Water Clarity: Muddy-some brook trout streams are fishable, some of the mid sized tribs should be fishable by tomorrow
Water Temperatures: 50-62
Hatches: Hendricksons, Caddis
Suggested Patterns: Stone fly nymphs, montana prince nymphs, Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns, Squirmy Worms, Copper Johns, Wooly Buggers, Zonkers, Complex Twist Buggers, Sex Dungeons, Jig Streamers
Holy rain! We definitely did not need all the rain we got. Prior to that, the fishing had been pretty good. We fished a few spots friday in the Winooski water shed and saw a pile of hendricksons, #10-12s, a good amount of Tan Caddis #12-14, and some smaller black caddis #16-18. Fish were rising sporadically, mainly on the hendricksons. The fishing was great.
That all changed Saturday, we got a lot of rain in the Stowe area, and it looked like everywhere got similar rainfall amounts. Not sure we’ve ever seen it rain as hard as it did Saturday am and again on Saturday PM. The Winooski and Lamoille should be put on the back burner for this week, perhaps, (emphasis on perhaps) we’ll be able to get on them by Friday. It does look like we will receive more rain this week, but hard to say how much. The mid sized tribs should become fishable sooner. Maybe by tomorrow?? The Dog is around 600 right now which is a little on the high side, if it drops down to 400 that would be great. The smaller mountain streams are going to vary in condition a lot today. Some may be fishable, others will be shot. These will hopefully all be good by tomorrow.
For those getting out this week, the smaller mountain streams will be your most reliable option. With that being said, don’t be afraid to hit the Dog, Huntington, Gihon, North Branch or another similar sized piece of water with 6 or 7wt, a sink tip line or leader and a big streamer. We’ve said it a million times before, and we’ll say it another million times. High dirty water will give you the best shot at catching your best fish of the season. The big wilds browns don’t get big by feeding in low clear water. As soon as things dirty up, they leave their “hiding spots” and feed on anything and everything getting pushed down stream!
Good luck to those getting out over the next few days!
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River: Winooski:
Water Temp:
Water Clarity: MUD
Last Update: 5/19
USGS FI: 2400
River: Dog
Water Temp:
Water Clarity: Muddy
Last Update: 5/19
USGS FI: 609
River: Lamoille
Water Temp
Water Clarity: MUD
Last Update: 5/19
USGS FI: 1800