getting ready for the hard water

Hi Folks, Hope everyone is well.  Been away from the fishing game for a bit.  Spending time in the sugar woods and deer hunting.  A cold December has allowed ice to begin to form on many lakes.  I plan on  beginning my ice fishing season within the next week.  Early ice fishing will be for northern pike and yellow perch.  The trout fishing season does not begin until the third Saturday in January.  With a nasty mixed batch of precipitation blanketing the Stowe area this weekend, all of our lakes should become free of snow and really form a nice smooth layer of black ice.  do not take any unnecessary risks on ice.  I have fallen through the ice before and it is not a pleasant experience.  Bring along rope, spikes of life, a spud bar to check ice safety,  plenty of warm clothes, warm dry boots, something warm to drink, and something to eat.  do not assume the ice is safe without checking it yourself. Just because others are on the ice does not make it safe! Should be another fun year on the ice and I am looking forward to pulling some big fish through a hole in the hard water.  have fun, Willy

wooly bugger

Hi Folks, Guided fly anglers yesterday afternoon on the Lamoille.  Water temperature has cooled down to 53 degrees which is still pretty darn good for the end of October.  Water level is up a bit and just slightly above the seasonal average.  Saw a few #22 BWO's hatching late in the day and there were also a fair amount of #20 flying ants buzzing about.  Not much for rising trout except for one very big rainbow that was cruising in a big back eddy sipping bugs without a worry.  We watched the trout for awhile and the moment we attempted to position ourselves for a cast the fish was put down.  We had more success dead drifting heavily weighted #12 olive/black wooly buggers.    We landed one 14" wild rainbow and lost 3 other fish.  All nice looking fish that fought pretty well.  Lots of craw fish in the Lamoille and the fish have to eat.  The Wooly bugger without question creates the illusion of a craw fish.  Not a glamorous way to catch trout but certainly effective.  It is important to keep the fly towards the bottom and using weight or a sinking line leader are all effective ways to present a bugger.  Trout season is winding down.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

change of pace

Hi Folks, Spent yesterday morning in the northeast kingdom of Vermont catching lake trout with a friend.  Water is still fairly warm for this time of the year as the surface temperature was 54 degrees.  Good west wind with partially cloudy skies.  We used long flexible fly rod blanks that are built with spin guides and are perfectly suited for casting braided lines off of a spinning reel.  We set up over mid lake humps that rise out of deep water.  Saw a fair amount of lake trout breaching the surface.  Pretty sure it is a spawning posture that allows the lakers to re-adjust their bodies that are full of eggs.  The breaching is like your pregnant wife rolling in bed when she is really uncomfortable.  The braided line allowed us to make really long casts so that we did not have to get too close to the humps with the boat.  We landed 7 lake trout, lost 3 fish, and missed another half a dozen fish.  We used 1/4oz. jigs in chartreuse tipped with a emerald shiner and smelt imitation swim bait.  Really subtle takes.  The trick to this style of fishing is to be on the water early. We had all of our action between 6:00am and 8:30am.  Once the light gets high over head the bite certainly slows.  Well, back to my world today and I will be guiding trout this afternoon on the Lamoille.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy. 

winding down

Hi Folks, Ran the boat yesterday afternoon with clients chasing pike with the spin gear.  Still pretty pleasant outside as the cool down down look to arrive until early this week.  The water temperature was 54 to 55 degrees.  Good steady wind from the southwest that pushed the boat around a bit.  We worked the deep edges of weed beds that plunged off into deeper water.  We cast a variety of large double bladed spinner baits as well as large spinners in fire tiger and bright colors (dirty water).  No pike but we managed to catch a nice smallmouth bass and several very large yellow belly perch.  Lots of casting.  I am off to chase lake trout this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

slowing down

Hi Folks, Been on the Lamoille guiding trout with the fly this week and the fishing is becoming more difficult by the day.  Water levels are still low and the temperatures are really beginning to drop.  Water temperature has been holding between 52 degrees and 54 degrees.  My clients and I have been stalking rising fish.  We have not had much success taking any trout with nymphs.  Occasional takes on dead drifted olive/black #10 heavily weighted wooly buggers.  The best fishing has been in the afternoon with fussy wild rainbows sipping tiny #22 BWO's.  I suspect that the fish have also been taking a tiny #22 midge as well.  All of the feeding has been in the foam line and lots of the fish have been cruising and eating.  Not holding steady and especially in big eddies where you can watch fish swimming in circles and eating.  All of the trout we are landing are quality wild rainbows that fight like crazy.  Patience fishing that requires selective casting and really good mending.  A couple of weeks left in the fishing season.  Get out there and enjoy before the weather turns nasty.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

Difficult

Hi Folks, Guided the Lamoille yesterday under cloudy and rainy condtions.  Nice low light for fishing and for rising trout.  Water temperature was 55 degrees and the level is still low.  Nice afternoon hatch of #22 BWOs with a fair amount of rising fish.  However, the trout were not easy to catch at all.  It required lots of patience and excellent casting and drifting.  A percentage of the fish were cruising and eating in skinny water.  Not necessarily holding station while sipping on the little may flies. All of the rising activity was in slow pools with big in stream rocks and boulders.  We had 7 fish eat the fly yesterday and we worked for every strike.  Fun fly fishing but difficult.  Off to do it all over again today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Quality expereince

Hi Folks, Guided on the Lamoille yesterday afternoon under bright sunny skies.  Water level is perfect for fishing currently with the flow right around the seasonal flow level.  Water temperature was 55 degrees.  Lots of junk in the water with leaves coming off the trees daily.  We nymph fished initially but spent most of the afternoon casting to fussy rising trout.  We did land right off the get go a really nice 15" male rainbow that about jumped in my clients waders.  Nice fish that fought very hard after eating a #14 rubber legged copper john nymph.  We located some very nice rising fish in slow deep pools that were littered with big in stream rocks and boulders.  Some really good pushes of water and the trout appeared to be moving around while eating.  Swimming back and forth in the pools sipping in bugs.  The rising activity got better as the light became lower and the rise forms were more steady.  The trout were not easy to catch.  We were casting #20 dry flies with a grey bodied compara dun and a #20 olive quill bodied emerger and then a #18 BWO spinner.  There were #20 BWO duns emerging as well as spinners landing back on the water.  Long accurate casting with good drag free drifts were important.  We landed 4 nice wild rainbows that all fought really well.  I will chasing trout over the next few days.  Might as well enjoy the beautiful weather and fishing while we can.  The season goes until Halloween.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

still rising

Hi Folks, Spent the afternoon guiding with the fly on the Lamoille.  Still pretty nice weather out there with air temperatures remaining in the 60's and maybe even reaching 70 today.  The foliage is pretty much gone by.  The Lamoille was up a bit yesterday from rain earlier in the week.  Water temperature's have dropped into the low to mid fifties with the cool nights and frost that are now upon us.  We found a pod of rising wild rainbow trout yesterday afternoon.  They were sipping tiny #22 BWO's off the surface and in the surface film.  We could could not get a fish to eat a nymph.  We cast a #20 BWO dry and had 4 trout eat the fly.  We landed two of the fish.  All of the rising activity has been taking place in the tail outs of slow pools.  Very subtle rise forms and not easily noticed.  As the water cools off the fish will move into slower sections of river that are lined with finger nail sized gravel.  The is the water type where the tiny olives hatch and the trout can sip them most easily.  Will be chasing trout over the weekend.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

foliage fishing

Hi Folks, Guided from my boat yesterday with spin anglers for bass and pike.  Foliage is peaked right now and looks fantastic.  Always a nice time of the year to be on the water.  We got on the water prior to the afternoon rain and fished under cloudy skies with calm conditions.  Water temperature ranged from 58 degrees to 60 degrees.  Where we found warmer water the fishing was better.  The lake we fished is influenced by a major river and the water level is down for this time of the year.  We still need rain even though we received approximately an quarter inch of wet stuff yesterday afternoon and last night.  Still could use some more rain.  We fished big weed beds and Lilly pad edges off the main channel in the lake.  Set up the boat in about 10' of water and cast to the edges of the junk.  We cast bright colored spinner baits in chartreuse and red and gold with double blades.  Water in this lake is not clear and you need to give the fish a lure that they can see.  We used a steady retrieve and the fish were following.  We caught one good sized smallmouth and numerous largemouth bass.  No pike and did not even have a follow from a northern.  We did have several small pickerel chase the lures.  Nice day on the water.  Looks like good week for fishing after the wind and rain move out today.  I will be boat and rive fishing this week.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

