River Report: February 20, 2023
Rivers around the state are in excellent shape. Most are free of ice with average levels, temps in the low 30’s and good clarity. warm air temps this winter are the culprit. Burlington VT was pushing 60 last week.
This doesn’ t necessarily mean that fishing is good for trout. Fish are still in winter mode. Being cold blooded, they metabolism is low therefore they don’t need much nutrition to sustain life. That doesn’t mean you can’t catch them. Your chances improve on warm sunny days. You just need the water temp to increase a few degrees for the the trout feel more active. If you want to get out, better do it soon as winter come returns the end of this week with snow and below average air temperatures.
As we head towards March, we start thinking steelhead. We have some decent runs of steelhead out of lake Champlain that occur in March and April. Lately, Our guides have been busy tying up flies that are productive for this run and giving clients the best chance of hooking up. We have been booking trips for this run. If you’re looking to learn how to target steelhead or increase your chances, give us a call.
Very soon, we’ll be seeing small black stone flies making their emergence. Many times we see them crawling around on snow covered river banks. With no other insect activity, this hatch draws good attention from trout and steelhead. Imitations of these stones are tied on size 14 &16 hooks. Smaller sizes of PT are also killer during this time.
We are in the process of building a new website. Hope is to launch it mid March. Stay tuned.