Catamount Fishing Adventures

cold one on the ice

2012-01-18T17:01:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks, Guided the hard water today and it was not for the faint of heart. Visited a pike lake just south of Stowe for the day. Wind was blowing really hard out of the west after a cold front just blasted into town. Made setting up the shanty a challenge, but we managed. Two of the anchor screw to the shanty were bent by the wind. Air temperatures dropped throughout the day and it was full on winter outside of the shanty. Nice having a heated shelter on cold winter day. 12" of solid black ice with a few inches of hard snow pack on top. Pretty easy getting around. We set tip-ups for pike baited with golden shiners and and live and dead yellow perch. All of our sets were in 8' to 12' of water and just off the bottom. We chummed and jigged in the shanty. Lots and lots of little perch on fire tiger hali jigs tipped with maggots. When we tipped the jigs with minnows we caught fewer but larger perch and even a pike. Pretty exciting catching a northern on a light jig stick that is spooled with 2lb test. We had 3 flags with pike and a few wind flags as well. No monster fish today but pretty good action and a satisfying feeling of battling the elements on a hardy winter day. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

noisy ice

2012-01-06T09:03:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks, Went up north last night with a long time guest to chase walleyes through the ice. We had a solid 8" of black ice that was covered by an inch of snow. Creepers would have been a good idea as it was slippery walking. We set up late afternoon and fished into dark. Our tip-ups were placed from 7' of water out to 25' of water. Always a good idea to place tips ups in a line when fishing in the dark. Much easier to find. The ice was groaning, moaning , and cracking last night. Pretty cool, but a little unnerving if you are not used to it. Well, the fishing was slow. We had one pike break us off on a tip up. No steel leaders as we were targeting walleye and not northerns. 8lb fluorocarbon leaders do not stand much of a chance against a pike's set of teeth. We did land one really big yellow perch and have a couple other flags. Nothing jigging as we worked brightly colored 1/8oz. jig heads off the bottom that were tipped with shiners. Never deterred and I will be back after it again shortly. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Ice Fishing

2011-12-29T09:41:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks, Back on the water after an off season filled with walking around the woods chasing big and small game. Guided guests yesterday morning for some northern pike and yellow perch on the hard water. The lake we visited had a solid 5" blanket of black ice. Due to the warm up prior to the big freeze last night the lake's surface was a bit sloppy with water on top of the ice. Good stiff north wind forced us to really anchor the shanty down well. We set up in about 10' of water over weed beds. The water was pretty off colored from the rain the night before. Tip-ups were spread out and tipped with large golden shiners. We jigged Hali jigs tipped with live maggots. Hot colors like fire tiger worked the best of the perch. We caught lots and lots of perch. We had two flags with pike on and were unable to bring either fish through the hole. The weather really got nasty as the day progressed and we picked up by late morning. I will be chasing pike and walleye over the next few weeks. Use extreme caution on the hard water as ice is still forming on many lakes and ponds and might not be safe to venture onto as of yet. Bring all of the safety gear including rope, safety spikes, creepers, and let someone know where you are fishing. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

coming to a close

2011-10-27T09:30:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Only a few days left in the trout fishing season for 2011. Visited a northeast kingdom lake yesterday for some lake trout action. Incredibly the surface temperature was 52 degrees. Pretty warm for this time of the year. Not much wind yesterday morning which was nice because it was a cold morning. Need to be dressed really well this time of the year if you are on a boat. We used fly rods converted into spin rods matched with 6lb braided line on spin reels. A long 8' fluorocarbon leader was attached to the end of the braid. We cast chartruse and orange 1/4 oz. jigs heads tipped with a soft plastic emerald shiner imitation over a mid lake shoal for lake trout. Saw an incredible number of surface breaching fish. It must be a spawning posture by the lake trout to readjust their internal organs. All of their internal parts get a bit compressed this time of the year as roe and sperm build up in their bodies in preparation for spawning. The surface activity we witnessed is not a feeding act. We must of seen over a 100 fish roll on the surface and some rather large fish to boot. We hammered the lake trout early and then the bite turned off like a light switch. Landed 8 lakers with the largest being 24" and we lost and missed another dozen fish. Awful lot of fun casting to lakers versus the trolling. This type of fishing is an early morning activity and we were on the water at 6:30am and the bite turned off by 10am. Get your licks in as we only have 5 days left of fishing. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Still Happening

2011-10-23T07:25:00.002-04:00

Hi folks, Guided a fly angler yesterday on a Lamoille tributary and the fishing was excellent. The fly fishing the last few days has been outstanding and there is no one on the water. I have been working 3 different Lamoille tributaries for the last few weeks and the number of fish and wild fish has been really solid. I try to not visit the same spot within a week of having fished it and the strategy seems to be working. Water levels are still high and will remain that way for the last week of trout season. Water temperature was 50 degrees under cloudy skies with occasional showers. We nymph fished with a #12 prince and #20 copper john under an indicator. My client landed 7 of the 9 trout that came to the fly. All wild rainbows with the largest fish measuring 15". It fought like a steelhead with multiple jumps and tail walks. All of the trout were holding in the slower sections of the pools in front of and behind large boulders. Saw some #22 BWO's hatching but no risers again. Still the fish are eating the small nymph and half of our trout were hooked on the #20 BWO nymph. Dead drifts with a long leader was the key to getting the fish to eat. Well, going to finish strong this week and looks like the weather will be decent for fishing. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

a small warm up

2011-10-22T08:18:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided a couple of fly anglers yesterday on a Lamoille tributary. The water temperature had warmed up almost 5 degrees from when I had fished on Wednesday. Water temperature was between 50 and 51 degrees. Probably due to the previous day being unseasonably warm. Looks like pretty decent weather for the last 9 days of fishing season with the no frost or snow in the forecast and warmer than average day and night time temperatures predicted. We nymph fished yesterday with double fly rigs under indicators. A #10 prince with #20 BWO nymph and a #14 cooper john with a #20 copper john. Had wild rainbows and wild brown trout eat both flies. We 14 trout eat the fly with the best fish of the day being a brightly colored up 14" brown trout. Pretty darn good turn around after really slow fishing on Wednesday. Saw more #22 BWO duns drifting on big back eddies, but no takers off the surface. Most of our takes were on the small dropper flies so the trout must be tuned into the hatch, but just the nymph and emerger stages. Water levels are still pretty high and I am sure that has something to do with the lack of rising fish. Still have a few trips left and will be out chasing trout again today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

coming into stick season

2011-10-21T08:53:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Starting to feel a little more like fall out there. Coming into stick season as the leaves are really falling off the trees now. Guided Wednesday on a Lamoille tributary where the water level was twice its seasonal average. Clarity was fine and the water temperature was 46 degrees. Pretty chilly for wading. Saw a really good hatch of little #22 BWO's, but not a fish responding. I suspect the high water level prevented any rising activity. We looked at a few nice slow deep pools that I have witnessed fish rising in previously and it was not happening. We nymph fished with indicators and an assortment of heavy flies. A #10 tungsten bead olive and black wooly bugger drew some interest. Had a few short strikes and actually watched a rather large brown trout come up on the fly and basically nip the tail. Interesting to see as we lifted the fly out to cast this fish rose from the depths and was extremely tentative in eating. We missed few other subtle strikes, but the fishing was not easy and a bit slow. Cold weather fly fishing takes a lot of patience and many of the strikes are not as obvious as you would think. Yesterday took the day off and went duck hunting late in the day. Loads of fun. Off to chase trout with guest today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. have fun, Willy

high water and season winding down

2011-10-19T08:22:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided a river yesterday with spin anglers. Water levels are still high around here and most our rivers are either twice to three times their average flow for this time of the year. Looks like rain for the over night and that will not help the river fishing. I do not think that our stream levels will subside by the end of the season. The water table is full and the ground is saturated. Trout season runs until Halloween so it is winding down quickly. It is okay as I have already been transitioning into hunting birds and getting ready to stalk my Thanksgiving turkey. Water temperature yesterday was 50 degrees and there was a lot junk in the river. We fished a stream that is influenced by a lake and found an assortment of fish. Landed a lethargic smallmouth bass off the get go and you could tell it was not too active in the cooler water. Caught a few trophy fall fish and missed a few fish we never saw. All in all the fishing was not bad considering the conditions. Some of our strikes were tentative and subtle and I attribute that to the dropping water temperatures. Most of the fish we encountered were holding in the slower parts of the pools and out of the heavy water. We swung silver beetle spins across the tail outs to draw interest. Careful wading these days as the water is cold and if you fall in you will be heading to the truck. Off to guide trout today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

changing weather and yellow bellies

2011-10-18T07:42:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been the weather roller coaster around here lately. Lots of rain and wind over the weekend made fishing a bit challenging. Matter of fact I canceled trips and watched football. Still will not guide when I think I cannot catch a fish. Probably could have fished some small brooks, but I am leaving the brook trout alone to spawn. Yesterday I guided a family shore fishing on a lake for pan fish and trout. Kept it pretty simple and fished the bottom of the lake. Surface temperature was 51 degrees and there was a real steady hard south wind. Lots of leaves in the water now as a lot of the foliage is being brought down from the trees. We caught a variety of fish. Most notably a decent number of large yellow belly perch. Really good eating and if it was winter I would brought them home for a fish fry. An adult yellow perch is a good looking fish, too bad they do not fight a little harder. Getting to eat was not too difficult as we dragged beetle spins and a baits along the bottom very slowly. Good fun for me and today I am off to river fish for trout. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

still pleasant

2011-10-13T19:37:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been awful nice the last few days fishing. Guided still water yesterday and a Lamoille tributary today with the foliage changing quickly. Water temepratures have been pretty steady in the mid fifties. The surface temperature was 54 degrees at 5pm and this morning on a small stream it was 54 degrees. Still relatively warm and it looks like rain. I had 2 young aspiring spin anglers yesterday afternoon and we fished the old fashioned way, garden hackle. Right on the bottom in a deep drop off from the shore line. Caught 4 different species of fish. Good fun for the kids and entertaining for me. Young anglers do not care what they catch, they just want to pull on something and learn the basics. Today back to the fly rods and catching wild brown trout. Worked up stream with a double nymph rig and a dry dropper rig. Do not over look any spot that you suspect holds a fish, with the current water temperatures fish are holding in a lot more area of the stream. Had trout eat the #14 yellow foam spider dry fly, the #18 prince, and the #20 BWO nymph. Landed 2 really pretty wild brown with beautiful cherry dots. Love trout fishing this time of the year when the weather stays mild. Get nasty in November for rifle season for deer. Well, going pike fishing next. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

peak foliage and salmon

2011-10-12T09:07:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been really enjoying the summer like weather the last week. Too bad it is all going to change with rain coming in. the leaves are at peak right now and just spectacular. Late foliage this year, probably due to all of the rain we have received. Guided the Lamoille watershed on Monday under sunny skies. Started fishing a little later in the day due to the bright sun. Water temperatures were 55 degrees and the levels are prefect for fishing. Saw a few #16 caddis hatch and actually found a few rising fish. Only in the shade and the rising activity improved as the sun went down. Did land any huge fish, but had a lot of action with a #16 Goddard caddis dead drifted over the rise forms. Yesterday I went and chased salmon up north. Level there was perfect and the fish are in town. Worked all of the usual holding spots with a #8 Mickey finn and a double nymph rig under an indicator. Dead see several large black salmon porpoise out of the water. It is my understanding that they are shifting their body weight around due the large build up off eggs in their bellies that compress other internal organs. Landed 5 salmon yesterday and lost another 3 fish. The largest landed fish was a 20" 3lb silver male that took a #18 copper john. Caught all of the salmon on the little cooper john and every salmon landed had a hook jaw. Good fun on a 5wt. and these fish really pull back. I think the nymph rig works well on sunny days and the streamer and wet flies are more effective on over cast days. All of the fish landed were hooked in the top of the mouth. Seems to me that the silver fish are still eating and the fishtthat darken up and not so interested. Off to river fish this afternoon and hopefully the rain holds off. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have fun, Willy

big sun

2011-10-10T09:59:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Busy holiday weekend guiding under really nice weather conditions. Big bright sun and record air temperatures. Not ideal for fishing, but the warm air helped to heat the river temperatures back up a bit after frosty mornings during the week. The last two days on the main stem of the Lamoille were slow. Nothing hatching and nothing rising. We had a few trout eat here and there, but pretty damn slow. So, always have a back up plan as a fishing guide and I took my clients to smaller tribs. of the Lamoille that have fished well lately. Interesting when moving spots that you hope things work out. Well sometime they do and sometimes they do not. Yesterday it took a couple of minutes in a new spot with a #10 bugger and we caught an almost 17" wild rainbow that really did not want to be landed. Throw in a few more smaller rainbows and not a bad day. The other rig we have been casting is a #14 yellow foam spider fly with a #18 olive cooper john nymph as a dropper. Nothing on the dry, but the little dropper fly has been a gem. Not sure why, but the Lmaoille main stem has been tough for the most part. The tribs have been great. Probably all of the water in our streams and the lack of stocked fish. Off to chase trout this afternoon. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

beautiful fall weather

2011-10-08T09:22:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Been guiding the afternoon the last couple of days for trout on the main stem of the Lamoille and its tributary streams. We have had two consecutive hard frosts and the river temperatures are beginning to drop. The leaves seem a little delayed and the foliage is okay. The red maple or soft maple turned well early, but it appears the prolonged warmer fall weather has slowed the rest of the foliage. Oh well, still nice on the water right now. So water temperatures are now hovering around 50 degrees. You know you have been standing in a river. Water levels are still up and should remain that way for the rest of the season. Not much for hatching bugs last two days. It appears that the trout are finally dropping into their fall haunts of slower water as things cool off . The fishing on the Lamoille the last couple of days has been slow. Not much action where I was guiding. We moved into tributaries and started catching and seeing fish. Mostly small rainbows between 7" and 11". Still drawing random surface takes with yellow foam fly patterns. Pretty interesting that 3 of the larger brown trout I have guided this year all ate of the top and where interested in a gaudy foam fly that really looks like nothing. Small #18-#22 copper johns, BWO nymphs, and soft hackles have all been catching fish. Do not rule out streamers on sinking lines right now or a dead drifted heavily weighted
#10-#12 olive/black wooly bugger on a long 3x leader. The big bright sun and north wind has probably not helped the big water fishing this week. I would much prefer cool, dark, and damp. Oh well, I'll take the nice weather while I can. Off to chase trout all weekend. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. have fun, Willy

