River Conditions: 4/22/16

Water Clarity: Stained-Clear depends on where you are!

Water Temperatures:  Mid-Low 40’s

Hatches: Brown/black Stoneflies, midge

Suggested Patterns:  San Juan Worms, Copper Johns, Two Tone Stone,  Egg Patterns, Black and Brown Stoneflies, Simple Stones, Wooly Buggers, Zonkers, Mouthwash, Philipe’s Flu Shot, Sparkle Minnows, Keller’s Nightmare, and Sculpin Patterns

Fishing has continued to pick up over the past couple of days. Success has been had on both streamers and nymphs recently. Water temps are continuing to climb into the mid 40’s which is helping with success! Yesterday I got out for an hour and was able to nymph up one 10-12″ wild rainbow on a big RL Stonefly Pattern. The Winooski is in pretty good shape right now, running at 594cfs in Montpellier. If you hit some of the slower moving pools on the Winooski you might be able to nymph up some holdover trout or wild ones. The State hasn’t stocked the Winooski yet but it looks like they will soon. The Lamoille is in similar shape although it has been stocked below the fairfax falls with trophy fish. For those heading out this weekend, our suggestion would be to hit some of the smaller streams in the area that you know hold wild fish. The smaller streams may be easier to fish and easier to find the fish because you won’t have to work through as much water to get to them. Still getting good reports of Steelhead in VT although waterlevels are dropping pretty quick. Frank had a trip on the Lewis Creek the other day and they went 0-3, all of the fish hooked were good size including one monster! Shouldn’t be long before the smallmouth bass begin their annual run up the Lewis and a few other streams around. When fishing this weekend, be sure to work your way upstream as most streams are pretty clear right now and the fish are a bit on the spooky side. Good luck!!

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