ice fishing 2012/2013

Hi folks, Hope everyone is well and bracing for winter.  Been away for a bit from fishing while I spent time in the Vermont woods chasing game.  I visited a local pike lake yesterday to find thin ice.  Been a fairly cold early winter and late fall in and around Stowe, but we still have had some warm weather and wind.  I measured less than 1" of ice on the lake.  There had been a 3" early in the week but it all broke up with the most recent warm spell.  It will not be too long before we have some ice to walk on.  Just remember to carry all of the safety gear early in the season like rope, ice picks, life preserver, and let some one know where you are heading.  My early season ice fishing will focus on northern pike and yellow perch fishing.  Trout season does not begin until the third Saturday in January.  Looking forward to getting out on the hard water.  Have Fun, Willy

End of the season

Hi Folks, Happy Halloween and the last day of trout fishing season.  I went up north on Monday to chase Landlocked Salmon.  Water level was about average for this time of the year and clarity was excellent.  Water temperature was 53 degrees and the wind was howling from the east.  Wow, the fish were everywhere int he river.  It was like looking in an aquarium as you could salmon in just about every pool with gravel.  The fish were in full on spawning mode.  We saw fish from 2lbs up to 10lbs. doing there thing.  Big females on spawning beds who were rolling.  Numbers of male salmon lined up behind the females getting ready to drop their load and competing for each female.  Saw one very large male just about eat a small male who got in the way.  We left the spawning fish alone and chased male salmon.  Swinging #8 mickey finns and a variety of nymphs was challenging.  Fish did not want to eat due to spawning.  Every so often after about a hundred drifts you would get one to open its mouth.  We  landed several very large fish and lost a few.  The good old red thread prince nymph seemed to be the most effective.  Good end to the season and off to hunt until ice fishing season.  Have Fun, Willy

going out with a bang

Hi Folks, Guided the main stem of the Lamoille yesterday afternoon.  Had the entire the place to ourselves with the exception of a flock of Turkeys that were begging to be shot in a corn field.  Water temperature was 51 degrees and the water clarity was excellent.  Saw two rising fish but they did not come up consistently and I am not really sure what they were eating.  Not really any hatching bugs.  We found trout in every pool we fished.  The fish were holding in the deeper slower parts of the pools. The fish of the day was awesome 18" wild rainbow that got out of the water multiple times.  Notice in the picture the big claw marks in it's back.  Got lucky and escaped a predator and then we released it after catching it.  I do think that the trout are overly fussy as to what they eat right now, they just are not going to work to hard as they water temperature cools off.   Dead drifting nymphs or casting streamers on a sink tip will all work.  Off to chase salmon tomorrow and then see what Hurricane Sandy brings.  The trout season concludes on Halloween.  Hopefully the does not get blown out, but we will see.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

really nice fishing day

Hi Folks, Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday on a perfect fall day.  Nice sunny warm afternoon with no wind.  Water temperature was 50 degrees and the level was about average for this time of the year.  No hatching insects or rising fish, but plenty of hungry wild trout.  We nymph fished with double rigs under indicators.   We had a #14 copper john with a #18 olive nymph.  We landed a dozen wild rainbows between 6" and 12".  Dead drifting the flies worked best and the fish were holding in the slower parts of pools.  I think every pool held a fish.  No brown trout yesterday or giant fish, but I think that was a product of the bright sun.  Off to chase trout again today.  Today and tomorrow could be it for trout fishing with the imminent arrival of Hurricane Sandy.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

trying to finish off with a bang

Hi Folks, Winding down my fall guiding schedule.  Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday afternoon.  Beautiful day to be on the water with air temperatures reaching the mid 50's.  The water temperature was 47  degrees and clarity was excellent.  Everyone seems so consumed with catching big fall spawning brown trout, but I like wild rainbows and they way they fight.  Yesterday afternoon we tangled with a handful of nice looking wild rainbows who looked like they handled the summer heat no problem.  We fished trout patterns that looked like a young brown trout and young rainbow trout.  Fun watching the large fish materialize from a deep pool to eat.  A week left in the trout season and a couple of trips left for me.  Been in the woods hunting a lot lately.  Really nice and quiet and pretty productive.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species art home.  Have fun, Willy

Winding down

Hi Folks, Guided yesterday for river trout with the fly.  Beautiful fall day out there with warm air temperatures and sunny skies.  Water temperature was 48 degrees and the clarity was fairly decent considering all of the recent rains.  Lots of debris in the water as the most of the leaves have now come off all of the trees.  Took my boat out with clients the other day and the surface temperature of the water was 47 degrees and we got snowed on.  Been blowing hard for most of October and boat control has been difficult on the lakes.   Fishing has been slow.  Not seeing much for fish.  Hatches have been non-existent.  Weird fall for fishing.  My focus is shifting to hunting, not guiding, but for my enjoyment.  Have a couple more trips prior to ice fishing season.  Will be chasing birds and going on a moose hunt. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

large river cannibals

Hi Folks, Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday afternoon under cloudy rainy conditions.  Water level was up but still down for this time of the year.  Temperature was 53 degrees and the clarity was excellent.  Fished with light spinning rods and trout imitation plugs.  Still lots of debris in the water but that is a product of the season.  We worked half a dozen pools casting into banks and towards visible structure in river.  Letting the plug swing in the current and then retrieving it slowly off the seam worked pretty well.  We hooked 7 wild trout yesterday afternoon and landed 2 nice wild rainbows.  Had one really large rainbow to our feet and lost it.  It was great to see the fish came out of no where to slam a rainbow trout imitation plug.  Lost two other jumping bows and had a very large brown trout attempt to eat a brown trout imitation plug.  Big trout eat little trout.  It was fun watching fish chase down the lures.  Water clarity and polarized sun glasses help.  Windy and cool the next few days.  I will  be in the boat.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

the big cool down

Hi folks, Been guiding from the boat and the in the Lamoille water shed over the last few days and Columbus Day weekend.  Finally cooled down out there and the leaves are really starting to blow off the trees.  Lots of junk in the rivers when drifting the fly.  Water temperatures in the Lamoille have been in the mid fifties midday and the lakes I have visited have been between 51 degrees and 54 degrees.  Still been pretty darn windy.  Water levels are up with all of the recent rain.  The fishing has been slow for my guests.  Working to hook a fish or two in the river but the trout are not coming to the net very easily.  Pike fishing has been the same.  The lake fishing has been tough due to the wind.  Been awful windy this fall.  Still no rising fishing in the rivers and hatches have been sparse.  Will be off to chase trout later today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

wet one

Hi Folks, Guided a group of spin and fly anglers on the Lamoille yesterday afternoon.  Nice drizzly day  for fishing.  Still pretty warm out there and the water temperature has only dropped to 59 degrees.  Saw a few #18/#20 BWO's hatching and actually saw a couple of rising fish.  Water level is still up but the clarity is fine.  We swung a #14 copper john with a #18 BWO nymph and missed a couple of fish.  The spin guys had a bit more luck landing 1 wild rainbow and a nice 15" wild male brown trout.  It still seems that the trout suffered in the Lamoille this summer as the fall river fishing has been slow in the main stem.  The Lamoille tributaries have been vey good for wild fish but the big water has been challenging.  I usually count on the massive hatches of BWOs this time of the year and I just have not seen it or fish for that matter.  I am not interested in stocked fish and I am referring to wild fish.  Working hard for a few trout each time out.  Will be changing directions over the next few days and chasing pike and bass.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Peak

