It finally feels like fall, and we’ve gotten some significant rain at last. The high water has the fish taking advantage, and the bite has been better for it.

Tomorrow looks a bit cold, but air temperatures should climb back into the 50s and 60s next week, which should warm the water back up. Water temperatures have been fairly consistent in the mid 50s across most of the water I’ve been on recently. The New Haven is at 100 CFS as I write this, but with rain continuing through the afternoon, I’d be shocked if it doesn’t bump back up to at least a couple hundred. The Otter in Middlebury is running at 900 CFS and will likely hover around 1,000 through the weekend, which is probably too high to fish the lower stretches. Down in Rutland it has dropped to 350 CFS and is in much better shape.Visibility is slightly better than I expected, with two to three feet in the tributaries, though you’ll need to stay conscious of your drifts so they land in the right slots to find feeding fish.

Fish are shifting into slightly slower holding water, so be sure to get your flies down to the middle of the water column and be persistent with your drifts and rigs in likely areas. They...