big wind and cool down

2011-10-06T08:46:00.003-04:00

Hi Folks, Spent yesterday afternoon guiding on another Lamoille tributary. Big cold north wind yesterday that posed some problems for casting and blowing debris in the water. Lots of junk and leaves drifting in the current that we had to periodically remove from our leader and flies. Water temperatures have remained in the mid fifties. but should cool down with the first frost of the year. Fishing will be best mid afternoon right now as we need the water temperatures to warm up to crank things up. Levels are still high but should drop down some with a nice dry warm period on the way for the next week. Saw a massive hatch of #22 BWOs yesterday and not a damn fish eating off the top. Did have one decent rainbow randomly explode on a foam fly, but nobody interested in eating BWO duns. I can only figure the bright skies, junk in the water, and flows impacted that. So, I am not adverse to getting down and dirty and we nymph fished with a #14 rubber legged copper john and a #22 peacock soft hackle. We had wild rainbows eat both flies and the dropper seemed to draw more attention. Tells me the fish were tuned into the BWO hatch, just not surface oriented. Pretty interesting how fishing can change from day to day. Creamed large wild brown trout 2 days ago under damp cloudy conditions and yesterday under bright windy skies, we never saw a brown. Well, will be checking out the Lamoille later today and hopefully the fish will be rising. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

big fall brown trout

2011-10-05T08:32:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided a fine fly angler on a Lamoille tributary for the day yesterday. This particular stream has always had a decent population of wild brown trout with a mix of wild rainbows and native brook trout. the state does stock some browns, but we did not see any of them. Water levels are all still up in our streams and where we fished yesterday was probably 3 times the average flow for this time of the year. We carried two fly rods, 1 rigged with a dry dropper and 1 with a double nymph and indicator rig. The dry dropper rig produced the most fish for the day. A #14 yellow foam spider fly I tie with a #18 copper john nymph as a dropper. The first fish of the day was a small wild rainbow on the nymph and then shortly thereafter we hooked and landed a measured 17" male brown trout. Probably weighed about 3lbs. Big hook jaw with lovely cherry dots on its flanks. The fish really put up a tussle and hung in the pocket water making landing it a good challenge. The slower action 3wt. my client was using made things even more difficult. However, I did get it in the net and man was it fun. We did land another 15" plus brown on the dry fly. Landed 3 other large brown trout on the nymph under the dry and missed god size fish on the dry as well. All of the trout were holding in the tail outs of pools. Casting upstream was important in order to catch these fish. We found wild bows in the head of the the pools in some of the rough and tumble pockets behind big boulders. The brown trout were not on beds and every male was pretty plump. Did not catch a female brown. These fall fish are impressive looking with their hook jaws, big eyeballs, beautiful colors. Good day of fishing under cloudy damp skies. Still catching fish in October and it should remain decent for awhile. Off to do it again today. Remember to clean you gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

still wet, but tugging on trout

2011-10-03T20:20:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been wet here for the past week. Looks like the weather will improve as the week progresses. Though with the sun will come our first frost of the year potentially on Wednesday night. Guided today on a series of small streams. Had to cancel on Sunday with the rain and rising streams. My philosophy is if I feel I cannot catch a fish in high dirty water than how can I expect my clients to? Water levels were pretty high today and the temperature was 56 degrees. Clarity was okay but a little off. We nymph fished with a 3wt. rod with #12 tungsten prince under an indicator. Used a bright colored indicator due to all of the junk in the water and the turbidity of the brooks we fished. It never fails, a bright colored indicator gets eaten by fish. Had a rainbow come right up on it. We did land half dozen bows and lost or had on another half a dozen fish. Even had a few takes on large #10 royal stimulator. Pretty decent small stream fishing for the conditions. Our big water will be blown out for a few days, but the small streams are still fishing fine. Off to do it again tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

fall is here

2011-10-02T08:01:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided a full day yesterday in the rain. Nice cold wet day that lets you know you live in Vermont and that the weather is part of life. No worries, my client and I had good waders and rain gear and the right attitude. Water levels rose throughout the day after beginning to recede from the previous days of rain. Water temperatures ranged from 54 degrees to 56 degrees. The foliage is really starting to come on and downed leaves in the water can be a pain. We fly fished two different streams and caught a variety of fish. In the first brook we visited we nymph fished with a #12 tungsten prince and a #20 BWO dropper under an indicator. Managed to catch 3 wild rainbows and miss a few more. We bailed out when the brook began rise and wading became tricky. The next stream we fished we were looking for lake run brown trout. We cast streamers that we swung across pools with a a long 3x leader and some weight attached a coupled of inches above the fly. The streamer that drew the most interest was a #8 white zonker. It is fun for me as a guided to stand down stream of my client when they are streamer fishing and watch the fly swing and fish respond to it. We managed to land a smallmouth bass and a decent fall fish. Did see two trout chase the fly but not really hit it hard. Also had a few subtle takes we missed. It appeared to me that the fish were tentative and I think the weather played a role in that behavior. Looks like more rain. Too bad because the fishing has been good. October is a fine month to fish in Vermont and time of the year when fishing pressure is non-existent. Matter of fact I had a client tell me that a guide in this area told him that river fishing was done in October. That guide is a dummy and does not know his waters. I will guide through October and my clients will catch all of the fish that dummy does not know how to hook! Massive hatch of #22 Blue Winged Olives yesterday. Too bad the water conditions did not allow the fish to rise. More rain on the way and lets hope it does not blow things out too badly. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

more darn rain

2011-09-30T07:18:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided a fly trip on the Winooski yesterday and the river was in pretty good shape. Man can things turn in hurry around here. Over 11/4" of rain at my house in Stowe yesterday has now stuffed our big streams. High and dirty for a few days with more rain in the forecast for tomorrow. The river was 63 degrees yesterday and we did not see much for hatching insects. The first run we fished was pretty good. We landed 3 wild rainbows between 7" and 11" and missed few fish. Hooking the trout on a tiny #20 peacock body soft hackle. If you can get the little fly to stick it does not generally come out. The line will break before the fly falls out of a trout's mouth. We moved up stream to try some other water and we did even draw a strike. It was like someone flipped the switch and the fishing shut down. Pretty weird. Well we did not need any more rain and it looks like I might lose a couple of trips this weekend including today. Not good. Lake fishing is an option for smallmouth and pike, but there is going to be a nasty north wind that could make fishing tough from a boat. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

upper Winooski

2011-09-28T09:41:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, I have not fished on the Winooski main stem since the Hurricane. The last month I have spent most of my time trout fishing on tribs. of the Winooski or the Lamoille watershed. I was pleased to see the Winooski in good shape yesterday afternoon. Real summer day with air temps almost to 80 and pretty bright and sunny. Looks like that is all going to change here shortly. The foliage is starting to come around. Water temperature was 65 degrees. It was interesting to see that all of the holes i visited were still intact. Of course there was some wood and big rocks moved around and the bank beat up in places, but the riffles and pools still held together. Subsequently the fish were there for the taking. Saw a decent number of #20 BWO's hatching, but no rising fish. I rigged a #16 hare' ear flashback with a #20 BWO nymph as a dropper. Caught 3 wild rainbows and lost 2 all on the #20 BWO nymph. Good sized trout between 11" and 14". I did hook and play a real monster rainbow for about 30 seconds. Got the fish pretty close to me before it ripped off a bunch of line and ran under some wood. Did not break off, just had the fly pop out. I would have guessed this trout in the 18" class. Put it this way, when hooked it ran up a riffle with its back out of the water like a salmon migrating. Pretty exciting and it is there for someone to catch still. The main focus of my trip yesterday was to investigate the state of affairs on the river and I was pleased with what I discovered. Off to guide trout over the next week every day so lets hope we do not get too much rain. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

wild bow, small water

2011-09-27T13:02:00.000-04:00

Is there anybody out there?

2011-09-26T08:41:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Spent an nice afternoon guiding a father son fly fishing pair on a small tributary of the Lamoille. I have not seen another angler in weeks. I have been guiding pretty much every day and moving around we are having the water to ourselves, perfect. The stream we fly fished yesterday I do not visit as often as I should. I use to fish a lot more and yesterday reminded me of how good it can be. Nice warm sunny day with beautiful foliage and early am fog. Water temperature was 60 degrees and the flow was perfect. Lots of pocket water on this brook and it involves some walking in order to be fished correctly. We had to nymph the entire time and we never changed flies. We set up a short 2wt. and 3 wt. with white yarn indicators and #14 prince nymph and #14 copper john nymph. Literally the third cast of the morning produced a large brown trout that schooled us in the pool and buried itself under a huge boulder. I did see the fish and it was the one that got away. However, all was not lost as we did manage to land a dozen wild trout including one of every species rainbow, brown, and brook trout. Missed another half dozen fish. Some nice fish as well with brown trout and rainbow trout between 11" and 14". The star of the day was my young angler friend who has held a fly rod since he could walk. I have guided this pair of anglers many times and this young kid caught all 3 species on his own. He did a better job with the fly rod then a lot of adults. Really nice small stream experience. Should be nice weather for the next few days before some more wet weather and cooler temperatures show up. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

still looking up

2011-09-25T07:57:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, guided from my canoe yesterday afternoon for smallmouth bass. The foliage is almost at peak where we fished. Of course the elevation of this lake is over 1000' so the leaves are a little further along. Nice muggy afternoon with air temps. in the high 70's. We did get rained on pretty good for half an hour, but it did not deter us or the fish. Water temperature was 68 degrees and the surface was pretty calm. a slight north breeze did kick up half way through the afternoon. We spin fished with 1 rod rigged with a top water and second rigged with a jig. We pretty much stuck to the top water. We cast a fire tiger rapala and a blue and silver popper. Had 19 fish come to the top to eat. Pretty damn impressive for September 24. Water temperatures and weather have been generous enough to allow us to fish top water so late into September. We landed 5 smallmouth and one good sized pickerel. Lots of big fish eating of the top as well. We had one rather large smallmouth come all the way out of the water and back down on the lure. The lesson of the day is patience on the take by the fish. When surface fishing for smallmouth you need to give the bass the chance to eat the lure and not respond to the push or splash of water from the take. We were a little quick striking some of these large fish and subsequently we missed them. All of our bass were holding off downed wood. It was theme of the day. Especially if the wood dropped off into deeper water. The fish were holding on the outside edge of the structure. Might not be too many days left in the season for this type of surface feeding and the weather looks good for it over the next couple of days. Off to guide a smaller stream today for trout. We had some rain lately so our rivers are up again. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Really good fly fishing

2011-09-24T07:36:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, spent a full day on the Lamoille yesterday with a client guiding with the fly rods for trout. Water temperature was 60 to 61 degrees. Levels were perfect for fishing as they wee slightly above the seasonal average flow. That might change today as we just received 5/8th" of rain at my house in Stowe. Should settle out quickly either way. We had trout rising throughout the day. Every spot we fished had a rising fish. Saw a good number of #20 BWO's hatching as well some #12 Isonychia, and #16 caddis. My client was fine fly caster and he had a 4wt. that he had made out of split cane. It cast beautifully. We carried two rods and did not change flies all day. On the Bamboo we cast a #12 foam ant and on the nymphing rod we rigged a #14 Prince nymph and #20 BWO nymph. Fished dry flies for most of the day and we had in excess of over 30 wild trout eat the fly. I think a good percentage of the trout were all eating yesterday. The wild rainbows in the Lamoille are scrappy and put up a good tussle. I bet the trout fishing was good everywhere yesterday. We had a lot of takes on the dead drift, but we also missed a lot of fish on the swing. You get an awful lot of takes letting the fly swing down stream this time of the year. The fish are are willing to chase with the current water temperatures and the Isonychia hatch prompts some of this behavior as well. Anywho, get out there, the fly fishing around here for trout is in its prime time period. I am off to guide smallmouth this afternoon. Should be really good as it will be a warmer muggy day. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.

