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Wet!
We have had some mighty wet weather in the past few weeks and river temps are on the cooler side with mountain runoff still in full (80 inches at the stake on Mt Mansfield as of last weekend!) Lake Champlain sits at historic levels and there’s more rain to come! Trends have got to change soon but with the gulf of mexico sitting a degree warmer this year hence major tornadic activity in the south it would seem that our weather will favor cool and wet! things need to warm up just to get any decent hatches going and about all I have seen around is small brown stones 14s and a few caddis 14-16. best bet with these conditions is prospecting with streamers or bigger nymphs depending on clarity. most importantly is the water is still cold so ya really got hit em in the head!
Spent Four days in Western New York last week and played with the switch rod spent the whole time swinging flies and decided that that’s the only real way to fish for steelhead. Really got my cast dialed in and every fish hooked was a fair hook! Photos to come soon! Quick thing worth mentioning if your there during a period of steady water followed by a good bump in flows be sure to focus on “eggy” type flies, when the water goes up in the spring the fish just go on an egg glut due to the fact that the increased flows a just churning up the bottom that much more! keep this in mind for trout back home! See ya Soon!
Be Well!
Boots For Sale!
If Ya live where ya dont need rubber soled boots give me a call I have a variety of sizes ! (802) 595-1670
Let it Roll!!
Trout season has begun again and with good luck and some new regulations here in Vermont. First lets talk good luck, A local river of ours has been under new regulations consisting of artificial fly and lure only on an eight mile stretch and is going into its second season and the news is good. Overall trout populations are up and the big trout keep getting bigger! I was on a stretch last fall and proceed to watch seven fish staging to spawn (Browns) and none of them were under eighteen inches. it was a total joy to watch however there was no interest in anything I was throwing at them so watching is just what I did. Second day of the season rolls around this year and I return to a spot in proximity of where I saw those fish last year and spend around forty-five minutes workin’ out the kinks and adjust speed of drift as well as depth and sure enough follow a few slow twitches of the fly WHAMO! one gorgeous 19 inch Brown! Yeah I know your just wondering where the Hell the photo is but apparently I don’t know how to work a camera so you’ll just have to take my word for it!!! Beautiful fish however and a nice way to start a season! On another note in case you havent heard felt soled wadding boot ban it effect now in Vermont…..Frankly a load of *%#@ but thou shall abide! You also have to carry a net to stop the mergansers and other feathered foragers from moving didymo to the next watershed!!!!!! Not the Solution in my opinion and gear still will require cleaning regardless! Just because you have rubber soled boots does not mean that you will not transport and number of different problems to the trouts! Judging by last years fishing this year looks very good for big trout and little alike so come and get a day on the river and enjoy tout fishing at its finest!
Be well and live Now!
Dave
Mid Season report
The rains came at the right time and we have gotten a lot in the past few days. The season up until now has been pretty stellar. the water temps have been just right for the most part and the fish have been generally cooperative. Personally this has been a great year for the dry fly and I have had more folks fishing dries this year than ever. I have had conversation with several friends about what the lack of bats may be doing to the hatches over the past few seasons and cant help but to wonder if this is a bright light to a rather sad situation. Granted the bats are still around but nowhere near the amount, its actually possible to make multiple cast without worrying about hooking a bat. I wish I could post some photos but I am shopping cameras at this point due to the fact that ours was stolen back in May. Anyhow the season goes on and the weather is looking great for now. Just a Reminder that Landlocked Salmon season is just around the corner the third week in August to the second week of October are the hot times so to speak, so book you trips soon!
Good Luck and Be Well,
Dave
steelhead and open season in Vermont
Hey Folks! Well we did our annual trip to New York for Steelhead and came away with some impressive numbers. After finding the “sweet spots” we would hammer em’ for a while then the bite would be off. thirty minutes later it was back on. Thats just how it was! Three of us over the course of four days on the water netted many, many fish and lost many more. It was impressive. It was a trip to remember. being on the water at that time was a savior to me after losing my dear friend Jack Hannan to an massive avalanche in British Columbia just days before. To the credit of my fellow travelers Antoine Lutz(who did most of his Fishing with a Hardy Bros. Bamboo that his dad used) and Andrew Costagliola. They did the best they could keeping my spirits high and embibing much whiskey with me. Has we all know the rivers have healing powers and I was there to begin the long journey. I had purchased a Beulah switch rod before the trip and loved every minute of it. On a more local front trout season has kicked off here in Vermont in grand style with reasonable temps and alot of nice water to be found. There is still a lot of snow to be found in the upper elevations and consistent temps so we ought to roll into may in good shape….
Here it comes!
Trout season is just around the corner folks! My Angling cohort Andrew and I have been sneaking along the banks of nearby stream for steelhead. Unfortunately for me I broke my Rod on a “snappy” roll cast. Andrew went back the next day and after much work was rewarded with this beauty!
On another note it time for you all to start considering booking a trip with us! Dates are filling up so make sure not to “Dilly Dally” ! Hopefully it will be a season with rain at the proper times and not the deluges we have had the past few years!
Be Well,
Dave
Ernestly!
Laying in bed the other night not being able to catch even twenty winks I found myself thinking about Ernest Hemingway, a man with a wide palette of colors from which the clothe he’s was cut from was painted, a man who would be chided and praised by both sides of the political spectrum. I have no doubt that Hemingway being of high-profile was often faced with the collision of politics and passions. What I’m driving at here is that it is important for us to remember that fishing of any form needs to be kept in the same purity of passion as the very waters we spend our time on. We fish to drive the world out, to “put it all behind us”, contemplate. Walk away from the vehicle, travel up or downstream, to the east, to the west, you get the idea. There are days when it is hard enough just clearing the mind of the B.S minutia never mind the big picture stuff. Lately I have experienced the moment that fishing crosses paths with politics, in which a whole nother set of problems arise. These and many other things will prompt a person to walk away hip deep into a river, blending, truly blending with their surroundings. To tell the world its gonna have ta wait cause’ there’s a twenty inch brown trout you’ve been watching or there’s a striper blitz off of Plum Island. One Sunday morning this fall I was heading out to chase landlock salmon and was chatting with a couple of “old timers” in the lot when two young teenage boys approached us, dressed in dark pants, white button down shirts and bad ties. On the left breast of each was a pin which showed they were from some church…(not to be named) anyhow after several minutes of pleasant conversation they launched into their shtick. No more than a minute in, one of the older gents politely interrupted to say ” I go to church every Sunday and your disrupting service as we speak”. By telling this I am not saying that politics and religion are one in the same although we could probably argue that point until the cows come home. What I am saying is that this old-timer had the clear and defined ability to rid himself of this B.S and achieve “fishing enlightenment” in order to stay true to what fishing means to him. This concept should be practice as often as you pull line from your reel and make that first cast or set down your locking thread when you tie the first fly of the evening. All the while remembering that there are certain unspoken codes to adhere to, river etiquette to live by. remind yourself when on the water that you mind is clear and has taken form of the river in which it watches, the afore-mentioned codes are your genetic imprint, say an involuntary function much like the beating of your heart. only then is it possible to blend into your surroundings hereby leaving everything else back at the vehicle with Ernest sitting in the passenger seat!
peace on this long night,
Dave
Regulations
Good thing are a foot in central VT! The proposed Dog River regulation has passed a catch and release begins with the new season! Thank you Rich Kirn for your hard work on this one! Lets hope that this approach will allow the river to thrive again! Maybe I’ll finally get to mount that 10 inch wall hanger I always wanted….. Also a reminder to some of you more hardy souls don’t forget about tail water fishing this time of year My favorite is Murphy dam in N.H. which open the beginning of January just work it slow and deep and keep things dry and Ice free! It can be good!
Tight line,
Dave
Dog river regulations
Well folks, here we go down that long dark road of regulations in Vermont. As of today the Dog River is currently under a new proposal to create a 5.6 mile stretch of catch and release regulation with artificial lure or fly only. We have nothing like this in our part of the state, the southern part has the Battenkill. Much like the Battenkill the Dog has seen dramatic declines of native trout in the past number of years (2001) and is in desperate need of attention. I as a fisherman first and a guide second am in full support of this measure which will last until 2015, however like others I do believe that this needs to go further in the regulation. A 2.5 mile stretch above the end of the proposed regulation is considered to be some prime trout water. at the head of this is Northfield falls and a large impoundment which prevents fish from moving any further up-stream. the river below this stretch consist of certain areas of mainstream spawning and it’s no secret. this area needs to be protected if there is any hope of restoring this river. The river needs to be treated as a whole and as far as I am concerned the dam in Northfield falls should be remove seeing as it plays no role. then the river would be a whole. Anyhow WE has a fishing community need to get behind this, please E-mail Rich kirn at rich.kirn@state.vt.us to show your support. I know there is much debate about this amongst local fisherman. At the meeting which I attended a couple of weeks ago there was one gentleman who was very much against the proposal, his take being one of “how am I to tell my boys they can’t go down to the river to fish”. Well folks that is just not an argument! your kids can go and fish whenever they want the just can’t use live bait. teach them to fish lures and its no problem. Also teach them proper catch and release techniques (more importantly). By protecting the river to the dam It would keep the increased pressure off the 2.5 mile stretch which would ultimately become more heavily targeted by the live bait fisherman hence decreasing the mortality rate of fish due to deep hooking and over pressure in general. I encourage you all to google mortality rates fly/lure vs. live bait. The numbers prove this point and should not be taken lightly! This a rare opportunity in a state that is rarely willing to step beyond social boundaries and do whats right for its natural resources. In the end I cannot encourage you enough no matter what your means of fishing are and step up and be heard this subject. It goes to the fish and game board in the beginning of december so strike while the iron is hot!
Tight lines,
Dave