Hi Folks, Guided for the day yesterday on a Lamoille river tributary.  Big pocket water with wild brown trout, wild rainbow trout, native brookies and the occasional stocked brown trout.  We received almost 3/4" of rain on Sunday and into Monday and all of our streams are puffed up.  The Lamoille was unfishable yesterday and the stream we were on was high but clear.  The foliage is at peak right now and just sensational.  Air temperatures seem warmer than normal and it has been really pleasant on the water.  Water temperature was 59 degrees.  We fished two rigs yesterday with one rigged with a double nymph dropper rig and dry dropper rig.  We caught wild trout on both.  4th cast of the day produced a 15" hook jawed wild brown trout that ate a #18 copper john.  We lost an even bigger fish int he same hole about 12 casts later.  I had a client catch a nice wild brown on this same hole at this time last year.  Pretty cool.  We landed 2 other browns on the day and 3 wild rainbows.  We did lose a 3 fish and miss two.  We had a couple of wild rainbows and 1 brown take a #12 orange bodied stimulator.  Fun watching a fish materialize from in front of a large rock to eat.  Will be off to chasing trout this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

chasing salmon

Hi Folks, Guided with the fly rods up north yesterday for landlocked salmon.  We were not the only ones who wanted to catch salmon as the river was pretty busy.  More anglers than I like to deal with generally.  Water flows are incredibly low and the temperature was 62 degrees.  We fished two rods with one rigged with a large #8 Royal Wulff and the other with #8 prince nymph with a #16 olive flash back hare's ear nymph under an indicator.  Caught two smallmouth bass on the dry fly rig and rolled a salmon.  The prince nymph caught 4 salmon and a wild rainbow trout.  Love the way the salmon jump and fight when hooked.  No fish over 20" yesterday but there are plenty of fish in the river.  More flow and less fishing pressure would be good.  Off to chase trout today on the Lamoille watershed.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have Fun, Willy

damp, drizzly day, perfect for trout fishing

Hi Folks, Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday afternoon with the fly rods.  Nice wet day with constant drizzle.  Water levels are a still low and we could still use more rain.  Water temperature was 55 degrees.  Saw a pretty good hatch of #16 caddis yesterday.  Not much for rising fish but we did have fish coming to our dry fly.  We fished 3wt. outfits with dry dropper rigs.  A #16 Goddard caddis with a #18 olive copper john was the most effective set up of the day.  We landed 4 wild brown and rainbow trout and had another  7 fish come to the fly.  A lot fun watching larger browns and rainbows stick up their noses to eat the Goddard caddis off the top.  You see the trout flash at the nymph below the surface.  Lots of up stream drifting with very little fly line on the water.  One of the better afternoons of trout fishing i have seen thus far this fall.  Off to chase salmon this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

fall fishing

Hi Folks, Been guiding trout the last couple of days under beautiful fall foliage.  It seems like the leaves are changing ahead of schedule.  Good topic of debate.  Water levels are still somewhat low but temperatures are excellent.  Found water temperatures between 58 degrees and 62 degrees.  I have been guiding on small brooks for wild trout.  Lots of clear water.  The trout fishing has been tough this fall.  Generally this would be magic time and it has been just the opposite.  Really working hard for a few fish.  Not much for hatching insects.  Seen a few #18/#20 BWO's and some #16 olive bodied caddis but that is about it.  We have been working the small streams I have been guiding with  #12 orange stimulators with a #18 olive cooper john and a #10 yellow rubber legged foam fly with various small dropper nymphs.  Still spooking some fish in the clear water and approach and how you are dressed is important.  No bright colors.  Yesterday was pretty cool as we sight fished for wild brown trout.  Spotted several fish holding in and around wood in long pools off big riffles.  Great feeling when you make the prefect cast and watch the fish move to take the fly.  Landed 4 browns yesterday on the dry fly and nymph.  Missed another 3 fish.  Thursday we did not land a fish but had half dozen wild rainbows come to the fly.  Still working hard for fish.  Will be chasing trout once again today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

nice day to be on the water

Hi folks, Guided a full day from the boat yesterday.  Pretty awesome when you have the entire lake to yourselves.  Flat calm al day with over cast skies and beautiful foliage.  Really nice contrast with the dark sky and changing leaves.  Water temperature was 65 degrees on the surface.  We fished the surface for most of the day and the smallmouth wanted to play.  We cast the good old original floating rapala in black and white and blue and white.  Plenty of smallmouth coming to the surface to eat.  Not a day with many large fish but lots of steady action.  We did take and miss a few smallmouth of a 4' crawfish colored Senko.  Most of the surface takes came after the lure had been stationery on the surface for a bit.  We fished pretty shallow and found fish off drop offs, points, and flats with about 15' of water.  Will be chasing trout today.  Hopefully the water levels will be manageable as we received 1/2" of rain last night in Stowe.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

covering water

Hi folks, Been enjoying the fall weather the last few days guiding on the Lamoille with the fly rods.  I have been drifting the river with my canoe.  Nice was to see and cover some water.  No one out there fishing and the leaves are getting better by the day.  Water levels have been decent for fishing and the temperature mid day in the Lamoille has been 58 degrees to 60 degrees.  Been awful bright and sunny and I welcome the rain we are receiving today.   Seeing a few #16 olive bodied caddis hatching, a few random #12 Isonychia, some #20 BWOs and still plenty of grasshoppers around.  Have seen some junk feeding trout lately.  Fish that rise once or twice at the most and you really can't get a gauge as to what they are eating.  We have been nymphing and swinging a #12 olive tungsten bugger.  Double nymph rigs with a #14 copper john and a #18 olive nymph has been effective.  Not catching any big fish but few wild rainbows who have been feeding below the surface.  I am finding that we are having to cover some water and make lots of casts for fish.  The trout seem to spread out a bit.  I off for a full day on the boat to chase smallmouth.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

nymphing away

Hi Folks, Guided the Winooski for trout yesterday afternoon.  What a nice fall day with sun and clouds, cool air temperatures, and leaves that are really starting to turn.  Water temperature was 62 degrees and the flow was pretty heavy from the previous nights rain.  The clarity of the water was slightly off.  Once again no hatches to speak of.  We nymph fished all afternoon with double fly rigs under indicators.  We mixed it up with a #14 tungsten prince an a #18 olive wire copper john, to a #16 flashback hare's ear nymph to a #20 peacock herl soft hackle.  We landed 2 very nice wild rainbows and lost 3 other fish.  Lots of casting and drifting for the end result.  Was nice having the river to ourselves.  Will be chasing trout for the next couple of days and then back to the boat and pike fishing.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

chunky smallmouth

another beautiful day of fall fishing

Hi folks, Ran my boat with guests up north again today in search of northern pike and bass.  We left pretty early in the morning to avoid the heavy wind that came up mid day.  The lake turned into an ocean by mid day with big waves and white caps.  The water temperature was 64 degrees and the clarity was pretty good.  The fishing in the morning was excellent and probably would have been all day had the wind not blown us off the water.  We landed 6 northern pike, 4 chunky smallmouths bass, and 1 largemouth bass.  We fished large fire tiger stick baits and a large double prop Devil Horse.  We had the smallmouths all eat off the surface and two of the pike.  We caught all of our fish in less than 12' of water where there large weed beds with a hard bottom.  Had the entire lake to ourselves and the foliage is beginning to look nice.  Big cold front has moved in and I would guess that the lake fishing might be slow for a day or two until things settle down.  I received 1/2" of rain at my house in Stowe.  Off to chase trout today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

blowing in the wind

Hi folks, Fished up north today with guests for pike and bass.  Cast the fly rods and spin gear.  Good stiff wind from the west at a steady 10 to 15 knots.  Beautiful early fall day and we had the lake all to ourselves.  Surface temperature was 65 degrees and the water clarity was decent.  We were looking for northern pike but invariably tangles with some largemouth and smallmouth bass.  Fire tiger and orange and yellow seemed to be the colors of the day.  A fast retrieve triggered most responses from pike and bass.  We located all of our fish on drop offs from 5' to 15' of water with a hard bottom, mixed in large boulders, and milfoil.  Missed several big surface strikes from bass because we just did not expect that type of take.  The two best fish of the day were an 18" and 18.5" largemouth bass.  Landed only small northerns and had several larger fish chase and one pike break off a large plug.  Caught a nice 2lb smallmouth had a few others chase but not eat.  I think the bright sun had something to do with our inability to seal the deal on every fish.  The wind made fishing challenging and I think had it not blown so hard we would have done even better.  Will be fishing pike again in 2 days.  Looking forward to it.  Our big rivers are high and dirty after good rain on Tuesday.  Smaller brooks and streams are perfect for fishing.  Nice time of the year to be on the water.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

not the target species

plunge pools

Hi folks, Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday mid day with the fly rods.  Interesting stream as is offers a a wide variety of water types from a meandering meadow section, to several small gorges to heavy pocket water.  The water was low yesterday and the sun was awful bright.  The pocket water was the place to fish with the current water levels.  Water temperature was 58 degrees and the river was gin clear.  Not much for hatching bugs.  We cast a dry dropper rig of a #16 caddis dry with a #18 copper brassie several nymph rigs with a #14 prince and #18 olive caddis pupa dropper under an indicator.  Every fish that came to the fly was holding in and around heavy plunge pools.  The indicator was critical in detecting strikes in the heavy foam of the plunge.  We had 18 wild rainbows come to the fly.  All fish in the 7" to 12" range that were full of piss and vinegar.  Good strong fighters.  Fun way to fish.  We need some rain and it looks like it is on the way for today and tomorrow.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