back after it on the Lamoille

2011-09-23T08:15:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Had a nice group yesterday afternoon for fly fishing on the Lamoille. Perfect weather day for fishing with over cast, a little muggy, and an occasional shower. River flows are perfect right now and water temperatures could not be better. Temperature yesterday was 62 degrees. Saw a good number of #20 BWOs hatching and some #16 caddis popping off. Even found a few wild fish that wanted to eat on the surface. Had 3 wild bows take a #16 Goddard caddis on a dead drift. Hooked the rest of our trout with a #16 green caddis pupa and a #20 BWO nymph under indicators. We hooked wild rainbows in every hole we fished. We visited a spot that I had not been to since the end of May. No stocked fish which is fine, but a good amount of wild rainbows in the 7" to 14" class. Looks like good fishing weather for the next few days and I will out guiding and taking advantage of the early fall fishing. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

return to summer

2011-09-22T08:02:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Nice late summer day yesterday afternoon with sun and warm air temperatures. Beautiful day to be on the water with the foliage beginning to turn. Had a group of aspiring fly anglers visit the main stem of the Lamoille. Water temperature ranged from 58 degrees to 60 degrees. The level is still above the seasonal average, but a fine flow for fishing. I have to say after over 20 years of fishing the Lamoille and 17 years guiding on it, the fishing has not been very good this season. The tributaries have been excellent and producing lots of wild trout, but the main stem has challenging. The stocked fish are not part of the equation and I have to assume that they have been flushed with the various high water events of the year. It shows how few wild trout really exist in the Lamoille. Another factor I have to believe is the introduction of northern pike into the Lamoille below Cadys Falls. The group I guided yesterday had a van transport them to the river and the driver spin fished above where we were fly fishing. He caught a 24" pike and had another chase his lure. Not good in trout water and what will happen is it will cull the population of trout. Probably the strongest and biggest will survive, but the impact of northerns in a trout river can not be good. Pike are the top line predator in this state and their ideal forage when becoming adults is a soft finned bait fish i.e trout. Oh well, back to the fishing. Some #20 BWO's hatching and we did find one fish rising in a back eddy that was impossible to put a good presentation to. We nymph fished with #14 copper johns and #14 prince nymphs as well as swung a some #10 olive buggers and #12 olive leech patterns. Trying to imitate craw fish. We hooked a total of 3 trout and missed 3 more. Did not land a fish, but that I attribute to my anglers learning the ropes of fly fishing. Still, we should be hooking more trout than that this time of the year. Off to chase trout again today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

exploring

2011-09-21T09:08:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, I am often asked if I get a chance to fish? I make time to fish and yesterday was one of those days. Can't guided every day and it is nice to catch some fish myself every so often. I like to river fish by myself for the most part. So, I walked in the morning a small stream that is part of the Winooksi drainage and in the afternoon a tributary of the Lamoille. I explored some water that I had not been on in a long time and even a strectch I had never walked. You can only figure out a stream by getting in it. Water temperatures have been between 52 degrees and 56 degrees. Nice damp day yesterday with over cast conditions. I did change waders and boots before moving from stream to stream. Though I am not so sure many people are taking precautions to prevent the spread of non-native species in our streams. In the morning the brook I fished was really clear and had with stood the heavy rains of Irene. Lots of downed wood in this brook and not a lot of trout but the ones that are there are good sized. I managed to spot 2 large brook trout holding in pools with wood. Pretty fun watching them in action. However, the moment I attempted to set-up for a cast, the fish spooked. Always need to be really cautious in clear water streams. I am sure that we fly anglers often spook a fair number of trout before we even get to cast to them. No other fish in the morning and I did not even get a strike. The afternoon made up for the morning with lots of action. The stream I was on does not get fished very often and I think most people think that it is dead water when they drive by it. I had 20 wild rainbows come to the fly in a beat that was no more than 1/2 mile. I rigged on a 3wt. a #14 stimulator with a #16 copper john nymph as a dropper. I had fish eat both flies. The bows were holding in the riffled water and not the pools. No hatching insects, though the biting insects were fierce. No monster fish but lots of jumping rainbows between 8" and 11" and the place to myself. Back to guiding and watching people catch fish. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

fine fly fishing

2011-09-19T08:34:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Awful nice being on the water this time of the year. Guided a fly trip yesterday on several small brook that hold brookies, browns, and rainbows. We were looking to hit for the cycle and catch all 3 species in a day. Water levels are about at the seasonal average and the clarity was excellent. Water temperatures ranged from the low fifties to mid fifties by afternoon time. Been sunny and bright out there so we have been fishing on shaded streams. Interesting to see all of the Japanese knot weed along the banks of our rivers get blown over from recent floods. Probably just spreads the stuff around even more. The Japanese knot weed is a non-native species introduced by landscapers that has taken over our stream banks. It has no redeeming qualities and spreads like wild fire. So, fishing yesterday morning was solid with over 20 fish coming to the fly. We landed rainbows and brook trout, but missed and lost a couple of brown trout. Still good fishing with most of our takes on a #10 royal rubber legged stimulator. Love watching trout come to the dry fly. Never gets old. No matching the hatch in these little brooks, but more say making a good presentation and being ready for the take. Looks like nice weather fishing this week and I plan to take advantage with trips. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Feels like fall

2011-09-17T18:39:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Took a couple of days off from fishing and we got some rain in the mean time. Received about 3/4" of rain at my house in Stowe on Thursday. Also, a cold front pushed through and we have our first frost warnings of the fall. Guided a tributary of the Lamoille today for a full day and we did not see another angler. Beautiful sunny day with morning frost, fog, and then afternoon sun. Leaves are starting to turn. All of our rivers are up and above the seasonal average flow. Probably will not change for the rest of the season as the ground is saturated and its been wet. Still the trout are biting. Water temperatures ranged from 50 degrees at 9am to 55 degrees at 4pm. Saw a decent number of #20 BWO's hatching as well some BWO spinners late in the day. A few #12 Isonychia spinners and random caddis hatching. No rising fish. Lots of cased #18 tan bodied caddis on the tops of rocks in riffles indicating that they are getting ready to hatch. So, we nymph fished all day with a #12 prince, #14 copper john, and even through a #10 bead head wooly bugger in the mix. Landed 2 wild rainbows over 15" with one measuring 16" and another measuring 17" and had to have weighed 3lbs. Helluva of a trout and fought like crazy. My client did a good job landing it in a tough spot with a waterfall and not much maneuvering room. Also, landed a 14" bow and several smaller wild bows. Missed a few fish and lost one brown trout but we did not have tons of action all day. I always like to ask folks what they prefer, "1 or 2 large fish or lots of small fish?" One to ponder, but I like seeing the large adult bows. Fishing should stay consistent and the weather looks pretty good to me. Off to chase trout again tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

big fish small brook

2011-09-15T09:10:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Fishing has been pretty darn good lately. Guided another good fly angler yesterday on small Winooski tributary. Water temperature was 60 degrees, clear, and at its seasonal average for flow. No hatching insects as this is a pretty nutrient poor stream. The trout in this stream want a good drift. Also, caution is needed in order to avoid the spook factor. We fished 2 different 3wt. outfits with one rod rigged with a #14 yellow foam terrestrial pattern and and other with an indicator and a #14 tungsten prince nymph. We tangled with all wild rainbows and were pleasantly surprised to land measured rainbows of 14" and 15". Really nice trout in a small brook that you could spit across. Pretty crazy fighting fish like this in a small area. Some of their jumps were almost above our heads. A lot of electricity in the rod tip on these fish. One ate the dry and one ate the nymph. Most of our takes were on the dry fly. All of our presentations were up stream with minimal slack in the line. Just really drifting the leader. We did land several other smaller fish, but the big boys were the cream of the crop. It seems to me that the small water trout fishing has been outstanding and the big water has been slow. I have not done very well in the Lamoille lately, but the tribs. have been outstanding. I am supposed to fish this afternoon but looks like rain out there so we will see what happens. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

wild rainbows

2011-09-14T07:18:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided a fine fly angler yesterday for trout on small Lamoille tributary. Water temperature was 60 degrees and the water level was inline with the seasonal average. Not much for hatching insects. Saw a few #12 Isonychia and fair amount of #20 Blue Winged Olives. No rising fish. Pretty breezy day with bright sun. The fish were certainly tuned into the nymphs we were fishing. We rigged a #14 prince nymph with a #20 BWO dropper under a white indicator. I think there was a wild rainbow in every hole we fished. We had a lot of strikes and lost fish. We did manage to land 4 bows. All fish between 7" and 11". No monsters but good steady action. We nymphed up stream keeping the slack line out of the equation. Lots of strikes on the up stream drift where you just have to trust the indicator. Good fishing. Off to fish a small stream again this morning. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

full on

2011-09-12T18:39:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been a busy September with trips almost every day even with some bad weather in the mix. Guided yesterday for smallmouth and today for trout. The bass fishing has been great and the surface fishing in particular. Caught 5 smallies yesterday between 1.5lbs and 2.5lbs. Good fighting fish that got air time. There was a pretty stiff north wind so most of our takes were below the surface, yet when the wind calmed down the bass seemed to key in on the surface. It was cold morning so the fishing only improved as the day progressed. Today I spent a full day with clients chasing trout. Started on the Lamoille which was 60 degrees. Not much for insect activity and the fishing was slow. We hooked and missed 5 trout which I think were all rainbows. We cast terrestrial patterns tied out of foam. All of out takes were on the top, but we covered a lot of water to get 5 fish to the fly. So, instead of flogging a dead race horse we jumped into a small brook for some afternoon brook trout action. Water was 56 degrees and very clear. All of our river levels are still up. We had well over 20 brookies come to the fly and the ones we landed were pretty brightly colored. We cast #12 royal stimulators and #14 hopper patterns. Not sure the fly totally mattered, but instead a good accurate cast and drift. Kind of seemed like summer out there today so hopefully things will cool off. Back at again tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

back to the well

2011-09-11T06:32:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Could not get enough of a good thing so I went back to the well with my clients yesterday morning and chased smallmouth bass from my boat. The bass fishing the last few days has been excellent and I am all in favor of taking advantage. Trout fishing is not going anywhere and that will only get better as things cool down. Nice cool night last night as it is 40 degrees at my house right now. Yesterday morning was another calm flat morning with good fog cover. The leaves are starting to turn higher up. A little north wind kicked in mid morning but for the most part it was not a factor. Surface temperature of the water was 65 degrees. The bite was a little slow off the get go. We missed one really large fish and a couple of small fish before getting our groove on. We pounded shoreline, but paid particular close attention to downed wood in the water. We caught almost all of our 14 smallmouth yesterday on wood. Floating rapalas in blue and silver and a fire tiger popper were the ticket. All surface strikes with fish from 6" to 19" . The 19" smallmouth was all of 4lbs and fought like a champ. Great fish! Most of our takes were when the lure hot the water or was slightly moved. Nice morning for fishing and hopefully today will be the same. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

feeding binge

2011-09-10T05:41:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been chasing smallmouth the last couple of days with clients. Yesterday morning we spin fished a large body of water under foggy conditions. The water's surface was like glass. Temperature was 69 degrees and not a breath of wind. We cast a popper and fire tiger and perch colored floating rapalas to shoreline cover. We landed well over 20 smallmouth and had as many come to the lure. The largest fish of the of the day was just shy of 18". We caught a nice assortment of size ranges. Most of the fish were holding in relationship to downed wood. You had to be ready for strike the moment the lure hit the water as the takes were pretty quick. Really important to eliminate any slack in the line in order to be able to strike the fish on the surface take. The smallies we have been catching have been stuffed and coughing up an assortment of minnow and crawfish. Looks like they have been putting in the fed bag. Looks like a cool down tonight and will be good for our trout streams. Water levels are still up, but should continually drop over the next few days. Off to chase smallmouth bass again this morning. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

smallmouth bonanza

2011-09-08T20:43:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, had been shut out of fishing the last 2 days with the rain. More rain was the last thing we needed, but we still took on another 1/34" of rain at my house in Stowe from Monday through Wednesday. Our rivers are up and the Lamoille and Winooski are not approachable presently. I have been exploring some tribs. on both rivers and thought they are high, they are very fishable. Tonight I took a long time guest spin fishing for smallmouth out of one of my canoes. We fished a high elevation lake that does not allow motorboats. I think we were the only people on this body of water. Nice foliage starting especially from the soft maples. Dead calm on the water with a surface temperature of 69 degrees. My guest was dialed in tonight and the fishing was excellent. We never change lures as we stuck with a fire tiger colored floating rapala cast on a light spinning rod with 4lb test. The first cast of the night produced a violent surface strike. Usually a good sign. We landed 15 smallies between 1/10thlb to almost 4lbs. We landed 3 fish over 3 lbs. My guest only missed a few takes and he really took advantage of his opportunities. We lost a couple of decent fish, but all in all we brought a good percentage of fish to hand. The pattern of the night was wood. The water level is way up and the fish were in close to shore hanging off fallen timber. We only had one long submerged rock point where fish were stacked up, but for the most part it was wood tonight. We did have 2 very large smallmouth chase in smaller bass we had hooked. Not sure if they were chasing the fish out of their area or attempting to eat them. The bass tonight were just stuffed. Big, fat fish full of piss and vinegar. Some really good surface takes with lots of jumping. I think it is safe to say that the smallmouth are preparing for the big cool down and are on the feed. I will be chasing them again in the morning. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

humid fly fishing for trout

2011-09-05T08:50:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, guided a full day yesterday with the fly rods on the Lamoille and one of its tributaries. Water temperatures did not change much from the Lamoille to the tributary we visited. The water temperature was 66 to 67 degrees. Pretty muggy day with heavy air and we had to hold up under some soft woods for 15 minutes at lunch time due a quick moving thunderstorm. I though the water levels were perfect for fishing. We nymph fished for the most part and my guests were fine fly anglers who could handle a rod. We did see a few #12 Isonychia hatch but only a couple of random rising fish. We drifted a #14 zug bug with a #18 olive caddis pupa under and indicator. Also threw a prince nymph in the mix and caught fish on both fly patterns. We picked up fish dead drifting as well as swinging the fly. At days end we tried a #14 green foam terrestrial pattern with a caddis pupa dropper and caught a wild bow on the dry. All wild rainbows yesterday with 1 brook trout in the mix on the last cast of the day. All said we landed 13 fish and missed or lost just as many. We did do some walking and cover some water. No really big trout, but lots of fish between 7" and 12" and good fun on small stream fly rods. The fishing seemed more consistent in the tributary we visited versus the Lamoille. Looks like the muggy weather will push out of here but not before we receive some heavy rain today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

