Rainbows of Vermont

The waters of Vermont are clear and cold. This particular year has been very wet, and until just prior to my trip, most rivers and streams were virtually un-fishable. I was glad to find the water level had been dropping, although I believe the quality of the fishing was affected by all the recent rainfall.


Out of the gate, we started our fishing at Plainfield, Vermont. West of Plainfield, on Hwy. 2 we parked on the highway and dressed in waders and boots. Excited, the four of us made our way to the river. Brian has a favorite set of ripples on this section of water that seem to always produce a good fish………today was to be no exception.



I had fished Vermont waters years before, but not with fly tackle. Not knowing what to tie on, I first used a tungsten bead caddis pupa wet fly. The general idea was to cast across the current and let the fly drift downstream and down in front of yourself. The trick is that you have to “mend” your line up river of the fly to create a realistic drift of that fly, (here’s a great article describing mending). I made several casts and picked up the technique, somewhat, pretty quick. The idea is to make that cast and drift several times, hoping for a bite. After a few tries with no bite, I’d move down river a few steps and begin the process over again, basically trying to locate the feeding zone of a trout. I did manage one bite, but no hook up.

My oldest nephew, Ethan, fishing the same ripple I was, did manage to hook up on a nice rainbow and land the fish. We took several pictures of this trout before release. I learned that these wild trout don’t want to leave……we pulled the trout back and forth thru the water several times to aid in oxygenation, and yet when totally released, the fish stayed right there. During the week long trip I saw this repeated many times, and was always amazed.




The reason for this trip was fulfilled almost immediately.....on our first excursion, as darkness overtook the land, as the air became suddenly cooler, Ethan hooked into this fish. I think both of us will remember his fish for a long time.


Thanks for coming by the blog, stop by again and check out the next installment of our fly fishing expedition to Vermont. Coming soon, we'll post some fishing video that really shows some beautiful water in Vermont.



Jeff

On the Ground, Outdoors