Final countdown

Lamoille Bow

Sorry for the delay in reports.  We have been still doing trips and here is a bit of what we have seen.  We just got through a very warm spell that really slowed down the great dry fly fishing we had been having.  Most action was late in the pm from about 5-6pm.  This week we are looking at more seasonal weather with highs in the 60's (except for tomorrow which will be muggy & upper 70's).  That should set us up to have more mid-day activity like we should see this time of year.  Generally, fish have been on Bwo's and isonychias.   I have not seen any caddis around which I usually expect to see this time of year on warm sunny days.  Instead bwo dries #18-20 have accounted for most of our fish.  Followed by #10-12 princes and #18 pt nymphs and #12 purple parachutes and #12 para adams.  Buggers have caught fish but were not working great under the high sun.  90% of our fish have been caught in deep flat water which is bout right for this time of year.  Riffles have given up some fish but all larger fish came from the flats.  The only thing is we have had some windy days which can just shut the flats down and litter the river with leaves.  Aside from that the fishing has been really good despite very low water conditions.  This is definitely the time to extend your leader into the 12ft realm and maybe drop to 6x.  I have been using 5x successfully but used 6x once just to make it easier to thread my fly.  Wade slow and try not to put wake on the flat water.  You can still catch fish but the biggens will sense that wake a mile away so wade on the bank whenever possible. 

So, we are in for some rain tonight and tomorrow and then we will stay dry for the rest of the week.  It looks to be upwards of an inch so the mainstems might come up a bit but we can use the rain to refresh things and blow some leaves outta the rivers.  When things settle I expect fishing to be great this week and was very excited to have clients and myself catch large #'s of wild browns in the main stem Lamoille.  Of 20 fish caught on 1 outing almost half were wild browns.  I fished the Winooski as well and was glad to see good #'s of fish rising to bwo's.  There are still hoppers and ants around so don't rule them out either.  Salmon are being caught here and there but pressure has been heavy and seems like the fish have been testing most anglers I have spoken to.  Don't get me wrong, people are catching fish but I have not heard any incredible reports.  This is my favorite time of year to fish.  Like in May, it's like you can't go wrong.  Pick a species and any random water body and your likely to have good fishing. Unlike May, many people are getting into hunting mode and have put their rods away or just had their fill as opposed to spring when everybody is itching to fish.  So get out and enjoy the last 3 weeks!  See you out there!