Water Clarity: Clear
Water Temperatures: 40s-50s
Hatches: Stoneflies, BWOS, Caddis-Tan/Black, October Caddis (#8-12)
Suggested Patterns: Pheasant Tails (#12-16) Prince Nymphs (#14-18) Hare’s Ears (#14-18) Yellow Sparkle Soft Hackles (#16) Joca’s Caddis Pupa (#14-16) Hotwire Caddis (Tan #16) Parachute Adams (#12-16) Light Cahills (#12-14) Blonde Wulfs (#12-16) Elk Hair Caddis #14-18) X Caddis (#14-18)
Kind of sad that the trout season is coming to an end this Saturday! The fall definitely wasn’t what everyone had hoped it’d be but overall it was another great season to spend on the water!!
The water temps have dropped a ton for us over the past few days, temps are hovering in the mid to upper 40s and will probably drop considerably over the next few days. For those braving the cooler temps focus on the slower deeper pools, with water temps dropping the fish are going to be moving into their wintering holes. Nymphing will probably be the most productive, be sure to constantly adjust your depths and get your flies deep! The fish are going to be a little less willing to move to take a fly so it’s important to put the flies in front of them. Streamers will still be a viable option as well but I’d be making sure you’re fishing them on the slower side and again, make sure they’re getting deep!! There’s still an opportunity to run into a BWO hatch in the afternoon but with the cooler air temps I wouldn’t be counting on it.
For those of you trying to get in one or two more days on the water the bigger rivers are in pretty good shape right now. I’d put more effort into the Lamoille than the Winooski-we’ve just been catching a lot more fish out of the Lamoille; my guess is fewer fish died there this summer than in the winooski. Another good option would be fishing the mid-sized tribs of both the Winooski and Lamoille, rivers like the Gihon, North Branch, Dog, Mad and Huntington can all produce some pretty nice fish this time of the year. Be aware of spawning fish though, and their beds. If you see fish paired up in shallower water don’t fish for them, take a few pics and keep on moving. These fish will generally be towards the tailouts of pools in shallower gravel. You also may run into single fish in these same areas which should also be left alone as they’re most likely on a bed. Not all the fish will spawn at the same time though so just because you see a fish or two spawning I wouldn’t necessarily just leave assuming they all are.
Be sure to fish more mid day into the afternoon than early in the am. The only exception to that would be for LLS. If you hit the LLS rivers early you may be able to fire up a fish or two to take a streamer which can be a ton of fun as the takes are generally very visual and will get your heart pounding. As the sun comes up, nymphing becomes more productive for LLS. Reports over the past few days have been mediocre. Lots of fish around but not as many willing to eat. There should be some lake trout showing up in the tribs as well with the push of water we had last week and given the time of year it is. If you’re going after LLS don’t be afraid to fish egg patterns for steelhead or throw some much larger sized streamers to target lakers.
For anyone getting out over the next few days good luck and stay warm!!
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River: Winooski
Water Temp: 46am
Water Clarity: Clear
Last Update: 10/27/20
USGS FI: 223
River: Dog
Water Temp: 47
Water Clarity: Clear
Last Update: 10/27/20
USGS FI: 52
River: Lamoille
Water Temp: 46
Water Clarity: Stained
Last Update: 10/27/20
USGS FI: 414