Hi Folks, The river trout fishing with the fly rods has been exceptionally good. Some of the best Foliage fishing I can remember in a number of years. Guiding daily has been a lot of fun. Pretty much seeing rising fish daily. We had a little weather blip last weekend after 1.5” of rain. However, the rivers came back down and the fish were eating aggressively once again. I have found that the Winooski has fished better than the Lamoille. Most of my fishing has been midday. Water temperatures have held steady in the mid fifties. Hatches of #20/#22 BWOs have been consistent every afternoon. The tiny mayfly comes off in gentle water where there is thumb nail sized stones and gravel. The trout rise to eat the tiny bug in slow pools. The fish this time of year feed in water that they do not hod in normally. Why, the water temps. have cooled off and it’s offer the trout more places to hold and feed easily. The rise forms often look like a raindrop hitting the water. No reason for a trout to aggressively eat a tiny bug in slow water. Often you see a nose if they are tuned into the dun or a tail and dorsal fin if they are sipping emergers. We have been casting #20 Adams parachutes to risers with good success. I have also been fishing a #20 peacock soft hackle dropper behind the dry when the trout are dialed in on emergers. The other day the fish were pounding a #14 green bodied/slate grey winged mayfly. Big splashy rise forms. You could see the big mayfly being consumed by the fish. A # 14 Adams parachute and #14 Grey Wulff tricked the fish. Lots of rising fish! It takes focus to single out an individual rise form and target it even though you might have half dozen other trout rising around you. When I have arrived on the water prior to hatch, we have nymph fished with a #14 Copper John and a #20 BWO nymph as a dropper under an indicator. There a couple of weeks left in the season for me. I plan to take advantage of the good fishing. The weather looks great. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
