funky and weird

Hi Folks, Man it has been a weird May for fly fishing. Every time it appears that the weather will improve it gets cold and wet again.  Certainly a slow start to the Vermont fishing season this year with the funky spring weather. Oh well, I am still on the water guiding and mixing it up between my boat and river fishing. Our rivers have been on a roller coaster. The water comes up and down significantly on a weekly basis. Water temperatures have been all over the board.  I have water temps. between 48 to 59 degrees on tributary streams. I have been unable to fish the Lamoille or Winooski due to high dirty water.  I think it is important that the water temps. rise into the mid to high fifties and hold there for a bit. Consistent flows and water temps. would make a world of difference in the river fishing for trout. I have been spending a bit of time guiding up north on the river of big fish.  The salmon fishing has been okay. We are working hard for fish. Lots of casting has yielded a few decent salmon, but nothing over the top gigantic.  With the big river flows landing a large salmon would not be easy.  Swinging streamers has been the most productive method. A #6 Black "Lil" Kim streamer has worked. Focusing on tail outs of pools that have good rock cover and big side eddies seem to hold a percentage of the salmon. They like resting areas as they move up stream. Guided my first smallmouth of the year the other day. The bass are beginning their annual spawning migration. They are good fun on a fly, but just not a salmon! Hatching activity has been limited. I have seen a few days of #14-#16 Hendricksons but not any fish responding to the bugs, Decent numbers of #14 dark bodied caddis and #14-#16 apple caddis hatching on sunny mornings with egg laying activity at dusk. Still I have not seen a rising fish yet on a Vermont trout stream. All nymphing with #14-#16 pheasant tail nymphs and a #12 red thread tungsten Prince nymph. A #14 double tungsten black stone fly has worked well also. Lake fishing has not been fast and furious. I have been running my boat for pike on the fly. Water temperatures in the still waters I guide are between 54- to 60 degrees. Seems like it has been windy as well lake fly fishing. I have not seen many smallmouth or large mouth in shallow water. The pre spawn period can be very good bass fishing as they beef up in preparation for spawning. That bite should only improve on a daily basis. We have been making lots of casts to draw the interest of a handful of pike. We did see a huge female northern on Sunday in less than 5' of water. Never got her to eat. I have been trying lots of different fly patterns. Dark colored bunny buggers tied on 1/0 to 3/0 hooks have drawn the most consistent action.  I think with the water being a little cooler and higher thus far, moving the fly more slowly with long strips is a good idea. Also a sinking tip or line is nice for holding the fly down in the strike zone longer. The best is yet to come and I think June will be the month. I am trout fishing for the rest of the week. Hopefully we do not get too much rain today and tonight. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

the cat is back

Hi Folks, It has been awhile since I have posted. Pretty rough late Fall and winter for me with some medical issues.  I had some nerve damage in my back that ended my fishing season early last year and prevented me from ice fishing this last winter. Well, after taking it easy and some PT, I am back and ready to roll.  I have been guiding the last few days on Lamoille tributaries and pursuing lake run fish.  The water conditions and weather have slowly but surely improved with warming air temperatures. Even have run my boat on several lakes in pursuit of pike on the fly and large rainbows and browns.  River levels are still slightly above the seasonal average. Temperatures in the last few days have warmed from 48 degrees to 57 degrees.  Saw a massive hatch of #14-#16 Hendrickson may flies on Saturday.  The hatch was fairly sparse yesterday with the bright warm sunny day that was followed by rain and thunderstorms.  My experience with Vermont and the Hendrickson hatch is that it is an every other year phenomenon.  The bugs always happen, but the fish do not always respond.  Purely based on water temperature.  It seems that until our trout water warms to above 50 degrees and holds there, the fish are pretty lethargic coming out of winter.  We had a helluva of a winter and cold spring so it makes sense that trout have not been overly eager gulping dry flies.  We have drummed up a few fish nymphing with #14 pheasant tail nymphs and stripping a #10 black wooly bugger into deep pools. A swung #14 Daves Red Fox squirrel nymph produced a nice wild bow yesterday and another big fish that broke us off.  The lake run fishing has been challenging as always. Its one of those things where you need to be there everyday to really capitalize.  Egg patterns and #14 litle brown stone fly nymphs are effective bounce along the bottom. Swung streamer like a #8 Black ghost or #8 zonker all work.  It is my opinion that the best is yet to come and that the fishing in the next few weeks will be dynamite.  The pike have all spawned and the bass are in pre spawn mode.  It is a time of plenty now for us anglers.  Lot of choices and it just tough to be everywhere at once.  I will be trout fishing all week. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy