Hi Folks, Sometimes timing is everything in life. Rowed the drift boat on the Lamoille with clients and was treated to a spectacular hatch of #10-#12 Brown Drakes (Ephemera similuns). The Brown Drake is unique in that it is one of only a few mayflies in the United States that is the exact same genus and species from East to West. The hatch occurs for 3 to 5 days and typically comes off in huge numbers. The odd part about the this season was we witnessed the hatch in the morning to mid morning. Typically it takes place at dusk. I can only figure the big cold front that has moved in impacted the hatching schedule. We found lots of rising fish. The large pools seemd to have more bugs which made sense since this is a burrowing mayfly, the Drake need some somewhat of a soft bottom to live in. A #10 parachute, #12 Drake Variant pattern worked well as the dun and we had dropper flies of #12 pheasant tails and hares ears nymphs below the surface imitating the emerger. We caught fish on all of the patterns. What I can I say, the fishing was really good and we had the river to ourselves. The trick was to place the fly in the trouts feeding lane. Lots of food in the water so the fish did not have to deviate much from their feeding positions. Not sure how many fish we landed, but the action was steady and I used the net a lot. In addition to the Drakes, their was a number of #14 Sulphers (Ephemerella invaria) hatching. I am off to row the boat again today down the Winooski. The trout fishing is really good currently. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