not easy

Hi Folks, Spent a full day on the Lamoille with aspiring fly anglers chasing trout.  The water is really low and we could use some rain.  Been awful dry for weeks now.  Maybe some rain coming in the near future.  Water temperature hovered in the high fifties all day.  A little bit of afternoon breeze seemed to keep rising activity down a bit.  There was a number of #20/#22 BWO's hatching and we found sipping trout. Earlier in the day we nymphed fished and produced a number of strikes with double nymph rigs.  The nymph of the day was a #18 BWO nymph and #20 copper john.  One of the wild rainbows we landed had a bite mark on it's body that look like it had been inflicted by a bird of prey.  We spent the afternoon casting to subtle rise forms.  You could see some larger trout cruising in back eddies sipping bugs in the surface film.  We could see their dorsal fins when they rose to eat.  Pretty cool.  Not easy fishing.  Requires long casts with long leaders and really good mending.  These fish will not eat a poorly presented fly!  Still I like the challenge.  Heard from a couple of friends that the salmon are in up north and have been for a couple of weeks.  However, sounds like the water is low and the river is getting pounded by anglers.  I am off to chase pike and walleye today in the boat.  Looks little cooler outside.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

enjoying the weather

Hi Folks, Been guiding the Lamoille the last couple of afternoons under beautiful skies and spectacular foliage.  The leaves are about peaked and looking very nice.  The water level is the Lamoille is still low and we could use some rain.  We have really enjoyed a nice stretch of weather over the last couple of weeks and it looks to continue for the next few days.  Water temperatures are remaining between 60 to 63 degrees.  Cool nights and warm days and the sun being in lower in the sky has helped maintain water temps. in our streams.  Lots of #18/#22 Olives hatching.  Pretty steady all afternoon.  If we had a cloudy damp day I can only imagine how good it could be.  So, The fishing has been good and very consistent with rising fish.  We have been fishing a lot of dry dropper rigs with a #14 olive grasshopper as the dry with a #18 olive dropper nymph.  Catching fish on both patterns.  Lots of rainbows between 7" and 12".  We did have a brown trout eat a #18 pheasant tail nymph.  We have been focusing our efforts on large primary pools and slow flats that have gravel bottom.  Rise forms have been very subtle and almost look like a drop of rain on the water.  You really have top pay attention as the fish do not work any harder than they have to when eating small flies.  Fun way to catch trout with small dry flies in slow water.  Will be chasing trout for the next few days.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

Peaking

Hi Folks, Guided fly anglers yesterday afternoon on the Lamoille.  The foliage is spectacular right now and it appears that it is nearing peak.  Great afternoon of trout fishing.  Water temperature was 63 degrees and the level is low. We could use some rain.  We fished big primary pools with dry dropper rigs and double nymph rigs.  There were some rising fish.  It appeared that they were eating #20 BWO's which hatched throughout the afternoon.  We had 14 trout eat the fly and we landed 9 wild rainbows between 7" and 13".  Had several fish take a big #14 olive hopper with rubber legs.  The flies of the day were a #18 bead headed pheasant tail and a #18 olive wire caddis.  Amazingly, we had the entire place to ourselves on such a nice day. The weather is going to remain consistent and the fishing should stay the same.  I will be chasing trout all week.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

tough one

Hi folks, Ran my boat yesterday with a fly client chasing pike and bass.  Big bright sunny day with early morning fog.  I think we should have been on the water much earlier as the sunny conditions and slight east wind made fishing tough.  Water temperature ranged from 58 degrees in the morning to almost 65 degrees by mid afternoon.  It was summer like out on the water.  We managed to land one smallmouth bass and that was it.  A decent fish but we were hoping for more.   We cast from 15' of water into 2' of water and covered lots of the lake.  Had several pike chase a bright orange/yellow bunny bugger and a red/white bunny bugger but they tunred off each time.  We sighted several large smallmouth in shallow water who were not interested in eating. Pretty frustrating.  We cast a lot of different flies and in various shapes and sizes, no luck.  Oh well, not due to a lack of effort. Guiding trout today and I am wondering how it will be with all of the sun and warm air temperatures.  We still need rain.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Fesity Rainbows

Hi Folks, Spent the day with a client on the Winooski yesterday chasing trout with the fly rods.  The river trout fishing has been excellent over the last couple of weeks.  Water temperatures are maintaining from the high fifties to the low sixties.  Our rivers are getting a little low and we could use some rain.  Cloudy start to the day yesterday that was followed by big bright sun.  Lots of cased caddis on the rocks with green boded #16 caddis preparing to hatch.  Saw a lot of #20/#22 BWO's coming off, but no rising fish.  We did not have one trout eat a dry fly yesterday.  We nymph fished the entire day with great success.  Very different fishing from the previous day when we never tied on a nymph and only dry fly fished.  We had well over 20 wild rainbows come to the fly yesterday and we landed a good portion of them.  We fished a with a #16 olive caddis with a #18 bead headed pheasant tail nymph as the dropper.  The rainbows mostly ate the pheasant tail.  As the day became brighter and we focused on some heavier water we switched to a red threaded tungsten #14 prince nymph with the pheasant tail dropper.  The good old prince produced the 17" wild rainbow that really put up a tussle.  Incredibly strong fish.  The trout we encountered yesterday did a lot of jumping.  We had to be pretty thorough with our presentation in order to get the fish to eat.  Due to the sun they did not seem overly willing to mover very far from their holding to station to eat.  Really good day on the water.  Today I will be guiding from the boat with the fly rods for pike and bass. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

subtle

Hi Folks, Guided on the Lamoille yesterday afternoon with the fly rods.  The Lamoille has been fishing very well lately.  Water levels are still at the seasonal flow and level.  Water temperature was 58 degrees and the clarity was excellent.  Tons of bugs last night with #22 BWO's coming off as well as #14 olive bodied mayfly with a slate wing, and what appeared to be some #16/#18 sulphurs.  Also in the mix were #16 egg laying caddis and a #18 light bodied may fly spinner.  A fair amount of rising fish and we cast dry flies the entire afternoon into dark.  The rise forms were literally dimples on the surface that could have been over looked by many anglers as not a trout.  Occasionally there some more robust splashes on the surface that I think were trout taking egg laying caddis.  We cast a #22 BWO dun and #18 rusty spinner.  We caught fish on both fly patterns.  We had well over dozen fish come to the dry and we landed at least half of the trout.  All rainbows from 7" to 14".  These fish were fussy and demanded a well presented fly.  They were holding to their feeding station and not swinging much from that  position to eat.  Good long casts with a long leader and good mending was required.  The trout were rising in slow water and had a good look at everything coming their way in the water column.    Off to trout fish again today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

nice fish

Hi Folks, Guided the upper Winooski yesterday afternoon with the fly rods.  Nice fishing conditions with calm over cast conditions.  The water level and flow was at the seasonal average with the water temperature holding at 60 degrees.  We found rising fish yesterday afternoon.  A number of hatching insects from #18 caddis to #14 grey bodied may fly and a small #20 olive may fly.  We had trout eat a #18 Henryville special and a #14 foam ant.   It was interesting that on one pool we had half a dozen fish rising who all of sudden stopped rising.  We were drifting a double rig of the foam ant with a #18 pheasant tail when we saw the shape of a very large trout emerge under our rig and eat the nymph.  5 minutes later we landed the large 18" male brown trout.  Epic battle.  Love fall fishing and especially when you can catch a big trout on a little fly.  I rather catch the big boy on a small fly than swing a streamer for them.  Looks like nice weather for the next few days and the trout fishing will remain steady.  Nice fishing afternoon and I am going to do it all over again today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy 

nice float on the Lamoille

Hi folks, I spent a really nice day in my canoe floating down the Lamoille with a client yesterday spin fishing for trout.  Foliage is starting to look really beautiful.We had originally planned to fish from my motorboat but the stiff wind of 15mph to 25mph prevented that.  I do not float very often as I do not think drift boat are really not necessary on my Vermont trout streams.  The water is really too small to float more often than not and I think that you scare more fish than you catch when you are making tons of noise bumping into rocks.  Anywho, we did pass a few anglers and we showed respect and etiquette by not casting and moving through quickly and quietly.  We even got out of the canoe and walked it around one set of fishermen.  Water temps. ranged from 56 degrees in the morning to almost 59 degrees by late afternoon.  We did see some trout sipping small #20 BWO's late in the afternoon.  We landed a dozen wild and stocked rainbows and missed or had follow at least another dozen fish.  Pretty good day of trout fishing.  The lures of the day were Rapala husky jerks in blue and gold with an orange belly and brown and copper in with an orange belly.  Towards the end of the day I think we were as content watching fish chase the plugs instead of hooking them.  However, my client in good angling fashion caught a trout on the last cast of the day.  Good Mojo. We saw one large brown trout yesterday that chased our plug right to the canoe.  We ran out of room.  You know a brown is big when you can see the cherry dots on their flanks in the water.  We found most of our fish in slower water with in stream rocks and boulders.  Off to chase trout again today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

breezy weekend

Hi Folks, Spent the weekend chasing trout with guests on small tributary streams of the Lamoille and Winooski. Big weather front moved in and brought with it cooler air temperatures, wind, and rain.  The main stem of the Lamoille and Winooski were stuffed for Sunday with the rain from the previous night.  One problem is the fall is all of the debris in the rivers from falling leaves and twigs.  I always wonder how it effects the fishing and I know that you hook a lot of crap with your fly during the drift.  Water temperatures were holding steady in the high fifties.  Not a good weekend for a boat with all the wind in Stowe.  We fished dry dropper rigs with 3wt. outfits into larger primary pools.  We caught almost all of our fish on the #18 copper john nymph.  Mostly hooked 7" to 11" wild rainbows with a few small brown trout and native brook trout.  Not much for hatching bugs with the exception of a few #18/#20 BWO's coming off and a few #14 caddis hatching and egg laying.  Fishing should remain consistent but the wind and weather do become a real factor in fall fishing. I will be mixing it up this week with trout fishing and lake fishing for pike.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

lazyafternoon

Hi Folks, Guided yesterday afternoon for trout on the Lamoille with spin gear.  Water temperature was 62 degrees.  The Lamoille is currently is at it's seasonal level for this of the year.  Another big bright sunny day and we found some shady water to fish.  Lots of craw fish all over the bottom off the river as you can see them darting about as we waded.  We fished rebel craw fish lure in natural colors and with orange bellies.  We had eight trout take the plugs.  A lot of jumping silver bullet rainbows.  The water is low and clear and enough that you can see the trout chase the lure right in.  We had several takes right at our feet.  Not much for hatching insects yesterday and no rising fish.  We fished right to dark and the water was pretty quiet.  Off chasing trout this weekend.  Looks like a change in the weather is on the way and will give way to some wet stuff.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

good fishing

Hi Folks, Guided on the upper Winooski yesterday afternoon with the fly rods.  My clients got to enjoy a beautiful sunny fall day.  Water temperature was 62 degrees and the flows were at their seasonal average.  A little bit of debris in the river like leaves and sticks which will happen this time of the year.  We caught 16 trout yesterday including all 3 species with 2 almost 10" male brook trout that were colored up nicely and 2 wild brown trout.  The rest were rainbows.  We missed another half a dozen fish.  All of our fish were between 8" and 14".  Jumping rainbows and browns.  Tons of cased caddis on tops of rocks that have been hatching and will hatch any day.  A size #14/#16 bug.  We took all our fish nymphing with double rigs of #16 olive caddis and a #18 peacock soft hackle as well as a #14 prince with a #18 olive wire caddis.  Most of the takes were dead drifting the flies.  We had to be thorough with our presentations due to the bright sun.  I do not think the fish wanted to move far to eat because of the lower water with bright conditions.  We found a lot of fish in heavy riffles and plunges.  Nice afternoon on the water and I expect the trout fishing to only stay consistent.  Off to chase trout on the Lamoille today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Water is still warm

Hi Folks, Been guiding with my canoe lately for smallmouth bass.  Big bright blue skies out there with high pressure stalled in Vermont.  Foliage is beginning to look nice.  Nice cold nights and warm days make fall my favorite time to fish.  The surface temperature of the lakes I have been on has been 66 degrees to 67 degrees.  The water does not ever cool off as quickly as the air temperatures in lakes and ponds.  River temperatures tend to vary more widely and quickly.  The wind has been a pain in the butt in the canoe and makes it tough holding the boat in position to fish.  Steady from the NW lately with the  swirling effect.  No top water to bite to speak of and we have really worked to catch a handful of fish each time out.  Mostly jigging with soft plastics that imitate crawfish.  I have been finding smallies off downed wood that reaches into deeper water.  Still we have been covering a lot of water to get strikes and fighting the darn wind.  I think the big blue sky also makes the lake fishing a little tougher as the fish may be neutral to non-aggressive and you have to make it easier for them to eat.  Back to trout fishing with the fly today as I will be fishing the Winooski.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun , Willy

Cool down

Hi folks, Looks like fall is here and things are cooling off.  I guided with the fly on Sunday in the morning on the main stem of the Lamoille and then a small tributary.  Water temperatures ranged from 61 degrees on the big water to 58 degrees on the small water.  It seems to me that now that we are in for colder nights with a chance of frost that the best time to fish will be midday to late afternoon.  Water needs to warm each day when it is really cool at night. Get things cranked up should we say. The Lamoille was slow for us on Sunday.  A decent number of #18 tan bodied caddis and #14 olive bodied caddis coming off but no fish responding.  We nymph fished with larger flies like buggers and cooper johns with really no action.  The water level is still up and slightly off colored.  The fish need to see the fly in order to eat it.  So, after being slow we moved to a stream stream and cast a #14 lime green stimulator with good success.  We had a dozen wild rainbows and brook trout eat the dry fly.  Love small streams.  We fished obvious big pools working up stream.  Lots of fun.  Off to fish smallmouth tomorrow afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

working for them

Hi folks, Ran my boat yesterday with clients spin fishing for bass and pike.  Went up north and the weather was a bit chilly.  Over cast skies and damp with a slight north west wind.  Water temperature was 65 degrees and the lake level was up considerably from the recent rains.  We did not catch a lot fish yesterday but the ones we did were awful nice.  Quality over quantity.  We targeted pike with big spinners and fire tiger colored plugs.  We did not land a northern but had several large fish follow up to the boat only to turn off.  The pike did not appear to be overly interested in our presentations.  We did land several 2lb to 3lb plus largemouth bass and smallmouth bass.  Had one really big smallmouth take a top water.  The interesting thing for the day was how shallow of water all off the fish were holding in.  We saw every fish in less than 5' of water.  Could have to do with the water level being up.  Also, all of the fish were located in areas with big boulders and hard bottom that was littered with weeds.  We slowed thing down with Senkos fished slowly that seemed to be the ticket.  A real finesse bite.  This particular lake has a good amount of milfoil and I had to really clean the boat and trailer after the trip.  Off to trout fish this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

much needed rain

Hi Folks, I am sorry that I have not been able to post fishing reports lately.  My 19 month daughter is in the hospital battling an illness.  She will recover.  Family first and fishing has not been a priority.  I am sorry to clients I was unable to guide these past days.  Anyway, we finally received some badly needed rain that puffed up our streams and it will take a couple of days for the Winooski and Lamoille to clear up and come down.  Tributary streams will be fine to fish just a bit high.  The rain will shuffle the deck and prompt movements form fish like brown trout, landlocked salmon, and brook trout.  All fall spawners.  I am guiding today out of the boat for smallmouth and northern pike.  Love this time of year for fishing as things cool off.  Really triggers a response from fish and the bite should be awful good.  Well I will do my best to keep people up to date as to what I see on the water, but my reports might be sporadic as our family helps our child recover.  Remember to clean your equipment and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Stowe fly fishing fall trifecta

