Settling in to Summer

June has left us sadly, and possibly my least favorite month is upon us.  It's hot and humid every day and I am wishing for the 65 degree drizzly days we had earlier this year.  Looking back at June, it was a great month of fishing.  We had a lot of smiling faces join us on the water.  We got into some giant fish, including the two massive rainbows above a client caught on dry flies.  We saw a lot of shuffling around of trout in June as the water levels dropped and the temps began to climb.  Some stretches of small rivers that fished great early seemed to have emptied.  It appears the wild fish were doing a lot of migrating prior to the heat we had at the end of June and finding their way to the summer lies.  Likely deep holes and springs that only the trout know about.  

On the Bass front, my partner Mike and I were able to win the team category of  15th annul Ditch Pickle Classic on Lake Champlain again this year, while I was able to take 1st individually for the third year in a row, while Mike took second place just a point behind me.  We also got the cash prize for the biggest bass a 20.25" smallmouth I hooked on a popper and Mike netted.  The fishing was a grind under bright sun and we picked away at fish deep and slow during the day and had a great top water bite in the evening.  Day two was crazy windy and stormy and Mike needed two more big fish. I kept the boat in control in the wind and mike got his two big ones before we called it a day.  

The Hex hatch was good at the end of June this year, but had already peaked and was waning during the fourth of July which seemed to be the peak years ago. Depending on the body of water it could be over or they could hatch sporadically for a while longer.  This hatch is what made me want to become a fly fisher.  

July looks to be mostly a game of warm water species on the bigger lower end of the rivers and small stream fishing.  Early mornings and evenings for bass on poppers, frogs and hoppers is a really good way to beat the heat.Fish slow, and subtly.  No big pops, and a lot of pauses will get you the most bass.  Crayfish are also great if you have no luck up top. The streams fish well after a rain and cool down, however many stay cool most if not all of the hot days. I recommend going early and please take a thermometer with you.  If the water is 70 call it. When I say small I talking blue lines and upper reaches of tributaries that have good canopy cover at higher elevations. I guided a great couple on a recent hot and humid day. The small stream started out at 64 and fished good throughout the morning,  The fishing really slowed as the water hit 68 and we fished for another 45 minutes with no bites until it got to 69 and we called it.  The fish had called it earlier than we did.  A combination of dries and nymphs worked.  A simple dry dropper was the real ticket  however.  Flies didn't seem to matter all that much. 

We will be in the summer pattern for a good 6 weeks.  Keep an eye out for those big rain events and below average temps,  you'll have more options to fish at this time.  I am really hoping for a wet remainder of the summer to help mitigate the high temps.  Unfortunately, with climate change I do think that above average temps are here to stay.  As we have seen, the changing climate seems to favor more rains as well.  Let's hope we don't see widespread catastrophic flooding, but plenty of precipitation, to help our very healthy population of wild trout make it through the summer.

All of our guides, including myself  will be in Alaska the end of July and beginning of August, on the DIY drop float fishing trip in the remote Western portion of the state.  I'll have pictures and stories to tell on the report when I get back.  I'm hoping for safe travels, no super close grizzly encounters, and a once in a lifetime adventure.