another day of summer

Hi folks, Guided on the Lamoille yesterday afternoon with aspiring fly anglers.  Another stellar weather day with record high air temperatures.  Afternoon clouds did help and kept the big sun off the water.  Water temperature was 64 degrees and the level was just below the seasonal average.  Saw a lot of #16 green bodied caddis larva on rocks and some hatching #12/#14 isonychia.  A few rising trout but nothing with any regularity.  We blind fished a #14 green grasshopper and a #12 Hare's Ear parachute. We missed several fish that aggressively rose to eat the hopper.  We did land a 3 little guys that were learning to eat at any early age and hooked a decent rainbow on a Isonychia nymph that let go on a country club release.  The trout fishing on the main stem of the Lamoille has been okay.  Certainly a product of the hot summer with low water.  I will be focusing my efforts on tributaries of the Lamoille where the fishing seems to be more consistent and the densities of wild fish greater.  Nice weather change with a big cold front arriving and cold nights on the way.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-nativre species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

chasing pike

Hi folks, Guided in the champlain valley yesterday at one of my old stomping grounds for northern pike.  Pretty breezy morning with a steady south wind.  Another blue bird sunny day.  Surface temperature was 70 degrees and the water clarity was a bit off.  We cast large Rapala Husky Jerks and attempted to fish some soft plastics.  The wind made the finesse fishing difficult.  We landed one decent sized pike and lost two other fish.  Did have a smallmouth bass attack the Rapala but we were unable to  get the fish stuck.  Not fast and furious out there yesterday.  Brightly colored lures or flies with flash are the ticket for northerns.  Anything that pushes water or creates a vibration in the water can be productive.  Will be trout fishing the next few days and it looks like a cool down on the way.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

what a day

Hi Folks, Beautiful day to be on the water yesterday with pleasant air temperatures and a big sun with blue sky.  Maybe not ideal for fishing, but awful darn nice.  Visited a Lamoille tributary and walked a fished a beat of water I had not been on in 20 years.  It was nice to see that it has not changed much since that time.  Water temperature was 59 degrees, clarity was excellent, and the flow was perfect.  No hatching insects or rising fish.  Certainly a stream that should be approached by fishing up stream.  The rig of the day was a #14 green bodied stimulator as the dry fly with a #18 copper john for a dropper.  This particular stream has a decent population of wild rainbows, wild brown trout and stocked browns, with the occasional brook trout.  It was interesting to watch trout and particularly rainbows materialize from under rocks to follow my dropper fly in the drift and then either decide not to eat or pounce on the copper john.  The fish would just effortlessly float right next to fly examining it carefully.  You could see the aqua green bodies of the rainbows and even witnessed a brown trout with big cherry dots do the same thing.  I landed 5 wild rainbows between 8" and 12" and 1 8" brown trout on a 2wt.  Not bad for the middle of the day and a couple hours of fishing.  I did rig a indicator with the small coper john for a couple of the lat bigger pools and missed 3 pretty decent sized fish.  All of the takes were pretty subtle due to the bright sun and size of the fly.  I could see the fish move to the fly and just simple pulled the trigger to late.  Love seeing trout in their domain.  Off to chase pike this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

big heads, small bodies

Hi Folks, guided on the Lamoille main stem yesterday morning for trout.  I have been fishing the Lamoille for trout in a couple of months due to warm water temperatures and low water levels.  Water temperature was 64 degrees at 7am and the level was spring like.  A little over a 1/2" of rain Saturday night helped with the levels.  Did not see any hatching bugs or any #12/#14 Isonychia shucks on rocks.  We nymph fished with a double fly rig  under an indicator.  We fished a #14 tungsten red thread prince with a #18 peacock soft hackle.  We also mixed in a #12 tungsten head olive wooly under as the top fly.  All of our takes were pretty subtle and the fish were holding in the soft water off the main current.  Not much fight in the trout and they all looked starved.  Big heads with really skinny bodies from a stressful hot summer.  The condition of the fish should hopefully only improve and and the fishing as well.  Nice weather right now with the cool nights and the feel of fall in the air.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

a little variety

Hi Folks, Spent the afternoon into dark yesterday with a guest casting flies from the canoe.  Water temperature is starting to cool off with a surface temperature on the lake of 68 degrees.  No Much to contend with though it is supposed to pick up from the south this afternoon and get a bit breezy as a big weather front pushes through.  We cast poppers the entire afternoon and in yellow and chartreuse.  Even tried a few foam slider flies.  We worked for the smallmouth we caught.  Lots of little fish looking at the flies.  However. in the mean time we were treated to a fair amount violent strikes from pickerel.  Pretty interesting how the pickerel absolutely crush the popper but miss the fly altogether.
we had several break offs where we would see our fly floating after the take with an inch or two of line still attached to the fly.  Lucky for us and lucky for the pickerel.  We did land several of these slimy bastards and they are good fun on a fly, just not the the target species.  Also, we caught a lot of yellow perch and some trophy pumpkin seeds.  The fish of the night was a 16" 2.5lb smallmouth that had some fight in it.  We missed a couple of good fish at dark as well.  I guess because yesterday was so hot and sunny the fishing did not turn on until dark.  We covered a bit of water and we found smallmouth holding off deeper edges that had big submerged rocks and weed beds.  With the cool down on the way I will be getting back on the trout water.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

finally some rain

Hi folks, Spent yesterday checking out parts of the Lamoille watershed.   Nice to see water in our streams.  We received some rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.  At my house in Stowe I received 2.25" of rain but other parts of Vermont received even more.  Water temperatures still need to cool down.  The Lamoille was 72 degrees at mid day and high.  Several tributaries of the Lamoille were 69 to 71 degrees, high, and slightly off color.   Looks like another hot day and then things will begin to cool off this weekend.  Should be able to trout fish again.  Will be chasing trout this weekend.  Fly selection can vary from terrestrials like #14/#16 to #22 cinnamon flying ants, #12/#14 olive hoppers, and various beetle patterns.  Been some #12/#14 Isonychia and plenty of #16 green bodied caddis.  Will be bass fishing later today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

labor day bang

Hi folks, Guided a double yesterday on Labor day and the smallmouth bass fishing was very good.  Pretty good weekend of guiding and fishing for bass.  Looks like rain for the next couple of days which is really needed.  Water temperature on the lake I was on was 73 degrees and the river we fished last night was 72 degrees.  Slight south wind yesterday with decent morning fog.  Saw no one fishing this weekend.  Nice having the water to ourselves.  Cast a lot of poppers to bass yesterday and even mixed in the spin rod with incredible edible Senko.  Landed a 18.25" and 16" smallmouth off the top in the morning.  Big strong fish who were holding in skinny water adjacent to downed wood and rock.  We also picked off lots of little bass.  We just covered water and kept casting.  In the afternoon we fished several large pools with low clear water and the smnallmouth were willing and jumping.  We landed 10 smallmouth between 1lb and 2lbs.  Good fun on light gear.  Been an awesome summer for bass fishing, yet I am now ready to chase trout if we get a cool down.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

holiday smb

stripping streamers

Hi folks, Guided for river smallmouth bass yesterday with the fly rods.  Another warm sunny day with no rain.  Sure could use some rain.  The river was 72 degrees at very low.  Pretty easy getting around the big water with the current levels.  Top water fishing was slow yesterday as we only had 2 smallmouth eat off the top.  We had a bit of success dead drifting some large stone fly patterns and olvie and brown wolly buggers under an indicator.  However, the best approach yesterday was casting and stripping erratically chartreuse colored clauser minnows.  Some really violent strikes and the fish seemed to want something moved fairly quickly.  We found smallies in all of the really large primary pools.  Beautiful morning for fishing.  Off to chase smallmouth from the boat this morning and then in the river this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

scratching up some bass

Hi Folks, We really need some rain now.  Would be nice a get few days of sustained rain.  Our rivers are still really low.  Nights are cooling down and so are the river temperatures.  Had the boat out with guests yesterday morning and the surface temperature was 68 degrees. We fished a lake that is one big swamp with various river channels and wide variety of fish.  We targeted smallmouth bass where the Lamoille river forms the lake.  Lots of big rocks and boulders to cast around.  We caught and missed a couple of smallmouth early on with a fire tiger popper.  The top water bite did not last long once the big bright sun rose.  We fished below the surface with a watermelon red magic 4" Senko and a watermelon 5' Senko with a chartreuse tip.  We caught smallmouth and largemouth bass with the largest fish weighing in at a robust 2.5lbs.  We had to make a lot of casts and work hard for the fish we caught.  A day on the water that required patience and finesse.  Off to chase bass this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

could use some rain

Hi folks, Guided this morning for river smallmouth. Man the rivers and brooks are still wicked low and rain is really badly needed.  Pretty humid out there and if it were not for some changing foliage you would sear it was still mid summer.  On a brighter note, my client and I last night watched from the canoe a black bear swim across the lake.  It was pretty cool.  So back today.  Water was low, clear, and 68 degrees at 6:30am.  Pretty nice morning with cloud cover.  We fished the surface with 5wt. outfits casting #10 and #12 hopper patterns and a #8 black and yellow popper.  We dead drifted the flies and added movement.  The current is so slow that we literally fished some spots like it was still water.  The bass were holding in the tail outs of pools and close to any structure available in the river.  We did land any monsters but we had pretty good steady action with small fish.  Fun watching the surface take.  Off to chase bass and walleye from the boat tomorrow morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

top water dave at it again

is fall on the way?

