All Over the Board

Hi Folks, I have been guiding everyday for the last week. Very grateful to be on the water and doing what I enjoy the most in life. What a really weird May. The weather is all over the place. One day it is below freezing with snow and then the next week summer like temperatures and big bright sun. It has been feast or famine for me. One day we catch fish and the next we can’t buy a bite or are working really hard to get an eat. I have spent a lot of time on the Lamoille River. The water temperatures have warmed significantly. 10 days a go the water was in the low fifties and last night I got a reading of 67 degrees. That’s crazy for May. Looking forward to a cool down and some cloudy weather. There has been a fair amount of bug activity and over the last week I have located rising trout every afternoon. With the bright sun the rising has been sporadic. It has been frustrating finding a fish that rises with consistency. There are a number of different bugs hatching. Lots of midges all over the surface, yet you never see any trout eating the tiny bugs. A fair amount of #12 Stone flies coming off late day. A few #16 caddis hatching mid morning with egg laying at dusk. Not as many mayflies as I would hope. I have not seen much for #14/#16 Hendricksons this season. Now seeing a few #14 Stenonemas like a Grey Fox and should see anytime #10/#12 March Browns. Lots of cased At dusk into dark and even very early am I am seeing spinner falls. #14/#16 Rusty spinners landing on big deep slow pools. We have had success casting #14 parachute patterns and #12-#16 Rusty spinners. Really important making an accurate cast and good drift over the selective feeders. We have had more success swinging and drifting nymph patterns. A #12 Dave’s Red Fox nymph tight lined has worked well and a #14 Flashback Pheasant tail nymph has also been productive. A #12 rubber legged stone fly nymph has been producing as well. I think the unusually warm weather has made the trout fishing tricky and messed up the bug hatching. Things will stabilize and the trout fishing will only become consistent. The bass fishing is solid right now as they prepare to spawn. I have been focused on trout fishing. Pike fishing has been pretty decent. We are now moving into early morning and late day fishing. I will be off to guide later today. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy