ice fishing 2012/2013

Hi folks, Hope everyone is well and bracing for winter.  Been away for a bit from fishing while I spent time in the Vermont woods chasing game.  I visited a local pike lake yesterday to find thin ice.  Been a fairly cold early winter and late fall in and around Stowe, but we still have had some warm weather and wind.  I measured less than 1" of ice on the lake.  There had been a 3" early in the week but it all broke up with the most recent warm spell.  It will not be too long before we have some ice to walk on.  Just remember to carry all of the safety gear early in the season like rope, ice picks, life preserver, and let some one know where you are heading.  My early season ice fishing will focus on northern pike and yellow perch fishing.  Trout season does not begin until the third Saturday in January.  Looking forward to getting out on the hard water.  Have Fun, Willy

End of the season

Hi Folks, Happy Halloween and the last day of trout fishing season.  I went up north on Monday to chase Landlocked Salmon.  Water level was about average for this time of the year and clarity was excellent.  Water temperature was 53 degrees and the wind was howling from the east.  Wow, the fish were everywhere int he river.  It was like looking in an aquarium as you could salmon in just about every pool with gravel.  The fish were in full on spawning mode.  We saw fish from 2lbs up to 10lbs. doing there thing.  Big females on spawning beds who were rolling.  Numbers of male salmon lined up behind the females getting ready to drop their load and competing for each female.  Saw one very large male just about eat a small male who got in the way.  We left the spawning fish alone and chased male salmon.  Swinging #8 mickey finns and a variety of nymphs was challenging.  Fish did not want to eat due to spawning.  Every so often after about a hundred drifts you would get one to open its mouth.  We  landed several very large fish and lost a few.  The good old red thread prince nymph seemed to be the most effective.  Good end to the season and off to hunt until ice fishing season.  Have Fun, Willy

going out with a bang

Hi Folks, Guided the main stem of the Lamoille yesterday afternoon.  Had the entire the place to ourselves with the exception of a flock of Turkeys that were begging to be shot in a corn field.  Water temperature was 51 degrees and the water clarity was excellent.  Saw two rising fish but they did not come up consistently and I am not really sure what they were eating.  Not really any hatching bugs.  We found trout in every pool we fished.  The fish were holding in the deeper slower parts of the pools. The fish of the day was awesome 18" wild rainbow that got out of the water multiple times.  Notice in the picture the big claw marks in it's back.  Got lucky and escaped a predator and then we released it after catching it.  I do think that the trout are overly fussy as to what they eat right now, they just are not going to work to hard as they water temperature cools off.   Dead drifting nymphs or casting streamers on a sink tip will all work.  Off to chase salmon tomorrow and then see what Hurricane Sandy brings.  The trout season concludes on Halloween.  Hopefully the does not get blown out, but we will see.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

really nice fishing day

Hi Folks, Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday on a perfect fall day.  Nice sunny warm afternoon with no wind.  Water temperature was 50 degrees and the level was about average for this time of the year.  No hatching insects or rising fish, but plenty of hungry wild trout.  We nymph fished with double rigs under indicators.   We had a #14 copper john with a #18 olive nymph.  We landed a dozen wild rainbows between 6" and 12".  Dead drifting the flies worked best and the fish were holding in the slower parts of pools.  I think every pool held a fish.  No brown trout yesterday or giant fish, but I think that was a product of the bright sun.  Off to chase trout again today.  Today and tomorrow could be it for trout fishing with the imminent arrival of Hurricane Sandy.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

trying to finish off with a bang

Hi Folks, Winding down my fall guiding schedule.  Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday afternoon.  Beautiful day to be on the water with air temperatures reaching the mid 50's.  The water temperature was 47  degrees and clarity was excellent.  Everyone seems so consumed with catching big fall spawning brown trout, but I like wild rainbows and they way they fight.  Yesterday afternoon we tangled with a handful of nice looking wild rainbows who looked like they handled the summer heat no problem.  We fished trout patterns that looked like a young brown trout and young rainbow trout.  Fun watching the large fish materialize from a deep pool to eat.  A week left in the trout season and a couple of trips left for me.  Been in the woods hunting a lot lately.  Really nice and quiet and pretty productive.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species art home.  Have fun, Willy

Winding down

Hi Folks, Guided yesterday for river trout with the fly.  Beautiful fall day out there with warm air temperatures and sunny skies.  Water temperature was 48 degrees and the clarity was fairly decent considering all of the recent rains.  Lots of debris in the water as the most of the leaves have now come off all of the trees.  Took my boat out with clients the other day and the surface temperature of the water was 47 degrees and we got snowed on.  Been blowing hard for most of October and boat control has been difficult on the lakes.   Fishing has been slow.  Not seeing much for fish.  Hatches have been non-existent.  Weird fall for fishing.  My focus is shifting to hunting, not guiding, but for my enjoyment.  Have a couple more trips prior to ice fishing season.  Will be chasing birds and going on a moose hunt. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

large river cannibals

Hi Folks, Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday afternoon under cloudy rainy conditions.  Water level was up but still down for this time of the year.  Temperature was 53 degrees and the clarity was excellent.  Fished with light spinning rods and trout imitation plugs.  Still lots of debris in the water but that is a product of the season.  We worked half a dozen pools casting into banks and towards visible structure in river.  Letting the plug swing in the current and then retrieving it slowly off the seam worked pretty well.  We hooked 7 wild trout yesterday afternoon and landed 2 nice wild rainbows.  Had one really large rainbow to our feet and lost it.  It was great to see the fish came out of no where to slam a rainbow trout imitation plug.  Lost two other jumping bows and had a very large brown trout attempt to eat a brown trout imitation plug.  Big trout eat little trout.  It was fun watching fish chase down the lures.  Water clarity and polarized sun glasses help.  Windy and cool the next few days.  I will  be in the boat.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

the big cool down

Hi folks, Been guiding from the boat and the in the Lamoille water shed over the last few days and Columbus Day weekend.  Finally cooled down out there and the leaves are really starting to blow off the trees.  Lots of junk in the rivers when drifting the fly.  Water temperatures in the Lamoille have been in the mid fifties midday and the lakes I have visited have been between 51 degrees and 54 degrees.  Still been pretty darn windy.  Water levels are up with all of the recent rain.  The fishing has been slow for my guests.  Working to hook a fish or two in the river but the trout are not coming to the net very easily.  Pike fishing has been the same.  The lake fishing has been tough due to the wind.  Been awful windy this fall.  Still no rising fishing in the rivers and hatches have been sparse.  Will be off to chase trout later today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

wet one

Hi Folks, Guided a group of spin and fly anglers on the Lamoille yesterday afternoon.  Nice drizzly day  for fishing.  Still pretty warm out there and the water temperature has only dropped to 59 degrees.  Saw a few #18/#20 BWO's hatching and actually saw a couple of rising fish.  Water level is still up but the clarity is fine.  We swung a #14 copper john with a #18 BWO nymph and missed a couple of fish.  The spin guys had a bit more luck landing 1 wild rainbow and a nice 15" wild male brown trout.  It still seems that the trout suffered in the Lamoille this summer as the fall river fishing has been slow in the main stem.  The Lamoille tributaries have been vey good for wild fish but the big water has been challenging.  I usually count on the massive hatches of BWOs this time of the year and I just have not seen it or fish for that matter.  I am not interested in stocked fish and I am referring to wild fish.  Working hard for a few trout each time out.  Will be changing directions over the next few days and chasing pike and bass.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

Peak

Hi Folks, Guided for the day yesterday on a Lamoille river tributary.  Big pocket water with wild brown trout, wild rainbow trout, native brookies and the occasional stocked brown trout.  We received almost 3/4" of rain on Sunday and into Monday and all of our streams are puffed up.  The Lamoille was unfishable yesterday and the stream we were on was high but clear.  The foliage is at peak right now and just sensational.  Air temperatures seem warmer than normal and it has been really pleasant on the water.  Water temperature was 59 degrees.  We fished two rigs yesterday with one rigged with a double nymph dropper rig and dry dropper rig.  We caught wild trout on both.  4th cast of the day produced a 15" hook jawed wild brown trout that ate a #18 copper john.  We lost an even bigger fish int he same hole about 12 casts later.  I had a client catch a nice wild brown on this same hole at this time last year.  Pretty cool.  We landed 2 other browns on the day and 3 wild rainbows.  We did lose a 3 fish and miss two.  We had a couple of wild rainbows and 1 brown take a #12 orange bodied stimulator.  Fun watching a fish materialize from in front of a large rock to eat.  Will be off to chasing trout this afternoon.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

chasing salmon

Hi Folks, Guided with the fly rods up north yesterday for landlocked salmon.  We were not the only ones who wanted to catch salmon as the river was pretty busy.  More anglers than I like to deal with generally.  Water flows are incredibly low and the temperature was 62 degrees.  We fished two rods with one rigged with a large #8 Royal Wulff and the other with #8 prince nymph with a #16 olive flash back hare's ear nymph under an indicator.  Caught two smallmouth bass on the dry fly rig and rolled a salmon.  The prince nymph caught 4 salmon and a wild rainbow trout.  Love the way the salmon jump and fight when hooked.  No fish over 20" yesterday but there are plenty of fish in the river.  More flow and less fishing pressure would be good.  Off to chase trout today on the Lamoille watershed.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have Fun, Willy

damp, drizzly day, perfect for trout fishing

Hi Folks, Guided a Lamoille tributary yesterday afternoon with the fly rods.  Nice wet day with constant drizzle.  Water levels are a still low and we could still use more rain.  Water temperature was 55 degrees.  Saw a pretty good hatch of #16 caddis yesterday.  Not much for rising fish but we did have fish coming to our dry fly.  We fished 3wt. outfits with dry dropper rigs.  A #16 Goddard caddis with a #18 olive copper john was the most effective set up of the day.  We landed 4 wild brown and rainbow trout and had another  7 fish come to the fly.  A lot fun watching larger browns and rainbows stick up their noses to eat the Goddard caddis off the top.  You see the trout flash at the nymph below the surface.  Lots of up stream drifting with very little fly line on the water.  One of the better afternoons of trout fishing i have seen thus far this fall.  Off to chase salmon this morning.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

fall fishing

Hi Folks, Been guiding trout the last couple of days under beautiful fall foliage.  It seems like the leaves are changing ahead of schedule.  Good topic of debate.  Water levels are still somewhat low but temperatures are excellent.  Found water temperatures between 58 degrees and 62 degrees.  I have been guiding on small brooks for wild trout.  Lots of clear water.  The trout fishing has been tough this fall.  Generally this would be magic time and it has been just the opposite.  Really working hard for a few fish.  Not much for hatching insects.  Seen a few #18/#20 BWO's and some #16 olive bodied caddis but that is about it.  We have been working the small streams I have been guiding with  #12 orange stimulators with a #18 olive cooper john and a #10 yellow rubber legged foam fly with various small dropper nymphs.  Still spooking some fish in the clear water and approach and how you are dressed is important.  No bright colors.  Yesterday was pretty cool as we sight fished for wild brown trout.  Spotted several fish holding in and around wood in long pools off big riffles.  Great feeling when you make the prefect cast and watch the fish move to take the fly.  Landed 4 browns yesterday on the dry fly and nymph.  Missed another 3 fish.  Thursday we did not land a fish but had half dozen wild rainbows come to the fly.  Still working hard for fish.  Will be chasing trout once again today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy

nice day to be on the water

Hi folks, Guided a full day from the boat yesterday.  Pretty awesome when you have the entire lake to yourselves.  Flat calm al day with over cast skies and beautiful foliage.  Really nice contrast with the dark sky and changing leaves.  Water temperature was 65 degrees on the surface.  We fished the surface for most of the day and the smallmouth wanted to play.  We cast the good old original floating rapala in black and white and blue and white.  Plenty of smallmouth coming to the surface to eat.  Not a day with many large fish but lots of steady action.  We did take and miss a few smallmouth of a 4' crawfish colored Senko.  Most of the surface takes came after the lure had been stationery on the surface for a bit.  We fished pretty shallow and found fish off drop offs, points, and flats with about 15' of water.  Will be chasing trout today.  Hopefully the water levels will be manageable as we received 1/2" of rain last night in Stowe.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

