Hi Folks, It has been a crazy week in Vermont. Major flooding early in the week. Both the Winooski and Lamoille Rivers jumped their banks and reached flood stage. The flooding has brought havoc and destruction to many communities. I feel for all of the people who have lost their houses, businesses, and many personal belongings. The flooding has not helped my business as it cost me several guided trips. However, my family is safe and sound and my house is fine. Way more important than fishing. Our rivers are beginning to drop, yet late day thunderstorms are slowing down the process. We are in a bad weather pattern currently in Vermont. Enough with the daily deluge of water from angry Thunderstorms. It’s hard to assess the damage to our rivers until I can walk them. It will be a few days until that is a safe proposition. I have been driving around and checking things out. The amount of debris that was moved around by the flood waters is incredible. I was able to guide a small brook yesterday. The water level was up, yet the clarity was great. The water temperature was 59 degrees. You could see how high the water had been a couple days prior. This brook remains intact due to its stability. Lots big rock throughout the Brook and incredible tree canopy and buffer along its banks. It has a a nice meander pattern and flood plains that can handle high water. We landed 10 Brook trout. We cast big dry fly patterns. #12/#14 Royal Chubbies and Green bodied Chubbies. We picked the Brook apart. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well it fished after what had transpired 3 days earlier. High gradient small brooks tend to come up quickly and go down quickly. Due to their origins and that they tend to have stable banks, they rebound well from big water events. I am smallmouth fishing from float tubes later today. Stillwater fishing is still a great option. Lake and pond levels are up, yet that is not a bad thing from a fishing standpoint. Currently, I am offering fly fishing and spin fishing trips for smallmouth bass and small stream fly fishing adventures. Plenty of fishing opportunities to still enjoy in Vermont! We will recover from all of this mess. Vermont Strong! Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
