Saturday, August 18, 2012

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