Finding a pattern

Hi Folks, The fishing has been pretty decent the last week. In particular the small stream trout fishing. We still really need rain. At least the sun is getting lower in the sky on a daily basis. Nice change to the weather with cooler nights in the 50’s. It really helps to cool down the Winooski and Lamoille. I have been guiding all tributary streams and brooks. of the big rivers. Water temps. have ranged from 58 to 63 degrees. We have had some rain events. Not nearly enough. However, when the water has come up a bit, the trout fishing has really turned on. The big fish like to party when the water is up. It has been consistent. Seeing a good number of healthy large wild brown trout and rainbows eat #12 stimulators, #14 green foam hoppers, #10-#14 rubber legged beetles and ants, #12 Goddard caddis, #18 peacock caddis, #22 Trico spinners, #10-#14 Rubber Legged Royal Trudes, and #8 green and brown Sculpin patterns. Starting to see #12-#14 Isonychia shucks on rocks and #18-#20 micro caddis hatching in the morning. Every large trout has been holding in a primary pool and typically close to a larger boulder. Dead drifting is extremely important. Big river fly anglers can struggle in small pocket water streams with the drift. It’s about where you stand prior to casting and getting the fly line off the water. With short accurate casts required, a high stick drift is necessary. Meaning only leader on the water and use the tip of the fly rod to steer the fly into the holding water. Drag free drifts! We have had success stripping a streamer out of big plunge pools. Standing directly below the plunge, casting into the heavy water and stripping a heavily weighted streamer very quickly gets explosive results. Smallmouth bass fishing has been good. No really large fish but consistent action for the most part. Water temps. in the lakes I’ve been guiding have been pretty warm reaching 78 degrees on the surface. An afternoon venture to a big river for bass was 80 degrees. Still we had a dozen smallies eat #8 black foam gurgler. A morning trip found the water 75 degrees and the topwater bite was excellent. The fish were most aggressive in the faster water due to the warm water temperatures. Did a float tube trip to beautiful pond. The fishing was slow but the wind made things tricky and the surface temp. was 78 degrees. We caught 1 nice bass on a #4 olive/yellow Clauser minnow. Lots of options currently. The fishing is still best in the early am and later. Looking for flying ants. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy