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Catamount Fishing Adventures, 699 Glenbrook Road, Stowe, VT (2026)

03/19/2026

Hi Folks, The ice fishing for the last 3 weeks has been very consistent. I have been focusing on catching Northern Pike. Ice conditions have begun to decline. I watched ice thickness shrink from 18” of black ice to 8” to 13” of black ice. Still plenty of ice on the in land lakes I guide. The edges of lakes are the areas that require caution. The shoreline always melts first. I have been carrying a spud bar, wearing the picks of life, and carrying rope. With all of the snow melting, ice creepers are required. The ice is still safe with a return to winter after the recent warm spell. The buddy system is a good idea this time of the year. I have been chasing pike in staging areas to where they will move to spawn shortly. 8’-15‘ of water off giant w**d beds and bays that have dark soft bottoms. It is a great time of year to catch a large Northern Pike. The larger pike are females. Chances are pretty good that any fish over 30” is a female and is carrying eggs. Those in my opinion are the fish to release. Keep the smaller fish. Protect the big spawning females as they are producing the future for the fishery. My tactics have been to set tip-ups baited with live shiners, dead shiners, live perch, wounded perch, and dead perch. I find that dead baits catch big fish this time of the year. We have been setting right off the bottom unless there are thick w**ds. Then we set at the top of the w**d beds. I have a lot of success catching pike on jig sticks. Jigs in fire tiger, chartreuse, and hot orange tipped with either maggots or minnows have worked. I have been using lots of fluorocarbon leaders. Pike are sight feeders. I fish lakes that receive fishing pressure. I like the stealth of fluorocarbon. Big fish, big eyeballs. We do lose a few fish to break offs but not very often. I plan to ice fish until the end of the Onto if not into April. All contingent on Mother Nature. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

01/18/2026

Hi Folks, It has been a great start to the ice fishing season. Lots of safe ice throughout Vermont from big lakes to small ponds. I have found anywhere from 7” to 10” of black ice. Plenty of ice to walk on. I have been mostly chasing Northern Pike and Yellow perch. Big w**d beds with adjacent deep water have been most consistent. 10’-15’ of depth with hard and soft bottom. We have been setting large Golden Shiners and small yellow perch under tip-ups just off the bottom. We have had a lot of success jigging up Northern Pike! Man they put a bend in little ole jig stick. Hali Jigs are my most reliable ice fishing lure. I use them to catch everything. Varying sizes from large to small. Fire Tiger and Chartreuse have been the most consistent color schemes for Perch and Pike. Small Hali jigs in silver, gold, green/gold, green/silver, and glow in the dark have been working well on smelt. Into the jigs with either maggots or a minnow. Most of the Pike and Perch have been caught off the bottom. When fishing heavy w**ds, I set and work the area just above the w**d bed. I like chumming in my shanty when jig fishing. It brings the big fish to the holes. Plus it can keep a school of perch or smelt hanging around. I’m preparing to go walleye fishing and trout fishing in the NEK. Nice winter to ice fish. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

08/29/2025

Hi Folks, It has been a busy August. Very warm and dry. Finally getting a much needed cool down with some rain. Our Brooks and Rivers are as low as it gets. Lake levels have dropped dramatically. Surface water temperatures on lakes have ranged from 70 degrees to 78 degrees. The big water temperatures, where I guide river smallmouth, are between 69 and 73 degrees. Fortunately with the nighttime air temperatures dropping into the forties and fifties, water temps. are coming down. The trout brooks I visited this week were 57 degrees and 62 degrees. With the low water, stealth has been necessary. Finally saw a decent hatch #14- #20 flying ants late day. It prompted smallmouth to rise and eat off the top. With the water levels being so low, the smallmouth are holding in the large primary pools. In small Brooks, the trout are holding under rocks in pools and under the heavy water feeding the pools. They need somewhere to hide. Our tactics have been to cast dry flies up into the suspected holding water and drift only the leader. No drag allowed. It’s fun watching the dark shape of a trout come up and smash the dry fly. There have been numbers of freshly hatched golden stone fly shucks on rocks as well a late morning hatch of micro Caddis. I have seen a few tiny sulphers at dark. Patterns we have been casting: #12- #14 Purple and Royal Chubbies, #12- #14 Royal Wulffs, #14 Atomic Ant, #12- #16 foam flying ants, #10- #14 tan and olive GFA, #12- #14 Orange Stimulator, #14- #16 Goddard Caddis, #16- #18 X-Caddis, #10- #12 Black and Golden Tunghead, and #10- #12 Olive/Black Wooly Buggers. The smallmouth bass fishing has shined in August. I’ve guided mostly with the fly rods, but I have done a few spin trips. Senkos and more Senkos crush the bass spin fishing. 3”-5” Senkos in Watermelon Red Magic has been the most consistent color. I think any Senko in earth tones catches bass. The top water smallie fishing has been solid. Fly patterns: #6- #8 Boogle Bugs in blue, black, chartreuse/black, #4- #6 Block Heads in blue, black, and chartreuse. Any surface frog patterns have worked well in still water applications. I’m looking forward to fall fishing. The next two months are one of my favorite times to be on the water. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