covering water

Hi folks, Been enjoying the fall weather the last few days guiding on the Lamoille with the fly rods.  I have been drifting the river with my canoe.  Nice was to see and cover some water.  No one out there fishing and the leaves are getting better by the day.  Water levels have been decent for fishing and the temperature mid day in the Lamoille has been 58 degrees to 60 degrees.  Been awful bright and sunny and I welcome the rain we are receiving today.   Seeing a few #16 olive bodied caddis hatching, a few random #12 Isonychia, some #20 BWOs and still plenty of grasshoppers around.  Have seen some junk feeding trout lately.  Fish that rise once or twice at the most and you really can't get a gauge as to what they are eating.  We have been nymphing and swinging a #12 olive tungsten bugger.  Double nymph rigs with a #14 copper john and a #18 olive nymph has been effective.  Not catching any big fish but few wild rainbows who have been feeding below the surface.  I am finding that we are having to cover some water and make lots of casts for fish.  The trout seem to spread out a bit.  I off for a full day on the boat to chase smallmouth.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

nymphing away

Hi Folks, Guided the Winooski for trout yesterday afternoon.  What a nice fall day with sun and clouds, cool air temperatures, and leaves that are really starting to turn.  Water temperature was 62 degrees and the flow was pretty heavy from the previous nights rain.  The clarity of the water was slightly off.  Once again no hatches to speak of.  We nymph fished all afternoon with double fly rigs under indicators.  We mixed it up with a #14 tungsten prince an a #18 olive wire copper john, to a #16 flashback hare's ear nymph to a #20 peacock herl soft hackle.  We landed 2 very nice wild rainbows and lost 3 other fish.  Lots of casting and drifting for the end result.  Was nice having the river to ourselves.  Will be chasing trout for the next couple of days and then back to the boat and pike fishing.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  have fun, Willy

chunky smallmouth

another beautiful day of fall fishing

Hi folks, Ran my boat with guests up north again today in search of northern pike and bass.  We left pretty early in the morning to avoid the heavy wind that came up mid day.  The lake turned into an ocean by mid day with big waves and white caps.  The water temperature was 64 degrees and the clarity was pretty good.  The fishing in the morning was excellent and probably would have been all day had the wind not blown us off the water.  We landed 6 northern pike, 4 chunky smallmouths bass, and 1 largemouth bass.  We fished large fire tiger stick baits and a large double prop Devil Horse.  We had the smallmouths all eat off the surface and two of the pike.  We caught all of our fish in less than 12' of water where there large weed beds with a hard bottom.  Had the entire lake to ourselves and the foliage is beginning to look nice.  Big cold front has moved in and I would guess that the lake fishing might be slow for a day or two until things settle down.  I received 1/2" of rain at my house in Stowe.  Off to chase trout today.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

blowing in the wind

Hi folks, Fished up north today with guests for pike and bass.  Cast the fly rods and spin gear.  Good stiff wind from the west at a steady 10 to 15 knots.  Beautiful early fall day and we had the lake all to ourselves.  Surface temperature was 65 degrees and the water clarity was decent.  We were looking for northern pike but invariably tangles with some largemouth and smallmouth bass.  Fire tiger and orange and yellow seemed to be the colors of the day.  A fast retrieve triggered most responses from pike and bass.  We located all of our fish on drop offs from 5' to 15' of water with a hard bottom, mixed in large boulders, and milfoil.  Missed several big surface strikes from bass because we just did not expect that type of take.  The two best fish of the day were an 18" and 18.5" largemouth bass.  Landed only small northerns and had several larger fish chase and one pike break off a large plug.  Caught a nice 2lb smallmouth had a few others chase but not eat.  I think the bright sun had something to do with our inability to seal the deal on every fish.  The wind made fishing challenging and I think had it not blown so hard we would have done even better.  Will be fishing pike again in 2 days.  Looking forward to it.  Our big rivers are high and dirty after good rain on Tuesday.  Smaller brooks and streams are perfect for fishing.  Nice time of the year to be on the water.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy

not the target species