Pickin' Away at the Pike

Sometimes the fishing is so good that they just fall out of the sky

We got a little pike fishing in up North yesterday and, as most other days we have set aside for fishing recently, it was pretty raw, rainy and windy out!  Luckily the rain let up and we found some spots to fish out of the wind.  We caught plenty of smaller pike and had some real bruisers turn away at the boat.  There were also a couple smallmouth in the mix with one that was a real beast of a fish.  Water temps matched air temps and never rose above 54 degrees on the surface.  We found fish pretty concentrated and found ourselves doing the same drift over and over.  Looks like a nice weekend is in store for us here in the North, so get out and fish!
Some things to consider...

• Registration is now open for the Ditch Pickle Classic.  Get your team together and contact us at ditchpickleclassic@gmail.com
• We are having our first Fishin' Buddies meeting on Saturday, May 19 from 10am-12pm at our shop.  We'll be teaching 9-15 year old kids fly tying basics for FREE!  Call 802.644.2214 to reserve a spot for your child.
• The next Feathers n' Friends fly tying night will be on Tuesday, May 22nd from 6-9pm at our shop.  This class on Lamoille River Essential Trout Patterns is FREE TO ATTEND, but space is limited so contact us soon to sign up!

Fishin' Buddies Fly Tying Class - May 19

We'll be having our first "Fishin' Buddies" get together on Saturday, May 19th from 10-12pm at our store in Jeffersonville.  We will be teaching 10-15 year old kids the basics of fly tying.  If you have a child that would like to attend, please contact us at 802-644-2214 or chris@gmtrout.com
The goal of our Fishin' Buddies program is to get kids interested in fishing.  This class is completely free to attend and all tools and materials will be provided! 
Kids must pre-register and space is limited, so don't delay in getting your child signed up!

GreenUp Weekend

The rains are back after a beautiful weekend.  We had a successful Lamoille GreenUp on Saturday followed by an evening of bluegrass and tortillas in Johnson.  We had the raft piled high with trash and if Mike had one more tire, his canoe would have sank!  We pulled a ton of plastic out of the branches and bushes which, to me, was the most rewarding part.  The day was really windy and, although we had rids with us, we didn't fish hardly at all since there was so much trash to pick up.  We did float by one rising fish so we ditched the canoe and Mike jumped in the front of the raft (after moving around some tires and other trash) and we floated into position.  A few drift with an emerger yielded nothing, but a skated elk hair caddis was all it took get that rainbow interested!  
After this round of rains clears up, we should be right back to stellar afternoon fishing conditions.  Give us a shout and let's go fishing! - Chris

On-Stream Class Reunion

                                                         
Today I hit the Lamoille with some clients.  Long story short, turns out when we booked it happened that my client was my old friend from high school Chris, and his buddy Brian.  We started upstream and water temps were a chilly 49 degrees.  We got 1 rainbow and missed 1 or 2 more on beadhead PT nymphs. Then we went looking for hendricksons downstream and found them hatching pretty strong from 2-4pm.  There was an odd stonefly in the mix as well.  The water warmed just enough to turn the fish on and we got to see 2 hrs of very steady surface activity.  It was their 1st time with fly rods and they did great going 4 for 4 on hendrickson dries, all wild browns between 12-15 inches.  On the way out they let me take a shot and I got in on the action with another brown in the mid teens.  Amazing to get 5 wild browns on dries out of the same run on the Lamoille.  I have NEVER seen that before.  Then at 4:00pm the bugs shut off like a light switch and the fish stopped rising.  We are supposed to get a 1/2 to 1 inch of rain tonight into tomorrow which could shut down the big rivers but, we will have to wait and see.

Warmer Weather's on it's Way!

My son's first fly-caught trout!

Yesterday, Mike and I had a group out in some pretty raw conditions to say the least.  The day started out with some steady rain showers, air temps in the low to mid 40's and water temps of about 48-49 degrees in the stretch of the Winooski we fished.  Although we had some seriously slow fishing, our guests still had a great time and learned a ton about fishing with the fly.  It's hard to expect much of a response from a trout when water temps are so frigid.  This week's forecasted warm up is more than welcome in my book!
The other day I took my kids to our local trout pond and found plenty of fish boiling on the surface.  My 6 year old son had a couple break-offs with the fly rod, before sealing the deal on a nice rainbow.  This time, I held the fly line for him so the fish could run when he wanted, he held the rod and my 4 year old was the go-to net man.  Now they're both hooked!
Don't forget about our Lamoille River Clean-Up this coming Saturday, May 5th!  We're gonna float from Cady's Falls to Waterman Brook in Johnson and clean that sucker up!  We could use some volunteers, so give us a shout if you wanna join us!  We'll be having a BBQ afterwards at my place in Hyde Park - Chris

Toothy Ties

A BIG thanks to Ken Capsey of Vermont Fly Guys and the group of guys that came out last night to kick off our inaugural night of "Feathers n' Friends" with some must-have pike patterns!  Our next session will be on Tuesday, May 22nd.  Stay tuned for details!

2012 Lamoille River Clean Up

• When - Saturday, May 5th 2012; Meet at 8am; BBQ to follow

• Where - Floating from Cady's Falls (Morrisville) to Waterman Brook (Johnson). We will meet at the recreational parking area on the Duhamel Rd. (Right next to Cady's Falls Nursery)

• What - We're going to float in canoes and rafts and wade around picking up rubbish from the river bottom and banks. Considering last season's floods, I'm expecting a lot of trash!

---------------------------------------------------------------

Some more of the details...

• Keep in mind the idea is to transport as much garbage as possible, so we need plenty of boat space. Kayaks don't work so great for carrying more than the paddler...canoes are much better.
• Bring a pointed shovel, a pair of work gloves and waders since the water will still be pretty cold
• Afterwards, we'll be having a post-float BBQ in Hyde Park to celebrate our efforts! BYOB

If you'd like to join us and help clean up our river, drop us a line at...

802.644.2214

or

info@gmtrout.com