Hi Folks,
I guided the Lamoille this weekend and it fished very well. I floated with guests on Saturday and waded late Sunday afternoon. The conditions improved throughout the river this weekend after another big rain midweek had puffed it up. The water temperature Saturday morning was 58 to 60 degrees and late Sunday afternoon the temperature reached 63 degrees. The tactics we employed differed drastically from Saturday to Sunday. With the Lamoille being high but clear. Almost 25 percent higher than the seasonal average flow we cast sinking tip lines from the drift boat. We rigged them with a #10 olive/black wooly bugger and a #8 sparsely thin profiled tied muddler minnow. We had lots and lots of stocked rainbows with a few wild fish gobble up the streamers. We also swung a heavily weighted #8 black Girdle Bug. Most of the takes came on the swing or stripping the fly back. Sunday night it was all about stealth in approaching the water and making good presentations to rising trout in slow greasy water. The fishing went off from 8:15 pm into dark. Fish rising everywhere! We fed them a #12 foam back Rusty Spinner. Down stream mending maintaining right angles and proper rod position for the hook set. We landed 9 fish in just over an hour. It was pretty slow fishing up to dusk with the bright sun, We did get one nice wild bow to hammer a #16 yellow soft hackle swung into an eddy. For bugs, I have been seeing #14-#18 olive bodied caddis hatch in the morning and egg lay at dusk. A fair number of #10-#12 March Brown spinners with a few remnant adults still hatching. Also were the smller #14 Grey fox. I have been seeing more and more #14-#16 sulphers at dusk. Even some terrestrials in the mix with lots of beetles along the river bank. With the current bright hot days and stability the fishing will be best early and late. Looks like some rain and unstable weather for midweek. On the lake front, i took the boat out Friday and fished for prespawn smallmouth and largemouth bass. The water was clear and 60 to 64 degrees. We could spot fish cruising from deep to shallow water. I did not see any spawning beds. We a number of bass come up to surface and subsurface flies and say no way. It was really bright and calm and I think the fish could see us. My guess is the bass are staging to spawn. The trout fishing should remain really good. June will be the month. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.
Have Fun, Willy
