General Fishing Report for March 26, 2020

Greetings fellow Anglers!  I hope this report finds everyone well, doing the best you can with our current situation. First off a big thanks to all of Vermont's essential workers! You Rock!!  I guess if there is a lining to this situation, its that fishing can still happen.  A good way to get some fresh air and practice social distancing.  If you haven't heard yet the OCC and F3T was rescheduled for the weekend of September 18th and tier 3 registration will be open until then.  $50 and you'll get a custom MiiR insulated bottle.  Steve is working hard on opening up an online store that should be active within the week, keep tuned to the social media pages of the shop for updates.  Expect to see rods, lines, flies, Fishpond nets and packs along with some other fun stuff.  Now more than ever is a good time to support your local fly shop. 

As is the case with this rapidly changing state of affairs right now, I was just alerted to some info out of Washington State that the fish and wildlife there has closed rivers because of their stay inside, stay safe order.  It is in your best interest to keep check with our fish and wildlife department about our fishing opportunities.  As of right now, I am led to believe that fishing is ok in VT and I think NY as well, but it is up to you to keep track of these ongoing closures and suspensions.  (I added NY as many of us fish across the Lake and their regular trout season begins on April 1).  

As far as local waters go, the Creek in Midd is high, just over 2000 cfs, but from the gauge, looks to be at a fishable level in the Rutland area.  Lake Champlain tribs are getting their fair share of action; I've seen some nice steelhead on social media, but have yet to get out myself.  Early season fishing can be a double edged sword; we like to get out on the nice days, but that sometimes releases a bit more snow melt (especially with the slug of snow we just got), which despite the strong March sun, tends to lower the water temperature a bit.  I have found that despite this, the trout are still willing to take a well presented offering.  I'm a big fan of a slightly larger meal in the form of a nymph, like a stonefly, drifted streamer and junk flies like mops and worms. These in combo with some smaller stones (that are active right now) or smaller attractor nymphs can be a good ticket.  Sometimes the bigger nymph gets the fishs' attention and the smaller fly is the one that gets eaten.  I do find that most of my early season worms eats do come when the water is a bit stained. A stripped or swung streamer is another excellent choice right now.  You probably wont get as much action as the nymphing game, but it does target the more aggressive fish (and sometimes larger).  Some flies to have on hand right now: large and small stones 4-14, worms, mops, princes, attractors like rainbow warriors (the flash can be a trigger), Egans Darts, Blow Torch, Frenchies or Pheasant Tails, Egg patterns and streamers in various colors especially white, black and olive.  

As far as water to target, I'm looking for seams (as usual), but be sure to hit the slower water that is off the seam before you wade in too far.  Depth is all relative to the river or stream you are fishing. I am usually looking for a good seam first, then covering various depths within that seam.  Another helpful tip is to cover water, finding the active fish in one spot can be frustrating. The more fish you drift your rig by, the higher your chance of getting some action.  

This is an ever evolving time right now and we will do our best to keep everyone up to date with happenings in the fishing community, but please use the VT fish and wildlife website and state website for other news.  If any of you need anything from the shop before the online store goes up, you can reach Steve either via the shop phone (802)388-7245 and leave a message or email him steve@mmvt.com. He can take payment over the phone and can either leave your purchase for you at the shop or mail it out to you.  Feel free to reach out to me as well, dave@mmvt.com with any questions about fishing, flies to tie, flies I am tying right now or anything else. Stay safe people, 

Dave