Hi Folks, Hot one yesterday. Seems like summer returned with a full vengeance. Guided a double yesterday and a fly fishing trip for tout Sunday. Saturday was dedicated to smallmouth bass fishing as well. Water levels are a getting a bit low. I can attest to that as I bounced off some rocks rowing yesterday afternoon. The upper Lamoille has maintained a water temperature of 64 to 65 degrees while the lower river has hovered around 71 to 73 degrees. The Eclipse was interesting yesterday as I rowed my dritf boat directly into the sun. Can I look up now??? Lots of bug activity the last few days as I am seeing more and more #12 Isonychia hatching as well as shucks on rocks. Still massive #22-#24 Trico spinners over riffles in the early morning, hatching #18-#20 micro caddis, lots of #12-#14 green bodied hoppers along river banks, some remnant female egg laying stone flies, as well as a few #20 Baetis. I have been explaining to my guests lately the merit in having a beat of water to work. You cant have concrete feet in Vermont river fishing. Some spots or holes or runs will respond differently on different days. Since we do not have a high density of fish per mile it is in an angler' s best interest to move around a bit. The really nice thing about the drift boat is all of the water we cover. If you have fished with me, then you know I like to walk. It is imperative to have several spots to fish within a beat of water. For instance, yesterday morning I had a walk and wade for smallmouth. The first hole we fished was unproductive fro whatever reason. We moved to another spot and started catching fish. We fished 6 different holes in this beat of water and caught 17 smallmouth and 1 stocked trout. However of the 6 spots, only 3 produced fish. Anywho, we have been catching smallmouth off the surface and below. Small #8 popping bugs have been very productive as well a #6 black foam mouse, and a #6 chartreuse foam crease fly. Sunday morning produced some decent dry fly fishing for trout. Located a pod of rising fish after moving around a bit and got them to eat #18 tan foam caddis dry and a #18 peacock caddis. Spin fishing for bass has been pretty straight forward, dead drift 3" green colored Senkos. I am off to guide trout later today. We will see what the weather brings as thunderstorms followed by a cold front is pushing in. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