180 degrees

2011-09-04T06:02:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided with my boat yesterday morning with spin gear and then in the afternoon I took a large party fly fishing on the highest brook trout pond in the state. Beautiful conditions yesterday morning for surface fishing with the surface temperature at 73 degrees and overcast skies and no wind. We pounded a lot of water and kept the boat moving. With spin gear and a variety of poppers we were able to land 8 smallmouth bass, but no large fish. We missed another 12 fish with several larger fish not being hooked who came to eat off the top. No pattern to the fishing yesterday morning as the fish seemed to be fairly dispersed throughout the lake. We tried a a wide variety of tackle including jigs and the surface plugs were the winner. The most consistent color was fire tiger and a brightly colored perch plug. Large fish do not always show themselves and when given the opportunity it is important to have your focus and make the connection. I think a lot of times people do gauge how good the fishing is based on how many fish come to their lure or fly. I cannot hook the fish for you and 20 opportunities on any given day is good fishing, especially with a surface bite. Been pretty muggy around here the last couple of days and the hike to the pond in the afternoon was a sweaty affair. Still nice and calm on top of the mountain and the surface temperature was 58 degrees. Real tannin colored pond due to the surrounding organic matter. Dark water, but clear. We just worked around the perimeter of the pond and cast large terrestrial patterns. We did find a few rising fish, though I have no idea what they were eating. We had 6 takes off the top within a few feet of shore. The Littoral zone is always the place to explore on a pond. It is where a good percentage of the life lives. Nice experience and a good change of pace for me. Off to guide a fly trip today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

on the big water

2011-09-03T05:35:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided the Lamoille main stem and a Lamoille tributary yesterday. Water levels are coming down slowly but surely and the water clarity is improving. The Lamoille yesterday morning was a spring level. Similar to fishing it in May. Water temperature was 63 degrees. Saw a few random #14 olive bodied caddis hatching, but no fish responding. There was a fair amount of #12 Isonychia shucks on rocks. We dead drifted heavy nymphs with and with out an indicator. We hooked 2 trout all morning and lost one and landed one. If you are going to catch 1 fish in a day, might as well be a good one. We landed a really healthy looking measured 16" male rainbow trout. The old boy ate a #10 tungsten bead head olive/black wooly bugger. Awesome hook jaw on this fish and I would guess it weighed about 2.5lbs. In the afternoon I ventured on to a Lamoille tributary where the water temperature was 61 degrees. It was interesting to see the effects of Irene on the streams and good to see that they held up. Most of the stable pools that I have seen the last few days on our streams look to be intact. Something to be said for keeping buffer zones along river banks and not removing gravel. Lots of green grasshopper action in the surrounding area where we fished so we tied on #12 green grasshopper pattern and began to hooks fish after fish. Nice brook trout action with fish in the 5" to 10" rage eating the fly. Well looks like nasty weather on the way so I am off to fish from the boat this morning and and pond in the afternoon. Hope the weather holds. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

casting into the trees

2011-09-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Spent yesterday morning guiding from my boat for smallmouth bass. Lots of water in the lake where we fished as the level was way up. Surface temperature was 70 degrees with very little if any wind. Pretty much had the place to ourselves. We cast surface flies for the bass. We had a fish in the boat within our first few casts and we thought that we were going to really catch a lot of fish. As it turned out we did land 8 smallmouth with no over 12", but we made lots of casts. It seemed that we came into hot and cold areas and we had to keep moving to find fish that wanted to play. I can only attribute this to the high water where we literally made some casts into trees that were flooded. The water color was slightly off so making noise with the popper was important. It needed to be worked aggressively on the surface. Bright colored flies were in order. In the afternoon I worked a small brook that is part of the Lamoille watershed. Water levels were high and the temperature was 59 degrees. Clarity was good and we were able to fish stimulator patterns and get native brook trout to eat. Lots of action. The brook trout are currently preparing to spawn and their colors are incredible right now. I am off to guide trout this morning and will be fishing on the Lamoille watershed. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

back at it

2011-08-31T20:35:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Back guiding today after a couple day lay off. Was a weird day for me as all I could think of was the flood and how many people are still dealing with the reality of the situation. Incredibly my afternoon trip was on a river in the Stowe area and we caught fish. Guided this morning over towards Burlington on a small lake for northern pike. A lot of flooding damage in the Waterbury to Richmond area. Not sure the Winooski drainage will be fished anytime soon as many of the tribs and the main stem just got wrecked!!! I could not believe the destruction along route 2 and how high the water came up. Surface temperature was 69 degrees and I would like to see it a bit cooler. Slight north breeze with good morning fog. We spin fished and pounded the water. The water clarity was not great, but this particular body of water is always off colored. We landed one northern on a large Husky Jerk. Missed one other fish and that was that. As the water cools off the pike fishing will get better. Water levels in lakes are still pretty high and that should settle in a few days. This afternoon the river we fly fished was 66 degrees down low and 62 degrees up high. Water level was up and slightly off colored. Still hard to believe that we are river fishing 3 days after the flood. Our rivers took a beating it was interesting to see the changes in certain spots. Still the stable pools that did not change held fish. We landed a beautiful 10" wild rainbow that looked stuffed full of food. Also tangled with some fall fish and a smallmouth bass. When we moved up stream we fished for brook trout and brown trout. Missed a few fish and I am not sure what species they were. Did land a fat brightly colored brook trout on a stimulator. Pretty incredible that the trout were rising in these river flows. We focused our casts on the pools and soft water areas. Lots of wood blown around and nice undercut banks for a big fish to hide in. Off with the boat in the am to chase smallmouth bass. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Flood

2011-08-29T18:57:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been pretty crazy in Vermont the last 48 hours. Extreme flooding in the southern half of the state and the western portion. There are still towns down south that are cut off due to roads and bridges being wiped out by flooded streams and brooks. We were somewhat fortunate in the Stowe area as I received almost 4" of rain in 24 hours. Other towns and areas took on 7" to 10" of rain which caused most of the major flooding. I really feel for the people who have lost everything. I cannot complain about the wet basement. Hard to think about fishing will all of the devastation around us. The Winooski is 10' over flood stage, though it has crested and is beginning to come down. The Lamoille is in better shape and is within its banks. I walked along the Lamoille above Morrisville today. The water is high and dirty and it was obvious where it had come over its banks. River fishing will not be an option on the Winooski for some time and the Lamoille maybe by week's end. A lot of good trout water got hammered from this storm and surely there will be a negative impact on the fisheries in some cases. However, our river fish have survived floods before and they will again in the future. I will be doing more exploring in the days to come. Small streams around here are dropping like a stone and I know a couple I could fish tomorrow. Nice weather forecast for the week with not much precipitation. Should allow things to dry out. Cool days and even cooler nights. Lake and pond fishing will be a good option. I resume guiding again on Wednesday and will be chasing northern and smallmouth from canoes and my boat. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

pocket water

2011-08-27T08:59:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided the morning and the evening yesterday for trout with the fly rods. Fished a Lamoille tributary in the morning and the Winooski in the afternoon. Nice morning fog yesterday that burned off around 9:30am. Water temperature on the small stream we fished was 66 degrees. Not much for hatching bugs and I saw no rising fish in the morning. We nymph fished with a #14 tungsten prince and #18 olive caddis pupa dropper. We fished classic riffles to pools early with no results. Not sure there were many fish in those areas to be caught. Probably had moved out during the summer heat and had not returned as of yet. Pocket water on hot day has more dissolved oxygen which the trout prefer and provides good cover from the sun and predators. We landed 2 wild rainbows and missed and lost another half a dozen fish. Nice feisty bows that got into the air. Did see few other anglers which I have not encountered much lately. Here is a tip for them, no white shirts and red hats on trout streams. You really stand out to the fish. Wear subdued colors. I had to clean my equipment thoroughly prior to my afternoon trip as not move Didymo around. Helps when you have lots of wading boots. Afternoon fishing on the Winooski was decent. Water temperatures were a bit on the warm side as I got readings from 68 degrees to 70 degrees. We nymph fished some heavy pocket water with a #14 tungsten prince and a #18 black wire caddis pupa. Landed 2 stocked brown trout and 2 wild rainbows on the wire caddis. All of the fish were holding in heavy water and the strikes were fairly subtle. I attribute that to the warm water temperatures. My afternoon guest had to leave a little early and around 6:45pm in Montpelier there were flying ants everywhere. Needless to say I took advantage of the situation and went and tugged on some trout myself. Found a good pod of young rainbows rising and put a #16 crystal flash ant on them. Pretty easy pickings. Nothing too large landed, but good fun on a 3wt. Looks like after today, the fishing might be shut down for a few days from Hurricane Irene. I hope everyone weathers the storm well. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Leisenring lift and Isonychia

2011-08-25T19:44:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, been guiding on the big water the last couple of days splitting time between the Lamoille and the Winooski. The early fall weather has lowered our rivers water temperatures. I have been recording water temperatures between 66 degrees and 68 degrees. A welcome change from the hot weather of the summer. Saw a pretty decent #16 dark bodied caddis hatch yesterday accompanied by rising trout. The fish were aggressively coming out of the water to eat emerging caddis. A #16 olive bodied x-caddis and a #16 goddard caddis fooled the young wild rainbows. The fish were rising in riffles, eddies, and slow boulder strewn pools. All wild rainbows between 7" and 11". More of the same today on the Winooski with fish rising throughout the day. Nice overcast conditions with on and off rain showers. Did see a few #12 Isonychia hatching and the nymph shucks on rocks. Fished a #12 Isonychia nymph and used the Leisenring Lift to perfect to hook several wild rainbows. We cast up stream and dead drifted the nymph past ourselves and begun to raise the rod tip and wiggle it horizontally at the same time. A great method for imitating a swimming may fly or emerging caddis. Did get a few fish to eat a #14 foam ant that could have been perceived by the trout to be a caddis fly. Looks like no much for rain tonight, but that will change by Sunday. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

morning fog

2011-08-24T06:09:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Been pretty foggy the last couple of mornings on the water. My clients and I visited the Winooski yesterday morning well below the Bolton Dam. Water temperature was 67 degrees and there was a nice amount of fog over the water that kept the sun covered up. We found a few rising trout early on that seemed to be sipping small #18 black caddis. We caught 1 stocked brown trout and lost one other. A few fall fish in the mix and that was that. Once the fog burned off the fishing really slowed down. Still some #12 stone fly shucks on rocks, #12 Isonychia shucks as well, #14-#22 spent flying ants, micro caddis, and a wide variety of terrestrials. I am off to guide the Lamoille this morning. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

some where over the rainbow

2011-08-23T05:49:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided 2 extremes yesterday. Fly fished for brook trout in a small mountain stream in the morning and spin fished for smallmouth bass in the afternoon. The small brook we visited was 58 degrees and just above its seasonal average flow. The brook trout are really colored up right now in preparation for the fall spawn. We cast terrestrial patterns and a large #10 stimulator. The fish were not fussy, but they made us cover some water in order to catch them. The surprise of the morning was a 9" brown trout that ate a hopper pattern. Had not seen brown trout in this location previously. In the afternoon I guided a large group for smallmouth bass. We experienced some fast moving rain showers that produced an incredible double rainbow. A cold front that pushed through yesterday has lowered air temperatures and will cool off the water. Lots of heavy wind yesterday but it did lay down towards dusk. Water temperature in the river we fished was 68 degrees and it was above its average flow. We moved around a bit prior to locating some bass, but when we found them we made them pay the toll. We landed 7 smallmouth and missed and lost just as many. A fire tiger rapala and a beetle spin were the ticket. We literally found the gold at the end of the rainbow as we caught all of our fish in one large pool. Off to do it again today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

happy camper

2011-08-21T09:09:00.002-04:00

best of both worlds

2011-08-21T09:06:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Did a double dip yesterday and fly fished with clients in the morning for wild rainbow trout and then smallmouth bass in the afternoon. Nice morning fog greeted us yesterday in the Winooski where the water temperature was 68 degrees. The fog lifted around 9:00am. Water levels were excellent for fishing. Saw #12 Isonychia shucks on rocks as well as a few hatching and #10 golden stonefly shucks on rocks. There were a few #18-#20 micro caddis hatching as well and the cedar wax wings were pounding the insects in the air. Sporadic rising activity by the fish when we arrived prompted us to cast a dry fly dropper rig. I saw a lot of spent #14 to #22 spent flying ants in water puddles on rocks next to the river. A #12 Hare's parachute with a #18 olive caddis pupa was the rig. We nymphed with #12 and #14 prince nymphs and #14 zug bugs. We did not land a lot of fish but the ones we did were really nice. The first fish of the day was male rainbow in the 14" class that sipped the parachute pattern before coming tight on the line. The fish of the morning was a measured 16" wild female rainbow that put up a really nice tussle. Both trout were the largest fish my clients had caught in Vermont with a fly. The fish looked to be in excellent shape and weather the hot summer well. We missed several other fish and lost a couple. The bite really slowed once the fog lifted and the bright sun showed itself. In the afternoon, I canoe fly fished for smallmouth bass. Lots of people had the same idea and there was a considerable amount of fishing pressure. The surface temperature was 73 degrees with a slight breeze from the north. We worked a lot of water and mostly focused on weed bed edges that had a hard bottom and dropped into deeper water.If you are only going to land one fish, you might as well make it a good one. Fish of the day was a 3lb smallmouth bass that really put a bend in the 6wt. rod. Several great jumps and the fish just did not want to be landed. A fine smallmouth bass on a popper. The fly of the day was a #4 chartruse snook slider. We missed several other fish including a couple of decent sized pickerel. Pretty exciting when a pickerel takes a fly off the top. The water level in this body of water had come up a foot in the last week and I was wondering if that had not affected the fish to a degree. Anywho, always nice catching big fish off the top, the best of both worlds for trout and bass fly fishing. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

summer is back

2011-08-20T05:34:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Just when I thought things were really beginning to cool off, the heat and humidity returned yesterday. I guided a family for a bank fishing excursion where we were fishing with spin gear for smallmouth bass. The surface temperature of the water was 76 degrees and the clarity was okay. The area we fished is heavily fished and we had to work around some other folks who had the same idea as us. We cast jointed floating rapalas in chartruse, blue, and perch color. Even with all of the fishing pressure we managed to land 3 smallies off the surface and miss a couple. Love hearing and seeing the push of water created by a bass we it eats off the top. The surface fishing fishing for smallmouth has been dynamite the last week. I think the changing in the light levels, flying ant hatches, and some humidity has the smallies really looking up. Look for flying #14-#22 ant hatches in the afternoon, #22-#26 tricos still in the morning, and #12-#14 isonychia throughout the day as well the #14-#16 green rock worm. Do not count out beetle, and, and hopper patterns as well. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

popping for bass

2011-08-19T09:28:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Spent a really nice evening with a long time repeat guest guiding smallmouth bass from my canoe. We visited one of my secret little smallmouth ponds that is off the beaten path. Surface temperature was 75 degrees and water was pretty darn clear. You could see the bottom in 10' of water. A slight breeze initially ruffled the water's surface, but then things laid down for nice calm conditions for surface fishing. We had 20 smallmouth come to the fly last night. Pretty aggressive feeding off the surface. There were a fair number of #22 male flying ants on the surface of the water, but I do not think a 3lb smallmouth is going to expend too much energy eating such a small morsel of food off the top. We cast a #4 chartruse snook slider fly for most of the night and at dark switched to a #6 black and yellow popper. I am not so sure the fly change made a difference as the fish were on. We worked rock piles, points, and fallen timber over rocky bottom shoreline areas. Most of the fish were holding off the first drop off from shore. We did not land a lot of the fish who came to the fly. Sometimes in fishing you get psyched out and can't get the hook set after missing a few. The hardest part of fly fishing is getting the fish to eat the fly, not hooking and landing them. My guest is a fine fly angler and it just was not his night for landing fish. The strikes all came from the time the fly hit the water to the first 10' from where it landed. Letting the fly sit for a bit after it landed was important and working the popper aggressively triggered responses from the smallies. Hook setting with a 15lb tippet must be aggressive. No trout sets as we are not using 6x tippet. Well, off to do it again today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

rain and flying ants

2011-08-18T05:13:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Finally got he rain we were looking for. I received almost 2" of nice steady rain at my house in Stowe from Monday night to Tuesday morning. Our rivers are full again and the Lamoille and Winooski are coming down fairly well and they should be ready to fish by day's end. Of course temperature could still be an issue. Got rained out on Tuesday with my river trip, so I will be bass fishing today. Saw a ton of flying ants yesterday afternoon. Large #14 cinnamon female flying ants and small #22 male flying ants. The flying ants are late summer early fall event around here that typically happens late in the afternoon and especially after a rains storm. The swarm is moving the nest and they get pushed onto the water and the trout and smallmouth bass go nuts. Matter of fact, the fish will be single minded in their feeding and only eat the ants and sometimes key in on the really small males. Do not leave home without some ants patterns in your vest this time of the year. Ant hatches really get fish looking up. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

much needed rain

2011-08-15T14:24:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Looks like some wet weather. Nice day of rain would be fine by me. Guided a small brook last night towards the valley and was on the Winooski main stem this morning. The mountain brook last night had a water temperature of 58 degrees. It was really low and clear. Watched a lot of fish dart off prior to ever casting to them. Great attention had to be payed as to how we walked up the river so as to not spook fish. Longer than normal casts were required and a little longer leader. Usually I like a 7' leader on a brook trout stream. Last night we used a 9' leader on a 6' rod and just directed the leader and fly with the rod tip through each pool. Never putting fly line on the water's surface. Also scaled back the fly size with a more natural looking pattern. How about a #14 foam bodied ant. Lots of brook trout between 4" and 8" and with even more spooked and lost. Pretty steady action and missing and scaring a few fish did not matter. The Winooski this morning was 69 degrees and low. Good numbers of stone fly shucks on rocks that looked freshly hatched from the previous evening. Seeing more and more #12/#14 Isonychia shucks as well. There were trout rising this morning and they appeared to be eating small caddis. We got them to eat a #12 hare's ear parachute. Looks like a Isonychia dun that is crippled and blown onto the water. All wild rainbows today between 9" and 13". We did nymph fish with a #14 flashback pheasant tail under indicator as well as a red head #14 prince nymph. Both nymph patterns hooked fish. Found lots of #16 Rhyacophila caddis or the green rock worm crawling around on rocks. Isonychia and Rhyacophila will be the dominant bugs available to our trout in big rivers for the next month or so. Good to have few of those patterns in your box. Well if we get a 1" of rain or so it will be good for the whole, but maybe not so good for river fishing tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

nice cold front

2011-08-14T08:14:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been enjoying the weather the last few days after a nice little cold front pushed through. Beautiful with clear cool nights and comfortable sunny days. Fronts do effect fishing and I think we felt the brunt of it on Friday while guiding smallmouth bass. Visited the Winooski which was still slightly up and off color. The water temperature had dropped to 70 degrees. Good spinner fall of #22 tricos with numbers of fall fish eating the tiny may fly. Saw some larger mayfly spinners #12 that could have been Epherons, but I never captured a sample. We spin fished for the bass and managed to catch one small bass on a fire tiger rapala. Bright colored lures seemed to be the way to go with the water color. Everything else landed was a fall fish. Did miss one big smallie that we rolled on a soft bait that imitated a crawfish, but that was it. I just think the river level and fishing on the back side of a front slowed things down. Yesterday I headed due north and fly fished some small brooks and did a casting clinic and fly fishing class at a northern ski resort. The stream I was on was 63 degrees and the water was really low. Not hard to find the brook trout, but you had to watch your approach. Spooked a fair amount fish before we were able to cast to them. Still landed a number of 4" to 8" brookies on a 2wt. with a #14 simulator pattern. At dark we cast to rising stocked rainbows in a snow making pond. Pretty easy pickings as the fish were rising everywhere. A #16 goddard caddis worked really well. You watch a fish rise and figure out the direction it was moving and then lead it with your cast. Let the fly sit and the fish would just engulfed it. Nice change of pace from river fishing for trout. Well looks like some rain on the way which we could really use. I will be guiding a small stream this afternoon and in the morning. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

on the surface

2011-08-11T21:33:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Had a lot of fun today guiding in the morning and evening because the fish were looking up. I always have fun guiding, but it is really fun to catch trout and bass on the surface with flies and lures. The small brook we fly fished this morning was 59 degrees and the water level had come up and down significantly in the last 24 hours. Received an 1" of rain at my house in Stowe from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. Much needed and our rivers and streams came up and are already receding. The Winooski might take a little longer to settle due to higher rain amounts in central Vermont. Water clarity was fine today. Brookie fishing was steady with 4" to 8" brook trout grabbing big #10 and #12 stimulators off the surface. Regardless of the size of the brook trout, how cool is it to see a dark shape materialize from under a rock to eat your dry fly in gin clear water? This afternoon I guided a little bigger water and we fished with spin gear for smallmouth bass. Water temperature was 70 degrees with good cloud cover. Low light is preferred in top water fishing. You know things could be good when a big smallmouth crushes the jointed floating rapala on the first cast. Really nice steady bite all afternoon. We landed 11 smallmouth bass using brightly colored rapalas. Probably missed and lost another dozen and a half. Not bad. Well after them again tomorrow and looks like a nice cool down which will bode well for our rivers. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

birds of prey and bass

2011-08-09T12:55:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Been guiding down low on the Winooski the last few days. Water levels are low and water temperatures are between 70 and 75 degrees. Pretty easy to read the water right now and get a feel for the riffles and pools and where to fish. Could use some rain and hopefully we get some in the next few days. Saw a bald eagle today as well as osprey, broad band hawk, and red tail hawk. Just one of the many benefits to fishing. The difference in fishing today and Sunday in low light versus yesterday in the sun is worlds apart. I cannot emphasize enough how much better the fishing is in the early morning and right at dark. Smallmouth fishing with poppers has been pretty solid right at dark and into dark. It seems like the bigger fish do not turn on until the sun sets. Makes sense when it is hot and bright. The smallmouth bite has been good and steady. Landed a dozen fish this morning working big giant pools. Love watching smallies jump. Not too many surface strikes as almost all of our fish were hooked on the retrieve. We did catch some very large fall fish between 15" and 20". Matter of fact the 20" fall fish had wound marks on its flanks that looked to be the work of a bird of prey. When it has been sunny the only thing biting has been fall fish. When there is low light the smallmouth seem to really turn on. Still lots of #10 to #12 stone flies on rocks and have been seeing #22 Trico spinners every morning. Some #16 Caddis hatching as well and some #14 Isonychia shucks on rocks. Looks like a decent weather week for fishing with a cool down on the way. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

rising trout in the middle of the day

2011-08-07T12:09:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided a full day on the lower Winooski yesterday with folks learning to fly fish. Water temperature was 68 degrees in the early morning and moved to 70 degrees by midday. I think there must of been a tail water release from the Littler River prior to our arrival that lowered the water temperatures. So, a decent number of #18 tan bodied caddis hatching in the morning and then some #14 isonychia sadleri during the middle of the day. A large number of isonychia shukcs on rocks as well as #10 to #12 golden stone fly casings. Interesting spot where we fished as you could catch smallmouth bass, stocked brown trout, wild rainbow trout, and fall fish. We tussled with all 4 species. What was really cool was eating lunch on a big rock above the water and looking down into a giant pool where we could see smallmouth and rainbow trout swimming around. We watched one smallmouth come up in the water column over some rocks that was easily one of the largest bass I have sever seen in a river. Certainly over 20" and could eaten the trout and smaller bass we saw in one bite. A lot of fun for my guests to see a rainbow swimming in a big eddy eating just below the surface. Always a good idea to find a high vantage point in a river a look into the water. Good viewing with lessons to be learned. Unfortunately, it was virtually impossible to cast to the fish we were watching as you would have spooked them while approaching and you could not get into the river and cast from the opposite side. The fly pattern of the day was a #12 hare's ear parachute. The stocked browns were all over it as well as the fall fish. We nymphed with a #12 Montana stone fly, but most our work was with the dry fly. Fun day on the water after all of the recent heat and it was nice to have over cast skies in the afternoon. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Need some rain

2011-08-05T13:40:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been guiding every day this week and we really could use some rain. Our rivers have become a little stale. Mostly chasing smallmouth bass and brook trout. Did lake fish twice this week for bass and lost one morning due to engine problems with the boat. Getting pretty good at learning how to fix my boat motor. So, river temperatures in our big rivers are still in the seventies and surface temperatures in our lakes are high seventies. Small mountain streams have been maintaining in the low sixties. Seen lots of #10 to #12 golden stone fly shucks on rocks. Lots and lots of #16 free form green caddis below rocks and #18 yellow bodied caddis in casings on top and the bottom of rocks. Also, #22 to #24 tricos have been hatching in the morning. Do not rule out terrestrial patterns from ants to beetles to hoppers. The fish of the week was 17" 3lb smallmouth bass that ate a surface presentation. Been working hard for fish and the only consistent fishing has been for brook trout. August is always a challenging month to fish in Vermont due to water temperatures and light levels. Lack of rain does not make it any easier. Will be river fishing all day tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Getting skinny

2011-08-02T23:06:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided yesterday afternoon and this morning on small streams. We could use some rain. As the water levels drop and especially in clear water, the fish can get tight and spooky. Think about your approach. Both small streams we visited were 60 and 61 degrees. With skinnier water levels and warming water temperatures, the brook trout have been holding in riffles versus some the slower pools. Small flies have been working. A #14 yellow and green foam caddis as well as light elk colored #14 stimulator were producing lots of action. Did mess with some smallmouth this morning right off the get go and got 3 smallies to eat trout dry flies. Got the bass to eat #10 foam bodied adult stone fly pattern and a #10 hornberg fished on the surface. The water temperature in the bass stream was 71 degrees. Some a pretty decent #22 trico spinner drop. No fish rising except a random fall fish and I am not so sure smallmouth bass eat itty bitty trico may flies. Good fun catching a 10" smallmouth on a 7' 3wt. rod. Lots of #10 to #12 stone fly shucks on rocks and numbers of #16 olive green caddis pupa under rocks in riffles. Well some cool nights in the 50's for the next couple of days will hopefully keep water temperatures in check. Smallmouth fishing in the morning. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

boat fishing and man over board

2011-08-01T12:41:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been out and about on my boat the last few days guiding and fishing. Mixed up the still water fishing and chased lake trout and smallmouth bass. Water temperatures have in the mid to high seventies on the surface. Been fairly calm in the morning with a west wind increasing as the day progressed. Whether fishing for smallmouth or lakers we have been setting up on structure. Fishing submerged humps and islands that come out of deep water. Incredible how fish relate to a lonesome piece of rock or debris on the bottom of a lake. If that is the only piece of cover on the bottom and the surrounding area is featureless, then the bait fish and the predators will be holding there. We have been jig fishing with swim baits that imitate emerald shiners for the lakers and 3.5" craw fish looking tube jigs for the smallmouth. Heavier jig heads in deeper water and lighter jig heads in shallow water. Good steady action, but nor real large fish until this morning. Mostly lakers and smallmouth in the 1lb to 2lb class. However, this morning my client did hook a monstrous smallmouth on a popper and the fish immediately jumped out of the water and then wrapped itself all through some submerged wood. We could see the big bass in the wood wrapped up and my client promptly jumped over board to attempt to free the fish from the wood. Unfortunately the fish got free. That was the first time in 17 years of guiding that I have ever seen someone jump out of the boat to go after a fish. Pretty funny. Well, morning is still the most pleasant time to be on the water. Trout fishing in the small brooks is still steady and the big rivers are still too warm. I will be guiding a small brook on the fly this afternoon. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

small water brown

2011-07-30T21:51:00.002-04:00

Moose

2011-07-29T13:09:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided a large group on the Winooski this morning who were interested in learning to fish. Water level was just below the seasonal average. Water temperature was 69 to 70 degrees. Nice overcast conditions and hopefully we get some much needed rain later today. We were treated to a young bull moose crossing the river this morning right in front of us. Amazing to see how well these animal swim. The moose crossed in a section that you would never dream of wading in. Saw a few #20 micro caddis hatching and few subtle rises in the tail out of a very large pool. The rise forms were out of casting range and they only happened right off the get this morning. Lots of #10 to #12 stone fly shucks on rocks. We nymph fished and messed with a bunch of small fall fish. No trout, though we did miss a few fish that very well could have been a trout. All of our takes were in heavy riffles. Obviously due to the warmer water temperatures and the fish's need for more dissolved oxygen. High stick drifts with #10 tungsten stone flies and #12 prince nymphs were our approach. We also presented some #18 olive caddis to the fish. We fished all of our nymphs under indicators. I think small streams are still the way to go until things cool off. I will be chasing smallmouth bass and small stream trout tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Fly Fishing the Vermont cycle

2011-07-28T09:55:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided a double yesterday with trout fishing in the morning and smallmouth bass fishing in the afternoon. The trout stream I was on was 59 degrees at 6:30am and low and clear. It was interesting to see all of the wood that had been pushed around from the spring floods and how some holes had become filled in with sediment. Still plenty of water to fish and hungry trout. We worked up stream casting #14 green and yellow foam terrestrial patterns into every piece of water that was at least knee deep. The further we walked from where we parked (go figure) the better the fishing became. We ended up landing 9 trout, 1 brookie, 5 rainbows, and 3 brown trout. Missed another 10 fish. All wild fish with the 2 best fish of the day being a 12" and 16" male brown trout. Both measured with photos to come. Not every day that you land a 16" wild brown trout in a small brook with a 7' 3wt. rod. Really impressive male trout with a hook jaw. Incredible that we landed it and it did not wrap in wood or break us off on rocks. The fish was holding in a spot that most anglers would walk by. Really nice small stream experience. The afternoon was a totally different story. Went smallmouth fishing on the lower Lamoille which had come up a bit from thunderstorms the previous night. Water was slightly off color but still decent visibility. Big bright sun. The bass fishing was not very good. We landed 1 fall fish and lost another. Really slow. Sun and high water is all I can figure. I am pretty convinced that the morning is the way to go in the summer. It is cool out and easier on the anglers as well as cooler water temperatures and lower light levels. Lots of #18 to #20 micor caddis hatching and egg laying yesterday. Still finding tons of #10 to #12 stone fly shucks on rocks. Also, beetle, hopper, and ant patterns will all work this time of the year. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

just enough

2011-07-27T05:12:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided a small brook yesterday with the fly rods. The stream was 60 degrees and low and clear. We received a 1/4" of rain in Stowe on Monday night and it looks like we received another 1/10" last night in a thunderstorm. Just enough rain to keep the brooks a little fresh. A day of steady gentle rain would be perfect. Cooler nights are helping cool down our rivers a bit from the oppressive heat of last week. Brook trout fishing was good. Caught numbers of brookies yesterday with several fish between 8" and 10". Scaled back the size of the flies cast due to clarity of the water and the spook factor. Small stimulator patterns and wulff patterns between #14 and #16 worked well. Be careful of your approach in the small streams to avoid spooking fish prior to casting. Off to fish a small brook in the kingdom this morning and then chasing river smallmouth this afternoon. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

pleasant weather and even some rain

2011-07-25T21:23:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Mixed it up today and guided smallmouth bass from my boat in the morning and guided the lower Winooski this afternoon with the fly rods. Lake temperature was 77 degrees on the surface and it was dead calm at 6am. Wind picked up half way through the morning and blew hard from the south. There is a front moving through that could dump some much needed rain as our lakes and river are getting a little bony. Nice to fish without the humidity as well. We managed to land two 2lb smallmouth on poppers while it was calm and also caught two nice sized pickerel that ate the surface presentation. We found all of the fish holding in or around milfoil beds in less than 8' of water. Missed a few other surface takes. Lots of casting this morning. Nice violent strikes on the surface and patience setting the hook was important. When the wind picked up the fishing slowed and boat control became a little tricky. The lower Winooski was 71 degrees at 6pm and the wind was blowing really hard. Makes casting a challenge as well as mending the line. Lots of #8 to #12 golden stone fly casings on the rocks. We were looking for smallmouth bass, but we only managed to catch fall fish. Greedy little bastards that are not very fussy as to what fly they eat. Nymphs or dries, it does not seem to matter. Rain started to fall hard around 7pm and we wound things up. Off to fish trout tomorrow am on some small water. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Cool down and fall fish

2011-07-24T10:34:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Finally a break in the weather. Looks like the humid hot stuff is out of here for now. I received 1/2" of rain last night at my house in Stowe. Guided a large group with some help Friday on the Winooski. Water temperature was 77 degrees at 1pm. All beginners who wanted to learn about fly fishing. Nice standing in the water when it is hot. All wet wading. So, we focused on the basics and tugged on a lot of fall fish. Very user friendly fish that seem to eat just about any fly presented to them. No trout and just as well due to the water temperatures. The Winooski would not of been my choice of of places to fish with a small group or one person. I would have fished a small mountain brook. However, with 12 people, options are limited and it really is about having fun and learning. Saw a fair amount of golden ston fly shucks on rocks. Lots of cased caddis on the bottom of rocks between #18 and #20 and yellow/tan bodied. Found #16 green bodied caddis on the tops of rocks. Green and yellow soft hackles swung in riffles make excellent imitations of the micro caddis. Last night as the front blew through I chased smallmouth bass. Really stiff west wind made canoe control challenging. Still, the smallies wanted to play and we cast on the lee sides of islands and points and the fish were pretty user friendly. Love watching smallmouth inhale a fly. Strong damn fish that really bend a fly rod. The next 6 weeks should be outstanding fishing for smallies and especially for the surface bite. Any popper between #4 and #8 in frog patterns, chartruse, or black seems to work well. Just keep moving and casting. Cover water! Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

Too Damn Hot!

2011-07-22T08:33:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided on the lower Lamoille yesterday afternoon for smallmouth bass. Too damn hot. Not a big fan of fishing late afternoon when the weather is hot and muggy. Mornings are the way to go. Oh well, a fishing guide has to work with his guests. The Lamoille was 80 degrees and low. We could use some rain. hard to believe after the spring we suffered through. The fishing was tough. We covered a lot of water walking in the river. We did land two large smallmouth bass between 1.5lbs and 2lbs., but we earned them. A perch colored floating rapala and a silver beetle spin drew the most interest as we did have several other fish follow as well. At dusk we caught several fall fish and missed a couple of smallies, but the surface bite was slow. I can only guess that the hot water makes the fish a little lethargic as well. Looks like the hot humid weather will break this weekend. I taking out a large party today in the middle of the day. A fly fishing instruction. The fishing will be difficult with the current conditions. Small mountain streams, ponds and lakes in the morning are the way to go presently. Saw lots of craw fish in the shallows yesterday and golden stone fly shucks on rocks. Any #10 to #14 stone fly pattern nymphed under an indicator will work right now. Fish them in heavy riffled water. This technique works well on fussy small mouth. A olive/black #10 to #12 wooly bugger will imitate the craw daddies well. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

heat, chantral mushrooms, and lots of brook trout

2011-07-20T16:15:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided a couple of aspiring fly anglers this morning on a small mountain stream. Started seeing a number of chantral mushrooms popping up. Very enjoyable outing for me to see a young kid who was probably born with a fly rod in his hand pick up the sport so quickly. The brook we fished was 59 degrees at 6:30am. Water levels are dropping quickly and we now could use some rain. Approach is very important when the levels drop in these small streams in order to not spook the fish before you cast. We worked up stream with light 3wt outfits and cast stimulator patterns into any potential holding water. We landed 34 brook trout and probably missed another 20. Pretty good steady action. A tight line drift with very little slack made the hook set much easier. Casting accuracy was important. I have been hearing over the last few days of northern pike in the Lamoille below Cadys Falls. It appears that the pike were in Lake Lamoille and during the high spring water they were flushed down stream into the river. There goes the trout fishing in that stretch of river. Never introduce a fish to a body of water. Leave that to the biologist. This is not a good thing and will certainly change the balance of things in the Lamoille. Looks to stay hot for the next few days so trout fishing will be limited to small cold streams or fish for smallmouth bass. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

hot fun in the summer time

2011-07-19T12:06:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, The really busy season is upon us. Guided a small brook yesterday and just returned from bank fishing with kids and parents this morning. Pretty hot and sunny out there, but we are still managing to get enough rain to keep the water levels in decent shape for mid summer. Water temperatures are getting high and the lake I was on this morning was 74 degrees on the surface. The small brook I guided yesterday was 60 degrees. Keep your thermometer handy. The best fishing this time of the year is certainly early morning. Especially if you want to catch trout. Tugged on native brook trout yesterday with 3wts and dry flies. Beautifully colored fish that just through themselves at the fly. I love seeing fish come to the surface regardless of their size. This morning we got fish to eat off the surface , except that they were smallmouth bass who have a love for the floating rapala. Man is there some electricity in the rod when these fish are hooked. Everyone jumped and we landed a few and missed a few. Really important on the surface take with a bass to be patient in setting the hook and then really strike them. Had the kids working garden hackle on the bottom with a tight line. We caught yellow perch, fall fish, pumpkin seed, and more smallmouth. Kids do not care what they catch as long as they catch something. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

cool water on a hot summer day

2011-07-17T12:46:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Just back from a Maine vacation with my wife. Nice coastline and I like eating lobster. Back in the saddle guiding today on a small stream. Water temperature was a cool 59 degrees under the heavy tree canopy. Really important to keep your thermometer handy this time of the year when trout fishing. Our larger streams will become too warm to fish and your best option will be small mountain brooks for native and wild fish or lake and lower river fishing for smallmouth bass. We worked this small brook upstream and cast #12 stimulators into larger pools and any water that was knee deep. I love watching brook trout aggressively smash dry flies. Beautiful little creatures. The trick in brookie fishing is to keep moving and cover water. Not a bad morning of trout fishing on a hot summer day. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

lots of fishing

2011-07-11T13:09:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been all over the board the last few days. Guided the Lamoille Friday and today for trout and then smallmouth bass. River levels are finally are the seasonal average and they have certainly warmed up. The Lamoille above Morrisville was 64 degrees Friday in the morning and down low this am was 72 degrees. Trout fishing will not be option on the Lamoille if the water stays at 70 degrees or higher. At least if you are going to fish the Lamoille currently, make sure you do it early in the morning. Friday the trout fishing was decent as we landed 4 wild rainbows and a wild brown trout. Nothing giant, but not bad for July. We nymphed all of the fish on #12 prince and #18 caddis pupa dropper. Golden stone flies are starting to show up and I have seen a few casings on rocks as well as winged adults. Micro caddis are the soup of the day and a #18 and #20 tan bodied caddis seems to be the dominant hatching insect currently. Also, noticed a few #12 golden drakes hatching and their shucks in the some back eddies. Smallmouth fishing was okay this morning. We landed 3 smallies who all ate poppers and we missed several fish. Fished big slow pools that were lined with boulders. Small chartruse poppers were the fly of the day. In between this all, I visited Maine with a fishing guest I have become friends with. We fly fished the Magalloway River for brook trout and landlocked salmon. Pretty interesting fishery as we fish a tailwater, a freestone, and a spring influenced sections of the same river. Very hatch friendly river with large brookies and fiesty salmon. Good wildlife viewing as we saw black bear, antlered deer, bald eagles, otters, osprey, grouse, beaver, and, hare. No moose. Great experience that I would recommend to anyone. We had good fishing and we were there at a slow time. Really enjoyed the spring influenced part of the river fishing to rising brookies in slow water. So lots of different fish the last few days. Nice diversity in New England for fishing. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. have fun, Willy

little weather blip and lots of smallmouth

2011-07-08T04:51:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Had a huge cold front push through the area with a crazy thunderstorm on Wednesday afternoon. Dropped almost an inch of rain at my house in Stowe. Needless to say it raised the level of our rivers. I guided a river trip yesterday afternoon on a stream that drops pretty quickly after the level rises and clears fairly quickly. Water temperature was 68 degrees and the clarity was okay. We landed a dozen smallmouth bass between 9" and 18". We found a "honey hole" that was loaded with hungry smallmouth. I always like the fishing in a river when the level is dropping after a high water event. The fish are always hungry in that situation after hunkering down behind or under cover when fighting heavy water. Loads of fun battling river smallmouth in big current. With the cooler weather our rivers should stay just below 70 degrees for trout fishing. Carry your thermometer. I am off to chase trout this morning with guests. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

bass and bald eagles

2011-07-06T05:17:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided with my boat all day yesterday on a large body of water for smallmouth bass using spin tackle. Beautiful weather day with air temperatures reaching the low 80's and big blue skies. Water temperature on the surface was 70 degrees and the water clarity was a little off color. Saw a large adult bald eagle in the morning take a yellow perch out of the water. Pretty impressive. We covered a lot of water and started the day working top water presentations. Not a lot of big fish looking at the top water lures so we resorted to jigging crawfish colored tube jigs. Drew a lot of interest below the surface. The smallmouth probably did not want to rise to eat on such a bright day. The largest bass landed of the day was 16.5" long. We lost another smallmouth at the boat that spit the jig that was much larger. Really important to get a good solid hook set when fishing with soft plastics. A good day fishing with plenty of action. The bite did slow significantly around noon. We found most of our fish on a hard bottom holding just off shore in 15' of water. Off to use the boat again this am for smallmouth. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

river and lake fishing for trout

2011-07-04T10:05:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Been busy with the guiding every day going in the morning and evening for trout. Guided the Lamoille yesterday and this morning. Water temperature this morning at 5:30am was 65 degrees. Nice heavy of the last couple of mornings and helps to keep the sun off the water and keep the fish a bit more active. Saw a black bear yesterday on the way to fishing. Always a bonus when outside getting to see wildlife. The Lamoille is still above the seasonal average flow. Have seen a few micro caddis hatching #18 to #20 olive and tan bodied as well as some #14 cahills. Seen the light cahill duns at dusk and the spinners in the early am. Found a few sporadic rising rainbows to caddis in the morning. The fishing on the Lamoille this weekend has been decent with a mixed bag of wild trout and stocked trout. Had a guest this morning land a measured 18" wild rainbow. Great looking trout that ate a #12 tungsten prince nymph. Most of our fish we have been catching are in the 7" to 12" range so when you get one over 15", pretty nice moment. Had a few trout rise and take a #18 tan bodied x-caddis or a #18 olive caddis pupa drifted just below the surface. Fly fished a north east kingdom lake last night for the Hex hatch. We used my boat and set up where a brook dumped into the lake and had a soft bottom that abutted a sharp drop off into deeper water. The Hex is a burrowing nymph and rises out of sediment ridden bottoms. The hatch came off pretty well around 9:00pm. Awful big fly! The rainbows in this lake were not overly responsive last night. We did get a few chances to cast to some cruising fish, but it was not easy. Caught a few perch stripping back a Hex nymph, but no fish on the dry. Casting distance and accuracy is a must on the Hex hatch and figuring out the direction the trout are moving can be tough when it gets dark. We got pushed off the water by a massive thunderstorm. Pretty interesting hatch to witness even when the fishing is tough. Well, guiding out of the boat the next few days for smallmouth. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

mountain brook trout and lake fishing for smallies

2011-07-02T13:04:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Nice day out. Not too often that we have seen the sun this spring and summer. Heavy fog this morning on the lake I guided with my boat. Surface temperature was in the high sixties with a slight breeze from the south. Not much of surface bite for the bass today. We had to work hard for 2 landed smallmouth between 1lb and 2lbs. Both good strong fighters and jumpers. We found each fish located in deeper water off islands. Right at the end of points that slowly tapered into deeper water. Did see a few large fish in shallow, but they did not want to play. Landed a ton of large yellow perch and 1 pickerel. A deep diving crank bait that imitated a craw fish was the lure of the day. Last night I guided two fly anglers on a small mountain brook where the water temperature was 57 degrees. The water level was still above the seasonal average, but the clarity was fine. Saw a number of #14 yellow sallies hatching. We fished rubber legged stimulators and found brook trout in big primary pools. Not many fish in secondary water. We landed several 8" plus brookies and lost a few. All upstream presentation with a high stick mend. No fly line on the water. Pretty consistent fishing and good to see all different size classes of brook trout. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

working upstream

2011-07-01T09:47:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday afternoon under gray damp skies. Some on and off light showers. Saw a decent hatch of #20 BWO's and actually some smaller wild rainbows eating off the top. Water temperature was 63 degrees and the level was still slightly above the seasonal average. We walked up stream through a wide variety of water types from deep swift plunge pools to long riffles to pools. The rig of the day was a #12 tungsten prince nymph with a #18 BWO dropper and a #12 Black Copper John with a #18 olive caddis pupa. We hooked fish on all of the fly patterns. Landed wild rainbows up to 11" and wild and stocked brown trout up to 10". No giant fish but good steady action. The key to catching this trout was a good dead drift and quick response time when the strike indicator danced. You have to trust the indicator in swift water and set the hook. A pretty cool sensation when the indicator goes down and you feel the electricity of a trout on the other end of the line. All up stream presentations in order to sink the flies and not spook the fish. I will be guiding this afternoon and all weekend. Looking busy and the weather looks good so fish on! Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

really good afternoon of fishing

2011-06-30T09:20:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Spent a nice afternoon on the Lamoille watershed yesterday chasing trout with the fly. Nice weather for fishing with cool air temperatures and cloudy skies. Water temperatures ranged from 61 degrees to 64 degrees. Water levels were slightly above the seasonal average. Had to nymph fish with an indicator for a good part of the afternoon. A #14 tungsten red thread prince nymph with a #16 olive caddis pupa as a dropper was a productive rig. Landed several 8" to 11" wild rainbows on that rig and the fish ate both fly patterns. Fished some heavy pocket water and line control was very important. No fly line on the water and a lot of high stick mending. Strikes were unmistakable as the indicator went shooting up stream every time a fish took the fly. Ventured into a few very large plunge pools and worked a #10 heavily weighted wooly bugger under an indicator. I moved the indicator up the line as the plunge pools had a fair amount of water in them and I wanted the fly to get down. I usually set the indicator about a arm's length away from the fly. Anyway, it did not take long before a very large brown trout was all over the fly and hooked. Unfortunately the fish came undone and spit the fly. Still got a good look at the big boy and he will be there for my next visit. Stopped at the main stem of the Lamoille on the way home at a large pool that has frequently rising fish at dusk. Saw a pretty good hatch of #14 light cahills and the trout responding to the light colored fly. Watched and attemtpted to catch a brown trout that was gulping the may fly in a giant back eddy. The fish was moving around eating and it took awhile to figure out its feeding pattern. There was at least 8" between the dorsal fin and the tail of this large brown trout. I would have guessed it to be at least 18" long as I got a really good luck at it from above the river. Never got into the stream as I could cast to it from the bank. This trout consumed me and I did even attempt to cast to the other rising fish. Unfortunately the brown was smarter than I and I was unable to get it to eat before daylight ran out. It appeared to be eating emergers from the looks of the rise form. I saw the dorsal and tail more than the nose sticking out of the water. I have it marked and will try again. Not every day a big fish like that eats off the surface. Hex hatch is going on. Really challenging fishing, but an awesome display of rising fish. I will off to guide trout this afternoon. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

cranking smallmouth

2011-06-28T09:48:00.000-04:00

small stream and big fish

2011-06-28T09:45:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Water levels are dropping and our streams are looking pretty decent. The Lamoille looked excellent this morning above Morrisville. The Winooski is still high and will take a little time to settle down. Guided a small stream last night that holds wild rainbows and native brook trout. Water flow was above the seasonal average and the clarity was excellent. Water temperature was 60 degrees. This little brook is tree lined with some tricky fly casting involved. You have to think about where you stand before casting due to the spook factor and the abundant trees and bushes. We worked a #10 rubber legged stimulator dry fly on a 6'6" 3 wt. and a #12 black double tungsten stone fly under a white indicator on a 7'9" 3wt. Most of the rainbows and brookies we caught were on the dry fly. Did have a few fish take the stone fly in some of the deeper plunge pools. Fish of the day was a wild 12" rainbow that jumped several times and I though it might jump right into a tree. Also, landed a legitimate 10" native male brook trout. The surface takes were all pretty explosive. We landed another half a dozen bows and brookies and missed and lost a few. Fun when you are using slow action 3wts. in a small brook. Levels the playing field with the size of the fish you are catching and the wild rainbows in this brook are full of piss and vinegar. Typically your larger small stream fish will show themselves after a high water event and the levels are dropping. On a bad note, some outfitter who is using a drift boat is not respecting the land. I noticed on the Lamoille this morning where a boat and trailer trampled down a hay filed and then flattened several trees that made up a shaky riparian buffer zone. What irritates me is these tree where planted by the Lamoiile River Anglers Association a few years back and now that are pretty much killed. I do not own a drift boat because there really is not a lot of water to float in these parts. I use a motorboat on lakes and ponds where there are boat launches. I do not approve of trashing a stream bank in order dump in a drift boat that scares more fish than you catch. Sorry to rant and rave, but this action shows how someone just does not care about the state of our that the rivers they make money from. Give something to back to the stream versus destroying the buffer areas!!! Anywho, hopefully no rain in sight and the trout fishing will remain good as long as weather stays cool. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

wet weekend

2011-06-27T12:46:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Man, it just keeps raining. Rained all weekend and puffed up our streams. Nice day today with sun and warmer air temperatures. Lost a couple of trout trips this weekend due to the persistent rain and high water. Guided this morning on a swollen brook that has clear, but higher than average water flows. Water temperature was 56 degrees. We fly fished with 2wt. and 3wt. outfits and big bushy dry flies. A #10 royal rubber legged stimulator to be exact. Not a matching the hatch stream. We covered a lot of water to catch 7 brook trout. Missed another half a dozen fish. Where we found calm water off the main current we had trout rise to the fly. Nothing huge, but nice to see trout eating off the top even in way high water. Really important to fish a short line and keep line control in order to get a decent drift. Short line is easier to mend and also easier setting the hook when the trout rose to eat. I am off to guide again this afternoon and will be fly fishing in a small stream for brookies and brown trout. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

fishing by ourselves

2011-06-24T23:11:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, I guess the wet weather scares anglers off and away from the water. No one fishing on the lake I guided this morning with the boat. Pretty peaceful and quiet. Water was pretty calm and the surface temperature was in the high 60's. Low light with heavy clouds and a couple of light brief showers. We spin fished the surface for smallmouth bass with a jointed blue and silver floating rapala. Worked rocky points and ledge rock areas. The bass were holding off the deeper parts of the points and very well could have been suspended. The first fish of the day was 16". Caught 5 more smallmouth in the 6" to 12" range and then the big boy. The top water bite slowed a bit by mid morning so we changed to a deep diving craw fish pattern crank bait and immediately hooked and landed a 19" smallmouth. Really nice strong looking fish that was full of piss and vinegar. Not a bad morning of smallie fishing. Really important to be dialed in when fishing the surface as you just never know when a strike will occur. More rain today has my range gauge in Stowe measuring close to an 1" over the last 24 hours. Our streams are high and dirty again. Will be fishing small streams this weekend as the Lamoille and Winooski will take a few days to calm down. Remember to clean you gear

wet again

2011-06-23T12:45:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Looks like rain for the next couple of days. Showers on and off and nice cool air temperatures. If we avoid thunderstorms, our streams and brooks should stay fine. Guided the Lamoille this morning and fished on a Winooski tributary yesterday afternoon. I have found water temperatures between 58 degrees on the small stream to 62 degrees on the main stem of the Lamoille. Not too much for insect activity. A few random #14 yellow sallies yesterday and this morning a few #18 Blue Winged Olives. Lots of #16 to #18 olive bodied caddis and tan bodied caddis encased on large boulders. No rising fish. Last night a #14 light green stimulator drew a fair amount of attention from 4" to 8" wild rainbows and brook trout. A lot of walking between knee deep holding water, but good fun watching the fish come to the fly. Really enjoy seeing the fish eat. This morning we nymphed with a #16 olive caddis and #18 peacock herl soft hackle as a dropper. Rigged the the two flies under indicators and dead drifted several pools. We tried a blindly fished #12 ausable wulff and #16 usual, but no takers. We had 11 trout eat the fly and we landed 2 fiesty wild rainbows on dropper fly. Saw no stocked fish. They must have really taken a beating on the Lamoille during the high water. Well, I fine by the weather as long our streams do not get too high or dirty. Off to fish smallies in the am from the boat. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

longest day of the year and great fishing

2011-06-22T09:44:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Really nice weather pattern for fly fishing our trout streams currently. Cool nights into the 50's and cool mornings with bright sunny days warming into the high 70's. The morning trout fishing has been outstanding. I guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday morning where the water temperature was 60 degrees at 6:00am. Nice #16 tan bodied caddis hatch all morning as well as some #18 caddis hatching and #14 rusty mayfly spinner was egg laying. We found fish rising subtly to the spinner and good splashy rise forms to the caddis. The rig of the day was a #16 parachute caddis with a #16 caddis pupa dropper. We landed 5 stocked brown trout and 3 wild rainbows. Probably hooked and lost another 7 fish. We found adult fish rising in big primary pools and younger smaller trout rising in the riffles. I was introduced to an interesting method of fishing yesterday by my guest. He had a Tenkara rod which is a form of fishing used in Japan. A long telescoping rod without a reel with a fluorocarbon leader attached to the tip of the rod. No reel what so ever. The rod was 11' and the leader was slightly longer. You could false cast this rig and it was really slick for short drifts and casts. Reminded me of a bamboo cane pole I used as a kid to catch bream and crappie. We did land a couple of fish using it and and lost a few. Pretty interesting and I think I will be looking into the Tenkara set-up. With the bright days, I prefer fishing in the morning as the afternoon has a limited window of opportunity when it is so bright. Right at dusk basically. Will be chasing trout in the morning tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. have fun, Willy

Father's Day weekend

2011-06-20T06:41:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Spent the last two days guiding for trout and smallmouth bass. Nice weather front has cooled things off, but also presented some wind issues yesterday. River water temperatures have remained in the low sixties and levels are still slightly higher than the seasonal average. The lake I was on yesterday morning with the boat was 68 degrees on the surface. Saturday the trout fishing was pretty decent as we fished a river that holds lake run fish. We landed 3 rainbows with 2 of the fish being wild trout. The largest of the bunch made some spectacular leaps out of the water. Streamer fishing was in order with no bug activity and the fish unwilling to eat nymphs. A crawfish pattern seemed to be the ticket. All of the fish were holding in deeper pools and rose to eat the streamer fly. The smallmouth fishing was pretty darn good yesterday morning before the wind really began to blow. We were on the water fishing by 5:30am and fished surface flies the entire time. We found smallmouth in usual places like big rock points and humps. The fish were holding on the deeper sides of the points. Also, fished some old wood that was abutted by random large boulders on a drop off. You could see the smallmouth come up in the water column and eat the fly. A blue and white foam slider was the most productive fly and most of the strikes came when the fly hit the water or after the first movement of the fly on the surface. Good surface takes with lots of jumping. We landed 9 smallies and missed or lost another 7 fish. No monsters yesterday, buts lots of action. I am taking today off from fishing after a week straight and will be back after the trout tomorrow am. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

working for trout

2011-06-18T06:46:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided a double yesterday starting on the upper Winooski in the morning and then finished the day on the Lamoille. Yes, I did change wading gear and make sure that I did not move anything from one watershed to another. Water temperature on the Winooski was 60 degrees and the water was almost twice the seasonal flow average. The color of the water was slightly off or even say dingy. Not much for insects hatching and no rising fish. We nymphed and worked a few streamers. We covered a fair amount of water were able to land 5 wild rainbows all under 12". Even at a young age the rainbows all got air time. A #10 olive and black heavily weighted wooly bugger accounted for one fish. A #12 tungsten prince and a #16 olive caddis pupa accounted for the other trout. We did not find any consistency in the fishing and the trout were holding in heavy water as well as slow pools. Last night on the Lamoille the water temperature was 65 degrees and the water level was above the seasonal average. Saw a number of #16 to #18 caddis hatching at dusk as well as #16 sulphers. We found a few rising fish, but they were all young rainbows. Nymphing a #16olive caddis pupa with #18 pheasant tail under an indicator produced 1 landed wild rainbow and several missed or lost fish. We were able to get the rising trout at dusk to eat a #16 the usual and #16 parachute sulpher. Still no larger fish showing their face. Considering the conditions, the fishing was not fast and furious. Nice overcast day with cool air temperatures, you would have thought we would have caught a ton of fish. We did have the rivers to ourselves, that is always a bonus. I think the higher than average flows had an impact on the fishing yesterday, but who knows. You can only catch them if your fly is in the water. Off to tug on trout today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. have fun, Willy

dusk and dawn

2011-06-16T12:16:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Nice weather finally. Really enjoying the dry spell with the sun. Of course these big bright sunny days change the prime fishing times, but who cares about getting up at 4:30am to go fishing? Been guiding in the morning and evenings. Right now you want to fish either very early or late in the day to dusk due to light levels and water temperatures. This morning we chased smallmouth bass from my boat with the fly rod and spin rod. Surface temperature was 64 degrees with no wind. We worked large rocky points that dropped into deeper water with a surface popper that looked like a frog and a floating rapala. Both the fly and lure were equally productive and we landed 15 smallmouth bass between 6" and 16". We covered a lot of water and made lots of casts. The trout fishing has been crazy right at dark. Fish rising everywhere eating sulphers, egg laying caddis, and even saw a few drakes. The last hour of dark seems to be the magic hour for rising fish. Trout fishing in the morning has been steady as well, just not as much rising activity. Flies right now, olive and tan bodied caddis between #16 and #18, sulphers between #14 and #18, and drakes between #10 and #12. I have been mostly using an #16 x-caddis, #16 pheasant tails, and #12 white wulff. The fish have not seemed overly fussy. Make a good drift and good things happen. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have fun, Willy

wet weather

2011-06-12T15:03:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Been guiding for trout the last two days in some nice cool damp weather. I did two trips on the Lamoille yesterday and the water temperature dropped from the morning to evening. It was 62 degrees at 5:30 am and 59 degrees at 7:00pm. I was up stream in the afternoon and we did receive almost 3/8" of inch of rain between my trips. Last night brought another 1/2" of rain and it is raining now. The small stream I fished this morning was 56 degrees. Might as well get used to the higher than average water levels. It seems like it will be that way for awhile. Good for the fish. We saw a few #15 olive bodied caddis hatching yesterday morning but only a few rising fish nothing with regularity. We caught 4 stocked rainbows and 1 wild bow with a #14 orange bodied usual swung in the current and a #16 olive wire caddis. The afternoon brought on a great hatch of #20 BWO's, but we found absolutely no rising trout. I think the rising water level from the afternoon rain put the fish down. We did see a few #16 sulphurs hatching at dusk, but not in great numbers. We landed one wild rainbow that ate a #12 ausable wulff, go figure. This morning was a nice small stream expereince for brook trout. Man, are they user friendly and willing to eat big silly dry flies. Good fun with a 2wt.and 3wt. Looks cool for the next few days, so rivers temperatures should stay nice. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

stocked trout

2011-06-11T04:46:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Spent a full day guiding on a Lamoille tributary yesterday. Thunderstorms the previous night had dropped a 1/2" of rain at my house in Stowe and all of our rivers came up. The Lamoille was up and off color. Where we fished the clarity was fine, but the water level was high. Nice day to be outside with cloudy skies turning to sunny skies by mid day and a nice cooler air temperatures. Water temperature was 62 degrees and we saw a few #16 olive bodied caddis hatching. Found a few rising fish, but not many. We mostly nymphed in the morning with a #12 prince and #16 caddis pupa dropper. We missed a few fish and worked for strikes. By mid morning we changed 2 a dry dropper rig and really started to pick up some fish. We caught a lot of stocked brown trout on the dry and and wet fly. Loads of fun and pretty easy action. All of the fish were holding intow big stable pools. Off to chase trout his am. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

getting warm

2011-06-09T20:31:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Been hot and muggy over the last couple of days and our trout streams are already heating up. Guided on the Lamoille today and the water temperature was 68 degrees and moving towards 70 degrees. Water level is still higher than average, but the clarity is fine and the fish do not seem to care. Pretty interesting seeing all of the bank erosion and damage from the high water events of the spring. Turned over a lot rocks in several riffles and I did not find a ton of insects. A fair amount of caddis, but few stoneflies or mayflies. We spin fished for trout today casting a natural rebel craw and a small brown trout imitation. We had 4 rainbows take the plugs with two fish being wild and two stocked. Pretty interesting watching how much harder the wild fish fight. Real jumpers. Looks like thunderstorms are moving through the Stowe area and the fishing should be very good this weekend with the air temperatures cooling off. Water temperatures will cool down and it looks like some cloudy conditions. Perfect, I will be on the water the next few days. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. have fun, Willy

silver king

2011-06-06T13:30:00.002-04:00

Time is now to be on a trout stream in Vermont

2011-06-06T13:28:00.002-04:00

Hi folks, Now is the time of the year that you want to be everywhere at once to fish. The fishing is stellar presently and I just returned from trip up north for Landlocked Salmon. Water levels are still high, but the clarity is excellent and there are a wide variety of hatching insects. Water temperatures have ranged from 58 degrees to 64 degrees over the last couple of days. Saw a few #12 March Browns blast off today, a number of #16 olive bodied caddis hatching, and a few #14 rusty spinners landing on the water. A few small fish were rising. We targeted landlocked slamon with streamer patterns and nymphs. A #10 black ghost and #8 magog smelt were the early morning flies and drew a little interest except for 1 mid size salmon that jumped and pitched the fly. A #10 red head tungsten prince nymph with a #16 olive wire caddis under indicator was the ticket. We found spawning smallmouth protecting beds in big back eddies and very slow currents. We left them alone for the most part. Not the target species though we did land several including a fine 18" specimen on a 5wt. The salmon were holding in the heavier water and we landed a solid 4lb 22" male salmon. A real silver bullet. Hooked another salmon that was even larger but the tail walk across the pool created separation from the fly rod. The 22" measured salmon was chased down stream almost a football field through really nasty heavy water and still stayed hooked. Man do landlocked salmon fight. We landed one salmon per and a 15" salmon. Lots of fall fish in the mix. The best part of the morning was having the river to ourselves. Get out fish, either early or late in the day. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. have Fun, Willy

Lamoille looking good and fishing well

2011-06-04T10:32:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Just returned from an early morning fishing trip on the Lamoille. Water temperature was 55 degrees at 6:00am. The water level is still about twice the seasonal flow average, but the clarity was excellent. No hatching insects, but I did find a few random rising trout that appeared to be eating #14 mayfly spinner. Had 4 different trout attempt to eat a orange strike indicator. Landed a couple of stocked rainbows in the 10" to 12" class and missed or lost another 4 fish. A #12 Ausable Wulff drew a few random strikes. A double nymph rig with a #12 flashback pheasant tail and #16 olive wire caddis produced some interest as well. The big water certainly had the trout spread out a bit and I think the flow prohibited some fishing from moving too far to eat. Afternoon to dusk probably would be the time to fish on a day like today due to the cool morning. It was bit chilly out there before the sun hit the water. Look for #14 to #18 sulphurs and #14 to #18 caddis presently. Still some random #12 March Browns hatching and it will not be long before the Drakes. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

post spawn smallmouth

2011-06-02T12:25:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided on my boat again yesterday and we dodged thunderstorms once again. Really big light show at 5:30am that forced us off the water temporarily. However, my clients and I waited it out and we got back after the smallmoth bass. The water temperature on the surface 66 degrees and the clarity was off color. Still a lot of debris in the water and we had to watch out with the boat not to hit anything. Fished with spin gear and worked top water rapalas in the morning before the wind picked up from the south and the sun began to shine. Mid morning we changed directions and jig fished with crawfish colored tube jigs on 1/8th oz. jig head and also used a green 6" zoom lizard. We landed several small bass on topwaters and missed a few lunkers. The jig fishing produced a lot of action and we landed several fish in the 14" to 16" class. All of the bass were holding off of rock points and humps. Lots of wood on the bottom so we texas rigged our jigs. Not a bad day of fishing and it appeared that every fish we caught was post spawn. Big cold front has descended upon us and our rivers are coming down. Small streams look decent and I am looking forward to trout fishing in a river. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have fun, Willy

hey! the sun

2011-05-31T22:36:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Put the boat in the water early am today guiding bass and northern. Water was extremely clear even though we have received over 3.5" of rain in the last week. Surface temperature was 64 degrees in the morning and the sun shined brightly all day. A little north breeze, but not enough to influence anything. We pounded shoreline with poppers and sliders for smallmouth and largemouth bass. You could see some abandoned spawning beds as well as occupied spawning beds. Spotted a lot of smallmouth, largemouth, and panfish cruising in really skinny water. Tough fish to catch and long casts were required due to the clarity of water and lack of wind. Trust me, the fish can see our big profile in a boat with conditions like today. We left the spawners alone. We ended up landing 7 smallmouth on surface flies. We changed directions and cast for northern pike in deeper water off forming weeds bed adjacent to good depth transition. Landed two decent northern between 22" and 28" as well as one of the largest black crappie I have ever seen. Red and orange, red and white, and black and chartruse all drew interest. Red and orange has been the best color combo this year for me while guiding. Will be in the boat early am. The Lamoille and Winooski are stuffed presently, though some small streams looked clear but high. One of these days we will trout fish in the rivers. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

smallmouth and wet weather

2011-05-30T08:38:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, The fishing gods were shining on me once again yesterday as I was able to take my clients out on my boat without getting rained on. We fly fished on a large body of water for smallmouth bass with the fly rods. Surface temperature was 61 degrees in the morning with overcast skies and very little wind. We stayed to shoreline cover and worked large rock points and rocky shorelines. The first cast of the day produced a 12" smallie on a frog pattern popper. You never know how the fishing will be from the point on, you could catch a lot fish or not see another. We fell in between. We saw few other decent sized bass come to the fly as well as several larger pumpkin seed. We changed flies from surface poppers to a bright chartruse subsurface snook fly and started to see large fish after the fly. The fish of the day was a egg laden female who measured slightly over 17" Fly fishing can enjoyed on a wide variety of species is not only for trout. Our rivers are still high and dirty from 3 days of thunderstorms. Looks like the weather is going to change and dry up. In the mean time I will continue using my motorboat for guide trips catching bass and pike. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

smallmouth the fly

2011-05-30T08:29:00.000-04:00

cating flies to pan fish

2011-05-29T07:55:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Guided a full day yesterday on small lake where we waded and fly fished. Surface temperature was 63 degrees and there was a slight south breeze. Still pretty muggy and warm and we were able to dodge the thunderstorms once again. With a large group and our rivers being unfishable wading a lake was a good option. We were able to walk out on a firm bottom and cast parallel to the shoreline and out to the first drop off. Ever notice that shore anglers cast as far out into a lake as possible and that boat anglers cast as far to the shore as possible? Anyhow, we had a lot fun tugging on pumpkin seed, rock bass, blue gill, and perch. We did not catch any northern or smallmouth. For beginner fly anglers it was a lot of fun and a great way to learn about casting, working a surface fly, hooking a fish, and playing a fish with a fly rod. Never underestimate what lurks in the shallow margins of a lake, especially this time of the year. You do not always need a boat to catch fish. Off to chase smallmouth this morning. Hopefully, we can dodge the weather again and I glad I have a boat. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

fly fishing from the boat

2011-05-28T08:11:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Got away with another guided trip yesterday prior to the massive thunderstorms. Glad I have a motorboat during these times when are rivers are not even approachable. We have received almost 2.5" of rain at my house in Stowe over the last 48 hours. Stream fishing is not an option presently. The lake we fished was 63 degrees on the surface and there was a steady breeze from the north. We worked shoreline weed beds in about 5' to 10' of water. We made a lot casts for 2 northern pike we landed on the fly. The color of the day was red and white and chartruse and white. Missed a couple of takes from pike and also landed some large greedy yellow perch. Letting the fly sink to the bottom and working back with long slow strips produced strikes.More thunderstorms in order for today so pay attention to the weather and be safe. I am off to guide pike and smallies once again. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. have fun, Willy

more smallmouths

2011-05-27T10:32:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided yesterday midday prior to the torrential thunderstorms that swept through the area. We fly fished a river that dumps into a lake and is influenced by lake run run fish like rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, smallmouth bass, suckers, fall fish, and yellow perch. Water temperature was 59 degrees and slightly above its seasonal average flow. Clarity was decent and we saw a few #14 Grey fox mayflies hatching. No rising fish. We dead drifted #10 olive wooly buggers and swept a bead headed white winged zonker through the primary pools. No trout, but we did land a 17" smallmouth and a 12" smallmouth. Loads of fun on a 4wt. Unfortunately the big rain last night (1" at my house in Stowe) has shut down our rivers for a few days. Looking forward to May ending and all of the damn rain. Will be guiding all weekend and it looks like the focus will be lakes and ponds. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

perch, pike, smallmouth, and the rusty spinner

2011-05-25T22:06:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Really have been mixing it up the last couple of days. Some old school and catching different types of fish on the fly. Remember fly fishing is not all about trout, merely some of its origins. Visited a local lake river system with a friend the 2 days ago in search of big yellow perch for fish sandwiches. Nothing better than garden hackle for catching fish to eat. Water was 60 degrees, a little off color, with a nice early morning mist. Did see a Bald Eagle, pretty cool. We used light spinning rods with small #10 red octopus hooks and bloobs of worms from our vegetable gardens. Long casts and then working the bait back towards the bank from a deeper channel produced a wild rainbow, a native brookie, a sucker, a fall fish, a smallmouth bass, and yes enough large yellow perch for fish sandwiches. By the way, we did not hook anything deeply and were able to release the trout and bass with out any issues. Today I guided in my boat all day with a very good father son fly angler combination. We started the morning in pursuit of northern pike and spent the afternoon chasing prespawn smallmouth bass. Bright colored flies were the order of the day. Red and Orange and Red and Yellow seducers and deceivers worked well on the pike. Chartruse seemed to be the color for the smallies. Beautiful weather day with early morning clouds and afternoon bright sun. Water temperatures ranged from 60 to 64 degrees by late afternoon. Nice mix of fish today and we even caught a large bullhead on a fly (first for me as a guide), yellow perch, and sunfish. Tonight I attended the Lamoille River Anglers Association meeting on the Lamoille River with Fish and Wildlife Comissioner Pat Berry. The Lamoille was twice it s normal flow for this time of the year and the water temperature was 62 degrees. Water clarity was good with a Hendrickson Spinner fall and numbers of #16 egg laying caddis. Found a rising fish in the main current of the tailout of a giant primary pool. Eating spinners at dusk. So, #12 rusty spinner and little patience produced a beautiful jumping wild rainbow. Good day of fishing. Off to do it again tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-natives at home. Have Fun, Willy

big smallmouth

2011-05-23T12:47:00.000-04:00

first smallmouth of the year

2011-05-23T10:13:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Guided from my boat yesterday on a local body of water. We were fly fishing for northern pike. Good breeze from the south and the surface temperature of the water was 61 degrees. The water color is tanin at this lake and generally not gin clear. Bright colored flies were in order. We cast a 8wt. outfit with a floating line and a leader with a wire shock tippet. The fly of the day was red and yellow 1/0 deceiver. Right off the get go we hooked a large northern in the 30" class. Saw the pike take the fly. Really impressive seeing the big head and mouth open up and inhale the deceiver. Unfortunately the fish was lost at the boat after a pretty good battle. Landed a smaller northern with the same fly pattern. The fish of the day was 20" (measured) smallmouth bass. Big ripe female who looked like she had been around the block. Pretty funny that the first smallmouth of the season I see caught is a trophy. Setting the bar high. We fished in fairly shallow water working shoreline cover with downed wood and new growth weed beds. Anyway, lots of casting and lots of fun. Off to guide with the boat again today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

using the net

2011-05-23T10:05:00.000-04:00