Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Salmo trutta and much needed rain

Hi Folks, Been guiding the last couple of days with the fly rods chasing trout in tributary streams.  More specifically trying to catch some decent Brown Trout or Salmo trutta.  We finally got some significant rain.  I received almost 3/4" of rain at my house in Stowe.  The Lamoille and Winooski were high and dirty yesterday.  Good problem to have after all of warm dry weather we have experienced.  The stream I have been on is a very difficult wading stream that has excellent stabilty, tree canopy, and always maintains temperature.  The last couple of days it has been 57 degrees to 58 degrees.  Even with all of the rain this particular stream stays clear.  In large part due to the lack of run off of top soil, gradient, and its source.  We worked up stream in stealth mode and cast a number of different patterns such as a #14 green foam hopper, a #16 x-caddis, a #14 green bodied stimulator, and a #14 Hare's Ear parachute.  We had fish eat the parachute, caddis, and stimulator.  We did not land any giant trout but caught some very beautifully colored brown and brook trout.  Really important in this dynamic to make good drag free drifts.  Eliminating the fly line off the water helps to eliminate drag.  Short accurate casts are a necessity.  We also nymphed several heavy plunge pools with limited success. This is one of those  streams where you know that you could hang a trout of a life time on any cast.  The trout fishing should only get better as things really start to cool off.  I am off to chase bass out of my boat today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy