Water Clarity: Clear to Stained
Water Temperatures: 45-53
Hatches: Stones, Midge, Some Caddis, Hendricksons soon!
Suggested Patterns: Jig Head Girdle Bugs (#8-10), Any Smaller Jighead Streamer, Montana Prince-BLACK (#10-14), Red Copper Johns (#12-14) Pheasant Tails (#10-14) Prince Nymphs (#12-16), Juan’s Kryptonite Caddis (#14) Wooly Buggers-(Olive #6-10, White #6-10) Zonkers, Bunny Muddlers, Moto Minnows, Black Ghosts, Mongrel Meat-White, Sex Dungeons-White or Olive.
Looks like we have a great week ahead! The fishing over the past week has been relatively slow, lots of rain and high water made things relatively difficult. With that being said, some nice fish were still caught both in streams and some of the lakes in the area. Looking at the forecast for the next week, and where the water temps are right now, the fishing should quickly improve! Water temps are continuing to climb-John texted me and said the Lamoille was 52 today above morrisville, the water is still high but fishable. Clarity is good on the Lamoille, wading will be a bit tricky so be careful if you venture out. Be sure to have a sink tip and some wooly buggers! The Winooski is still a bit too high and dirty, will need another 3-4 days before it becomes fishable. The vast majority of the mid sized tribs will be perfect over the next few days, nymphing and streamer fishing should both be effective. If the water’s gin clear, plan on doing more nymphing and if it’s got a little color streamers may be the better choice. We’ve started to see a few bugs coming off, nothing rising in our area yet, which is no surprise. Wouldn’t be surprised if with the warmer weather we have coming that we even see a few Hendricksons start hatching. The small streams have started to pick up a little as well, most of the snowmelt is gone so water temps will continue to warm up and the fish will become more active. Still nothing on dries in the smaller streams but it wouldn’t be surprising if by the end of the week that changes.
The fishing on the champlain tribs has transitioned to primarily smallmouth bass which has been excellent over the past week. The rivers up north still have a few bows/steelhead around and some salmon are showing up in the Clyde. The water is still pretty high on the Clyde but there’s spots at 550cfs where you can get into fish! The stillwater fishing has been pretty good as well, the pre-spawn smallmouth feedbag is turning on and the fish are chowing! This next week should be fantastic!
On another note, if you’re around May 7th, the Mad Dog TU will be hosting a 2fly competition! Proceeds go to the Vermont Trout Camp which is a fantastic program for getting teens on the water and exposed to fly fishing! For more info go to https://www.maddogtu.org/2fly-competition/
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River: Winooski
Water Temp: 47
Water Clarity: Muddy
Last Update: 5/5/23
USGS FI: 1320
River: Dog
Water Temp: 52
Water Clarity: Clear
Last Update: 5/5/23
USGS FI: 332
River: Lamoille
Water Temp 52
Water Clarity: Tea Colored
Last Update: 5/5/23
USGS FI: 778