General Fishing Report 10/17/18
After a Busy weekend of guiding and personal fishing, here’s what the guides have to report and what to look forward to. First off, just two more weeks left of the regular season! If that doesn’t get you motivated to get out and enjoy some fall fishing, then I’m not sure what will! Last weeks rain definitely had the fish in an eating mood, but it was hard to pin down any one fly that did the most work. Worms worked in the more off color water, as did nymphed and swung streamers, but as things cleared, more natural bugs like October caddis patterns and Pt’s did the work. This seems about typical for this time of year, as the fish don’t really get too keyed in on any one bug, but will usually take well presented patterns. The Browns can be overly aggressive this time of year, and you can get some real good action on swung or stripped streamers. Many times the bite is more out of anger than hunger as they are preparing for the spawn and take more issue with other fish invading their territory.
As we move forward, the early part of the weekend looks the warmest and could offer the best fishing out there. Next week looks cool, but stable and during that period, look for better action (and more bug activity) during the warmest parts of the day. The Creek is high, but looks like its coming down, albeit slowly. I usually don’t consider it until it gets below 1000 cfs, and even then can be difficult. If you do decide to fish it, please be super careful. One thing I’ve noticed about the Creek at this flow is that while there are some fish that move toward the banks, some more fish stick to their usual runs, protected by the numerous current breaks on the bottom. In conditions like this I will usually leave the tight line rod in the truck and fish nymphs with an indicator. I can present my flies at a greater distance with the indicator rig, as the current necessitates my position being further away from my target. It can require frequent and long mends, but I’ve had some good success with it. A well swung streamer can also be deadly this time of year. If you are a switch caster or Spey caster, you really don’t need to wade very far to reach some prime water. Again, white streamers are many peoples go-to color right now. The white despite looking like a baitfish, also stands out against the myriad of leaves floating by, giving a great target for the fish. Nymph selection should include some mayfly type patterns(PT”s and lotus are favorites now), October caddis patterns (those with a soft hackle seem to work best), some of the uglies (worms, stones, eggs), small streamers to fish on your nymph rig and general attractor nymphs. Try some nymphs with a touch of orange this time of year as well; as with the white streamer many folks swear by orange in the fall. This could be as simple as a few turns of orange thread as a hot spot on your PT, or a turn of an orange dubbing in the fly.
If you are chasing pike this time of year, Ive had luck in recent years at this time of year finding fish near water coming into the Creek. This could be a smal farm ditch or a trout stream, but something about that area tends to stack up the fish. Most likely it attracts the bait and depending on the stream coming in, could be a few degrees warmer. Orange for pike flies is a good choice for fall too! Sense the color theme— must be the Halloween influence!
Regardless what fish your a chasing this time of year, its great to get out and enjoy it right now. Less pressure on the water, with many folks chasing birds, deer or ducks with bow and guns, or people just casing the rod for the winter. If you get out be mindful that hunters could be in the area. WIth any luck, after the regular season ends, the Creek’s flows will stabilize and we can have an awesome end of the year chasing some more Creek fish. Feel free to e-mail me dave@mmvt.com and check the shops social pages or stop in for a more up to date report. Cheers,
Dave
Previous Reports
Greetings Anglers! I hope everyone is able to get out and enjoy this beautiful state that we live in! Despite the dry summer it seems that the trees don’t really care and are putting on quite the display for us. And we are getting rain, which makes the trees and us happy right? The recent spell of rain seems to have got the fish (trout) kicked into feeding mode, especially on the tribs. After a couple slow days on the Creek, I had a productive few hours on the Middlebury today, with nicely stained water and a ton of leaves to catch!
Hello Folks! Happy Fall! We did pick up some much needed rain this week, some areas more than others, but after a long, dry summer every bit helps. Locally the Otter seemed to have been the big winner, compliments of some significant downpours in the Rutland and northern Rutland County areas. Levels have seemed to plateau, and despite the big bump in levels, clarity is pretty good. Tribs did see a bit of a bump in levels, but are still low. Water temps have settled back as well.
Greetings Anglers! While we are still in low water mode, the outlook looks promising. Cooler temps and shots of rain all next week should help the fishing out there. We were out today with a four person guide trip and found some low 60’s on the lower New Haven and upper 60’s on the Creek. We found many species other than trout on the Otter, but fun none the less. In my experience, once the Otter water temp gets in the lower 60’s, the trout become more active. Until we get really colder temps, they are usually found still in the faster water.
Howdy folks! With some well deserved relief from the heat and much needed rain on the way, things couldn’t be looking better on the local fishing scene. Many Otter tribs started the day in the low 60’s, but are still low and clear. The Otter itself was still a touch over 70 early this morning in the Middlebury area, but I found some mid 60’s further south on the Otter. Some Iso’s, and a few caddis were around. Fish seemed to like the standard Iron Lotus, rainbow warriors, and frenchies. Pretty much what has been producing fish for people the last few weeks.
Greetings out there anglers! As we turn the corner to September, we’ve got some very similar conditions out on the local rivers. Otter tributaries are low and clear, and although this morning was chilly, it looks like we have a bit more heat and humidity to deal with in the coming days. I was able to get out on the Middlebury River this morning and found a cool 62 degree water temperature in East Middlebury and was able to pick up a few fish from the faster pocket water in that stretch. Most fish came on size 14-16 frenchies.
Greetings out there anglers! Trout fishing continues to be mostly weather dependent, with cooler mornings and after rain events getting the most action. Who knows, we may have left the majority of the heat and humidity behind us with this last bout storms that rolled through. At least for this coming week, the nighttime lows are looking good, so it is a possibility that some more water could be fishable in the mornings. Please do take temperatures before you start fishing. It seems that most folks are still pickling up fish on nymphs, mostly in sizes 14-16 and of the mayfly variety.
