light tackle and big fish

Hi Folks, I have been guiding river smallmouth the last few days.  Water is low and temperatures have climbed.  Water temperature was 73 degrees at 7:00am yesterday morning.  Hopefully we will get some much needed rain over the next few days.  The bass fishing has been very good.  It appears that the fish have been on a feeding binge as well with lots of stuffed bellies.  Been noticing a high number of craw fish sticking out of the fish's gullet when taking the hook out and releasing them.  We have caught well over 40 smallmouth in the last 2 days and the average fish has been weighing in around 2lbs.  Been spin fishing using 3" baby bass Senkos and watermelon green magic for colors.  Dead drifting in big pools with lots of boulders and wood.  Since the water is so low and clear you can see the fish emerge from cover to eat the rubber.  Lots of fun fighting smallmouth on light tackle with ultra light spin gear and 4lb and 6lb. test.  I am off to chase trout this morning in a small stream.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Low light versus bright sun

Hi Folks, Guided smallmouth bass yesterday in the morning and the afternoon.  Both trips were river fishing and it was very interesting with how different the results were.  Been summer like the last few days with bright sun and humidity.  Mornings have been great with heavy fog and low light while afternoons have been bright and sunny.  Water temperatures have ranged from 71 degrees in the morning to 76 degrees in the afternoon.  Water levels are low and we could use some rain.  We landed over 20 smallmouth in the morning and only 2 in the afternoon.  Both groups I guided did a fine job fishing.  In the morning the fish were all over the Senkos and in the afternoon the fish would come up to our fly and deny us.  The water is so clear you cn sight fish.  In the morning the smallmouth were more than willing to move to chase down the dead drifted Senko.  Baby bass was the color. Granted in the afternoon we fly fished but still the fish were fussy.  We watched countless smallmouth in the afternoon come right up to the fly kiss it and swim off.  We changed flies a lot from surface poppers to a variety of streamers.  It appeared that the smallies were much more inclines to chase the fly when it was moved aggressively, but they put on the breaks when they came right up on it.  All a product of the bright sun.  Smallmouth are much more active in low light than bright sun.  At least the two fish we caught in the afternoon were two large fish.  Pretty interesting to witness the change in behavior by the fish due to the light levels.  I am taking my daughter to fish today.  Been  extremely busy last few months  and really looking forward to fishing with my kid.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Bassing-morning and night

Hi Folks, Chased smallmouth bass with clients yesterday in the morning and then again in the afternoon.  Fished the still water from my motorboat in the morning and from a canoe in the afternoon.  Surface temperature in the morning was 73 degrees under calm conditions.  In the afternoon the surface temperature was 75 degrees.  Pretty warm outside with summer like conditions with air temps. rising into the high eighties.  Pretty warm to trout fish as I am sure the Lamoille and Winooski are too warm presently. Things will cool off tomorrow.  Pretty solid top water fishing both in the morning and evening.  We cast fire tiger poppers and frog colored poppers.  In the morning the heavy fog hung around so we had nice low light until about 8am.  Then it was all about fishing the shady shore lines.  In the afternoon we stayed out of the sun.  We located most our fish off of steep rock faces that had tree cover.  Letting the fly sit on the surface for a good 30 seconds induced a few strikes.  It was interesting that the smaller fish crashed on the fly as the larger bass were slurping it in.  We landed well over 25 smallmouth yesterday between my two trips. Pretty consistent fishing.  Off to chase bass again today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

Learning the fine art of fly fishing

Hi folks, Spent yesterday morning and afternoon guiding young fly anglers.  A return to summer outside with air temperatures reaching the mid eighties.  My morning trip we fly fished on the Winooski down river a ways from the Bolton Dam.  Water temperature was 68 degrees and had risen to 69 degrees by time we finished up in the morning.  A fair amount of hatching activity with #18 tan bodied caddis hatching and #12/#14  Isonychia beginning to hatch towards late morning.  We caught a ton of Fall Fish with 1 brown trout and a landlocked salmon in the mix.  When taking teenagers fly fishing it is important that they catch fish. You need a little encouragement when learning to fly fish and fall fish are much more user friendly than trout.  We swung flies all morning using #14 tungsten bead head prince nymph and a #16 olive wire copper john.  In the afternoon I took another teenager fly fishing for brook trout.  Brookies are greedy and more than willing to eat dry flies.  The mountain brook we fly fished was 60 degrees and gin clear. Always fun watching native brook trout come to the fly.  We worked up stream casting #14 royal wulff.  We had well over a dozen brookies come to the fly.  Like usual most of the brook trout measured between 4" to 8".  We leveled the playing field by casting a slow action 6' 2wt.  It was a nice day for me to see teenagers getting into fly fishing as I do not notice too many kids fly fishing let alone regular fishing these days.  I am off to chase smallmouth all day with a morning boat trip and a canoe trip in the afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

