Fishing Report - 3/6/24
March FIshing Report
While it may seem like spring has arrived, the last couple years has brought some of the best snow in the month of March. As I write this my weather app is calling for a half inch of rain today. This will bring high off color water for most of our rivers in central Vermont. Use extra caution if you haven’t fished yet this year. With all the flooding seen over the last year many of our rivers have changed. Gravel bars and other places you may have previously crossed may no longer exist.
I spent the past weekend in Ripton at the BKL Nordic festival. For those that haven’t been up in the mountains there is still plenty of snow and ice hanging around. With the warm days in the valley don’t overlook the impact of snowmelt and run off. While the air temperature certainly rises, the opposite effect can happen to the water temp. During these times, I find fly selection to be less important. In the event you find a piece of water that holds a trout, I find them to be opportunistic. With rising water I tend to fish bigger flies. Min had some luck fishing recently and reported flies like jig streamers, stoneflies, squirmy and Walt’s worms all worked. With such a variety of flies he caught fish on, I think that proves that trout will grab just about anything if it’s going at the right speed and depth.
The 16th OCC has been announced for May 4th & 5th. You can register for the event online and choose from 3 awesome registration prizes. While you're there, don’t forget to grab a couple of support stickers. As always, call or stop in the shop if there is anything we can do to help!
Cheers,
Craig
Previous Reports
Greetings Anglers! May the fourth be with you. For sure it’s been a wet April out there. I heard today that we got double the amount of rain we usually get in April. This has made for some interesting conditions out there on our local rivers. Tons of water for sure, but that has also meant that our local resident trout population has been getting fed pretty regularly with all the runoff! It has also created some quickly decreasing clarity on the rivers when it does rain.
Its been awhile, but I thought I would jump in for a guest fishing report, OCC update and some overall thoughts for a successful early season on the water. It is without a doubt a very exciting time of the year. With the winter months all but behind us, we are looking into the slow but sure entry into warm weather and good fly fishing ahead. I have always felt that April was the most brutal month in VT.
General fishing report for March 29, 2019. Since we’ve last spoke we’ve lost some snow, gained a bunch in the mountains and started losing some again. The extended forecast looks to keep the melt going, but it doesn’t seem that we’ll have any huge runoff issues, not yet at least. For me personally, I have not been out recently, but perhaps this weekend. The Otter is a bit high and looks like it’s rising, but if you can find some slower water (but still moving) near some deeper winter holding areas that would be a good place to start.
