Sunday, August 18, 2013

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