River Conditions: 10/1/16

Water Clarity: Clear

Water Temperatures:  55-65

Hatches: BWOs, October Caddis, Hoppers

Suggested Patterns: Parachute Adams (16-18) BWO (#16-20) October Caddis/Orange Elk Hair (#8-12) Pheasant Tails (#14-18) Copper Johns-Red (#16-18) Hotwire Caddis-Amber (#12-14) Bird of Prey (#16) Iron Sally’s (#12-16) Dirty Bird-Rust (#12-14) Montana Prince (#14)  Soft Hackle PT (#12-14) Wooly Buggers, Muddler Minnows, Zonkers

The final month of Vermont’s trout season is here! Get out there, this can often be one of the best months for trout fishing. Things have remained on the cooler side and we’re seeing temps between 55 and 63 depending on where we’ve been. The faster pocket water and deep swift moving runs have continued to be the most productive which makes sense considering the water levels. Been seeing good numbers of BWOs out, especially on days with a little cloud cover or light rain. Fish still actively feeding on the top. More consistency sub-surface so I would bring two rods to the river, one rigged up for nymphing and another to have rigged up with a BWO pattern in case you hit a hole that’s got fish feeding on the surface in it. Smaller pheasant tails have been a productive fly as well as copper johns, bird of prey and soft hackle pts. Lighter than normal tippet has also been helping out. More 5x and 6x than anything else, especially with the smaller bugs. Fish have been stacked up lately in the spots where there’s moving water. There are fewer runs holding fish due to the extremely low water so when you find a spot with fish there’s a good bet you’re gonna get several fish out of the same spot.  We’re not forecasted for any significant rain over the next five days, a few scattered showers but at this point what we need is 2 weeks of straight rain… They have been releasing water for the past two days out of the Waterbury Rez so the Winooski below there will be moving a bit more and might be at a better level for fishing! They could shut that water off at any point though. The Little river would still be a good option to fish as well, saw a big trout come up and take a moth off the surface just a little below the dam the other day. Wasn’t fishing so I couldn’t get a crack at him but was still very cool to see and a good sign. Afternoons will still definitely be the better time of the day for the trout fishing around due to the warming water temps. The Salmon fishing is still mediocre with the low water, there’s fish around but not a ton and they’re only in specific spots. Things should remain decent out there over the next week or so, lots of rain would be a blessing but at least the water we have isn’t 75 degrees!

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