General Fishing Report For October 6, 2023

Greetings out there in the cyber world.  Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying that last bits of this awesome (and dry) stretch of weather we’ve been having. Local Trout fishing remains solid, cool water, plenty of fish (that have been well fed this summer) and dwindling fishing pressure. It does appear that we have a change coming our way, with a heavy dose of rain tomorrow followed by cooler weather.  The next couple days will probably see some blow out rivers, but conditions should improve early to mid-week next week. Without a significant cool down, I would expect fishing to remain solid to good until we get that cool down.  I was out on the Otter this morning for most likely my last wet wade of the year and found some cooperative trout despite lack of bugs and in/out sun.  Iron Lotus and a medium sized (size 12) dark generic dubbed nymph brought the fish to the net.  We’ve been on the Otter a few times over the last couple weeks and been finding decent numbers of fish in various age classes.  This is good news to me, as the few previous summers have been so warm, I’ve been worried about the trout population here.  

Moving forward, after the rivers calm down, nymphing and streamers are most likely going to be go-to techniques. If we do get some warmer temps, you may find a few trout willing to come up.  Fly selection should include some kind of tan caddis nymph/pupa, smaller nymphs to imitate the Blue Wing Olive mayflies, generic nymphs like Iron Lotus, Rainbow Warriors, Walts worms, and of course larger offerings for off color water (stoneflies, worms, mops).  I will always have some smaller jig buggers on hand as well, in white, brown and more sculpin colors.  I’ve also found that sometimes brighter flies either with a hot spot or beads work well this time of year.  Some people swear that a bit of orange on your flies this time of year helps. Streamers in various colors and sized 2-5 inches is a good place to start (same with the orange here too).  White is a good streamer color right now as the young of the year Rainbows are out and about, as are many baitfish that were able to survive all the water this summer.  We’ve found fish in pretty much all water types recently, helped by the cool water temps, so any likely looking water should get a few casts.  Anything that looks like it could hold a few fish, probably does, as these areas provide safe havens after rain events.  Start from the back of the run, move up, then out, until the top.  

Public Service Reminder: Our local, wild Brook and Brown trout populations are getting ready for spawn time, so watch your step and avoid redds and areas that you have seen them before and similar substrates in the stream bed.  If you do not know what you are looking for, please do some research, as our locals would appreciate it.  ALSO: Lots of Hunting seasons are going on right now. Good idea to wear some orange if you are traveling through the woods to get to spots.  I typically Velcro an orange hunting vest around the back pack part of my fishing pack.  Even just wearing an orange hat to and from the water can be enough (swap it for your favorite fishing hat once there).  

Lots of successful guide trips have gone out in the past weeks, a few more scheduled and Steve will be taking requests at least through the end of October for trips.  He’s also just refreshed the fly selection, lines and sighter material.  Still good supply of boots/waders, rods, etc.  He’s said that the plan is to try and keep the fishing section of the store out until the end of November.  

Feel free to drop me a line of you have any questions dave@mmvt.com or stop by the shop and ask for Steve or Craig for current conditions. Get out there, while the water is still flowing as we all know winter will be here before we know it!

Have a great rest of Fall, good luck out there,

Dave