Water Clarity: Clear
Water Temperatures: 45-55
Hatches: Brown and Gold Stones. Tan/Grey and October Caddis, Hoppers, BWOs,
Suggested Patterns: Tan X Caddis, BWOs, Hoppers/Chubbies, Adams, Pheasant Tails-#14-18, Zug Bugs #14-16, Copper Johns #16-18, Bird of Prey-Brown (#14-16) Black Magic Soft Hackles-#16-18, Wooly Buggers, Zonkers, Complex Twist Buggers, Hornbergs, Black Nosed Dace, Mickey Finns
Hopefully everyone was able to get out over the past few days!! We’ve still been picking away at fish on the bigger rivers, not landing a ton but getting enough to make it interesting! As we fish more and more of the Winooski and Lamoille we’re definitely seeing sections and certain spots that seem to either be void of fish or full of them. Our guess is that the spots that seem to be void are probably due to fish dying over the course of the summer, and the spots that have fish have springs in them which helped those fish survive. Regardless of why, be sure to move around when fishing on the bigger rivers. If you’re fishing a spot that’s historically been good for you and you’re not seeing evidence of fish don’t be afraid to move around. We fished three spots the other day on the Winooski, got blanked on two of them and the third one we saw 6 rises before we even got down to the water. Ended up landing quite a few trout, all but one were wild, which makes sense as the stockies seem to have a much higher mortality rate than the wild fish.
Technique wise we’ve been fishing smaller dries, swinging soft hackles and nymphing. Both a mix of tightline nymphing and bobber fishing depending on the kind of water. Have still been seeing some good BWO hatches, mostly in the early to mid afternoon on the cloudier days. Aside from those, we’re seeing some tiny tan caddis coming off but not a ton. The Salmon fishing has remained pretty good as well, lower water flows are making it a little trickier but they’re still eating! We always do best with smaller BWO nymphs and smaller Olive Caddis imitations! Think 16s and 18s. Red Copper Johns, P Tails and Prince Nymphs also work pretty well. Don’t be afraid to downsize tippet, those fish are seeing a lot of flies so dropping down to 5 or 5.5x fluoro is definitely a good idea. When doing that make sure you’re using a light enough rod, it’s quite tricky to land a 3-6lb fish on 5.5x when using a 6 or 7wt. We like 10ft 3wts or 4wts-much harder to break fish off with the softer tip!
The forecast is looking pretty good over the course of the week! A few days with some rain which we do need and a couple warmer days which may help trigger some good evening hatches! Good luck to everyone getting out on the water this week.
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River: Winooski
Water Temp: 54AM
Water Clarity: Clear
Last Update: 10/9/22
USGS FI: 120
River: Mad
Water Temp: 52
Water Clarity: Clear
Last Update: 10/5/22
USGS FI: 62
River: Lamoille
Water Temp 53 am
Water Clarity: Clear
Last Update: 10/9/22
USGS FI: 119