Big Vermont wild trout on a dry fly

Hi Folks, Guided an accomplished fly angler today on a Lamoille river tributary.  Water temperature was 52 degrees on a cloudy overcast day with a short brief showing from the sun.  Saw a great hatch of #14 Hendrickson mayflies today with trout rising in every pool we fished.  We took advantage of a good thing and landed 3 trout over 17".  The first fish was an almost 20" wild rainbow who was gulping duns in the lower section of a pool.  My client did a great job casting a 3wt. and playing these larger fish on such a light rod.  It was funny that in the same pool we were unable to get several smaller fish to eat.  Moving upstream we found the large brown trout who was swinging in the slow tail out of a pool gulping duns.  Pretty fun watching big sail boat looking mayflies drifting downstream and disappearing into the hungry mouth of a trout.  We got the brown to eat pretty quickly on a #14 red quill tied Catskill style.  The brown was a solid 18" wild fish full of piss and vinegar.  In our next spot we found a healthy 17" wild rainbow gulping duns in heavier water.  Love the air time of wild rainbows.  We landed one more smaller 14" wild rainbow on a #14 sparkle dun.  We missed a couple of fish and lost another but we did land the ones that count.  Awesome day with zero fishing pressure.  We ended the day on a pool with a large number of spinners over the riffles.  The spinner fall did not go down like we hoped.  Will have pictures of these fish soon.  Weather looks wet over the next few days.  We will see how it impacts the fishing.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

cool damp day

Hi Folks, guided a group of fly anglers yesterday midday on the Lamoille.  Nice cold rainy day that would have appeared to be perfect for fishing.  Looks can be deceiving.  The water temperature was a cool 46 degrees.  It was like fly fishing the dead sea.  We did witness a small hatch of #16/#18 olives, but once again no fish responding.  I did not see one #14 Hendrickson mayfly after witnessing a massive hatch of the mayfly a couple days prior.  My feeling is that until the water temperatures warm to above 50 degrees the trout fishing will be sporadic at best in our streams.  Looks like a warmer spell over the next few days.  Lots of fishing opportunities right now with walleye season opening on Saturday, pike fishing in the shallows taking place, and surface fishing for salmonids on any trout lake.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

river clean-up and massive mayfly hatch

Hi Folks, Yesterday  I participated in the annual Lamoille River Anglers Association river clean-up and BBQ.  Nice to float the river in a canoe and pick up all of the rubbish and tires.  As a fishing guide I feel that it is my obligation to give something back to the resource I so enjoy and make a living from.  The wind really blew yesterday hard out of the north west.  River level are decent for this time of the year.  The water was barely 50 degrees.  We witnessed one of the best #14 Hendrickson hatches I have seen on the Lamoille.  The hatch starting coming off around 2:30pm and was still going strong at 4pm when we were pulling out of the river.  Bugs everywhere, but no surface feeding trout.  Can't say that it is the first time that I have witnessed this hatch like this without fish responding.  Always seems to be a water temperature issue.  Well I am guiding the Lamoille with the fly tomorrow and I hope that the hatch is going strong for my guests.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

damn wind

Hi Folks, guided yesterday with a repeat spin angler and we were stymied by the wind.  We had planned to take out my boat and fish for northern pike.  With a steady wind from the NW at 15mph to 25mph the boat was out of the question.  Nice sunny day but the air temperatures never surpassed 50 degrees.  The river we ended up wading was a cool 45 degrees and extremely clear.  We could still use some rain as our rivers are low for this time of the year and the snow pack has pretty much melted away.  I did see a few #14/#16 Hendrickson hatching late in the day yesterday, but no fish responding.   We were casting spoons ans smelt imitation plugs.  We did manage to hook 1 decent jumping wild rainbow.  Otherwise the fishing was pretty slow.  I have to remind myself that it is only the end of April and the best fishing is yet to come.  I will on the Lamoille this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