Hi folks, Guided from the canoe last night for smallmouth bass and looked for some trout with clients on Wednesday early morning on the Winooski.  The water temperature on the Winooski at 6:30am was 67 degrees.  The surface temperature was 72 degrees on the lake we fished last night.  Pretty windy last night with a steady blow from the west/southwest.  Trout fishing on Wednesday was okay.  We tugged on a mess of Fall fish and 2 young landlocked salmon.  Saw a few #12/#14 Isonychia hatching and their shucks on rocks and in big back eddies.  Lots of #14/#16 green caddis larva on the bottoms of rocks.  We nymph fished the entire morning and the fall fish seemed to like our flashback pheasant tail nymphs and caddis pupa droppers.  Last night bassing we landed 9 fish with the largest fish a robust 3lbs.  We fished up and down with a frog colored Heddon tiny Torpedo and and 4" green with red flake Senko on a red worm hook off the bottom.  Caught fish on both rigs.  Wood and weed seemed to be the key.  Patience on the top water presentation as usual.  Off to river fish this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Still summer

Hi Folks, Been out and about guiding the last few days.  Spent Sunday morning in the boat chasing smallmouth bass in really clear water and the afternoon casting flies to river smallies.  Today, small streaming it for brook trout.  Been hot and humid with big damn sun.  Did cloud up this afternoon and it is supposedly going to rain.  We really need it!  The surface temperature of the lake I fished was 73 degrees at 6:30am and the bass river was 75 degrees at 4pm.  The trout stream I visited today was a warm 65 degrees. Pretty warm for this brook.  Incredible how low the water is in our streams.   Not very hard to locate the fish, but man can they be spooky.  Been using trout tactics to catch smallmouth in our rivers.  A #10 olive/tan grasshopper worked really well Sunday night.   Slight twitches with the rod tip during the drift prompted some big strikes.  We 5 bass on the hopper pattern.  Also, dead drifted a #8 olive tungsten bead head leech pattern under a white indicator.  Caught 4 smallmouth with this tactic and missed a few.  Pretty interesting to see the subtle takes from a big bass.  The lake fishing was a morning of covering water.  We drummed up 7 smallmouth fishing the top with a slider fly and then spin fished with olive/red flake 4" Senkos on red hooks off the bottom.  All of the bass were holding in deeper water off large points and deep milfoil beds.  Pretty interesting in clear water how often you see a big smallmouth just cruising along or have one come to the boat on a fly or lure and turn off.  Trout fishing this afternoon was pretty good.  We landed 4 7" to 9" brook trout on a 2wt. with a #10 royal rubber legged stimulator.  Probably missed 8 fish.  The water is incredibly low and clear and 1 bad false cast sends a trout scurrying for cover.  Stealth like the great blue heron is important.  Hope for rain and cooler weather.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

nice river bass

osprey, heron, and big river bass

Hi Folks, Guided fly anglers yesterday morning on the lower Lamoille for smallmouth bass.  Another hot sunny day and we still need rain.  Looks like record heat for today and we need that like a sharp stick in the eye.  Water temperature was 74 degrees and as you can imagine the water is pretty darn low.  Some good wild life viewing yesterday morning with ospreys flying over head fishing and big Great Blue Herons stalking the shallows for an easy meal.  The fishing was pretty damn good as well.  We landed 22 smallmouth bass with half the fish weighing over the 2lb class.  We cast poppers in red/white, chartreuse, and several salt waters patterns that were foam sliders.  The top water bite was good for the first part of the day as we landed several big bass off the top.  However, when we rigged rods with #8 stonefly nymphs  and #6 Bitch Creek under an indicator and  we really began to tug on fish.  We nymph fished the tail outs of pools with incredible success.  The takes were aggressive and the smallmouth were really pulling back.  Good fun with a 5wt. and 6 wt. fly rod.  Off to chase smallmouth from the boat this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have Fun, Willy

patience

Hi folks, Fly fished with guest on a lake last night from a canoe.  Still pretty darn hot out there.  We need rain big time!  Surface temperature on the lake we fished was 74 degrees with slight wind from the south/southwest.  Did see a few #14 and #22 cinnamon colored flying ants.  Lots of subtle rises from bass and perch in open water.  Had I been on a trout lake I would that it was a trout feeding on the surface.  We focused on sharp drop offs from shoreline with rock and rock face cliffs.  Add downed wood and the smallmouth were there to eat.  Patience was the key with popper.  Patience is the key to any fishing and the most difficult thing for people to exercise.  We would let the popper sit for upwards of 1 minute prior to drawing a strike.  Very slow subtle movements seemed to help draw interest.  A #8 chartreuse popper was the fly of the day.  Nothing large landed but we managed to put 7 bass in the boat.  The largest bass of the day was lost on the take due to impatience.  Always need to let the fish eat the fly on the surface prior to setting the hook.  Set to quickly and you miss the fish.  Off to chase river smallmouth this morning.  Another hot day in store. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

subtle

Hi Folks, Another stellar day in Vermont fishing with clients on the boat.  We saw a nice bald eagle today launch from a big pine tree, pretty impressive, and up close and personal.  Heavy morning fog once again.  Burned off around 8:00am.  Surface temperature of the water was  72 degrees and climbed to 74 degrees by lunch.  Flat calm morning so we worked the top water bite.  We actually found decent sized fish in pretty shallow water.  Interestingly, we found the bigger smallmouth taking lures very subtle while the smaller bass were pretty darn aggressive.  We had a 2lb smallmouth eat a fire tiger popper that we would not have caught if I had not seen it move slowly to the surface and slurp in the top water.  Really mellow top water take.  Landed several 1lb smallmouth that absolutely crushed the popper.  The surface feeding fish were holding over soft bottomed areas that had weed and down wood.  The fish seemed to be cruising and long casts with a retrieve to the boat worked well.  Once the top water fishing slowed we fished the incredible edible Senko in green with red flake and crawfish on a red off set hook.  We focused on sharp drop offs and flats with hard bottoms in 10' to 20' of water.  A measured 19.5" smallmouth landed and man did it not come in easy.  Really turned some drag.  The bass picked up the Senko and the line barely moved.  Real gentle take.  It has been the year of the bass!    Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

lots of casting

Hi Folks, Guided with spin gear from the boat yesterday morning for smallmouth bass.  Nice heavy morning fog with flat calm conditions.  Rather cool air temperatures that required some warm clothes until the sun burned through the fog.  Surface temperature of the water was 74 degrees.  We covered a lot of water and made a lot casts.  We found active smallmouth on 15' deep flats that had rubble and wood on them.  A slowly moved crawfish colored 4" Senko worked really well.  The largest fish of the day was a nice 17.5" jumping smallie.  We landed over a dozen fish with some nice 1.5lb to 2lb bass putting put in the boat.  The bass fishing over the last month has been fantastic.  Love the different methods in which these fish can be caught.  I will be chasing smallmouth from the boat again tomorrow.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

up down and all around

Hi folks, Guided smallmouth bass in the boat yesterday morning and then a river wading trip in the afternoon.  Nice weather pattern presently with day time air temperatures in the mid 70's and the night time dropping into the low 50's.  Big morning fog yesterday with flat calm conditions on the lake we fished.  Surface temperature was 74 degrees.  I had 3 anglers on the boat with dad and two sons.  Dad cast a yellow popper off a 6wt. and the boys fished the deadly 4" crawfish colored Senko.  The top water bite was decent for the first few hours of the morning but really shut down by 9am.  Fishing down below with the Senkos was pretty productive until about 10 am when the sun began to show itself.  We landed upwards of 10 smallmouth and missed a few along the way.  No real pattern to the fishing.  We just covered water and focused on the first drop offs from shore and downed wood.  In the afternoon the river I guided was 75 degrees and low and clear.  We still need rain.  There were some #14 cinnamon colored flying ants landing on the water and numerous #12/#14 olive green grasshoppers.  We fished the surface initially and caught a 1.5lb smallmouth off the get go on a floating perch colored rapala.  A small natural colored rebel crwafish was also productive.  However, when the going gets tough just dead drift a 3' olive Senko on a red octopus hook and let the games begin.  We had multiple smallies on the Senkos.  The fishing certainly got better as the sun began to set.  I am off to chase bass again.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

small stream wild brown

brown trout do jump

Hi Folks, Guided a small stream this morning with a fly angler in search of native brook trout and wild brown trout.  Small stream fishing is not a big group activity and really 1 or 2 anglers is all a small brook can handle.  You have to cover a fair amount of water due to the lack of fish density and casting accuracy is a at a premium.  Vermont small streams are perfectly suited for the fly rod and spin fishing would be tough.  With that said my one fly angler took advantage of a good morning of trout fishing.  Looks like cool weather this week which will help to lower water temperatures.  The brook we fished was 62 degrees at 6:30am under heavy fog.  Water is still low and we still need rain.  Stealth is key as trout in low clear water can be awful spooky.  We worked up stream casting a #12 olive foam grasshopper pattern and then switched to a #14 orange stimulator.  We landed 4 wild brown trout with the largest fish just shy of 13" and 8 native brook trout that were fired up with spawning colors.  Probably missed another half a dozen trout.  Pretty awesome watching the wild brown trout make multiple leaps out of the water when hooked.  They put a good bend in slow action, short 3wt. fly rod.  I have not been trout fishing much lately as the water conditions have not allowed it.  Looking forward to the cool down and getting back on some big trout water hopefully.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

fog and fighting bass

Hi Folks, Guided tow aspiring spin anglers yesterday morning for river smallmouth bass.  Wow, the fishing was really good.  Water temperature was 72 degrees and there was a heavy morning fog.  Love the fog this time of year and it keeps the sun of the water for a good portion of the morning.  We moved around the river a bit fishing in 6 different holes and we caught fish in everyone.  Love river bass fishing with ultra light tackle.  5'6" to 6" soft rods with 4lb and 6lb test.  Levels the playing field instead of using the typical heavy gear associated with bass fishing.  We focused on the lower parts of the pools where there is standing wood and or large rocks.  We dead drifted 3" crawfish colored and 3" watermelon Senkos Texas rigged on red Octopus hooks.  Man we could not miss.   Always a good sign for the fishing guide when your guests catch a fish on the first cast of the day.  We landed 13 smallmouth with the largest fish weighing in around 3lbs.  We probably hooked 40 fish and lost quite a few when they jumped.  Lots of tailwalkers.  Really important to set the hook hard when fishing soft plastics.  The fishing was on!!!!!.  Looks like some cooler nights on the horizon.  Will be bass fishing and small stream fishing for trout this weekend.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

big smile big fish

signs of fall

Hi folks, Guided smallmouth bass last night from canoes with spin gear for smallmouth bass.  Pretty incredible but you can start to see the red maples starting to turn a bit.  Probably a result of all of the dry weather.  We did receive 1/4" of rain at my house in Stowe last night.  Last night we had dead calm conditions with over cast skies.  The surface water temperature was 72 degrees.  We worked the surface bite and the fish wanted to play.  Terrestrials all over the surface from bees to hoppers, to ants, to weird looking beetles.  We cast floating perch and black/silver rapalas.  Patience was the key as we let the plugs sit still and undisturbed until all of the ripples had settled down from the cast.  All of our strikes came the moment the lure was twitched.  Fun to watch the smallmouth emerge to the surface to eat.  The fish were holding on wood last night and in fairly shallow water.  We caught all of our bass in less than 12' of water.  Landed 10 smallmouth and missed another 10.  The biggest fish of the day was a solid 3lb smallie that fought really well.  True tail walker.  This summer has forced my hand to chase bass due to the water conditions.  I have been fishing smallmouth since I was a kid and love to tug on these powerful fish.  Trust me a 2lb smallmouth will out fight any stressed out trout that is currently holding in any of our streams and brooks.  Guiding bass for the next couple of days.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

time for a cool down

Hi Folks, Guided smallmouth bass yesterday with spin gear on a river system.  Nice foggy morning with high humidity.  Water level was up as we have received some recent rain from thunderstorms.  Water temperature was 73 degrees and the clarity was slightly off.  Looks like the air temperatures are going to cool off this week and hopefully our river temperatures will drop as well.  Massive hatch of flying ants in Stowe the other night.  That time of the year.  Ant patterns in #14/#16 for the female and #20/#22 for the males in cinnamon/black work really well.  I like tying my ants with crystal flash wings as it makes it easier to track them in the water.  flying ants bring everyone to the surface from trout to bass.  Too bad our big rivers are still too warm to trout fish.  The Winooski yesterday was up, off colored and warm.  Smallmouth gorge themselves on ants but they will still eat a popper.  Not necessary to cast ants to bass.  Also, in the land of terrestrials, olive grasshoppers in olive /green are all over farm fields.  So, we landed 10 nice smallmouth bass yesterday morning dead drifting 3" olive and crawfish colored Senkos on red hooks.  I think every fish we hooked came out of the water multiple times.  Bass really pull back and on light tackle are awful lot of fun.  Lots of #18 tan bodied and light green bodied caddis casings on tops of rocks.  should be a good number of caddis getting ready to launch.  Off to chase smallmouth this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

good day of fishing

Hi Folks, Really fine day of fishing for smallmouth bass yesterday as I guided in the morning and the afternoon.  got a bit wet out there , but it was worth it.  Cloudy all day and finally the skies let loose in the afternoon with some heavy showers.  So at my house in Stowe I have received a total of 1" of rain over the last two days.  Water temperatures have been holding in the mid 70's.  flat calm on the lake we fished yesterday morning and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  I had a good spin angler who wanted to improve on some techniques.  We were set up to fish the surface and down below.  A #6 fire tiger popper on 1 rod and a 4" crawfish colored Senko on the other.  The fish were on.  We worked deep water drop offs with the boat holding in anywhere from 20' to 30' of water.  We landed a 18.25" smallmouth that took the top water popper.  We watched the fish rise up in the water column slowly and in hale the popper.  Really impressive and the fact that client was patient on the hook set was even more impressive.  We landed a lot fo other fish on the popper and Senko, but nothing like the big boy.  In afternoon I guided a river system for smallmouth and the fishing was excellent.  We dead drifted 3" watermelon Senkos and the results were great.  Landed 13 smallmouth with the largest fish measuring 17".  Rained really hard and the water level was rising and becoming off colored.  Probably had something to do with the fish being so active. Most of the fish were holding in the slow parts of pools and in and around downed wood.  Off to chase bass again today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

big boy

that's a great fishing outfit

positive reinforcement

Hi folks, Guided a a group of aspiring fly anglers yesterday morning on a brook trout stream.  Water temperature was 62 degrees and the water level was still low.  We did have some pretty good thunderstorms move through Stowe yesterday afternoon and I have received 3/4" of rain at my house.  Looks like more rain over the next few days which is greatly needed.  I had to cancel my afternoon trip yesterday due to the weather.  One good thing that has come from all of the hot dry weather is that I have not had to cancel many trips this season.  All up stream fishing yesterday in the clear mountain stream.  The Brook trout were all over #12 and #14 green and orange stimulators.  Pretty interesting how you would get a strike on the first cast and drift in a pool if there was a brookie at home.  It gives you a heads up as far as paying attention when the fly hits the water.  Brook trout are the perfect fish for folks new to fly fishing as they are user friendly and help build confidence to the aspiring fly angler.  Off to chase smallmouth this morning and this afternoon.  Probably will get wet.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

put a bend in the rod

Hi folks, doubled up the guiding yesterday spin fishing for smallmouth bass.  In the morning I took a group rive fishing for smallmouth bass and in the afternoon I floated the canoe for some smallie action.  The river temperature was 72 degrees yesterday morning at 6:30am and the surface temperature of the lake I fished in the afternoon was 76 degrees.  Saw a good wild life yesterday as we saw in the afternoon a moma beer with cubs, a family of otters, lots of loons, and the ever present beaver.  The morning fishing was outstanding as we fished several large pools that are just loaded with feisty smallmouth.  We swung a 3" watermelon Senko attached to a red worm hook and just clobbered the bass.  We landed 14 smallmouth and probably lost and missed another dozen fish.  Dead drifting the Senko with a tight line and then slowly retrieving it was the method.  Really important when getting s trike on soft plastic that is Texas rigged to really set the hook.  A big sweep upwards with the rod.  Keeping pressure on the fish is just as imperative and the rod should always be bent.  In the afternoon we covered some water to find fish who wanted to play.  No rhyme or reason as to a pattern where the bass were holding.  We fished top water baits exclusively and a Heddon tiny Torpedo in frog colors worked pretty well.  The fishing really picked up towards sun down.  I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to remove any slack line when fishing a top water bait.  It is tough to get a good hook set when the surface strike comes with slack line.  We had 15 smallmouth come to the surface and we did a lot of long distance releasing last night.  Keep a bend in the rod.  Off to chase brookies with the fly this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Pulling back

