more puppy pictures

Meet my new bird dog "JAKE"

I finally found a puppy which will follow in Tucker's paw prints....meet Jake. A pup from Kirby Mountain kennels in E. Burke Vt. Jake is 8 weeks old and about 9 lbs.

Trout fishing

The Trout fishing is hit or miss. I had a nice gentleman from Kansas for two days last week. Day one we caught two rainbows between 10 to 12" and a trophy 22"brown on tungsten nymphs. Then the second day three hits only and no fish caught. I am now fulltime guiding bird hunters. So if you are going to fish check out the BWO hatch on the Battenkill on Rte 313 under the Rockwell covered bridge. If its a nice day usually it starts about 2pm and lasts till 4pm. I use a BWO thorax dry size 20 or 22.

I will continue to post throughout the winter....mainly flies and tying topics so please stay tuned.
I also plan to activate a blog for other than fly fishing....ice fishing is coming and when the weather permits jigging perch is alot of fun.

Fall Trout fishing

Vermont Brown and Brook Trout are all colored up in fall colors and will be looking to spawn shortly. Regular Trout season is nearing the end. Last day is October 31st. Several river systems
in the Champlain basin remain open year around. Lake Champlain is also open year around for Trout, Landlocks and Lakers. The salmon bite on the main lake is heating up. Water temp on Champlain is 52. When we get to 48 the Lake Trout bite will be on. I've got a couple more trips with fishermen than its all bird hunting until the first weekend in November.

Fall Fishing on Lake Champlain

On October 1st Bill"anything fishy" Osborne and I went fishing at Benson. After several guide trips, I knew the Perch bite was on and we wanted to have a fish fry soon. This day was all about targeting Vermont most fished for game fish the Yellow Perch. Its my opinion only Walleye is a better table fish than Perch. We had a great time and it was nice to get a chance to actually fish. Our catch included a nice Northern Pike, a dozen Bass and a 1/2 a pail of Perch. Please check out photos taken by Bill Osborne. Click on photo to enlarge.

Vermont fishing the end of September

It did rain over the weekend and more is in the forecast for this week. We really need it for the small streams and ponds. Lake Champlain, major lakes, Battenkill, Otter and main stem rivers have been fine....everything else really needed the rain. Mother nature really knows how to take care of all her critters.

I made a mistake on my Woodcock prediction of season opener. Woodcock season opens Oct 8th and ends Nov 6th....also Duck season opens Oct 10th....please take note of this lake fisherman....Benson will be a war zone....and more than likely there will not be any parking.

Bass are hitting funny....picking up bait and swimming away with it.....you really have to be a "line watcher"....the Perch bite is red hot on Champlain! I'll be putting a ton of fillets in freezer this coming Thursday.

Trout are overwhelmed with leaves in the water....this is a normal thing by the end of this week they will settle down....it takes about a week or so for the trout to settle down. Hopefully with the rain coming... we can get back on the small streams....I love fishing for Brook Trout in the fall. They get all fired up color wise in pre spawn mode.

Hatches currently: Fall Caddis (orange), tan caddis and BWO

Looking like fall in Vermont

Photo by Bill "anything fishy" Osborne

I have been pretty busy guiding and getting my wholesale fly line together to write this winters work. We had a light frost in the valley a couple mornings ago. Trout fishing is a mid morning and afternoon affair. On windy days there is alot of debris in the water. I've been successful with dryfly and wetfly combos fished upstream on the Battenkill. The Walloomsac in my opinion is done for the season. Currently the Battenkill is the best option with the Mettawee a close second.
We need rain.....I can't believe I just wrote that.....but we do....small streams are very low!!! Word has it Landlocked Salmon on Champlain are staged but need water to draw in the run. Same thing on the Salmon river in New York....small runs of Salmon....but need water to get the big push in.

Grouse season opens this coming Saturday....Woodcock opens on the 6th of October...At that point I jump around between guiding Trout, Bass and birds.....my buddy Tucker loves the new homestead and is in GREAT shape for an old dog....

Bass are moving towards the bank. Water temps are dropping and the bite is on. Been hearing alot of chatter about a pike bite too....we'll see on Thursday and Saturday when I have lake trips.

Thinking the mountain Brook thing is also a done deal for this season...it sure was fun this summer.

October is very busy around here....got some openings in the beginning of the month then its booked solid from Oct 8th until November 4th. I will be thinking Lakers on Champlain then. Since Nick has out grown youth deer hunting...the first weekend in November I will be open for Laker trips. All for now and thanks for staying tuned and please tell your buddies about the blog!!!

Vermont fishing and fishing news

The fishing is now out of early morning mode. No more getting up at 4:00 am!!!! Trout fishing is pretty good. The Battenkill is plan A most days. Seeing alot of orange fall caddis throughout the day.

Bass fishing in local ponds has been good also. Poppers on the surface are the number one producer. Surface temperature in high 60's. Air and water temps are almost equal. Bass are still in 10 feet of water but will move up any day.

Sad News: Fran Betters of Adirondack fame died last week. Fran created the: Ausable wulff, Usual and Haystack (original compradun style). Mr Betters had been in failing health for quite awhile.

Amazing News: A potential new world record Brown Trout. Caught Sept. 9th on the Manistee river, MI. 43.75 inches 41lbs 7 oz. !!! For the best internet coverage check out this link:

www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/fishing/trout-fishing/where-fish-trout/2009/09/potential-world-record-brown-trout-cau?photo=0

Today is a prep day...got a big run of trips coming up....life is short...go fishing.

FLY TYING BENCH

The MAN CAVE...at least the tying bench. I tie roughly 1000 dozen flies a year.

Labor Day weekend Battenkill flyfishing Forecast

Water levels and weather should make for an excellent holiday weekend for Fly fishing the Battenkill region. I have been hearing reports of flying ants!!! The female flying ant looks like a termite and is about a size 14. The Battenkill Brown Trout love them. I have seen browns rising very, very selectively to blue quills or trico duns....then have flying ants start.....all of a sudden they become stupid. Not often do you hear....Battenkill, Brown Trout and Stupid. I have been bass fishing the last couple days and will be bassing today....but count on I have flying ants in my vest and will be on the Battenkill over the weekend.

Custom Fly Tying Service

Yesterday while it was raw, chilly and raining buckets...I worked on a custom fly order for a gentleman going Atlantic Salmon fishing to the Gaspe Peninsula. The river he plans to fish is the Sainte Anne around September 11.

I tied the following patterns: Bee Wulff, Badger Bombers, Green Machine all salmon dries. For hairwing wetflies; Black Dose, Green Highlander, Jock Scott, Rusty Rat, and Silver Doctors.

If you are going on a major trip and have a fly list... please let me put in a bid. I have tied flies for almost every species that eat chicken feathers and fur. The internet makes it extremely easy to get pattern recipes and preferred fly lists for every destination worldwide.

Southern Vermont Fly Fishing for Brown Trout

Check out a Brown Trout caught by Bob Cameron, of Joe Jones at Great Outdoors in Rutland.

Fat, strong and ready to be caught again soon. I gave the boys a great tour of my playground:

Walloomsac, Battenkill and the Branch. Looks like another major rain event will happen this weekend. Look for termites, flying ants and fall caddis very soon.

Mettawee Headwaters

The upper Mettawee continues to be a very productive fish with a nice mix of wild Brown and Rainbow Trout. Todays water level was just a tiny bit high for dryflies but they were hammering beadhead nymphs in size 14 and 16 under a indicator about 30 " up the leader. This stretch has really great access off Dorset Hollow Road (next to Barrows House) a right hand turn off rte. 30.
A couple miles up the hollow road you'll go over a bridge on the river. Take that right turn and park by the historical marker for "Fenton Pottery Site". The surrounding lands are private, but once you're in the river its public domain. A bunch of this stretch that follows hollow road closely.

The Battenkill on Rte 313 today was only streamer/ sink tip fishable. The Sac is dropping in a big way. Tomorrow, I will be fishing with the boys from Joe Jones at Great Outdoors...this is your local Rutland, Vt sports shop.....imagine a fly shop where the guys actually fish!!! and not just talk the talk...Please stay tuned...

Vermont Fly Fishing for Trout

The fly fishing for trout this last week was pretty decent. I had total beginners all week so mostly it was learning to cast, learning to wade....all the things one needs to know to chase trout.
All week everyone had hits and several caught. One day on the sac my newbies caught 5 apiece.
Water.....we have great water levels....rain yes we have had rain. Bringing me to my next thought in this rant. If you won't fish in the rain....you have no business lining up a guide or for that matter even thinking about fishing. Some of my biggest Brown trout were caught in the rain...some of the best alltime days bass fishing were in the rain....even deer hunting....I've shot a bunch of deer on rainy days....Do I love standing in the rain...no but it's part of the deal on spending time outdoors.

Kashner Iso-Nymph

Click on image to enlarge