Hi Folks, Been off the water for a few days, but was back out there today with a client fly fishing for trout.  Nice fall morning with cool air temperatures, threatening showers and a big front moving through.  Water levels are low but temperatures are excellent.  The small stream we fished was 59 degrees.  We covered a lot of water today and wore out some boot leather.  The only way to fish this nutrient poor brown trout stream.  Armed with a very nice 3wt. Helios my client landed the cycle catching a 5 wild brown trout, 4 native brook trout, and 1 one really nice wild rainbow.  The rainbow took a #14 lime green stimulator by coming out of the water and back down on the fly.  Great take.  However, in 23 years of fishing this Stowe stream I have never caught or had a client catch a rainbow.  Very interesting.  We fished a dry dropper rig with a the stimulator and a #18 olive wire caddis pupa and then swtiched dry flies to a #12 royal wulff.  Most of our takes came on the small nymph.  All of our 4 brown trout that were over a foot came from big pools with downed wood.  Pretty neat watching a tan flash come to the fly from out of a big pile of debris.  We could use some rain.  Still the trout fishing will remain good all month.  Lots of fish to be caught and plenty of rising activity to be enjoyed.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

swimming with the bass

Hi Folks, Did a double dip yesterday guiding river smallmouth bass in the morning with the fly rods and a spin trip in the afternoon from my boat.  Pretty warm day for the first of September.  The threat of rain never developed and we had sun and clouds all day.  In the morning the lower Lamoille was 74 degrees and extremely low.  It is still so warm out there that we are wet wading.  We crossed the river which is not an every day event and were able to fish some pools that I am sure do get cast into very often.  We landed 17 river bass with the largest fish pressing 3lbs.  We cast frog poppers early with great success until the sun came up and then top water bite ended.  We switched up tactics and cast #8 cone headed olive bunny buggers and nymphed with an indicator and a strike indicator.  We did really well with the streamer in slow long pools by fishing it slowly and twitching it on the retrieve.  Really good morning of river fishing.  The lake we fished was gin clear and 73 degrees on the surface.  Pretty warm for this lake which is in the kingdom and holds both bass and trout.  In the afternoon, I had a crazy incident take place.  One of my clients dropped his spin rod into 14' of water after hooking a fish.  The water is so clear that you could see the rod and reel on the bottom.  So, with my best Jacques Cousteau imitation and dove over board to retrieve the rod.  What a trip but with the rod in the boat we got back to fishing.  Pretty slow fishing until dusk and then it really turned on.  We ended up landing 3 smallmouth and 1 largemouth bass all between 1 to 3lbs.  Even had a few pickerel attempt to eat the top water.  We found all of the fish around weed beds and downed wood.  Looks like rain on the way and we could use it as our rivers are low.  Trout fishing in the big rivers is not a great option until things cool off.  Small stream fishing is the way to go presently though those streams are low and spooky.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

good bite

Hi Folks, Spent the day yesterday chasing river smallmouth bass with a client on the lower Lamoille.  We fished big water and spent most of our time on three big primary pools.  Water temperature was 74 degrees and level was right at the seasonal average flow.  We landed 19 bass in wide variety of sizes.  Probably had another dozen fish eat that we missed lost our just not a good take.  We fished them up and down with half of our takes coming on a popper and other half on green and crawfish colored Senkos.  Nice heavy air out there again this morning and I aoff to chase smallmouth.  Should be a good top water bite.  Looks like cool down is on the way with some much needed rain.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

lazy summer afternoon

Hi folks, Guided for river smallmouth bass yesterday afternoon.  Chased smallmouth in the morning and the top water bite had been excellent.  Not much much of a top water bite in the afternoon.  Fairly warm muggy day with bright sun and clouds.  Water temperature was 75 degrees and the level was low and clear.  Lots of #14-#22 flying ants around in the afternoon and many of the smaller fish from bass to fall fish were sucking them in.  We could not prompt any bass to eat a surface popper.  The fish were coming up and looking the surface presentation and turning off.  Just the opposite of the morning when then were absolutely crushing the top water.  Anywho, we resorted to drifting 3" olive and craw fish colored Senkos on red hooks and caught a dozen smallmouth.  Looks like a rough couple of days coming up with thunderstorms and a weather front pushing through.  Would love to see it cool back down.  thge main stems of the Lamoille and Winooski are too warm for trout fishing right now and fishing should be for either bass or fish small trout streams.  I am off to chase river smallmouth this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy

top water bite

Hi Folks, Guided smallmouth bass with the fly this morning on the lower Lamoille.  Water temperature was a warm 73 degrees and the air was heavy.  Pretty decent morning fog and we had the place to ourselves.  We fished big pocket water with lots of boulders and rocks and every piece of water looks fishy.  We focued on big primary pools and kept our presentations just out of the main current in the slower parts of the pools and big eddies.  We fished several different style poppers but a frog pattern with rubber legs and a big concave face was the most productive.  We did catch one smaller bass nymphing a #8 stone fly nymph.  We had 14 fish come to the fly and landed 8 smallmouth. and of those fish 5 exceeded 2lbs in weight.  We had some really explosive strikes.  Good jumping rod benders!  We found that the popper moved in succession of two with a pause triggered a lot of the strikes.  With the warm water I am off to guide again this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

hot humid and smallmouth

Hi Folks, Been chasing smallmouth bass with clients the last couple of days.  Summer heat and humidity has returned to the region.  I like the humid heavy air for bass fishing.  Always makes the top water bite better.  #14-#22 Flying Ants have been everywhere in the afternoon and in the morning lots of drowned ants in the surface film.  Interesting to watch large smallmouth sip ants off the surface.  Defies logic that a big fish would eat such a tiny morsel.  However. when food is overly abundant and easy to obtain, large predators will take advantage.  Love flying ants as they are a relevant food surface for some time and really get a wide variety of fish looking up.  Water temperature has returned to 70 degrees and the big trout water has once again become too warm to fish.  fish small brooks for trout and carry your thermometer.  Water is low and believe it or not we need rain.  We have been tugging on smallmouth with poppers on the surface and below the surface 3" and 4" Senkos in natural colors.   Looks too stay warm for a few days until the cold front comes crashing in this weekend.  Will bring some much needed precipitation.  Chasing bass the next few days.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

yes sir

Hi Folks, Nice morning on the Lamoille yesterday with a client casting dry flies.  Water temperature was 64 to 65 degrees.  Nice over cast skies with the threat of rain.  Pretty decent hatch of #16 caddis and lots of drowned ants in the surface film.  The trout were eating both caddis and ants.  You could tell the difference between takes as the caddis eating fish made splashy rise forms and the ant eaters were subtle sips.  The trout were fussy and we had to use a 12' leader and make really good casts and drifts.  We had 9 fish eat the fly and the rising activity really slowed down as the morning progressed.  We landed two fish, one bow and 1 17" wild brown trout.  You new the brown trout was a good fish the moment it ate the #16 Henryville special.  Really fought hard and put a good bend in the 3wt.  Still awful tickled about the August fishing, though it looks like a warm spell on the way and the big waters will warm up.  Fly selection can range from #16/#18 olive caddis #18/#20 tan caddis, #10/#12 stone flies, #12/#14 Isonychia, and terrestrials.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy
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Working the big water

Hi Folks, Guided a large party of fly anglers yesterday morning on the lower Winooski.  Water temperature was 65 degrees.  Water level was right around the seasonal average though the level of the river did drop while we were fishing.  Always something to contend with when you fish anywhere below the Bolton Dam.  I think as the water is coming up or down it effects the fishing negatively until it settles out.  Morning fog until about 8:30 am and then it was a bright sunny day.  Started the morning off seeing a very large adult bald eagle.  Also encountered a hunting osprey and really big snapping turtle sunning itself on a rock.  Tons of #10 Stone fly shucks on the rocks that looked recently hatched.  Saw a fair amount of #12/#14 Isonychia beginning to hatch late morning and the ever present #16/#18 olive caddis.  We nymph fished most of the morning swinging #18 olive caddis pupa, #10 Montana Stone Fly, #12 flashback pheasant tail , a #14 tungsten prince nymph, and a #18 olive copper john.  The fish were tuned into the small flies.  We landed the Winooski tri-fecta catching a salmon, brown trout, and rainbow.  The rainbow was the best fish of the day.  In all we had over a dozen fish take the fly yesterday morning.  We worked for our fish and made lots of drifts.  Looks like wet weather to start the week and the trout fishing should be really good this morning.  Off to fish the Lamoille.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Not a cloud in the sky

Hi folks, Guided a small Lamoille tributary yesterday for native brook trout.  Beautiful sunny day with blue bird skies.  Water temperature was 61 degrees and the level was low and clear.  The spook factor was in full effect and moving slowly and fishing up stream was important.  Get in the brook and cast directly up stream to help avoid over hanging tree limbs and not give away your position to the fish.  We had over a dozen brookies eat our dry fly.  We cast a #14 foam ant on 7' 3wt. rod.  We landed some really nice looking brook trout that are starting to get colored up pretty nicely in anticipation of spawning here in a short while.  Almost all of our trout came out of deeper primary pools and not secondary water.  Off to fish the big water this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

First fish

Hi Folks, Guided some young anglers yesterday morning for smallmouth bass.  Water levels were up slightly and off colored.  Water temperature was 68 degrees.  It was interesting that we did not catch a lot of fish yesterday morning but everyone we hooked was big.  I attribute it to the high and off colored water.  We fished big primary pools and focused on the slow water and any in stream structure.  Drifted 3" Senkos on Red Octopus Hooks that had glitter in the soft plastic.  Jumps out a bit more in the off colored water.  Anywho, looks like fall is right around the corner and with cool nights water temperature will remain nice after midweeks heat up.  Lots of morning fog this time of the year which is nice for keeping the sun off the water longer.  I am off to river fish this afternoon.  Looks like a nice weekend.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

mending the dry fly

Hi folks, Guided yesterday morning on the Lamoille and the fly fishing was fantastic.  The Lamoille was 64 to 65 degrees yesterday morning. Flow was just slightly above the seasonal average. I took out a repeat guest who wanted to improve on his dry fly fishing.  Lucky for us the fish have been rising like crazy on the Lamoille.  Under foggy skies and the sun did not really poke its head through until after 10:00am we cast to rising fish all morning.  We had 24 trout come to the dry fly yesterday morning.   Not much hatching except some #18 micro caddis after 9:00am.  I am pretty sure the fish were sipping #14/#16 drowned flying ants that have been coming off in droves lately in the afternoon.  We cast a #16 peacock caddis and a #14 hare's ear parachute.  We worked on up stream mending, down stream mending, a reach mend, a v-mend, and the old Catskill style down stream feed.  We fished slow water that was fed by gently riffles with lots of in stream boulders.  We landed 16 trout with them being a combination of stocked rainbows and wild rainbows.  Once again the wild rainbows really out fought the stocked fish.  Mending is always the key ingredient when trout fishing.  More often that not the fish are eating a good drift and the fly is irrelevant.  Awful lot of fun watching trout eat off the surface.  Just crazy good fishing for August.  Still lots of cased #16/#18 caddis on rocks and #12/#14 Isonychia shucks on rocks.  Looks like a return to summer this week so the big water might warm up.  Carry your thermometer.  Hot days ahead with not really cool nights.  Back to bass fishing and small streams.  I am off for a few days to attend a family wedding.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Etiquette and good fishing

Hi Folks, Guided on the Lamoille yesterday morning in a stretch of river I do not visit very often any longer.  I have lots of inventory to fish and simply do not need to guide water that gets pounded by other anglers.  Water level was just above season flows and the temperature was 64 degrees.  Pretty interesting morning as under heavy fog my client and I walked to an isolated pool that always holds fish.  Matter of face we stuck 7 fish in the pool before the drift boats moved through.  The first boat was two friends fishing together and we exchanged pleasantries and they moved on. I always thought with a drift boat that when you floated through someone who was fishing a piece of water that you were supposed to move quickly and quietly and have your clients stop casting.  The second drift boat was a guide with clients who ignored all of these rules.  Not only did he not row through quickly or quietly (stuck the boat on a rock shelf) he decided to tell us how to catch fish.  Also, his clients continued to fish over the water we were fishing.  I failed to tell him that I have been guiding and casting a fly rod probably since he was in diapers and his mommy was wiping his rear end.  Piss poor etiquette and a true lack of professionalism.  All the same we had 17 trout eat the fly yesterday morning and this small incident did not effect the fishing.  We caught a combination of wild rainbows and stocked rainbows.  I have to say a 10" wild bow certainly out pulls and jumps one of the 12" hatchery mutants.  We hooked fish swinging a #14 tungsten prince with a #18 olive wire caddis dropper and took fish as the sun came up on a #12 hare's ear parachute.  Lots of caddis pupa and larvae on the rocks in the riffles and I am seeing more and more #12/#14 Isonychia hatching and their shucks on rocks.  Great hatch of flying ants in Stowe yesterday afternoon.  Ants prompt lots of rising. We found a good pod of rising fish to end the morning.  We could see them rising and coming to the fly.  Very nice.  So, not to be difficult but I am a big fan of etiquette on a trout stream and I do not care how people fish.  Carry a thermometer and leave fish alone when the water exceeds 70 degrees, there is no reason to stand elbow to elbow fishing in Vermont (6,000 miles of trout streams) and do not disturb another anglers water when moving around the stream!  Off to tug on trout again this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

big water

Hi folks, Guided on the lower Winooski yesterday morning with a group of aspiring fly anglers.  I have not spent much time on the lower river this year as the water flows and conditions have not allowed it.  Pleasantly pleased with water temperatures of 64 degrees at 7:30am.  Water flows are still wacky on the lower Winooski as water was released while we were fishing and the level started to come up abruptly.  Big bright sunny day with not much for early morning fog.  We did spend a bit a of time with a large osprey that was perched in a tree checking us out.  Not much for rising fish.  Did see some sporadic caddis hatching and a few #12/#14 Isonychia coming off.  We nymph fished all morning with #16 and #18 wire olive caddis and #10 olive wooly buggers.  We had 11 fish come to the fly and landed 3 trout.  We caught 1 wild rainbow and 2 stocked brown trout.  Every fish took the fly on the swing.  Always let the fly swing out when nymphing and especially during Isonychia season as they are a swimming may fly and trout often  strike at the end of the drift.  I am off to chase trout again this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

working for it

Hi folks, Spent a nice morning with a client on a small Lamoille River tributary.  Really beautiful piece of water in an off the beaten path sort of place.  Big pocket water and not easy walking.  The water temperature was 57 degrees at 7:00am and it was a big bright sunny day.  The particular piece of water has really good tree cover and shade and is shadowed by a substantial mountain.  Water level was perfect and the stream was very well defined.  This stream is a wild brown trout stream with some rainbows and native brookies.  The state does stock a few token brown trout but not significant where I was fly fishing.  We had 9 trout eat the fly yesterday morning and landed 4 wild brown trout and 1 wild rainbow.  The challenge of this water is everything looks sexy and like it should hold fish.  What I found interesting yesterday was that none of the big fish wanted to eat.  All trout between 7" and 10" is what we had come to the fly.  Maybe the big front that cane through effected it? not sure.  Still good fun on a 2wt. and 3wt. outfit.  We did fish two different set ups with a #12 orange stimulator with a #18 olive cooper john dropper and a #12 rubber legged cooper john under an indicator for big plunge pools.  I can't say enough about how good the August fishing has been.  Really has made up for the wet June.  Best August I can remember in 25 years.  I am off to fish big water this morning for trout.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Crushed them

Hi folks, Man, yesterday was an awesome day of fishing.  I guided river smallmouth both in the morning and the evening.  Big weather from pushing through with cool air temperatures, afternoon showers, and wind.  Water temperature was 65 degrees.  Definitely feels like fall out there as things have really cooled off.  Water levels are perfect for fishing right now, though the clarity diminished a bit around dusk from rain in the mountains that dirtied things up. Both of my trips were with spin gear and we put the Senkos and light tackle to test.  Between my two trips yesterday we landed over 50 smallmouth bass. The fish were there for the taking and I think we were fishing water that has not been harassed by any other anglers.  We found bass in the slow sections of the river, big slow deep pools, and big eddies.  Lots of downed wood and rocks provided cover for the bass.  We drifted 3" crawfish and olive colored Senkos and the fish were gobbling them up.  In the afternoon my client hooked a fish on his first 12 casts.  We caught smallmouth from 6" to 18". Saw a lot of good sized fish yesterday and everyone wanted to jump and tail walk.  I think it was a product of the cooling water temperatures.  Reminded me of fall bass fishing.  Fishing should remain steady.  Seen a few #14/#22 flying ants, #22 tricos in the morning, and the ever present caddis.  We did catch a 13" rainbow yesterday on a Senko.  Not the norm.  There were some rising fish both in the morning and afternoon.  I am off to trout fish this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Broken Record Player

Hi folks, Guided several anglers yesterday on the upper Winooski yesterday for trout with the fly rods.  I know I am starting to sound like a broken record player, but the trout fishing was really good once again.  Incredible for August.  I would say that we experience these types of river fishing conditions in August maybe once every ten years.  Good morning for fishing with overcast skies and eventually some rain.  River flows were just slightly above the seasonal average flow and the temperature was 62 degrees.  Not a bad hatch of #16 olive bodied caddis with a few #18/#20 tan bodied micro caddis and even a few #20 olives.  There was some sporadic rising activity and we were able to get the fish to eat a #16 peacock caddis and a #16 Henryville Special.  We also had success drifting double nymphs under an indicator with a combination of a #14 tungsten red thread prince nymph with a #18 olive caddis pupa.  We hooked and caught fish everywhere we worked mostly tugging on the typical 7" to 12" wild rainbows.  A couple of larger rainbows were caught and the fish of the day was a very big brown trout we lost at our feet.  A real bruiser that buried his head down and puckered my clients bamboo rod in half.  A good old country club release.  Fishing should remain good for trout as water temperatures and levels will maintain.  I am off to chase smallmouth bass today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Keep it coming

Hi Folks, Back to the well yesterday morning guiding on the Lamoille for trout.  Water levels and flows are still above average for this time of the year.  Water temperatures have been great remaining in the low sixties.  Yesterday at 6:30am the water temperature was 62 degrees.  Not much for hatching insects yesterday but still finding some #10/#12 stone fly shucks on rocks and #12/#14 isonychia shucks and rocks.  Lots of olive caddis on rocks within the riffles.  I love it as a guide when your client catches a trout on the first drift of the day.  We landed a nice little wild brown trout on the first cast and drift in pretty skinny water.  We caught 8 trout for the morning with a combination of wild and stocked rainbows.  Never changed flies as we drifted a #14 tungsten prince nymph with a #16 olive caddis pupa under an indicator.  We hooked fish on the dead drift and on the swing.  We lost and missed another half dozen fish in addition to what we caught.  It was interesting that the fishing really slowed by 9:30am as the sun got high over head.  Looks like a wet one today with incoming rain.  Should be another good morning of trout fishing today as I am off to guide on the Winooski.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

nice on the river

Hi folks, Guided a new fly angler yesterday on the main stem of the Lamoille.  The water temperature on the Lamoille was 64 degrees yesterday morning at 6:30am and warmed to 66 degrees by the time we had left prior to lunch time.  Water level was up once again and it was like fishing the river in the spring.  Clarity was okay as there was still little dirty tinge to the water from the recent rain on Friday.  We found some #12/#14 Isonychia shucks on rocks and there were a few #16 olive caddis hatching as the sun broke through the morning fog.  No rising fish.  We nymph fished all morning with a double rig and an indicator.  We cast a #10 tungsten bead olive wooly bugger with a #16 olive caddis pupa dropper.  Lots of roll casting in order to prevent tangles.  I figure in the bigger flows you must use a larger fly that the fish can see.  We had 7 trout eat the fly and we landed 3 wild rainbows.  The best fish on the day was scrappy 14" silver rainbow that had some pull.  As the sun got high over head and it did so early yesterday morning we removed the indicator.  Tight line swinging the nymphs got the flies down and the fish responded.  Another pretty decent morning of trout fishing for August.  I am tickled as August is always the most difficult month of the season to catch trout typically due to warm water temperatures and low levels.  I am off to chase trout again this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Learning the art

Hi Folks, I changed directions yesterday morning and visited the local ski resort for a casting clinic and instructional fly fishing program.  Man, was the wind howling as a cold front had moved in across Vermont.  Nice big bright sunny ski and with it cool nights which will keep water temperatures down. Pretty darn nice weather for August and our streams are puffed up a bit again after prolonged rain on Friday.  I always like to tell people learning to fly fish that they "have to learn to walk before they can run."  Meaning you have to be able to cast the fly before you can even think about the fishing end of it.  Fly fishing is not easy and is an activity that is a life long pursuit.  One of the things that really appeals to me about it.  So, after running the clinic, I decided I wanted to catch some fish so I walked on one of my local brooks to fish some hole I had not visited in sometime.  Water temperature was 60 degrees and the clarity was excellent.  I had to focus on shady areas.  I worked up stream with a #12 yellow stimulator and was rewarded with a measured 11" brook trout and several 7" to 12" wild brown trout.  Nicely colored fish who slammed the dry fly.  Nice experience for an hour of fishing. I am off to chase trout with clients this morning on the Lamoille.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

All to ourselves

Hi folks, Ran the boat with clients yesterday morning for smallmouth bass on a local lake.  Not another boat on the water and we had the entire place to ourselves. Fantastic.  Surface temperature was 72 degrees and the air was heavy.  Pretty humid day with very little breeze.  We fished an assortment of different colored Senkos from watermelon red magic to baby bass to crawfish.  We varied sizes from 4" and 5" .  The bass seemed to be neutral yesterday morning so we really had to finesse them. Line control as usual was imperative and we had a lot of fish take the Senko on the drop after being cast.  Really watching the line is important when the fish are not taking the soft plastic aggressively.  We landed 11 smallmouth all together and missed and lost a number of fish as well.  The most productive areas were adjacent to deep water.  Often I had the boat positioned in 30' of water as we cast into 10' of water.  Nice morning of fishing and extremely peaceful.  Looks like a big weather front on the way to day with rain and thunderstorms.  I am supposed to bass fish, we will see.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

fly fishing the big water

Hi folks,  Guided a double yesterday with the fly rods with experienced fly anglers in the morning and beginners in the afternoon.  Really good day of fishing and especially for August.  Fished the upper Winooski in the morning for the first time this year.  Water conditions had limited my ability to get on the Winooski.  Water temperature was 62 degrees.  Not a bad hatch of #16 olive bodied caddis and we found rising fish.  There was also a hatch of small #20 olives.  Started the morning nymphing and fishing dry dropper rigs.  A #14 tungsten prince nymph with a #18 olive caddis pupa.  We caught fish on both flies.  As the fish begin to rise we switched to a #16 Henryville Special and a #16 The Usual.  We had over 20 fish come to the fly and landed 11 wild rainbows.  Some really nice looking strong fish.  It appeared that the water we fished has been pretty free of angling pressure this year.  In the afternoon I ventured to the Lamoille with my clients where the water temperature was 67 degrees.  Not terrible for an August afternoon.  Nice cloud cover made for some decent dry fly fishing.  We found a pod of subtle rising rainbows.  There more hatching caddis and a few #14 light cahills.  The fish were on the caddis.  We cast #16 Henryville special and a #16 x-caddis.  We landed 3 rainbows with 1 fish being wild and 2 being stocked fish.  Missed several fish but still pretty darn good for anglers learning to fly fish.  Looks like humid unstable weather for the next couple of days.  I am off from trout fishing and will be chasing smallmouth next couple of days.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Lamoille

Hi Folks, I had the pleasure of guiding aspiring fly anglers yesterday morning on the Lamoille River.  The Lamoille is in excellent shape for August.  Water levels are still high and will probably remain that way for some time to come.   Clarity was excellent.  The best part is that the water temperatures have cooled right off.  The main stem water temperature for August 6 was 61 degrees is incredible.  Typically this time of the year the Lamoille is too warm to trout fish.  Saw a few hatching insects yesterday from #16 olive bodied caddis too some #14 light cahills, to some random #18/#20 micro caddis.  We even saw a few fish rise.  We fished both above and below the surface.  The dry of the day was a #16 orange the Usual.  We nymphed and swung #12 olive leeches and #12 heavily weighted wooly buggers.  We had 9 trout eat the fly and landed 3 solid wild rainbows that looked fantastic.  We dry fly fished until the sun got high in the sky and then resorted to fishing below the surface.  Line control is always critical in fly fishing and lots of slack line makes it more difficult to get a hook set when a fish rises.  Good controlled short drifts with good mending is always important.  I am off to take advantage of the cool weather and trout fishing again this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

call me the breeze

Hi folks, Guided from the boat yesterday morning for smallmouth bass with spin gear.  Pretty darn windy on the lake we fished.  Steady west wind that blew the entire morning and increased as the day progressed.  Always makes boat control fun and eliminates the top water.  No worries, we still caught some fish and did see a nice bald eagle soaring over head.  Pretty bright morning with the sun poking its head up early and often.  Water temperatures have cooled off and the surface temperature of the lake was 71 degrees.  We fished 5" Senkos in crawfish and watermelon red flake on red #2 off set worm hooks.  We landed 9 fish and missed a lost at least another 12 fish.  The wind and trying to control the boat impacted how well we could manage our line and detect any subtle strikes.  We found a good percentage of our fish around wood in 12' of water or more.  River fishing for trout should continue to improve with the cooling water temperatures and reasonable water levels in our rivers.  I am off to chase trout with the fly this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

cool down and fly fishing the cycle

Hi folks, Feels like autumn outside with air temperatures in the mid 40's and cooler than average weather forecast ed for the week.  I guided this last weekend and really mixed it up.  Fished for a wide variety of species with spin fishing on Saturday and fly fishing for trout on Sunday.  Water temperatures ranged from 65 degrees in the larger water to 61 degrees in the small stream I was on yesterday.  I took out a group of aspiring anglers on Saturday and we caught a little bit of everything that swims from bullhead to smallmouth and all the pan fish in between.  Young kids when learning to fish need action.  They do not care what they catch as long as they catch something. Keep it fun and simple.  Yesterday morning on a Lamoille tributary we landed brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout and all on dry flies.  We fished really heavy pocket water casting large #10 and #12 stimulators up stream.  In a few heavy plunge pools we dead drifted a heavily weighted olive/black wooly bugger under an indicator and had several nice takes.  We covered a lot of water yesterday.  Pretty darn good trout fishing for August and the all of the trout looked to be in excellent shape.  No hatching insects and I did not see any fish rising.  Still a few stone fly shucks on rocks.  If you have not figured out yet from my reports, where I live in Vermont we do not exactly have lots of hatches.  Off to chase smallmouth from the boat and it looks to be a bit windy.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy

Consistent

Hi folks, Been guiding for the bass the last few days and it has been really consistent.  I almost feel like it is a pretty sure bet that we will catch fish every single time out and numbers of fish.  Water temperatures have been hovering in our local lake in the mid to low seventies and the river I have been on has been 69 degrees.  Pretty big wind and sun the last few days.  The wind is a pain in the butt when trying to control the boat.  We have been catching a lot more smallmouth on the surface with poppers on the fly end and floating rapalas on the spin gear end.  In rivers we have been locating fish mostly in big pools that are loaded with structure like downed wood and big rocks.  Most of our lake smallmouths have been coming out of deeper water from 15' to 20'.  Incredible that fish holding in that deeper water will rise to the surface to eat.  Low light is the key and focusing on shady areas.  Man do the smallmouth pull back.  Trout fishing in the rivers should be hold up now with the cooler weather on top of us.  Nice cool nights and mild days will keep the river water temperatures in the mid 60's.  Terrestrials, stone fly patterns, and  micro caddis will all catch fish.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Nice one!

Hi Folks, Guided some long time clients yesterday with spin gear for smallmouth bass.  Man, the bass fishing has been excellent.  Water temperature yesterday was 70 degrees and the level was slightly up and off color.  We fished big deep pools and slow water that was littered with downed wood and rock.  Lots of fresh #8/#10 stone fly shucks on rocks.  We hooked fish everywhere we went.  Once again dead drifted 3" olive Senkos on #2 red octopus hooks.  Green or crawfish colors are the most consistent producers.  Green seemed to be the ticket yesterday.  We landed over 20 smallmouth with a wide variety in sizes.  Lots of good jumpers.  Looks like a good cool weather pattern coming up.  Feels like fall?  Off to chase bass from the boat.  remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have Fun, Willy

nice afternoon

Hi Folks, Guided from the boat yesterday afternoon with spin gear for smallmouth bass. Really nice weather day with big blue skies and a slight breeze from the northwest.  Surface water temperature was 76 degrees.  Water clarity was not great as it still off colored from Sunday night's big rains.  We worked below the surface with 4" crawfish colored Senkos in 10' to 15' of water around downed wood.  We landed 9 smallmouth bass.  Most of the takes were pretty subtle. In addition we were able take several fish off the surface with baby bass popper.  Nice easy afternoon on a lake.  I am off to chase river bass this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy

finesse fishing the surface

Hi Folks, Guided another double yesterday with fly fishing for trout in the morning and fly fishing for smallmouth bass in the afternoon.  I got blown out this morning for river fishing as we just had a big rain storm push through last night and dirty up the rivers as well as the levels rose significantly.  We started on the main stem of the Lamoille yesterday morning as the water temperature was 67 degrees.  We did not even get a strike.  So instead of flogging a dead race horse we moved to a tributary where the water temperature was 65 degrees.  We experienced a hatch of micro caddis.  Size #20 tan bodied caddis hatching with very subtle rise forms form wild rainbows.  We lengthened our leader and fixed a 6x tippet to the end and cast and swung a #20 tan bodied x-caddis.  We had 5 fish eat the fly and landed two really nice wild rainbows.  Really subtle takes and you would not have realized the size of the fish until they were hooked.  In the afternoon I took guests to fly cast poppers in clear water for smallmouth.  Water temperature was 70 degrees and the water was extremely clear.  We had to pay attention to our approach and not step in the river to fish unless we had to.  We landed 9 bass all on frog colored and chartreuse colored poppers.  The fish were holding tight to cover in the river like downed wood, rocks, and clumps of fallen knot weed.  Spots out of the main current were the best.  Nice low light for surface fishing and the casting had to be good as bad casts put fish down in the clear water.  We missed another half a dozen fish.  Man, smallmouths really bend a fly rod and make some great jumps.  We had some slurps for takes but also some takes towards dark where the fish just crushed the popper.  Good fun.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

top water

Dog Days of Summer

Hi folks, Guided a double yesterday chasing smallmouth bass in the morning and fly fishing for trout in the afternoon.  Big bright day with the sun poking out its nose very early in the morning.  Not the best of fishing weather with big sun and warm air temperatures.  Surface temperature on the lake we fished in the morning was 78 degrees.  Slight wind from the south east.  It was one of the those days where we should have been on the water as the sun came up.  Our best fishing was for the first hour of the morning.  We had 3 large smallmouth eat a popper within our first 4 casts.  We landed a beauty of a fish in the 3lb. class.  After that we worked for fish and managed to land 5 other smallies and a large pickerel.  Shade was the key and weed beds and wood around deeper shoreline edges.  Afternoon trout fishing was slow.  Fished a small tributary of the Lamoille where the water was 65 degrees.  Pretty warm for a brook trout stream.  Water was low and we certainly spooked some fish.  We had a dozen brook trout come to the dry fly and landed half dozen of the fish.  A #12 royal wulff was the fly of the day.  The fish were tight.  A lot of the takes were fairly subtle and even there were instances where the fish just refused the fly.  Lower water levels and warmer water temperatures had an impact.  Well it is the middle of the summer after all.  I am off to chase trout this morning and bass in the afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Aggressive

Hi Folks, Took anglers river fishing for smallmouth bass yesterday morning.  Beautiful day for fishing with calm over cast skies.  Water temperatures was 62 degrees.  Quite the cool down from a week a go.  I like classifying fish activity as aggressive, neutral, or non-aggressive.  I think it is fair to say that the smallmouth bass were super aggressive yesterday morning.  We landed 20 smallies and missed or lost another dozen fish.  Every hole we fished has bass that wanted to eat.  We were able to get them to take off the top and down below.  Small poppers on the surface worked great.  A 3" watermelon Senko on a Red Octopus hook cleaned up the fish that did not want to eat the popper.  The water we fished is very clear and we were able to sight fish a few bass.  Many of the fish were holding on the up stream and dow

n stream edges of large rocks.  You could watch them materialize from the rocks to eat or lures each time.  I think in the clear water earth tone lures and small presentations are the key.  The bass fishing was so good that I am off to do it this morning again and then trout fishing in the afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

working for them

Hi Folks, Spent yesterday morning on a Lamoille Tributary with clients chasing trout with the fly. Water temperature was a cool 59 degrees and the water clarity was excellent. Pretty bright morning with big sun.  Not much for hatching insects.  We worked up stream casting various stimulator patterns and fishing an indicator rig into plunge pools.  We had 11 trout eat the fly yesterday morning and we landed 3 wild brown trout.  We covered a lot of water to find the trout we did hook.  It was interesting that the trout that did rise to the dry fly did so very tentatively.  Really important to keep focus when fishing on those more difficult mornings.  You never know when a fish will eat your fly.  I can attribute that to the bright sun and weather front.  Looks like we are going to continue to have cool nights for a bit so our trout streams will maintain temperature.  I am off to bass fish this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Welcomed cool down