nice afternoon on the water with the ants

Hi Folks, Guided fly anglers for beautiful afternoon of trout fishing on the upper Winooski.  Water temperature was 66 degrees to 67 degrees.  Water level is low but still slightly above the seasonal average flow.  Fair amount of bug activity yesterday with #14-#22 flying ants from 6pm to dark, #12/#14 isonychia  sporadically coming off, #18 micro caddis hatching, and still a few #8/#10 stone flies around.  Lots of #12/#14 olive grasshoppers in fields.  We nymphed fished with a #16 olive copper john and a #18 olive caddis pupa.  We caught fish on both fly patterns.  We found a few rising fish and got them to eat a #12 hare's ear parachute and a #14 foam flying ant.  We landed 5 stocked rainbows, 2 wild rainbows with 1 fish measuring in at 14" (really fought hard), and 1 nice little wild brown trout.  We missed another half a dozen fish.  Pretty good for the end of August and the trout looked really healthy and in good shape.  No signs of fishing pressure what so ever.  Looks to be hot and a little humid for the next few days so the top water bite for smallmouth should be good.  Trout fishing on the big water could be tough with warming temps.  Morning trout fishing will be the way.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy

Patience and persisitence in the rain

Hi Folks, Guided a hearty crew of spin anglers yesterday afternoon for smallmouth bass.  Nice damp afternoon with pretty steady rain showers.  Water temperature was 66 degrees and the clarity was pretty good.  We focused on big slow pools as the water level is fairly low and the fish are not holding in any secondary spots.  I can't say the fishing was red hot.  We made a lot of casts for the half a dozen smallies we landed.  The fish were tentative in feeding and they would pick up the Senko and drop it.  Had to really wait on the fish we caught to eat the rubber.  All very subtle takes and line control was imperative.  Pretty interesting as I would say the fish were in non-aggressive mode for feeding.  The largest bass of the day was not caught immediately as we probably cast to the area where it was holding for 20 minutes.  Patience and persistence paid off.  Will be chasing river trout later today with the fly.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

not dialed in, but lots of ants

Hi folks, Weird last two days guiding as I ran my boat yesterday afternoon and did two river trips today.  Things have certainly cooled off with the lake surface temperature reading 71 degrees, the Lamoille was 66 this morning at 8:00am and this afternoon river temp. was 63 degrees.  Bright and humid yesterday with heavy air.  I thought for sure the bass bite would be on.  We worked hard for 4 bites and landed one smallmouth bass.  Nice calm conditions with an abundance of #14 flying ants landing on the water.  Most of the surface action we saw was from perch and pumpkin seed gulping ants.  The smallmouth we caught was on a #6 fire tiger crease fly.  We fished a shallow lake that is no deeper than 30" and holds smallmouth. largemouth, and pike.  The fish were just not on.  This morning on the Lamoille we caught 4 rainbows with 3 being stocked and 1 nice 12" wild trout.  Pretty funny when one off my clients noted that the wild fish really pulled much harder than the stocked fish.  However, the 3 stocked trout we landed had been caught previously.  Love catch and release fishing! There we lots of #12/#14 Isonychia shucks on rocks.  A #12 pheasant tail will work great as a nymph and #12 Grey Wulff or #12/#14 Adams parachute are good dry fly options.  We found sporadic rising to drowned ants.  There were also some #18/#20 micro caddis hatching.  This afternoon the fishing was dreadful.  great over cast conditions with drizzle.  We went river fishing for smallmouth and it was not happening.  We had 3 smallmouth chase a #8 olive cone head bunny bugger and that was that.  The fish were not feeding on the river we visited.  Lots of fly changing and tactic adjustments without getting them to eat the damn fly.  Oh well, always moving forward and never backwards.  Remember to clean your gear and leave the non native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

thick as pea soup

Hi Folks, After a day and half off from guiding back at this morning chasing smallmouth bass from the boat. Nice to regenerate my batteries and take a break.  Been a really busy summer.  Pretty chilly out on the water this morning with air temperatures in the high forties and the surface water temperature was 69 degrees.  The water temperature has cooled off 5 degrees from over the weekend.  Dead calm on the water with heavy fog.  Pretty interesting navigating in the fog as lights on and the use of electronics were certainly helpful.  Fished top water this morning for awhile.  The fish were on a blue/white popper.  We located active smallmouth on a 15' deep flat that has sporadic boulders on it.  As the top water bite slowed we jig fished in 20' to 30' of water.  A 1/4oz shaky jig tipped with a Yamamoto spider jig in watermelon black magic was the ticket.  Pretty subtle bite and line control was important to pick up the strikes.  On the trout end our rivers have cooled off the fishing is good.  Time to take advantage of fall like conditions.  Fishing will still be best early and late as you want low light.  Nice time of year to find rising trout as we have #22/#24 tricos still hatching in the morning, #18/#20 micro caddis hatching in the morning, #12/#14 Isonychia hatching throughout the day, a few #8/#10 remnant stone flies emerging still, and lots of terrestrials.  Keep an eye for #14/#22 flying ants as they can pop up at anytime presently.  Nice fishing weather.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

cool down equals good fishing

Hi Folks, Been guiding like crazy with a full day boat trip yesterday for smallmouth bass and river fly fishing for trout this morning.  After the big rain on Wednesday, everything has cooled with water temperatures dropping by several degrees.  On the lake yesterday the surface temperature was 71 degrees and the main stem of the Lamoille this morning was 61 degrees.  We cast poppers with the fly rod yesterday until mid morning when the wind picked up out of the west.  Pretty good top water bite.  We located all of our smallmouth off steep drop offs from rock walls and faces.  Being patient when the fly landed was the trick.  Generally, most of our takes were within a couple of feet as to where the fly landed.  It is important to eliminate the slack when the fly lands and be patient prior to moving it.  The bass will come from a long ways away to eat the surface presentation.  Just have to be patient to let the fish find the fly.  Once the top water bite slowed, we resorted to spin fishing with 3.5" crawfish tube jigs on 1/4 oz. jig heads.  We fished in 15' to 30' of water.  The larger fish were located in the deeper water.  I lost track of the number of fish we caught, but the action was pretty steady.  This morning the Lamoille fished pretty well.  The water level has just dropped and the clarity was good.  Rising fish today eating #18 micro caddis and some #12 Isonychia duns.  Always fun when there is a hatch and rising fish.  We caught wild trout on #14 hare's ear parachute.  The best fish of the day was a nice fighting 14" wild rainbow.  good looking fish.  We hooked all of our fish in riffles as the rising fish in the pools were a bit more challenging to get to eat.  Off to chase trout again this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Pecking away at them

Hi Folks, Spent yesterday afternoon in the boat with guests chasing smallmouth bass.  Little bit of a cool down after the rain and it felt like autumn on the water.  Water temperature had dropped a few degrees from  earlier in the week as the surface temp. was 72 degrees.  The weather must of scared off people as we pretty much had the water to ourselves.  Not much wind to speak of and nice flat conditions for popping at dusk.  We bounced around the lake focusing on drop offs.  We managed to pick off 11 smallmouth with 5" Senkos in craw fish and watermelon red magic.  The larger fish were once again holding in deeper water.  We had to exhibit extreme patience on the hooks set as the fish were holding the Senkos in their mouth for a long time without trying to swallow them.  We took the rubber away from a lot of fish.  A lot of tail grabbing by the bass.  Probably due to the weather front and the fish being somewhat non-aggressive.  Well, about to go do it all over again except we are going to try to get the smallies to eat some fur and feathers today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Before the rain

Hi Folks, Guided river bass yesterday morning before the big rain set in.  It appears that we were spared the 1" to 2" of rain that was forecast.  We did receive about 1/2" and 3/4" of rain that has puffed up our rivers.  As well the air temperatures have dropped which will bring river temperatures down.  In a day or so when the big rivers settle down the trout fishing should be very good.  Yesterday morning the river we fished was 69 degrees and the water was really low.  A humid morning with heavy air and periodic rain.  We got a little damp.  A really good day of bass fishing. We caught fish on a fire tiger popper and 3" green senko.  Caught a bass on the first and last cast of the day.  We landed well over a dozen and half smallmouth and missed a few.  The fish were on as I believe that when the barometric pressure is dropping the fishing in rivers is really good.  I think the fish sense that a change in their environment is about to happen and they go into binge mode.  Needless to say we had the place ourselves fishing yesterday as that seems to be the trend when venturing into our local rivers.  Chasing smallmouth bass today from the boat.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy

smallmouth bass, brook trout, and bears oh my

Hi Folks, Had a busy day yesterday guiding smallmouth bass in the morning and small stream trout in the afternoon.  Chased bass on the lower Lamoille where the water temperature was 74 degrees.  Water levels are really low presently.  That should change after today with the expected 1" to 2" of rain heading our way.  The top water bite was excellent as we got bass to eat a fire tiger popper.  Caught a fish on the first cast of the day.  The top water bite slowed pretty quickly and we resorted to dead drifting 3.5" swim Senkos in red water melon magic.  The fish were on it immediately.  We made one adjustment by using a slightly larger warm hook versus an octopus hook and we started landing the fish we were losing.  Good solid hard pulling smallmouth.  We located all our fish in large primary pools.  In the afternoon on the small stream we walked the water temperature was 61 degrees.  We caught lots of brook trout on a #14 orange stimulator.  Due to the low water levels the fish were stacked up in bigger pools.  We had a close encounter with a mother bear and two cubs.  She walked right up on us.  We backed off and watched her for several minutes as her cubs had scampered up trees.  Pretty cool.  Good day on the water with good anglers who took advantage of fine fine fishing.  Off to chase bass before the rain sets in.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

quality versus quantity

Hi Folks, Mixed it up with the guiding yesterday chasing bass with spin gear from the boat in the morning and then small stream fly fishing with a client in the afternoon.  Pretty darn warm day.  Surface temperature on the lake we fished was 74 degrees and there was a very heavy fog that did not lift until around 7:30am.  We caught lots of 2 to 3 year old bass and a couple of fish in the 1.5lb to 2lb. class.  Really good top water fishing.  We focused on rock faces that dropped into deep water.  Most of the takes were right off the get go when the popper landed on the water.  Important to get the slack eliminated or else too much slack line made the hook set tricky.  Once the sun was up we resorted to fishing 5" Senkos in baby bass hooked lots of small fish.  A good morning of fishing with lots of action.  Afternoon trout fishing was tricky with warming water temperatures and low levels.  We spooked several nice fish.  Water temperature was 61  to 62 degrees. We worked up stream with #12 orange stimulator and a #14 lime green stimulator.  We had a total of 4 trout come to the dry fly and caught two small brook trout.  I always like to carry a nymph rod and we had a 17" wild male brown trout eat a #14 double tungsten black stone fly.  Really nice fish with beautiful markings.  Good fun a 6'6" 3wt.  So, would you rather catch lots of smaller fish with good action or catch 1 really nice fish and have not a lot of action?  Off to chase river bass. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Gaining momentum and building a rhythm

Hi Folks, Guided out of my boat yesterday for smallmouth bass on very busy body of water.  Passed my annual state inspection for the boat.  Surface temperature was between 73 degrees and 74 degrees with very little wind.  Good morning fog made navigation tricky off the get go.  It took us a awhile to get it going yesterday morning as the bite was slow first thing.  We managed to catch a decent smallmouth with a popping bug and missed a few nice fish, but we could not prompt a bite below the surface.  We changed directions and worked tube jigs in deeper water and jig heads tipped with twister tail Senkos. The colors were olive green and crawfish.  We fished the jigs in 15' to 30' of water on sharp drop offs with a hard bottom.  We also changed the color of the shallow Senko from green to craw fish and that appeared to attract the attention of a lot more fish of the shore line related fish.  We ended up landed a dozen and a half smallmouth bass, but not monsters.  It just took us a while to get into a groove.  I am off to do it again this morning and then chasing small stream trout this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

family fun on the Lamoille

Hi Folks, Guided a group of spin anglers yesterday for trout fishing on the Lamoille.  The river was just about at its seasonal average flow and the water temperature at 7:00am was 67 degrees.  Nice morning fog kept the sun off the water for a bit until things really heated up.  We located most of the fish we caught in heavy riffles to pools. No shocker with the warming water temperatures.  First time trout anlgers so I showed them how I learned how to catch trout.  Small red hooks on light line attached to a 18" leader off a swivel and very small piece of weight.  A piece of garden hackle on the hook drifted over and over again and next thing you know we have landed over a dozen stocked rainbows with a couple ofnice wild fish in the mix.  Pretty easy fishing and with debarbed hooks an easy release of the trout.  We also cast some rapalas that imitated a yellow perch, brown trout, and the good old rebel crawfish.  Lots of crawfish scampering around the bottom of the stream.  Had my first true encounter with a northern pike in the Lamoille as it ate $15 worth of rapalas.  Pretty good sized.  Our best fish of the day was really nice 15" wild rainbows that ate a rapala in the same hole where we had found the nuissance pike.  Interesting that a nice trout like that was living is such close proximity to a toothy pike.  We did see several trout rising to eat #18/#20 tan bodied micro caddis.  Pretty consistent risers.  Good morning of fishing.  I am off to chase smallmouth bass from my boat this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

small stream action

Hi Folks, Been keeping out of trouble guiding small streams with the fly.  Water temperatures have cooled off with nice night time temperatures in the low fifties.  I have found water temperatures from 59 degrees to 62 degrees.  Spent the other morning river fishing for bass and the water temperature had dropped to 66 degrees.  Slowed down the bass bite as we were not able to get a surface take.  We resorted to nymphing with #8 black stone fly patterns and #10 golden stone pattern.  We caught a couple of smallmouth and one really large fall fish but we worked for them.  On the flip side, the trout fishing has been excellent.  I like dry fly fishing so the small brooks are a perfect fit.  Nutrient poor brooks mean not a lot food for the fish so they have to eat when presented with the opportunity.  #12/#14 Stimulators, Wulff patterns, Hoppers, and Caddis all work. Yesterday we had well over a dozen wild rainbows and native brook trout come to the fly.  A lot of fun in clear water watching the fish move from their holding areas to eat.  Due to the clarity of the water, the spook factor is in full effect.  You see the dark shape dart off when you spook a fish.  Up stream fishing is in order.  Off to chase trout this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

river bass, lake bass, and giant Hex hatch

Hi Folks, Guided smallmouth bass yesterday in the morning and the evening.  Fly fished and spin fished both morning and evening.  Been some good fog early in the morning which keeps the sun off the water longer.  Pretty windy afternoon with a steady gust from the west/northwest. The wind did lay down by dusk and the fishing really picked up.  The river temperature in the morning was 68 degrees and the lake temperature was 73 degrees.  The river conditions were less than ideal with off colored water and high flows.  All caused by thunderstorms from Tuesday night.   The spin anglers stole the morning while the fly anglers struggled a bit with getting fish to eat.  We caught smallmouth on a floating perch rapala and 3" baby bass Senkos on red #1 octopus hooks.  We were only able to get 1 fall fish to eat a popper on the fly.  Due to the conditions the smallmouth were holding outside of the current in the pools and on the slow seams.  In the afternoon, we picked off a few fish with a 5" watermelon black magic Senko and missed a few big fish on a popper.  Conditions were initially tough until the wind settled.  The smallmouth were holding in deeper water off rock ledges and points.  Around 8pm, we witnessed a massive hatch of #6 Hexagenia along with a good number of egg laying spinners.  The bass and large yellow perch were rising and coming out of the water all over the place.  We hammered them with a #8 yellow bottomed frog popper.  It was the light switch effect as all of sudden everyone was eating off the top.  Lots of nice 1.5lb to 2.5lb sized smallies that just fight like crazy.  Pretty intense hour of fishing and we quit because we could not see any longer.  Nice cool down should make for good trout fishing the next few days in the mornings.  Lots of grasshoppers around along with other terrestrials.  Start looking for#14-#22 flying ants and been a decent hatch of #22/#24 Tricos every morning for the last 10 days.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

brook trout fishing

Hi Folks, Guided fly anglers yesterday for some good old small stream fly fishing for brook trout. Water levels were low and we could use a couple days of sustained rain.  Pretty easy to find where the fish are holding as the rivers are pretty well defined at this level.  A little warm out there and the water in the brook we fished has crept into the mid sixties.  It was a little cooler in its head waters as temperature was 61 degrees.  Brook trout are greedy and very willing to eat dry flies.  The perfect set up for small stream fly fishing.  We cast #12 orange bodied Stimulators, #14 Royal Wulff, and a #14 Royal Trude.  We had well over a dozen brook trout come to the fly from 3" to 9".  All up stream fishing with good mending.  Really important to keep as much fly line off the water as possible and only drift the leader.  The bonus of the day was an extremely large brown trout that came out of a wood pile and ate the dry fly.  I think it shocked my client.  This brown was a brook trout eating fish.  Pretty impressive and I have it it marked for a future encounter.  Thunder showers in the evening pushed out the humid hot weather and looks to be a beauty today.  I am off to chase smallmouth all day.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

a little variety

Hi folks, Changed directions yesterday and did a family fishing trip.  Very refreshing for me and brings me back to the basics.  Calm, muggy conditions yesterday with partial sun.  Water temperature was 72 degrees.  We banked fished and got to enjoy a wide variety of species.  We caught tons of pumpkin seeds under a float.  We took off the floats and fished the bottom and really caught some fish. Large suckers, yellow perch, bullhead, and smallmouth bass.  Kids do not care what they catch, they just need to catch something.  Keeping it simple and fun is what is most important.  Pretty warm outside and did not really cool down last night. The Lamoille was brown yesterday afternoon and too warm to fish.  Trout fishing will be best in small brooks presently or go bass fishing.  I love muggy conditions for top water fishing for smallmouth.  The heavy air always seems to bring them to the surface.  Off to chase brook trout with the fly this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

Girl power

Hi folks, Had a an enjoyable Saturday guiding a family of aspiring anglers.  Fishing is an equal opportunity activity and girls can fish with the best of them.  Water temperatures held in the low seventies and the water clarity was excellent.  We were able to spot several fish.  Levels are right around the seasonal average.  Saw some more #22/#24 Tricos hatching yesterday morning, but not fish responding to the dun or spinners.  No shocker as we were fishing in a smallmouth stream that has some stocked rainbows.  No self respecting bass in the 2lb. class is going to eat a tiny may fly.  We mixed up our tactics yesterday initially swinging garden hackle at the fish until my crew got down the basics.  Pretty easy as we pretty much hooked a fish on every other drift.  No hooks taken deeply as we struck the fish the moment we got a bite.  That is the trick to bait fishing is being proactive and not complacent and constantly drifting the presentation.  After that we moved to 3" baby bass Senkos on red octopus hooks and a yellow hula popper.  Really fun watching a bass in clear water move to eat a popper.  They invariably take it after the you pause from popping the lure.  The Senko fishing was consistent as usual and I swear the fish eat those rubber baits as aggressively as they do garden hackle.  Every fish was holding in a slow deep pool with downed wood.  The bigger fish are in eddies and on back side current seams. Taking the day off as it will be my first day not guiding in a month.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Big fish kind of morning

Hi folks, Spent a really nice morning with fly fishing guests on the lower Lamoille chasing river smallmouth bass.  You never know what you might encounter when fishing the big water.  Water temeprature was 68 degrees and the flow was above the seasonal average.  Cooling water temps. have slowed down the top water fishing.  We fished big pools and left the smaller water alone.  Lots of big rocks where we fished and the walking can be challenging.  We started out with popping bugs and drew one violent strike from a smallmouth bass and that was that for surface action.  We resorted to fishing #6 long shank cone headed olive bunny buggers with red thread, #8 chartreuse/white clauser minnow, and dead drifting #8 stone fly patterns with weight under an indicator.  We did not catch any small fish.  All solid and big strong river smallmouth bass as well as half a dozen very large fall fish.  The fish and surprise of the day was a solid 16" brown trout.  It ate a olive streamer and immediately jumped several feet out of the water.  Petty cool.  Olive was the color of the day.  Tons of crawfish in the shallow margins. I think the streamer when fished slowly imitated the craw daddy's movements in the water.  Good day for rod bending.  Off to river fish for bass this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Getting them to eat

Hi Folks, Spent a nice day on a small Lamoille tributary fly fishing for trout with a client.  Water temperature was 59 degrees and the water level was perfect.  I have been seeing a few #22 Tricos hatching early the morning with late morning spinner falls.  Not really any fish responding.  Lots of #8/#12 stone fly shucks all over the rocks.  We fished a little 2wt. with an #14 orange stimulator and a short 4wt. with a #12 double tungsten stone fly under an indicator.  We had 17 trout come to the fly and we managed to land 5 fish yesterday before the thunder set in.  Several nice wild brown trout along with brookies.  Missed a couple of good rainbows. We fished a stream with heavy pocket water and line control and management was important for getting a good drift and striking the fish.  We covered a fair amount of water as I like to walk on small streams.  I am off to river fish for smallmouth this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy