Water Clarity: Clear
Water Temperatures: Low to High 60s-some spots will hit 70
Hatches: Golden Stoneflies, Caddis Flies, PMDs, Light Cahils, Sulfurs, Hexs
Suggested Patterns: Olive and Yellow Soft Hackles, Pheasant Tails (#12-18) Hare’s Ear #14-18) Bird of Prey-Olive #14-16) Golden Stoneflies (#8-10) Elk Hair Caddis Olive and Tan (#14-16) Tan X Caddis (#14-18) Parachute Adams (#12-18) CDC Sulfur (#16-18) CDC PMDS (#14-18) Wooly Buggers-Olive (#8-10) Zonkers-Olive and Natural (#4-8) Sculpin Olive or Tan, El Sculpito-Tan (#1)
Things have continued to be pretty decent over the past for or five days. Everything has dropped from the most recent rain and for the most part at great flows. Water temps on the bigger rivers are starting to get up there. The Winooski yesterday in Middlesex was 68 degrees at 8:30am. I’m sure it’s warmer today. The Lamoille was 66 around 11am yesterday so that’s getting up there too. Be sure to have a thermometer if you intend on hitting a bigger river. If the waters at 70 unless you plan to keep the fish you’re catching there’s not much sense in fishing it. Also keep in mind that 70 degree water might feel cool to the touch when its 85 out. A thermometer would be a sound investment if you don’t have one. The brook trout streams and mid sized tribs of the bigger rivers will all be in much better shape over the weekend. Plenty of activity in those bodies of water right now with a lot happening on dries as well as nymphing. Fishing a bushier stimulator or hopper with a nymph fished 24″ behind can be pretty effective. In some of the deeper pools you may have to actually nymph though as fishing a dry-dropper won’t do what a true nymphing rig will.
Other than trout fishing the bass fishing has been pretty solid lately. We’ve found some largemouth in the really thick weeds and the smallies have been working towards slightly deeper water. A 25ft sink tip line and a white/chartruese clouser will get you some smallmouth right now. Just don’t be afraid to let that fly sink. Another option for the adventurous angler right now would be targeting bowfin on Lake Champlain. Targeting bowfin on a fly doesn’t require too much skill, more important is a good pair of polarized glasses and the location. Swampy backwaters of Lake Champlain will hold bowfin along with carp, gar and some nice largemouth. Bowfin really don’t seem to care about fly patterns, we have always used slightly heavier flies that have a nice jig motion to them since often you’re literally jigging a fly two feet off the side of your canoe or boat to get these fish to eat. Definitely a cool species to target. We’ve always done well fishing the north side of the Sandbar along the swampy looking shoreline to the East of the state park as well as Dillenbeck and Carry Bay. Both the lower Winooski and Lamoille have some killer backwaters as well; Delta Park can be another killer spot to get after them.
It looks like the weathers going to cool back down a little after Saturday. Night temps will be starting to get back into the 50s which will significantly help out the streams. The main Winooski and Lamoille may still be too warm for trout but they may also cool back down; kinda hard to say at this point. There’s a lot of great bass fishing opportunities on both of those rivers as you get closer to lake Champlain. On the Winooski think Richmond downstream and on the Lamoille Fairfax falls downstream. All of the smaller streams will benefit from the cooler temps as well. Over the past few days we’ve been finding fish feeding on top early and late. PMDs in the AM and Sulfurs and Cahils in the PM. Plenty of fish caught nymphing as well. Smaller Pheasant Tails have worked well along with Hotwire Caddis and the Bird of Prey which seems to find it’s way onto our leaders all season as well as finding it’s way into trout’s mouths.
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River: Winooski
Water Temp: 68
Water Clarity: Clear
Last Update: 07-4-2019
USGS FI: 438 @ Montpelier
River: Dog
Water Temp: 65
Water Clarity: Clear
Last Update: 07-4-2019
USGS FI: 121 @ Falls
River: Lamoille
Water Temp: 66
Water Clarity: Clear
Last Update: 07-4-2019
USGS FI: 268 @ Johnson