Hi Folks, Man, I love the cooler air temperatures and the feel of fall in the air.  Nice cold front has moved into town and really dropped daytime and night time air temperatures.  In turn, the water is cooling off and trout fishing is a go once again.  I guided a double yesterday chasing river smallmouth bass in the morning and trout in the afternoon.  Water temperatures held steady in between 64 and 66 degrees yesterday as the air temperature never really warmed throughout the day.  Water levels were up and the clarity was slightly off from the previous night's rain storm.  We landed 15 smallmouth in the morning dead drifting 3" watermelon colored Senkos on #4 red octopus hooks.  I like the smaller Senkos in rivers versus the larger version I use in lakes and ponds.  Tight casts to downed wood were very productive.  It appeared that the bass were holding under the wood and moved out to eat the dropping Senko.  Never really cleared were I fished yesterday so we had good cloud cover for the most of the day.  The afternoon trout fishing was just as good.  We fished a Lamoille tributary.  I told my client that I thought we would see a big trout today with the weather and conditions.  Big fish like the higher water and especially if it is not gin clear.  We carried two rods one rigged with a #14 light green stimulator and a nymph rig with a #14 double tungsten stone fly and a #18 bird's nest.  We did see a few #18 micro caddis hatching and some sporadic #20 olives, but no rising fish.  We had 6 trout eat the fly including a beautiful measured 17" wild male brown trout.  The fish absolutely gulped on the fly in.  The take sounded like a bass was eating a popper.  Lot of fun for my client landing that fish on a 3wt., stellar! We had one other good take on the dry and we missed the fish.  The rest of our action was on the nymph rig and we did land a beautiful jumping wild rainbow that measured almost 14".  Great afternoon of trout fihsing for July.  I love catching larger fish on dry flies and or nymphs.  I am not a big streamer fisherman though it would have been a good approach yesterday with the higher off colored water.  I just feel like a sinking line and leader with a streamer is like lure fishing.  I rather find the big boy trout when he decides to look up.  Off to chase trout this morning.  Remember to have fun and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy

The Gulper

In contact

Hi Folks, Spent all of yesterday chasing smallmouth bass with spin gear.  I guided from the boat in the morning and from a canoe in the afternoon.  All around really good fishing day with lots of smallmouth being landed.  It rained all morning and then cleared with a beautiful afternoon.  I was on two different lakes from morning to afternoon and the water temperature ranged from 75 degrees to 79 degrees.  A slight northwest breeze but not enough to impact fishing.  We caught fish of all sizes classes yesterday from 4" up to 16".  The top water bite was slow in the morning but pretty good at dusk.  The incredible edible Senko on a red hook was magic yesterday.  We found fish in deeper water off fast dropping rock faces and deeper flats that were littered with wood.  Pretty interesting how many times yesterday we had a bass take the Senko on the drop.  Right after being cast and as it was sinking the smallmouth would pick it up.  Really important when fishing soft plastics to manage your line and be in contact with the lure.  You always need to feel it and be able to watch the movement of the line.  Man, smallmouth are just strong fish and fun to catch.  I be bet between my two trips yesterday we saw well over 30 fish.  I am off to chase bass all day today morning and night.  Looks like some rain and maybe a cool down.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have

fun, Willy

introduction

Hi folks, Guided aspiring fly anglers yesterday morning.  Always fun introducing people to great activity of fly fishing.  Of course, I always hope they do not feel overwhelmed as there is a lot to fly fishing.  Water conditions were good with levels just slightly above the seasonal average and the water temperature was a nice 65 degrees.  Still lots of #8/#10 Stone fly shucks everywhere.  There was a small hatch of #18/#20 micro caddis yesterday morning and actually a few randomly rising fish.  We drifted large dry flies as it is hard to teach people how to mend a dry fly if you cannot see it drifting on the water's surface.  #10 orange stimulators and #14 olive grasshoppers were the flies of the day.  We landed 1 rainbow trout and 1 smallmouth bass.  We missed another 5 fish.  Getting the fish to eat is the most difficult part of fly fishing in my opinion.  Hooking and landing a fish comes with doing.  Line management is critical.  Hard to strike any fish when you have too much slack on the water.  Looks like rain today and cool air temperatures for the rest of the week.  I am off to bass fish this morning and tonight.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy

Refreshing

Hi Folks, Guided river smallmouth bass yesterday with the fly rods.  River conditions were pretty good with water temperatures holding steady around 68 degrees and the level and clarity were excellent.  Lots of large #8/#10 stone fly shucks on rocks.  We worked poppers and #10 orange stimulators.  We found bass in the slower sections of the rivers away from heavy riffles.  Big back eddies and tail outs of long slow pools.  Also, in some pretty skinny water were there was any wood or rock.  We had well over a dozen fish eat the fly and the these river bass really put a bend in the rod.  The weather change has been great and with the cooling nights the main stems of the Lamoille and Winooski are coming back online.  Lots of grasshoppers in fields so do not rule out a hopper patter dead drifted and twitched on trout and bass.  Off for a late morning bass trip today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. have fun, Willy

Welcome change

Hi Folks, Been of the radar for a couple of days.  Scary thunder storms in Stowe on Friday knocked my power out for little over a day.  Big wind and some rain.  Been guiding smallmouth out of my boat lately and the surface temperature on the lake we fished was between 79 degrees and 82 degrees. Been nice calm morning conditions with increasing north/northwest wind each day around 9:00am.  It pays to get out early to avoid the heat, wind, and afternoon storms.  The bass fishing has been really good.  The hot humid weather seems to really make the top water bite excellent.  It is important to fish the shade and out off the sun, but the fish are looking up.  We have had well over 50 fish come to the top water fly over the last few days.  A wide variety of sized fish with young 4" to 16" adults.  Pretty much been casting foam sliders in blue/silver and chartreuse.  With the cold front now settling in things should cool off.  Looks like some nights ahead so the trout fishing might come back around.  Takes a couple of days to cool things off.  I am off to bass fish.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Sight fishing and the heat

Hi folks, Guided with the fly rods for smallmouth bass this morning.  Pretty darn hot and humid out there.  The water temperature at 5:45am this morning was 69 degrees and the warmed to 72 degrees in the sun by 11:00am.  Good time to leave the trout alone in the big water of the Lamoille and Winooski.  Find cooler water on the tributary streams and do not fish where they dump into the big rivers.  I have heard and seen of folks tugging on trout that are stacked up in the cool water areas of where tributaries dump into the main stem of the Lamoille.  Shame on them and especially if you are a catch and release fly angler.  Those fish are thermally stressed and hooking and playing them is probably going to result in their mortality.  If you are with a guide that puts you on these fish then I suggest that you call them out fish with someone else.  It is literally like shooting fish in a barrel!  Show the fish some respect.  So back to the fishing this morning.  Pretty good top water bite.  We fished clear water and worked frog poppers and large #10 Stimulators along the bank in slow sections of the river that had downed wood and large rocks.  We were able to sight a few fish by walking on high banks and then positioning ourselves to cast at them.  We had 6 smallmouth eat off the top and we landed 3 of the bass.   The best fish of the day we caught below the surface.  We spotted the big boy swinging behind a large rock and we got it to eat a nymph.  A #12 prince nymph under an indicator was the ticket and the fly was right in the top of the smallies chompers.  Hell of a fish that really jumped and pulled back.  In addition, we caught by accident or pure dumb luck two trout, 1 rainbow and 1 brown and missed a couple of others.  We were not targeting them.  Pretty interesting that the trout were mixed in with the smallmouth.  Found a lot of #8/#10 stone fly shucks on rocks and I am starting to see #10/#12 green/olive grasshoppers in fields.  Never rule out terrestrials in small wooded streams.  Looks like hot steamy weather for the next few days with potential thunderstorms.  Fishing early am is still the best bet.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy