Water Clarity: Clear to Muddy
Water Temperatures: Mid 30s
Hatches: Stoneflies, Eggs
Suggested Patterns: Pink San Juan Worms, Egg Flies, Girdle Bugs, Squirmy Worms, Kaufman Stoneflies, Black Montana Prince Nymphs, Trout Beads-6mm or 8mm
Spring is finally here! It’s been a long and hectic winter for us here at the FRS and it doesn’t look like it’s over yet. With the worldwide pandemic going on right now it’s a great time to go isolate yourself on a river. First off, remember that not all rivers are open to fish right now, often anglers are under the impression that if they’re fly fishing and letting their fish go they can fish wherever they would like to in VT. This is not the case! The majority of the rivers do not open until the second Saturday in April-respect these laws, they are implemented for a reason. Every spring people come into the shop telling us how they’re going to go fish anyway…. Not cool. For a full list Click Here
The most noteworthy places to fish in the central part of the state would be tribs of Lake Champlain-keep in mind some of the larger ones have closed for the next couple of months to protect spawning walleye and sturgeon. In these rivers this time of the year the primary target is going to be steelhead. With the push of water last week and the rain and warm weather we’re going to get today there should be enough fish in the rivers at this point to go try to catch one. Probably won’t be some epic day of steel heading but that’s a pretty rare occasion in VT regardless of the conditions. In the earlier part of the spring you’ve gotta keep in mind the water temps when choosing flies. Colder water is going to keep the fish on the lethargic side. Dead drift flies in these conditions, we like using stoneflies, eggs and worm patterns. If you’re going to fish a streamer be sure to move it super, super slow. A normal swing this time of the year will likely yield nothing. Be sure your flies are getting down deep as well, with temps on the cooler side those fish aren’t going to move up in the water column much to eat a fly. Every time you move locations on a river, be sure to adjust your depth. If you’re bobber fishing raise your bobber until you find the bottom, then slightly lower it so you’re not dragging the bottom. This often may take a dozen or so drifts but it will often pay off and make it worth the effort. All too often will anglers find the depth of one pool and just keep the depth the same the entire day. It’s an easy way to not catch fish.
If we receive the rain we’re supposed to today the rivers may not be fishable for a couple of days but they should be in great shape by early next week, and, if we don’t get much rain they may be good to go for the weekend.
It looks like the opening few weeks of trout season may provide us with some pretty awesome conditions. With not much snowpack water levels should be much lower and easier to fish than the past couple of years. Obviously anything could happen between now and then but as of right now it’s looking like a lot of water may be fishable. Clear water in the early part of the season can provide us with some awesome sight-fishing opportunities to big, wild trout. Not something we get to experience in Vermont a whole lot but it can be a ton of fun.
As we get out fishing over the next few weeks we’ll try to keep everyone updated on what we find, we are still open for business so swing on by and pick up some tying supplies! We’ve got new product rolling in every day, yesterday I put out a bunch of SA’s new Absolute Fluoro Tippet which we used while we were in NC this winter. It’s a pretty awesome stuff. I also put out a bunch of St. Croix rods yesterday including the new St. Croix Imperial Salt which is an awesome rod! It’s gonna be a favorite for pike and saltwater fishing. The 7wt would make a mean streamer rod for trout as well. Good luck to anyone that gets out on the water this weekend!!
The Fly Rod Shop is Northern Vermont’s finest fly fishing guide service and fly fishing gear retailer. Visit our shop on Route 100 in Stowe, VT or shop our online store to find gear from Simms Fishing Products, Redington, Loon Products, Montana Fly Company, Buff, Lamson Waterworks, Sage, Rio, Scientific Angler and more!
River: Winooski
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River: Dog
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River: Lamoille
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