07/18/2025

Hi Folks, Finally a nice break in the weather. A much welcomed cold front after several days of high heat and humidity. Still with the hot sticky weather, the smallmouth fishing has been terrific! Small stream trout fishing has been tricky. Water temperatures in the little brooks had surged over 65 degrees. Pretty darn warm in little water. The Lamoille and Winooski main stem are too warm to fly fish currently. Trout fishing is not an option when the water hits 70 degrees and above. The bass really come to life when the water eclipses 70 degrees. Surface temperatures on the bass front have been 76 to 79 degrees. I like the high humidity when top water bass fishing. The smallies have been looking up. The best bite window has been early morning or late day. It is important when attempting to catch fish off the surface to fish away from sunny bright locations. Always focus on shady areas. The bite has been interesting. We have been casting to rocky shoreline, points that extend into deeper water, deep edged duck w**d beds and downed wood.Some takes have been extremely aggressive, while others have been a gently sip. It is important either way to allow the fish to eat the bug. It is easy to take the fly away from the fish before it has truly eaten it. Fly patterns that have worked are a #4 Fire Tiger crease fly, and #8 yellow foam with black hackle popper, a #6 yellow/black Boogle Bug, and a #6 Chartreuse/black Boogle bug. I have been doing a few family trips. I still enjoy taking young aspiring anglers fishing. We have been using light spin gear and drifting rubber baits in slow moving water. Keeping it simple with kids is important. They need to catch fish. Trout fishing should pick back up with the cooler air temperatures. A little rain does not hurt either as it can shuffle the deck in a trout stream. Fly patterns have been #12/ #14 green and tan GFA, #12/ #14 Royal Wulff, #14 purple chubby, #12 royal chubby, and any hopper pattern in sizes #10- #14. July is always a tricky fishing month due to heat and warmer water temperatures.However, there are always options for fishing and just try to fish at ideal times during the course of the day. Remember to clean your gear and leave the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

06/14/2025

Hi Folks, June is a fine month to fly fish for trout in Vermont. The Lamoille and Winooski have both been productive. Water temperatures have varied from morning to evening. 61 to 62 degrees at 6am and 65 to 67 degrees at dusk. The best fishing currently is early morning or the last hour of light. Water temperatures have been similar in both rivers. Caddis in the morning and Sulphers st dusk. I have been floating guests and wading. The fishing is a lot better during low light periods. Any rising activity has been early or late. There has been a consistent hatch of #16 green bodied caddis every morning for the last 10 days. The evening has been Sulphers and egg laying caddis. My clients have been casting lots of dry dropper and double nymph rigs. We have not been adverse to casting and dead drifting a heavily weighted #10 olive/black wooly bu**er. Flies that have been catching fish: Dries- #12 orange chubby #10- chubby #14- Caddis Dun -Caddis #16- Mayfly. Nymphs- #12- Red Thread Prince #14 Peacock Soft Hackle #12- Flashback Pheasant Tail #14- olive Caddis Ear Nymph #12- John.
Time to take advantage of some fine Vermont fly fishing.Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

05/27/2025

Hi Folks, The weather and the fly fishing are only getting better by the day. Looks like the damp wet weather is behind us for a bit. Our rivers are still a little higher than seasonal average, but can be accessed to fish now. I prefer high water over low water conditions. Water temperatures have ranged in small brooks from 49 degrees to 57 degrees in larger streams. I’ve guided still water the last few days and the lake surface temperatures have ranged from 57 to 60
degrees. The lake fishing for pre-spawn smallmouth and largemouth bass has been good. We have been casting #2- #6 Clouser Minnows in a variety of colors; Red/white, White/purple with yellow, and white have all produced fish. Every fish has been holding in either shallow w**d beds or dark bottomed bays with lots of downed wood. We are finding northern pike in the very same water. It’s fun seeing the fish move to eat the fly in skinny water. We did have several fish follow our fly patterns and not commit. I guided 2 different lakes and the fish are holding in similar type locations within both bodies of water. The trout fishing for May had been more tricky. Simply due to all of the rain and high water. All of our rivers are stocked and the fish are ready to play. My guests have had the most success nymph fishing. However, we have found a few rising fish eating #14/ #16 Grannoms. Fly patterns nymphs: #12/ #14 Pheasant tails, #12 Red thread tungsten Prince nymph, # 14 olive wire caddis, #10/ #12 black double tung stone fly, #12- #16 copper John’s, and #6- #10 olive/black wooly bu**ers and white bu**ers. Dry fly patterns: #10- #14 Royal and purple chubbies (good indicator fly), #14 peacock caddis, #12/ #14 purple parachute, #12- #14 Adam’s, and a #12 foam yellow sally. Great time of year to fly fish! Moving to early morning and late day conditions. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

02/26/2025

Hi Folks, What a winter for ice fishing. The ice fishing options are limitless with a high percentage of our lakes frozen with safe ice. I can’t remember the last time I saw over 20” of ice. I am certainly testing my ice augers abilities. The non stop February snow has created some issue moving around the lakes. Lots of false ice and slush on top of the black ice. Good winter boots are required. The current warm is melting away the snow pack on the ice. Still plenty of ice. We will be ice fishing into April this season at this rate. The fishing has been decent. Everyday seems a little different. The northern pike fishing has been consistent. The trout fishing has been hot and cold. Most of the trout we have been catching have been taken from right under the ice. Regardless of the depth of water being fished. I use long fluorocarbon leaders. We have been baiting the tip ups with medium to small Golden shiners and live smelt when I catch them. I spread out my sets from shallow to deep water. Fishing for northern pike is s bit different. They tend to occupy different habitat than trout and are typically caught closer to the bottom. I will bring up my sets in the water column when fishing a heavily w**ded bay. I like to place my baits above the w**d bed so the fish can find their prey. Large Goldens, Smelt, and yellow perch are all good pike baits. We have been consistently catching yellow perch. Jig fishing mostly off the bottom or up a few feet. Hali jigs tipped with spikes work very well. Lots of ice fishing left! Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

01/23/2025

Hi Folks, It is game on time for ice fishing. Probably not many places that one can’t ice fish in VT currently. I have been bouncing around the state chasing trout in the NEK, pike on Champlain, and trout and perch in central Vermont. Ice thickness has varied from 6” to 12”. I’m finding great black ice to walk on. Still go through your own safety checks when venturing onto new ice is a good idea. We have been sitting tip-ups and jigging. I like spreading out tip-ups across the ice. It is good fun chasing flags. For Trout fishing we have been placing live smelt just under the ice. I like using long Flouro-carbon leaders for trout. Trout have big eye balls and decent eye sight. With a high percentage of dissolved oxygen just under the ice, I think the trout search this portion of the lake for prey. Plus they can trap a bait right under the ice. The prey has no where to flee. Whether setting flags for lake trout, salmon, brown trout, or rainbow, most of the trout I catch in the winter come from just under the ice. Water depth varies where I set for trout. We had flags yesterday in 5’ to 30’ of water. Still, all of our baits were just under the ice. The smelt fishing has been hit or miss. The smelt certainly move up and down in the water column based on light levels. Night time is the most productive period in the day to catch smelt. A green light placed under the ice really draws the smelt in. On the Northern Pike front, the fishing has been consistent. We have been focusing on shallow w**dy bays that abut deeper water. Flag set up is a little different for northern pike. I tend to catch most Pike on the bottom or suspended over thick w**d beds. The larger fish seem to have moved into deeper water. I’ll set traps for Pike from 5’ to 20’ of water. In winter, warmer water sits towards the bottom. Water is the most dense at 39 degrees. It sinks to the bottom and pushes a layer of water to the surface that then eventually freezes. Thus many species like Northern Pike and Walleye tend to hold in the bottom layer of the water column. I like live and dead baits for Northern Pike. I have been setting tip-ups with golden shiners, yellow perch, and smelt. Northern Pike have some serious teeth. They are sight feeders. Many anglers use steel leaders for Pike. I wonder how often a steel leader turns off a fish from eating? Especially in heavily fished waters. I have been using 40lb Flouro-carbon leaders for pike. I have not had any fish break off yet. Always worth trying different approaches in fishing. The Yellow Perch fishing has been consistent. We have catching them on tip-ups and on jig sticks. I do not set tip up’s for perch. They are notorious bait stealers. Often they trip a flag as they attempt to eat a bait that is bigger than their stomach, ugh. We have been using Hali Jigs tipped with maggots or small minnows to hammer perch. Fire Tiger has been a very productive color. Perch are a schooling fish. We have been locating them over grass flats in 10’ to 15’ of water. Just keep popping holes until you locate them. Well, Ice Fishing is in full swing. Get out and enjoy a really fun winter activity. Remember to clean your gear and keep the bin-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

12/30/2024

Hi Folks, It has been a great start to the ice fishing season. Plenty of safe where I have been guiding. I began on the ice on December 21 with 5” of black ice and after yesterday there was 9” of solid black ice. This warm wet spell will melt away some ice. Still there is plenty of safe ice to walk on. More so the current warm weather has made the ice messy. All of the snow pack on the ice has melted. There are several inches of standing water on the ice. It appears that within a couple of days a cold front and snow will re-freeze any surface water on the ice. Bring along your safety gear, creepers, rope, and picks of life. I have been guiding a lake with northern pike, lots of small yellow perch, and bass. The pike population is decent, but they are well fed with the abundance of yellow perch. When you catch a northern pike at this lake it tends to be a good one. My clients have landed 3 fish over 30” thus far this season. It is a quality versus quantity fishery. We have been catching northern pike on tip ups. I have been running traps from 5’ to 12’ of water on the edge of a big w**d bed. Most of our flags have been from mid morning to mid afternoon. The jig fishing has been fairly consistent. Lots of small perch on Fire Tiger and Chartreuse Hali jigs tipped with maggots. The larger fish prefers larger baits. Jigs tipped with minnows have accounted for larger perch. My ice fishing season is just getting going. As more ice forms, I will begin to move to other lakes to chase pike, trout, and walleye. Nice having a portable shanty. Looking forward to the next few months of ice fishing. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

10/09/2024

Hi Folks, What great time of year to be on the water. I have been guiding daily for the last few weeks. I love watching the foliage change from mid September to mid October. Magical time to be outside in Northern Vermont. The trout fishing has been consistent. Most of my trips have been river fly fishing for rainbow and brown trout. We have been wading and floating the Lamoille and Winooski. Water temperatures have ranged from 58 degrees to 62 degrees. Water levels are slightly below seasonal average flow. The air temps. have been perfect. Daytime highs in the mid sixties with cool nights in the forties. The Lamoille has been more consistent for rising fish. We have focused on big stable pools that have not been impacted by high water events. The rising activity has begun around 3pm each afternoon. We have been nymphing early in the day. A double nymph rig with #18 latex olive caddis and a #20 peacock soft hackle, a #18 Lil Amigo with a #20 Ju Ju Baetis, and a #14 rubber legged Copper John with a #18 Red Headed Step Child have all produced fish. The dry fly fishing is not easy. The trout are sipping tiny Baetis in slow deep pools. The rise forms look like tiny dimples in the water. You have to focus on the water as the rising is not always obvious. We had fish rising in an eddy that was covered in leaf debris. Long leaders, perfects casts, and drifts are required. Dry fly patterns: #20 Adam’s, Adam’s parachute, #20/ #22 spotlight emerger, and #18/ #20 CDC compara duns. The Winooski has fished very differently. Very few rising fish in comparison to the Lamoille. Still the trout are eating, we just had to nymph them up. My nymphing rigs have been similar to the Lamoille. However, a #12 tungsten red thread Prince nymph and a Bug with small dropper nymphs and soft hackles has been effective. The rainbows pound the big nymphs. My favorite fly as a dropper this time of the year is a #18/ #20 peacock soft hackle. Easy to tie and can represent a variety of hatching insects. The trout eat the pattern dead drifted and on the swing. I have been pleased to see the large number of wild trout being landed. Catching lots of young wild rainbows. Trout that are 2 to 3 years old. Must have been a good spring for spawning 3 years ago for the rainbows. Feisty little bastards that love to get air time. I have thought that the Lamoille wild brown trout population has been in peril. I have not had a client land a wild brown in 2 years on the main stem of the Lamoille. Typically, an angler would catch 20 rainbows on the Lamoille for every brown trout landed. In the last 10 days, I have seen half a dozen juvenile wild browns caught. Good sign. Still I think the state should require anglers to release all brown trout in the Lamoille. Why not protect the wild fish??? We landed 2 wild browns on the Winooski yesterday. I have not seen a ton of stocked fish on either river. We are catching some stocked bows. It’s obvious when you hook one because they pull back like a wet paper towel. Stocked fish suck! Great time of year to be fly fishing for trout in Vermont. The best fishing time has been midday to late afternoon. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

