Hi Folks, I have been spending an inordinate amount of time on the water. Everyday, most mornings and evenings and the fishing has been up and down. Very similar to our weather. Nice to have some rain. We have needed it for our rivers. Where I live has not received as much precipitation as central and southern Vermont. Lots of unstable weather. I think stability is good in fishing. With the rain the water levels have gone up and down as well as swings in water temperatures. Currently the Lamoille and Winooski are not fishable. When you are on the water a lot, you see varying fishing conditions. Always interesting to find the best spot for any given day. I have had a couple of days without a bass eating a fly then other day where we can’t miss. Seen the same thing on small streams. However, in the small brooks, water temperature are fine yet levels have been low. We have Been working hard for a few fish then the next day landing 20 Brook Trout. #12 Royal Wulff, #10-#14 foam hoppers in green and tan, #12-#14 rubber legged Royal Trudes, #12 Green Chubbies, and #10-#16 Goddard caddis have worked well on the small brooks. Small stream temps. have been 56 to 61 degrees. Had fun with guests tugging on wild rainbows and browns one morning. We fished #12 Orange Stimulators and Green Stimulators with #18 tan caddis droppers in pocket water. Lots of #8-#10 Stone fly shucks on rocks and tons of #18 tan caddis on the shore banks in the willows and alders. The lake I guided tonight was 71, yesterday a different body of water was 72, and Saturday a different lake was 68 degrees. Interestingly the lake that was 68 degrees and post cold front fished poorly. The other two lakes fished pretty well. All about the weather and water temperatures. We have located most of our bass either on sharp drop offs or around large milfoil beds in 10’ to 15’ of water. The big fish like to cruise the outside edges of the weed beds hunting prey. We are coming into my favorite time of year to pursue big bass. Especially on the surface. Won’t be long before we see #14-#22 Flying ants. That really gets everyone looking up. Well it’s looks a nice stint of weather on the way. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
