Hi Folks, Finally we received some much need rain in Stowe Vermont. It doe not bode well for my trip today as our rivers are now full of water and settling out after nearly an inch of rain yesterday. However, we were becoming desperate for some precipitation, so we finally got it. I have been guiding trout for the last 4 days on the Lamoille, Winooski, and several Lamoille tributaries. The water temperatures in the Lamoille and Winooski had been creeping up into the high sixties in the afternoon. The Winooski has been around 60 to 63 in the early am and the Lamoile about the same. What has helped prevent the rivers from becoming too warm have been cool nights with air temperatures in the low fifties to high forties. The Lamoille tributaries I visited over the weekend were 52 degrees and 59 degrees. The main stem of the Winooski did not fish well at all on Friday morning. I floated the river and we caught 1 wild rainbow and I do not think we got another strike. The main stem of the Lamoille was a bit more accommodating on Saturday. We landed lots of wild rainbows and a few small browns. Not any really big fish, but all wild. We did not see a stocked trout. There was a decent little caddis hatch of #16 dark bodied bug that the fish were rising to eat. We dead drifted right into feeding lanes a #14 Henryville Special. We also took fish with a dry dropper rig and swung #16 olive hare's ear nymphs and #16 green soft hackles into riffles. With the hot weather over the weekend the fishing on the Lamoille was consistent until about 10am. The tributary fishing has been really good. We caught all 3 species, native brook trout, stocked browns, and wild rainbows. A foam bodied #10 Royal Trude and a #12 foam bodied Yellow Sally drew lots of interest in the small water. Bigger fish were taken casting a #8 Near Enuff Sculpin into plunge pools and striping it back as quickly as possible. Really fun to watch a large trout race out from under the cover of the plunge to take the fly. A nice method for drawing out big fish in heavy deep pools. Yesterday morning I guided a Winooski tributary. A few rising fish eating #16 tan bodied caddis and a #16 blue dun colored mayfly. A combination of brown trout and fall fish eating off the top. We cast a #14 Ausable Wulff and a #14 Henryville Special. All of the fish were rising subtly in slower deep pools. The cast and drift had to placed right into the feeding lane. Well, nice to have some rain and cooler weather. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
