had hooked.  Not sure if they were chasing the fish out of their area or attempting to eat them.  The bass tonight were just stuffed.  Big, fat fish full of piss and vinegar.  Some really good surface takes with lots of jumping.  I think it is safe to say that the smallmouth are preparing for the big cool down and are on the feed.  I will be chasing them again in the morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

humid fly fishing for trout

Hi folks, guided a full day yesterday with the fly rods on the Lamoille and one of its tributaries.  Water temperatures did not change much from the Lamoille to the tributary we visited.  The water temperature was 66 to 67 degrees.  Pretty muggy day with heavy air and we had to hold up under some soft woods for 15 minutes at lunch time due a quick moving thunderstorm.  I though the water levels were perfect for fishing.  We nymph fished for the most part and my guests were fine fly anglers who could handle a rod.  We did see a few #12 Isonychia hatch but only a couple of random rising fish.  We drifted a #14 zug bug with a #18 olive caddis pupa under and indicator.  Also threw a prince nymph in the mix and caught fish on both fly patterns.  We picked up fish dead drifting as well as swinging the fly.  At days end we tried a #14 green foam terrestrial pattern with a caddis pupa dropper and caught a wild bow on the dry.  All wild rainbows yesterday with 1 brook trout in the mix on the last cast of the day.  All said we landed 13 fish and missed or lost just as many.  We did do some walking and cover some water.  No really big trout, but lots of fish between 7" and 12" and good fun on small stream fly rods.  The fishing seemed more consistent in the tributary we visited versus the Lamoille.   Looks like the muggy weather will push out of here but not before we receive some heavy rain today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

180 degrees

Hi folks, Guided with my boat yesterday morning with spin gear and then in the afternoon I took a large party fly fishing on the highest brook trout pond in the state.  Beautiful conditions yesterday morning for surface fishing with the surface temperature at 73 degrees and overcast skies and no wind.  We pounded a lot of water and kept the boat moving.  With spin gear and a variety of poppers we were able to land 8 smallmouth bass, but no large fish.  We missed another 12 fish with several larger fish not being hooked who came to eat off the top.  No pattern to the fishing yesterday morning as the fish seemed to be fairly dispersed throughout the lake. We tried a a wide variety of tackle including jigs and the surface plugs were the winner.  The most consistent color was fire tiger and a brightly colored perch plug.  Large fish do not always show themselves and when given the opportunity it is important to have your focus and make the connection.  I think a lot of times people do gauge how good the fishing is based on how many fish come to their lure or fly.  I cannot hook the fish for you and 20 opportunities on any given day is good fishing, especially with a surface bite.  Been pretty muggy around here the last couple of days and the hike to the pond in the afternoon was a sweaty affair.  Still nice and calm on top of the mountain and the surface temperature was 58 degrees.  Real tannin colored pond due to the surrounding organic matter.  Dark water, but clear.  We just worked around the perimeter of the pond and cast large terrestrial patterns.  We did find a few rising fish, though I have no idea what they were eating.  We had 6 takes off the top within a few feet of shore.  The Littoral zone is always the place to explore on a pond.  It is where a good percentage of the life lives.  Nice experience and a good change of pace for me.  Off to guide a fly trip today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

on the big water

Hi folks, Guided the Lamoille main stem and a Lamoille tributary yesterday.  Water levels are coming down slowly but surely and the water clarity is improving.  The Lamoille yesterday morning was a spring level.  Similar to fishing it in May.  Water temperature was 63 degrees.  Saw a few random #14 olive bodied caddis hatching, but no fish responding.  There was a fair amount of #12 Isonychia shucks on rocks.  We dead drifted heavy nymphs with and with out an indicator.  We hooked 2 trout all morning and lost one and landed one.  If you are going to catch 1 fish in a day, might as well be a good one.  We landed a really healthy looking measured 16" male rainbow trout.  The old boy ate a #10 tungsten bead head olive/black wooly bugger.  Awesome hook jaw on this fish and I would guess it weighed about 2.5lbs.  In the afternoon I ventured on to a Lamoille tributary where the water temperature was 61 degrees.  It was interesting to see the effects of Irene on the streams and good to see that they held up.  Most of the stable pools that I have seen the last few days on our streams look to be intact.  Something to be said for keeping buffer zones along river banks and not removing gravel.  Lots of green grasshopper action in the surrounding area where we fished so we tied on #12 green grasshopper pattern and began to hooks fish after fish.  Nice brook trout action with fish in the 5" to 10" rage eating the fly.  Well looks like nasty weather on the way so I am off to fish from the boat this morning and and pond in the afternoon.  Hope the weather holds.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

casting into the trees

Hi Folks, Spent yesterday morning guiding from my boat for smallmouth bass.  Lots of water in the lake where we fished as the level was way up.  Surface temperature was 70 degrees with very little if any wind.  Pretty much had the place to ourselves.  We cast surface flies for the bass.  We had a fish in the boat within our first few casts and we thought that we were going to really catch a lot of fish.  As it turned out we did land 8 smallmouth with no over 12", but we made lots of casts.  It seemed that we came into hot and cold areas and we had to keep moving to find fish that wanted to play.  I can only attribute this to the high water where we literally made some casts into trees that were flooded.  The water color was slightly off so making noise with the popper was important.  It needed to be worked aggressively on the surface.  Bright colored flies were in order.  In the afternoon I worked a small brook that is part of the Lamoille watershed.  Water levels were high and the temperature was 59 degrees.  Clarity was good and we were able to fish stimulator patterns and get native brook trout to eat.  Lots of action.  The brook trout are currently preparing to spawn and their colors are incredible right now.  I am off to guide trout this morning and will be fishing on the Lamoille watershed.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy