Hi Folks, July fishing is off to a good start. I have been on the water daily guiding clients for smallmouth bass and small stream trout. Our rivers and lake levels are low. We could really use some sustained rain. Luckily air temperatures have been cool and water temps. have been somewhat suppressed for July. Surface temperatures for the ponds and lakes I have bass fishing on have been consistently between 70 and 72 degrees. The lower Lamoille and Winooski have been 70 to 71 degrees. Too warm to trout fish but perfect for surface feeding smallmouth. The small streams I have been walking have held between 58 to 63 degrees. With the water so low, we are fortunate that we have not had any brutally hot days. All of our river bass have been holding in giant primary pools. The secondary water are lacking volume. In the Stillwater, we have targeted rocky islands, downed wood, sharp rocky drop offs. Fly selection has been Chocolette Game Changers in fire tiger, Boogle Bugs in chartreuse, foam sliders in black and chartreuse as well as Betts frog poppers. I have been messing with some larger foam poppers. It is interesting to see how the smallmouth respond to the different sounds made by the various shaped popping bugs. I was fortunate to have a client catch a trophy smallmouth recently. The fish was well over 20” and we watched it eat the fly. A tremendous battle ensued. On the trout front, we have been walking small brooks. It is stonefly season. Lots of large #8-#10 golden stone fly shucks on rocks. I have also seen a number of chartreuse bodied yellow sallies hatching as well. Tons of #16/#18 light tan/yellow caddis pupating on rocks and getting ready to hatch. On the river we fished today, young wild rainbows were rising to eat #20 Baetis. We fished a #20 peacock soft hackle trailing behind a larger dry fly. #8-#12 Orange and green bodied stimulators as well as rubber legged Royal Trudes have been hammered by rising trout. With the low water, stealth is important. I have been offering family spin trips as well. We have been dead drifting 3” to 4” green and crawfish colored Senkos. Interestingly, we have been catching a few stocked rainbows on the rubber while pursuing bass. Good fun for young anglers who want to tug on a fish. Looks like rain for tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
