Hi Folks, The fishing season is coming to a close. Yes the state is considering and has extended fishing seasons. Not sure why we want to let anglers pursue spawning and post spawn salmon, Brook trout, and Brown trout. I think the fish need to be given a break from angling pressure. Especially spawning fish. I will conclude my season on Halloween. The fishing has been tricky. Fortunately we have received some rain recently and there is more on the way. Our trout streams have cooled down. Water temperatures are now dropping below 50 degrees. The stream I guided yesterday was 48 degrees. Lake temperatures are cooling off as well, just not as quickly. I have been running my boat on several lakes and the temperatures have ranged from 55 to 60 degrees. The lake fishing has been the most consistent. We have not been catching a lot of fish, just a few decent ones. A quality versus quantity thing. Topwater fishing has really slowed as the water has cooled off. I did have a guest catch a 20” smallmouth on a popper yet that was the last bass I have seen eat off the top. Everything has become subsurface fishing. We haven located smallmouth in deeper water between 15’ to 20’. They have been holding to the bottom. Pike have begun to move into shallower water. We had a nice pike eat in 7’ of water off a thick weed bed. Nice looking fish. Pike fishing involves lots of casting. Covering water and make sure to retrieve the fly/lure right back to the boat. Hatching insects on trout streams are waning. I am still seeing a few #20 BWOs and sporadic #14 caddis hatching and laying eggs. I have not found any rising fish in a week. Very sporadic hatches and thus not a lot of feeding activity. Makes me wonder with all of the dry hot weather this summer if we did not lost a percentage of macro-invertebrates habitat as riffles dried up? I did visit the river of big fish. The fish are in the river. Just tons of fishing pressure. I love fishing for lake run trout and salmon. I do not love standing next to other anglers. I have fished this river since 1989. Makes me sad with the current state of affairs between pressure and anglers attempting to catch fish on spawning beds. Things are winding down. With cooling water temps, slowing down approach and presentation is a good idea. I have a handful of trips left. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
