Winding Summer Down

Hi Folks, I’m really enjoying the nice late summer fishing. Water levels are low and we could use some rain. Pretty dry. I have been chasing smallmouth bass and trout in small streams. Water temps. have cooled off a bit due to nice cool night. Still they are warming back up by midday with the bright sunny days we have been experiencing. The lower Lamoille was 76 degrees 3 nights a go. The small brooks I have been storming around have been 56 to 61 degrees. The water clarity is exceptional and stealth is important right now trout fishing. I did guide a few still water trips from my boat and canoe. Surface temps have ranged from 70 to 73 degrees. The surface bite seemed better in the morning than the evening for bass. Black poppers and foam crease flies in #6-#8 have been the most productive in still water. We have located smallmouth in 10’ plus of water in and around Milfoil beds, rock, and wood. I can’t emphasize enough how important the hook set is when fishing the surface. Eliminate slack fly line and sweep the rod upwards in one fluid motion on the take. No sissy trout sets when fishing 12lb to 16lb tippets. Also, limiting the number of false casts is helpful. The fish are in the water and not the air. Still water fly fishing for bass is about covering water and going it efficiently fly. 10 False casts are not going to achieve any better result than 2 False casts. Get the fly in the water!!!! The river smallie fishing has been great. We have been tugging on surface feeding smallmouth to less aggressive subsurface eaters. Last night I saw my first #14-#22 flying ants. The ant hatches or nest moving brings everybody to the surface to eat. The small stream dry fly fishing for trout has been outstanding. Lots of beautifully colored Brookies and hungry wild browns to the #14 Royal Trude and Royal Wulff. #14 green bodied stimulators have worked well. There are tons of green hoppers all over fields. I’m off to small stream it. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy