not yet

Hi Folks, Made a trip into the kingdom yesterday with some old friends to fish for lake run rainbows or steelhead.  Water temperature was 35 in the morning and 37 degrees by late afternoon.  The river was high and dirty and appeared to become more dirty as the day progressed.  I did not see any fish hooked or landed.  Lots of casting and drifting a wide variety of brightly colored egg patterns.  Typically, when the water temperature exceeds 40 degrees the fish begin to come in mass.  Fishing for lake run trout is one of those deals where you need to be on the river daily for a couple of weeks.  Rain yesterday afternoon and cooler air temperatures are not helping to warm up our streams.  The Lamoille is still totally stuffed and will be for a few days.  It was a long winter and it will be a slow start to the season this year.  The best is yet to come.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Here we go

Hi folks, Back into another fishing season.  Just finishing up my winter obligation at the ski resort.  Fly lines are clean, lots of flies tied, and the calender is filling up.  I guided a couple of aspiring fly anglers today for northern pike.  Still winter out there.  We fished open water in the Champlain valley.  Most of lakes around me in Stowe are still locked in ice.  The fishing was slow as the water temperature never eclipsed 40 degrees.  Tough casting big bunny buggers in the wind especially when learning how to fly fish.    The Lamoille and Winooski are high, very cold, and dirty.  Several tributary streams around me are clear but frigid.  River trout fishing in April is always challenging with cold water temperatures.  Big meaty flies are in order fished on 6wt. to  8wt. rods with sinking lines and stripped rather aggressively for brown trout is the best option currently.  Lots of casting but you could be rewarded with a very nice fish.  Lake run rainbows/steelhead are always a good early season bet.  Just very hit or miss if you cannot fish these rivers daily.  Warm weather or at least seasonal air temperatures are just around the corner.  Could be a slower start to the season this year with the cold winter we just experienced.  I will be focusing on pike and steelhead fishing over the next couple of weeks.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy