Hi Folks, Been a busy few days guiding over the Memorial Day weekend. I am always thankful in Vermont that there are so many places to fish without big crowds. We have a lot of diverse fisheries. I guided pike, smallmouth, and trout over a 4 day stretch. The Winooski was fantastic last night. The river level is low for this time of the year and rain would be good. The water temperature was 60 degrees and a nearby tributary was 58 degrees. The trout fishing has been slow during the day especially when the sun has been bright. However, the last hour of the day has been pretty darn good. Especially for rising fish. Great spinner fall of #12 March Browns last night. A #12 Rusty Spinner was the fly. We did not get a single strike all afternoon and then in an hours time landed 5 wild rainbows and 1 wild brown on a dry fly. Dusk and Dawn currently is the way to go. Lots of caddis activity especially on the brighter mornings. At dusk a tons of bugs egg laying. I ran the boat a few times this weekend. Visited 2 different bodies of water. The pike lake was 58 to 62 degrees and the wind blew pretty hard from the south/southwest. We found fish in shallow water and were able to sight a couple of nice looking pike. It was a bright day so black and white, black and orange, and black and red Bunny Buggers tied on a 2/0 hook did the job. Pike fishing is fun because they just materialize out of no where. However, it also requires a lot of casting and can beat up your arm. Learning to double haul with the fly rod makes casting a lot more efficient. They can be lightening fast when taking a fly. It is really important that one learns to strip strike when fishing large streamers on fish that pursue. Good morning of action. The smallmouth fishing has been okay. Water temperatures on the lake we visited Saturday was 62 to 64 degrees. We caught smallmouth on a variety of lures. A perch rapala, a fire tiger popper, a crawfish colored Big O, and a 5" Senko in green. We had good steady action. Not a lot of really big fish. I did not see any spawning beds. Most of the fish were holding in less than 10' of water. It is the time of the year where there are many choices. I will be floating in the drift boat this week. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
