Hi Folks, Happy 4th of July. I have really enjoyed the last two days of guiding with the nice weather cool down we have been experiencing. Felt like Fall on Saturday. The weather change and subsequent cool down has allowed me to take clients on the big rivers once again. I did guide a little brook on Saturday and spent some time on a small stream yesterday afternoon prior to visiting the Winooski. The little brooks I have been are really low. Water temperatures were 58 to 60 degrees. The fishing in the small streams was decent, but a bit challenging to catch larger fish in the present conditions. I think the trout are tight and there is a percentage of them that are not willing to come out front their holding spots to chase down a fly. All the same we still have been catching brookies in these streams, just not a lot of big ones. Flies that have been productive have been a #12 Royal Wullf, #10 foam Royal Trude, #14 yellow stimulator, and a #14 yellow Humpy. I had guests on the main stem of the Lamoille yesterday morning and the water was a pleasant 64 degrees. Lots of #10 white may fly spinners in the morning hitting the water. I think they were Golden Drake or Potamanthus may flies. Under the sunny conditions I did not see any rising fish. Later in the morning there was a good hatch of #18/#20 micro caddis. We caught 3 wild rainbows and 1 wild brown on a #18 olive caddis pupa. Most of the takes were at the end of the drift. My second trip yesterday started on a small brook we moved to the main stem of the Winooski at dusk and had a really nice hour of trout fishing. Not much for rising fish and bugs hatching, but we got some nice fish to eat a #10 black double tungsten stone fly nymph. My young aspiring angler had his hand full with these trout. We fought one fish for almost a minute on a 7' 3wt. that just went ballistic. Jumped, pulled line, and changed direction continuously. Helluva an experience for someone's first real fish on a fly rod. The trout were holding in a heavy riffle and literally were eating the fly 5 feet in front of where we were standing. Pretty easy short drifts. With the nice cool down I am taking my clients to the Winooski this morning for a little trout fishing. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