in the net

trying new water

Hi Folks, Still kind of cold in the Stowe area.  Snowing on and off today.  We did receive some much needed rain over the last week and air temperatures have remained on the cool side.  Our streams are still a bit cool and water temperatures have been in the mid to high 40's.  I went down country to the East Branch and West Branch of the Delaware river for some fly fishing.  Nice place and beautiful river valleys.  Too much posted land.  Had a great float down the East Branch and managed to land a 22.5" male brown trout on a #14 Hendrickson emerger.  My largest dry fly brown in the U.S.  The trout put me into my backing.  Really nice fishing experience on a fertile hatch friendly watershed.  Well, back in Vermont we should be seeing #14/#16 Hendricksons, #16 Blue Quills, #16/#18 charcoal bodied caddis, #16 apple bodied caddis, and #18 olives.  Off to pike fish tomorrow, hope the wind is kind.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

spawning rainbows

Hi folks, Been spending some time on my local streams in the Stowe area.  We have lots of fishing opportunities with wild rainbow, wild brown trout, and native brook trout in our of our Stowe brooks.  Wind has been howling so I have opted to keep the boat in the barn.  My boat is ready to go and I just need the wind to lay down a bit.  River water temperatures have been hovering around 50 degrees.  The stream I visited yesterday was 50 on the nose and clear and low.  No hatching insects.  We should be seeing #14/#16 little brown stone flies, #14 Hendricksons, #16/#18 Blue Quills, #14-#18 candy apple green caddis and charcoal colored body caddis.  I did catch a small native brook trout yesterday on a #14 double tungsten black stone fly.  The high light of the day was spotting a larger rainbow trout holding over a spawning bed.  No I did not fish for this trout.  You could see the brushed out bed in gravel area at the tail out of a pool.  Makes sense, as rainbows spawn in mid 40 degree water temperatures and the eggs hatch out around 50 degrees to 58 degrees.  I was able to observe the trout for awhile before I spooked it.  Be careful walking around wild rainbow streams so you do not step on spawning beds.  Cool stuff.  Looks like a return to winter for a few days around here which will keep water temperatures in check.  Hopefully we get some much needed rain.  I will be gone for a few days fly fishing down south.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have fun, Willy

April heat

Hi folks, Guided today on the banks of a local reservoir today with aspiring spin anglers.  Crazy warm with day time air temperatures in the 80's.  The water temperature was 56 degrees in the shallow bay we fished.  I was on the Lamoille yesterday at midday and saw tons of #14 little brown stone flies hatching.  The water was really low and the water temperature was 54 degrees.  I am sure the Lamoille was even warmer today.  No question that mother nature is mixed up with the warmer than average weather.  Lots of spring flowers are already blooming that would not normally open up for several weeks.  My guess is all of our spring hatches are accelerated and in full action now.  Well,  we fished garden hackle under bobbers and did really well.  Landed 15 decent sized brown bullhead and 1 9" jumping wild rainbow.  Everyone was released safely with no deep hooking issues.  Things should cool back down, but we certainly need some rain.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have Fun, Willy

Opening Day

Hi folks, Great to be able to fish everywhere once again in the state of Vermont.  Due to the mild winter, there has been a fair amount of fishing opportunities prior to opening day today.  Whether you want to chase pike in dark bottomed shallow bays areas to trolling for salmon and lakers on the surface, all is possible with the early warm up and ice out this year.  The trout stream I fished this morning was 40 degrees and really low and clear.  Incredible that we need rain already, but things are pretty dry out there.  Not a lot of snow on top of Mt. Mansfield for run off.  Saw a great midday hatch of #14 little brown stone flies.  No trout responding to the stone flies.  Lake run rainbows on he Willoughby, Barton, and Lewis creek are all good options.  Early and late in he day is the best time to find lake run fish moving.  Pike fishing and resident river trout fishing should be pursued midday as to let the water warm up.  I will be fishing again tomorrow and we will see what the day brings.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Last fish of the ice fishing season

toothy critters

Hi Folks, Guided the hard water Saturday morning for northern pike.  20" of solid black ice on the lake we fished.  There wee some folks driving on, but not this fishing guide.  We set-up on the outside edge of a shallow bay where northern pike will be moving to spawn shortly if not already.  Beautiful day on the ice with no wind and sunny skies.  We set the tip ups with live and dead large golden shiners.  We had 2 flags all morning with fish on the line.  We did manage to land one large pike that was all of 32" and weighed in the 8lb plus class.  Big female who had a belly full of eggs.  She ate a dead bait off the bottom in 5' of water.  We released this fish as any pike over 30" is a female and why kill the future with a fish that will spawn?  Eat the smaller northerns and let the big hen fish go.  We did catch a small pike on a jig stick who ate a minnow on red hook.  Perch fishing was steady with perch from 4" to 10" caught all on jig sticks.  With the warm weather on the way, the ice fishing season will be coming to a close.  Once the ice breaks pike fishing with the fly can be outstanding.  I have guiding pike on the fly for almost 20 years and look forward each spring to catching some water wolfs on fur and feathers.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

reservoir brown

yeah man

Hi folks, Guided yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours at the Shanty.  Nice blanket of snow on top of 12.5" of black ice.  I like the snow pack on the ice to quiet things down.  Big in coming weather front I think really turned the fish on.   The fishing yesterday afternoon was completely different than a week ago when I last guided.  A week a go with a north wind and a glare ice surface we could not buy a bite except for a few small yellow perch.  It makes wonder about the snow on the ice and the weather.  We landed 4 wild rainbows yesterday and a 1 16" brown trout.  We caught all of the rainbows on jig sticks right below the shanty in 35' of water.  Hali jigs in gold and green tipped with maggots were the ticket.  The brown trout took a fat head minnow on tip up that was set 15' below the ice.  We also landed one of the biggest yellow perch I have sever seen.  It took a small golden shiner right under the ice.  Perch fishing off the bottom was also pretty darn good.  Lots of action.  A few weeks left in trout season so hopefully we can maintain some momentum and tug on some more trout.  Have fun, Willy

nice job

solid

Hi Folks, Guided the hard water yesterday with repeat guest who fish with me in the summer.  Beautiful day on the ice with very little wind and great walking conditions with sparse amount of snow on top of the 11.5" of ice.  Constant action yesterday as our tip-ups started popping the moment we set them under the ice.  We set up in a large basin over 30' to 50' of water.  Most of our set-ups were just below the ice to 15' down.  We used all but 2 of the 30 baits we brought onto the ice.  We landed a nice wild rainbow trout and 20 solid 9" to 12" yellow perch.  there was not much time for jigging.  The bait of the day were rosy red minnows.  The ice had receded a bit from the previous week and safe ice conditions might not last very long into March this year if we do not get some more cold weather.  Will be guiding again tomorrow.  Have Fun, Willy

lots of flags

Hi folks, Guided a large party over the weekend at my shanty.  Nice weather day prior to the Artic cold blast on Sunday.  Good solid 12" of black ice and very little snow cover. Creepers are a good idea as it is a little greasy walking around the ice.  We set up 20 tip ups tipped with rosy reds, small golden shiners, smelt, and crawlers.  We chased flags for most of the morning and caught lots of yellow perch and even a large bullhead.  Never caught a bullhead through the ice.  No trout, though there were a few flags where we missed the hook set.  Hard telling not knowing.  Most of our action came with the flags set between 10' and 20' below the ice.  Jig fishing stated off slow until we started chumming the water and then the perch bite really picked up.  Bright colored lures tipped with maggots and worms drew lots of interest.  Smelt fishing was pretty slow.  I will be back on the ice later in the week.  Have fun, Willy

trout fishing

Hi Folks, I had not been on the ice for a couple of weeks until yesterday. My daughter Lina Katherine Dietrich was born on 1/25/2012 at 1:44am in Burlington Vermont.  Not sure that new born infants and ice fishing go together.  However, I did manage with a friend to put out a 6' by 10' heated shanty a week ago on our local reservoir.  The shanty is pretty comfy and I think my daughter would like it. I guided yesterday afternoon into dusk.  There was a solid 10.5" of black ice and walking around was pretty easy if you have creepers on your feet.  Pretty slick out the hard water with the lack of snow.  We set up tip-ups for trout and jig fished for yellow perch and smelt.  The tip-ups were baited with worms in close to shore against rocks and right off sharp drop offs.  Looking for a big cruising brown trout.  Out in open water we set live smelt right under the ice and down through the water column.  We jigged several turns off the bottom with brightly colored Hali jigs tipped with maggots and caught perch and smelt.  the smelt fishing really picked up dusk.  The smelt moved up in the water column as the sun set.  Pretty typical.  The tip-ups only produce perch.  Pretty good action but not the target species.  Fun afternoon on the ice.  Trout season will run through the third Sunday in March.  I will be guiding again this weekend in between changing diapers and helping out my wife.  Have Fun, Willy

the new member of the catfish family

cold one on the ice

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

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