Hi Folks, Guided a group of spin anglers on the lower Winooski yesterday afternoon for smallmouth bass.  The thunderstorms from two nights prior had dirtied up the Winooski.  I had noticed earlier in the day the Lamoille was up and off color as well.  Water temperature was 79 degrees (Ouch!!!).  Could be awhile before we get back on the either the Lamoille or Winooski to trout fish.  Just too hot.  Water clarity was good enough that you could see your wading boots in the river and the smallmouth had no problem finding our lures.  The fishing got better as the sun laid down off the river.  It was pretty darn hot for the first couple of hours of fishing.  We cast perch colored rapalas and revel crawfish into large riffles to pools.  The fish were holding on inside seems off the main riffles.  Short casts and letting the lure swing in the current drew a bit interest.  We landed 10 river smallmouth that really put a bend in the rod.  Lots of fun with light tackle and river smallmouth are strong little devils.  With the current weather fishing in the morning is the way to go.  I will be chasing river smallmouth bass this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Looking for the big boy

Hi Folks, Guided with the boat yesterday morning with spin gear for smallmouth bass.  A pretty good weather front pushed through from the previous night bringing sunny skies and a stiff north/northwest wind.  Surface temperature of the water was 77 degrees and the clarity was slightly off from the previous nights rain.  We still need more rain.  tough fishing conditions yesterday but good anglers and guides figure out how to catch fish in a wide variety of conditions.  We started fishing the surface and did manage to pick off a 1 smallmouth bass on a blue/white popper.  However, the top water bite was not happening so we got down and dirty with crawfish colored Senkos in 4" and 5" and a a baby bass colored Senko in 5".  Rigged them weightless with a red worm hook.  We managed to land 3 more smallmouth on the Senkos but no large fish. We did have multiple strikes and hooked a few more fish, but I can only assume most of them were from the same 2 to 3 year old class smallmouth.  We covered some water and worked for the fish we caught.  The wind did not make it any easier as line control is imperative when finesse fishing with soft plastics.  Well we did catch some fish but not to my standards from a size point of view.  I guess better than a sharp stick in the eye.  Never deterred and I will be river fishing for smallmouth this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

drying up

Hi folks, Guided a small mountain brook yesterday and the low water level was kind of scary.  Water temperature was 63 degrees which is warm for this little brook.  We did receive some rain last night and at my house in Stowe the rain gauge is measuring .5" of precipitation.  Any rain is good, but we need a few days of sustained rain.  Pretty easy locating where the trout will be holding as many spots simply do not have enough water.  Primary pools with over knee deep water held fish.  We could see the brookies dart from under neath rocks to grab the  dry fly.  A #14 orange stimulator and #14 royal rubber legged stimulator were the flies of the day.  Awful pretty fish are brook trout and their colors are getting better by the day.  Off to chase smallmouth bass this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

small water fly fishing

Hi folks, Guided a small stream yesterday in pursuit of wild brown trout and native brook trout.  Water temperature was 62 degrees which is warm for this particular brook.  The blazing heat outside has certainly affected all of our streams and you would be hard pressed currently to find any streams where waders are required.  I have found water temperatures to be above average thus far this season.  Very little rain and warmer than average air temperatures.  We worked up stream on this little brook as it is low and clear.  We learned a good lesson on the first spot of the day when we spooked a decent brown trout with too much false casting.  Position, approach, and presentation are all very important.  As it turned out we had over 20 fish come to the fly and did land several nice wild brown trout and native brookies.  A #14 orange and green stimulator was the fly of the day.  Never had to change patterns.  Good fun watching fish rise in the water column to grab the dry fly.  Short accurate casts were in order and a good up stream mend.  We did have several fish deny us due to a poor drift.  Good mending is always in order.  Nice morning of trout fishing and I am going to do it all over again this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species art home.  Have Fun, Willy

first light

Hi Folks, Guided smallmouth bass yesterday morning in a big river with the fly rods.  Water temperature was 74 degrees and the levels are still low.  Low water is really not a problem where we were fishing as it makes the wading much easier and reading the water.  Water temperatures in the low to mid 70's are perfect for smallmouth bass fishing, but certainly too warm for trout fishing.  When began yesterday morning under low light and the top water bite was excellent.  We hooked a 2lb smallmouth on the very first cast of the day.  A #6 red and white foam popper worked really well.  We focused our efforts on a long slow section of river and cast to the main channel edges within the realm of the foam line.  Dead drifting poppers and then g\working them aggressively back drew some good strikes.  Smallmouth and very large fall fish were on the top water bite for the early part of the morning.    As the sun came up we moved into some heavy pocket water and big giant riffles to pools.  The bright sun puts the fish down.  With the current weather pattern early morning fishing is the key.  Sleeping in is a mistake and standing in the hot sun casting is not a lot of fun, especially if the fish are being fussy.  So, we changed tactics and fished below the surface with a #4 olive/yellow Clauser minnow and a #8 tungsten head olive wooly bugger.  Lots of crawfish where we were fishing and the all of the bass look stuffed with craw daddies in their bellies.  If I can't catch smallmouth off the top then the Clauser minnow is an excellent sub surface fly pattern.  I think any fly in olive, brown, black, and even white will catch a smallmouth.  If they are feeding then they are not overly fussy and analyzing fly selection is foolish.  Keep the fly in the water.  We tugged on another half dozen smallies with the sub surface flies and missed a few.  Off to brook trout fish this morning.  Even the small mountain streams are getting warm and wet wading is certainly in order.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

soft plastics

Hi Folks, Guided smallmouth bass with the spin gear yesterday morning in a local river.  Still oppressively hot and humid out there.  The early morning is the time to fish without questions and the fishing has been pretty darn good until the sun gets high in the sky.  Water temperature was 72 degrees and the water is still low and clear.  Over the last two days my clients have landed over 30 smallmouth bass  in the river system we have been fishing.  Every hole seems to hold fish.  We have been pounding the smallies with 3" and 4" Senkos rigged on red hooks.  Natural colors in craw fish and watermelon have been fantastic.  Dead drifting the Senkos has been really effective.  I have never seen smallmouth eat an artificial bait like this.  I have guided spin trips for almost 20 years and I really impressed how well these fish eat up this soft plastic baits.  The key ingredient with any soft plastic that is rigged Texas style is to really set the hook when you get a bite.  Well today I am changing directions and fishing with the fly rods for brook trout.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

fish that pull back

back to the well

Hi Folks, Well, when it s hot and muggy why not go bass fishing.  I took spin anglers  river fishing for smallmouth bass.  Nice morning for fishing with calm conditions and over cast skies.  Pretty humid out there and the water temperatures held at 73 degrees.  We still need rain.  The bass fishing was pretty darn good yesterday.  We landed 19 smallmouth bass from 1/4lb to 2lbs.  Lots of fish in the 1.5lb class and they were full of piss and vinegar flying out of the water after being hooked.  We fished large pools  and found fish holding in the large eddies and the head of the pool.  River smallmouth are lazy and tend to hold in the slower sections of the river, but still in relation to the foam line.  We cast a natural colored rebel crawfish and caught several nice fish retrieving lure in a stop and go fashion.  The lure of the day was a 3" watermelon Senklo rigged Texas style on a red worm hook.  You could not miss.  We fished the Senko very slowly along the bottom.  In addition to the bass we caught a 12" emaciated rainbow trout, several fall fish, and even a large white horse sucker.  Pretty interesting how fat and stuffed the bass are presently.  Looks like they have been feeding pretty well.  Fun morning of fishing.  I am off to river fish for smallmouth again.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Hot Summer

