Hi Folks, We are experiencing a tropical weather pattern currently. Heavy humid air with finally some much needed rain. I like bass fishing when the air is heavy. Something about humid weather that really turns the smallmouth fishing on. The water temperatures have been crazy warm. The lower Lamoille was 77 to 78 degrees yesterday morning at 6:30am. Wow! The river I guided the previous day was 75 degrees in the late afternoon and the previous morning it was 69 degrees. The water is still really low and we could use more rain. We have been catching smallmouth with a variety of tactics. Both on fly rods and spin gear. Have some some success getting fish to eat off the top. A #8 yellow bellied frog popper with the fly rod and a jointed floating perch rapala with the spin gear. Yesterday morning was interesting as the top water bite was really good off the get go and then totally shut down. We resorted to nymphing with an indicator above a #6 black Girdle bug. We landed our biggest bass of the day with this technique. We had to slow things down due to the higher than average water temperatures and the sun popping through the clouds. Spin fishing it is easy to slow it down. Give them rubber. 3" and 4" Senkos in watermelon black magic, crawfish, and baby bass have all caught fish and even a few stocked trout. We harvested the trout as they pretty much rolled over as we landed them. Warm water no surprise. We are not targeting trout they are merely a bye product of where we are fishing. I do not target trout in 70 degree plus water. Nor should anyone chase trout under such conditions. Stream thermometer is awful handy this time of the year. The niced thing about guiding for 23 years is having options when the conditions get wacky. You cant go to the same spot day in and day out and expect to have good results. Smallmouth fishing for the next few days. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
