It’s been a wild spring, with water temps and flows bouncing all over the place. I was able to wet wade a stretch of the New Haven last week, but after the recent rains, I’m back in waders and a light puffy. Water temps in Addison County streams had been steadily climbing—we pulled a 58°F on the Middlebury and a 61.4°F on the New Haven last week—but this morning the New Haven cooled off dramatically to 49.6°F.
Unfortunately, we had to cancel a few float trips this past weekend following Saturday’s rain. Most rivers around the state were already running high, and now many are blown out. Reports from my guides: the Lamoille had around an inch of visibility yesterday, and the White was heavily stained below the Bethel bridge. The Otter has been unfishable for us but we hope to start running Pike trips in the next few weeks. The New Haven is also up but had close to 30 inches of visibility this morning.
Fishing started slow today. My go-to combo of a stonefly and jig streamer wasn’t producing. It wasn’t until Lorenzo made the call to downsize—tying on an olive GTI caddis and a size 14 jig prince, and dropping from 4x to 5x tippet—that we saw any action. His second cast hooked a very large brown that rocketed downstream. Lorenzo gave chase and even took a swim trying to cross. He fought hard, but the fish ultimately broke him off in a log jam. Tough loss, but he dried off and headed to school already thinking about the next encounter.
With air temps returning to seasonal norms and sunshine in the forecast, I’d say we’re officially entering prime time for Vermont trout fishing. Lower Addison County streams haven’t been stocked yet, so any fish you hook there are holdovers or wild. If you’re not moving fish, check your tippet—lighter is often better right now. We continue to trust Cortland’s Top Secret fluorocarbon for its strength and durability.
Before the rain, we were doing a lot of floating. Indicator nymphing had been solid, but the streamer bite picked up when we switched to sinking lines with olive or tan patterns. Fish were hitting on the dangle or a super slow strip—too much action seemed to turn them off.
Top Patterns:
- Joe Goodspeed’s Private Stock Stones
· Jig Princes sizes 12, 14
· GTI Caddis Olive and Tan
· Jig Buggers Olive and Black in size 8
· Peanut Envy Streamers in Tan and Black
As always, feel free to stop by the shop and share what you’re seeing around the state. Good luck out there, and enjoy this late-spring window—it’s go time.
Tight lines,
Steven Atocha