Hi Folks, Took an aspiring fly angler out yesterday for an instructional trip and man was the weather nasty.  Maybe, I am getting soft with age, but I do not like the heat and humidity.  Big bright sun is never good.  However, I do like humid weather for top water fishing for small mouth bass.  We were learning on a trout stream where the water was 68 degrees and moved to 70 degrees at the end of our trip.  Water levels are still low and we still need rain.  Lots of #18 tan bodied caddis on tops of rocks in their casings and looking ready to hatch.  Tons of olive green to tan bodied #12/#14 grasshoppers in the fields we walked across to the stream.  We nymph fished with a #16 flashback hare's ear nymph and a #18 tan caddis pupa.  We had 3 fish eat our flies.  Pretty slow going in my opinion.  I am not shocked as the water is warm and it was awful bright outside.  Bass fishing will still stay the best option and I am off to take folks river fishing for smallmouth this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

take a walk

Hi folks, Pretty muggy out there today.  I took the day off from fishing.  I guided a small mountain stream on Sunday morning that was beautiful.  We had a pretty impressive light show with thunderstorms yesterday afternoon.  I only received 1/4" of rain at my house in Stowe.  We still need rain and our streams are pretty low.  The trout we were on was a nice 60 degrees.  Pretty easy to locate the fish.  Anything over knee deep had a brook trout holding in it.  Lots of walking involved, but well worth it.  Pretty interesting how many larger brook trout I have guided this season.  All due to a mild winter and less winter kill.  More big ones still around to catch.  I am pretty convinced that red in any dry fly makes a difference on whether you get a take or not.  I have been doing a little experimenting with flies and it appears red triggers more response than other colors.  Mix up Stimulators of various sizes and colors and see what happens.  Anywho, the brook trout are fired up with color right now and we could not miss with a #12 rubber legged royal stimulator.  Smallmouth fishing is still the best bet in town and some small trout streams have been holding temperature and water.  off to small stream fish tomorrow.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

still popping smallmouth

mixing it up

Hi folks, Guided with the fly rods yesterday in the morning and afternoon in two very different environments.  Fished from my boat in the morning for smallmouth bass with a 7wt. fly rods and in a small brook in the afternoon with 2wt. and 3wt. fly rods.  All top water fishing as we caught smallmouth on poppers and native brook trout on large dry flies.  Surface temperature on the lake we fished was 74 degrees and it was calm flat.  We fished over flats that were in 10' to 15' of water.  We landed several 2lb plus smallmouth on a #8 frog looking popper.  The fish came from fairly deep water to eat the popper and we found that moving it aggressively prompted the deep water strikes.  Never underestimate how far a smallmouth will move to take a surface presentation.  Covered a lot of water and had lots of small bas coming to the fly.  In the afternoon the brook we fished was 60 degrees and low and clear.  We still need rain and lots of it.  We worked up stream with a #10 olive grasshopper pattern and a #12 royal rubber legged stimulator.  Lots of little french fry brook trout coming to the fly.  We did have a few decent sized fish eat the fly but mostly the little guys.  Stealth is still the key on the small streams and always working up stream and keep the false casting down to a minimum.  Off to fish a small trout stream this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

SMB

running the boat

Hi Folks, Had the boat out with clients yesterday as we chased smallmouth bass with spin gear.  Fished from my 16' side consul Grumman.  With the low and warm water this season it seems that I have been guiding from boat more than ever.  We still need rain as our rivers and lakes are still low.  The surface temperature of the lake we fished yesterday was 73 degrees.  Calm conditions initially and then a slight wind from the west picked up as the morning progressed.  We fished a crawfish colored Senkos on red hooks and once again the smallmouth were all over the soft plastic bait.  We had fish chasing the bait back to the boat.  Found most of our smallmouths holding in deeper water off rock points and rock faces.  The trick is to let the Senko sink to the bottom and reel it back really slowly.  It is incredible how the smallmouth gobble it up.  The fish give you every indication that they have eaten the bait.  I am off to fish smalmouth bass from the boat again this morning and then trout in a small brook this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

getting wet

Hi folks, Spent yesterday morning and and afternoon guiding in the rain.  Nice change of pace from the previous weeks hot and humid weather.  Our rivers are up a bit and off color.  The small streams are in good shape level wise and clarity is not an issue.  The Lamoille was 72 degrees yesterday morning and the lake I was on in the afternoon was 73 degrees on the surface.  Not much for a top water bite in the morning on the Lamoille.  So, we changed out approach and fished soft plastic baits.  A small perch swim bait was the ticket and a 4" crawfish colored Senko.  We fished big pools, large eddies off the pools, and deep seem lines off the main current.  A steady retrieve with the swim bait prompted most of the strikes.  We caught river smallmouth bass and walleye.  Matter of fact we caught 3 nice eating size walleye and brought a couple home for dinner.  Not too often in my guiding operation that I keep and eat what we catch.  However, pretty hard to pass up a fresh walleye dinner.  The walleyes were in the 2lb to 3lb class and the perfect size to keep.  We also did land 4 smallmouth bass with one fish weighing in the 2lb class.  Not a bad morning of fishing under a pretty steady rain.  The afternoon fishing was pretty darn good.  Flat calm with very little wind to speak of.  Threatened rain the entire time it but it never materialized.  We pounded shore line with a fire tiger rapala and it appeared that the bass where everywhere.  No rhyme or reason to where they were holding except over a hard bottom with downed wood and the occasional weed bed.  Lots of good surface takes and the fish were even following the plug back to the canoe.  Nice day on the water andit helps to have good rain gear.  I am of to guide from the boat this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

river walleye

getting down and dirty

Hi folks, Guided from my boat yesterday morning for smallmouth bass using spin gear.  Pretty hot and muggy and the air temperature was 72 degrees at 6am.  The surface temperature of the water was 78 degrees.  That has all changed now as we had a major front push through last night that dumped 2.5" of rain at my house in Stowe.  Air temperatures have cooled a bit and no humidity.  Well, back to fishing. Not much for a top water bite yesterday morning so we resorted to the 3.5" crawfish colored Senkos on red octopus hooks.  We fished the Senkos slowly off the bottom reeling them back from 3' of water dropping down to 15' of depth.  We could not miss!!  It was incredible as the fish were all over the Senko.  We hooked some many smallmouth I could not keep track.  Pretty interesting in that the fish were everywhere we cast, but they just did not want to move to the surface.  I had to take hooks out of the back of and down in the tongue of a few smallies.  They were gobbling up the Senkos like they were bait.  I am sure other jigs that imitated a crawfish would have worked, but I am not sure they would have worked as well.  Still, the bass were holding off rock faces, ledges and long deep points.  Off today from fishing and back at it tomorrow.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy

looking for the big boy

Hi folks, Guided from the canoe last night on a quiet lake with the fly rods.  Water temperature was 77 degrees and with a slight north breeze.   We fished shady shorelines and found the lee from the wind.  Lots of action on the #8 rubber legged chartreuse popper last night.  Just no large smallmouth bass.  We must have had 20 bass from 5" to 11" come to the fly.  We could not drum a big fish.  Even changing the fly and putting on bigger popper with a deeper concave face did not make a difference.  Pretty much caught all of our fish on rock face shelfs that plunged into deep water.  Fallen trees in these spots definitely held a bass.  My guess is the bigger fish were holding tight to the bottom and just did not want to move to eat off the surface.  Well, off to do it agian this morning from the boat.  Looks like afternoon thunderstorms.  We need rain.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have Fun, Willy

small stream brookie fishing

top water smallie

smallmouth bass

Hi folks, Been guiding the last few days from my boat and canoes for smallmouth bass.  Tons of fun.  Water conditions have been perfect with very little wind and water temperatures holding from 73 degrees to 77 degrees.  Nice thick morning fog has kept the sun off the water until at least 8am.  We have been casting small #8 chartreuse poppers and #8 frog pattern poppers.  In my opinion the top water smallmouth bass fishing for the next 6 weeks is some of the best of the season.  I have been locating active bass on sharp drop offs  from the shore line.  Ledge rocks with over hanging trees have been prime locations.  Really like these spots when you have a downed tree that extends out to the deep water.  The smallies will be set up on the outside edge.  We must have had over 20 smallmouth come to the fly yesterday morning.  Lots of fish in the 1 year old to 3 year old class.  The larger fish were a bit reluctant to eat off the top.  We did cast a chartreuse streamer that moved some of the larger fish to eat.  I think the bright sun slowed down the top water bite from the big boys.  We still need big time rain and our streams are very low.  I have been staying off the trout water as much as possible.  The big rivers are too warm and the little brooks are pretty low and clear.  Smallmouth fishing is fun and can be done in a number of lakes, ponds, and river systems in Vermont with fly or spin gear.  Plenty of opportunity to tug on one of Vermont's more powerful jumping game fish.  I am off to guide smllmouth this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