09/30/2024

Hi Folks, I love the month of September in Vermont. Everyday becomes a little more beautiful with the changing foliage. With the exception of last Wednesday, the weather has been amazing. Cool nights with beautiful warm days. Water temperatures have been slowly dropping. Still we have not had a frost in northern Vermont, and I have not found a river or lake water temperature under 56 degrees. The Winooski was 61 degrees yesterday morning. I guided 3 different lakes this week and the surface temps. ranged from 62 to 67 degrees. Pretty windy few days on the still water. The smallmouth bass fishing had been pretty consistent. We located fish in shallow and deeper water. Anywhere from 5’ to 20’. Hard bottomed sharp drop offs that have established w**d beds on the shallow edge. The smallmouth appear to move back and forth depending on the time of day. Mostly guided spin trips for bass lately. We have been casting 5’ Senkos, Drop Shot rigs, and 1/4 oz. jigs and swim baits. A crawfish crank bait has enticed a few fish. Soft plastic baits in shades of green and brown have all been productive. We chased walleye last Thursday in still water. Not really something I do too often. I was a little out of my comfort zone, yet my longtime guest wanted to catch his first walleye. Typically I would river fish for walleye. We landed 7 walleyes! Brought one home for breakfast. In my opinion, the finest table fare in the fresh water world. We caught the walleyes casting a 3/8 oz. fire tiger swim bait. We used electronics to locate fish. Rubble piles in 12’-16’ of water held the marble eyes. An underwater hump that rose out of deeper water was productive. On the fly front, lots of young wild rainbows coming to the net. I’m pleased to see a strong year classes of 2 to 3 year old bows. However, where the hell are the adult fish??? Whether the Winooski or Lamoille tribs, the young rainbows have been prevalent. I have not found many rising fish. A few select risers at dusk eating small #20/ #22 Sulphers. Bugs have been few and far between. Some #16- #18 olive caddis larvae on rocks, a random #12/ #14 Isonychis shuck on a rock, and a few #20 BWOs hatching when cloudy. On the smaller water, fly patterns, a #14 orange bodied stimulator with a #20 cheese canyon emerger dropper, a #20 BWO compara dun, #20 Adam’s, a #18 latex caddis, and a #16 Goddard caddis, a #12 tunghead stonefly, and a #18 peacock soft hackle. On the big water, we have been nymphing. I have not found any rising fish or significant hatches. The water levels just came up from recent rain, yet the levels for most of the month were at seasonal levels. We have been fishing big primary pools. Fly selection: #12 Tungsten Zug Bug, #12- #14 red thread Prince nymph, #14 rubber legged Copper John, #10 olive black wooly bu**er, #16/ #18 olive caddis pupa, #18/ #20 peacock soft hackle, #18/ #20 Cheese canyon emerger, and #18/ #20 BWO nymphs. With the current weather conditions, the trout fishing should only get better and better. Great time of year to be on the water. Mid morning to late afternoon is the time. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home! Have Fun, W***y

08/31/2024

Hi Folks, Nice weather change. It has been spectacular on the water. Trout streams and bass ponds/lakes are cooling and the fish are looking up. The high water has only benefited the fish in my opinion. More so in stable brooks and rivers. The stream I guided this am was 59 degrees. A decent #18 micro caddis hatch. No rising fish, yet we landed 7 healthy fat wild rainbows eating a #18 green caddis pupa. The Brook trout are starting to look fired up in color as the fall approaches. Fly patterns: #12 Green GFA, #12- #14 Tan GFA, 10- #14 rubber legged royal trude, #12- #14 Royal Chubby, #14- #16 Peacock caddis, #14 Royal Dry Humper, #14 Red Madame X, #18 green caddis pupa, #18 tan caddis pupa, #14 Olive Green Chubby, #12- #16 red thread tungsten prince, #8- #10 black tungsten olive sparkle wooly bu**er, #6 Black and, tungsten white wooly bu**er. The smallmouth fishing has been fantastic if you enjoy catching them on poppers:) surface temps have ranged from 67 degrees in the morning to 71 by late day. we have been pounding w**d bed (duckw**d in particular) edges that are over submerged islands. The big fish are looking up! Post colds fronts are the only thing that slows them down. I have had guests land smallmouth up to 21” recently. Did a river float recently and we did not catch a bass under 15”. The fish looked really healthy and coughing up lots of crawfish. Fly patterns: #6 Blue Block Head, #8 Blue Boogle Bug, #6 Yellow Boogle Bug, lots of foam patterns I tie in black, chartreuse, fire tiger, yellow, white. Flies that make noise!!! The fishing is good. Get out and enjoy! Remember to clean your gear and leave the non-native species at home. Have Fun, W***y

Catamount Fishing Adventures

03/19/2026

01/18/2026

08/29/2025

07/18/2025

06/14/2025

05/27/2025

02/26/2025

01/23/2025

12/30/2024

10/09/2024

09/30/2024

08/31/2024

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Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Fly Casting Instructor