Howdy Folks,

Rivers and streams sure took a hit yesterday.  The New Haven crested at about 6000 cfs, from the previous days low of around 150!  It is still in the 1000’s but dropping fast and parts could be fishable by this evening if not tomorrow morning.  A word of caution when going out after these big events: certain sections of river will have experienced change, so wade carefully.  However, after these events, fish are usually hungry!  Nymphing is still the best technique when water is stable, with streamers getting the nod in the stained water conditions. Nymphs that have been working for us on guide trips have been frenchies in 12-14, Egan’s Red Dart, girdle bugs and Walts worms. As the local fish population continues to see similar nymphs, it might pay off to change bead colors and also drop down a size or two.  I had some great luck with a client the other day by switching from my normal bead color of black nickel to a light pink bead with the fly pattern and size being equal. With the stable flows, it will also pay to downsize tippet.  If you are not comfortable fishing 6 or 7x fluorocarbon, it does take a slightly lighter hand on the hook sets, but the advantages of sink rate and stealthiness are sure to outweigh a few more lost flies. As far as fighting fish with light tippets, I keep a low rod angle and lots of side pressure.  If you are using a euro rod, they are meant to bend, so use that bend and the heavier butt section to control the fish. With any fish, the more you keep it in the water (as opposed to thrashing on the surface), the higher likely hood that you will land that fish. Water temps and flows have still been unsteady to see much surface activity, but if we get some more stable weather without a ton of rain, look for the trout to be looking up.  

The Creek was getting into a good flow for floating for Pike, and we were seeing some more success, but this rain will bump flows on the creek up again.  You may have noticed more anglers out targeting pike both with flies and conventional gear, so it pays to put in your time and also if you are floating, to switch up the areas that you are floating.  That really goes for all types of fishing, as the more time one spends on the water, the higher the likely hood that more and nicer fish will come to hand. As the summer progresses on the Creek in relation to the pike, the fish will generally move to deeper (cooler) areas and also near to some cooler tribs coming in.  Pike are considered cool water fish and can tolerate slighter warmer water temps than trout, but nothing like what bass can tolerate. As I talked about in the last report, the little 3-4 inch pike are on the move.  In the lower end of an Otter trib, I saw quite a few darting around in the slower shallows as well as some hanging in some pockets in the faster stuff.  A similar looking streamer should get some looks from the trout, or larger pike that are hanging with the little ones. Look for a thinner profile streamer, some olive/green top and lighter belly. Clousers or a sparse deceiver would fit the bill.  

It looks like it is shaping up to be a nice weekend, so enjoy it. Be safe on the water and have fun!  As always questions to Steve at the shop or email to me dave@mmvt.com an we’ll see you out there. Cheers,

Dave