morning fog

Hi Folks, Guided the last couple of mornings for trout in a northeast kingdom lake and on the lower Winooski this morning.  Nice cool nights again with air temperatures in the high 40's to low 50's.  Pretty good am fog that keeps the sun off the water until mid morning.  Yesterday morning was interesting with being on the water at 4:30am (too early for a sleep deprived new dad and fishing guide).  Surface temperature of this lake was 72 degrees.  The water temperature was was significantly cooler several feet below the surface.  We set up over several reefs and humps that came up out of 50' to 60' of water.  The humps rose to 25' which is a pretty decent contrast in bottom contour.  We cast 1/4oz. jig heads tipped with smelt imitation swim baits.  We did not land a lake trout but did have several fish eat our presentation.  The fishing pretty much shut down by 7am when the fog burned off and the big bright sun showed itself.  Jigging lakers with braided line is interesting and it is a real finesse technique.  Not easy as the takes are pretty subtle.  This morning the Winooski was 68 degrees at 6am.  Pretty streadt breeze right out of the east.  Good hatch of #16 olive bodied mayflies with 2 tails and a blue dun wing.  No rising fish, but lots of #8 golden stone fly shucks on the rocks.  We nymph fished all morning with #8 Montana Stone fly pattern, #16 hare and copper, and a #16 flash back hare's ear nymph.  Caught wild rainbows between 6" and 11" on 3 fly patterns.  Lots of fall fish in the mix which kept rods bent in between searching out the trout.  Most of the fish were holding in heavy riffles which makes sense considering the warm water temperatures.  The fishing slowed by 10am when the sun became real bright over head.  Off to fish smallmouth with fly this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Times are changing

Hi Folks, Guided the last couple of days from boat chasing smallmouth bass.  Got blown out by a big thunderstorm on Tuesday night that did happen to deposit 3/8th" of rain at my house in Stowe.  A large cold front pushed through giving us relief from the oppressive heat and humidity.  Lake temperatures on the the 3 different lakes I have visited over the last 2 days have varied from 74 degrees to 79 degrees.  The smallmouth bass fishing was pretty darn good the day of the big weather front.  Calm conditions with some rain showers and the entire lake to ourselves.  The fish were on the top water bite.  We cast a #6 fire tiger popper all morning and never changed the lure.  Lots of takes and we landed well over a dozen smallies from 6" to 15".  Most of the fish were holding over and on the outside edge of submerged wood in anywhere from 5' to 15' of water.  I saw a lot of fish coming from a ways away to eat.  Pretty aggressive.  Yesterday afternoon after the front had passed we worked for our bass.  Sunny skies with a strong north west wind.  We cast a sun fish colored rapala and a blue and white popper.  Really clear water where we fished and you could spot the bass coming to the top water presentation.  Problem was they would charge the lure and turn off.  We did land a nice 2lb smallie and some small pickerel.  Hooked a few other fish and at the end of the night we the wind laid down we put on the a huge smallmouth that erupted on the popper.  Made a big jump and broke the line.  4lb test on a light spinning reel.  Real shame to have that fish break us off, but such is fishing.  Did not catch a lot of fish but every one we saw was a good sized smallmouth.  Off to fish for lake trout.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

incredible edible ant

Hi  Folks, Guided a small brook yesterday with the little fly rods for wild rainbows.  We have received a little bit of rain of at my house in Stowe.  My rain gauge had collected 1/10th" over night.  The small stream we fished did not seem to be impacted by the meager rain fall and the water is still low and clear.  Water temperature was 62 degrees.  We worked up stream and started out casting a #12 green stimulator and a #12 yellow foam fly.  Neither fly produced a fish, yet we did see a decent rainbow turn off the foam fly and deny us.  So, on goes the #16 foam black ant and things changed pretty quickly.  The trout that denied us ended being a beautiful 12" wild rainbow that ate the ant instantly.  We had several other smaller wild rainbows take the ant pattern as well.  I can only figure that with the low and clear water on this wooded trout stream that terrestrials were the ticket.  We had one fish that took the ant so deep it was difficult removing the fly from its throat.  I do not think I had ever seen fly inhaled so deeply by a fish.  We did fish a couple of large plunge pools with an indicator and a #18 black copper john and missed trout in each spot.  Stealth is the key in these small brooks and covering lots of water.  Scaling back fly patterns size and profile is never a bad idea when the fish are not biting.  Off to chase smallmouth bass. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

magic

Hi folks, Spent a lovely morning chasing brook trout with a client using the light little 2wt. fly rods.  Fished a mountain brook that was cool and clear.  Water temperature was 60 degrees and the water was low.  All of the brookies were holding in primary pools.  We fished up stream with a #14 royal rubber legged stimulator.  I think we encountered a fish every spot we cast.  Beautifully colored brookies that with bright orange bellies and beautiful blue dots of their mottled flanks.  Lots of fun watching these little buggers come up to eat the dry fly.  We had a few that just launched onto the fly.  Really good action.  Small brooks are a good bet for fishing right now with our current weather pattern of hot and dry.  Just remember to work up stream, wear earth tone clothes, and think about the spook factor.  Smallmouth bass fishing will remain steady and the top water bite has been excellent.  By the way I saw 4 fly anglers standing at the mouth of the Little river confluence with the Winooski river yesterday around 3pm.  Now, trout are a cold water species and they will move great distances to find cooler water.  The Little River is a tail water that releases regular spurts of cooler water.  The main stem of the Winooski is way too warm to fish for trout right now.  So river confluences like this are natural places for trout to hold when it is hot. they get stressed.  Fishing for them in this dynamic is wrong and there is not catch and release.  Give them a break and find some where else to fish.  Fishing at cold water feeder streams into warm water in  the summer is often illegal in certain states (not Vermont) because the trout are thermally stressed.  It is like shooting fish in a barrel.  Just my two cents worth.  Off to fish small brooks again tomorrow.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

bass bite

Hi folks, Guided a large body of water for smallmouth bass with the fly rods last night.  Started late in the day and fished into dark.  Pretty darn hot out there and the sun is big and bright.  Looks to stay that way for a few days.  The surface temperature was a really warm 80 degrees.  slight breeze from the west which laid right down towards dusk.  Good conditions for top water fishing though really warm water temps. have to make a percentage of the fish lazy.  We fished a #6 frog popper.  The yellow bottom is the key.  I do really well with any yellow bottomed or chartreuse bottomed popper this time of the year.  Must kind of look like the profile and color of the Hexagenia and other large may flies that have hatched out in recent weeks.  We fished rocky islands that were surrounded by lilly pads.  We focused on the outside edges.  Landed 2 really nice 2.5lb smallies that literally jumped higher out of the water higher than we are tall.  One strike was really aggressive and I thought at first it was a big pickerel or pike.  The second take was a slurp and I thought it was perch until the line came tight.  Lots of perch last night and few bass we missed.  For a hot day, pretty good fishing.  the smallmouth fishing should remain steady.  Just pick an choose your times and go early and late.  Trout fishing is getting more tricky with the low water and warming temperatures.  We need rain and a cool down.  Off to fish at dusk again tonight.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

skinny water and tiny flies

Hi Folks, Guided with the fly rods on the upper Winooski yesterday morning.  The cooler night over the last few days have helped immensely n keeping water temperatures down a bit in the morning.  The Winooski was 66 degrees at 6:30am.  Moved to 70 degrees and beyond around lunch time.  Man, the water is wicked low and river fishing is becoming tougher by the day.  We need rain!!!!  Looks like more damn heat over the next few days.  Saw a decnet number of #20 tan bodied micro caddis yesterday morning and even a couple of rising fish very early.  Lots of #6/#8 golden Stone fly shucks on rocks.  Stone flies around here hatch out after dark and the winged adults you sporadically at dusk laying their eggs.  We had 14 wild  rainbows eat our flies yesterday.  We fished 2 rods with being rigged with a #18 caddis nymph and the dropper was a #20 peacock herl soft hackle.  We hooked fish in every riffle we fished.  We did have several younger fish eat a #10 orange bodied stimulator.  Once the sun got high over head the fishing shut down.  No shocker.  Smallmouth fishing is a good option in our lakes right now.  Late afternoon to dark and early morning can be good.  I will guiding bass the next few days.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy