Fly Fishing Forum banner

No. Vermont Landlocks

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  pmflyfisher 
#1 ·
Hey folks. Not sure where to put this, since it ain't trout, yet not quite Atlantic Salmon, either.
Fished a tributary that flows into Memphramagog. The water was as low as I've seen it. Overcast skies and a bit of fall in the air made for high levels of anticipation. For the first few hours, little action. I saw one nice fish that I couldn't get to move. Caught some little salmon and a brown, all on dead drifted nymphs.
I was having a ball just scrambling on the rocks and casting, mending, retieving, scrambling, casting, mending, retrieving. I continued in a hypnotic fashion until I was well downstream of the section with which I was familiar. Here, under a canopy of cedars, was a lovely green pool with shadows that flashed silver now and then.
I made several casts. Then, a big flash on the bottom. I struck, and the water exploded. A BIG landlocked got out of the water. Big splash on -re-entry. Then again - silver torpedo in the sky. And again. And yet again. At this point I am quite sure I was standing with my mouth agape and the rod at my side. I just couldn't believe it. My tippet was broke, and if I had said something, I would have stuttered.
After composure was re-gained, I tried a few more. After another 15 minutes, my fly line went upstream, I struck downstream, and I got a violent headshake. The thing circled around the pool twice. Then a leap. Then another, easily two feet out of the water. The slab of silver landed on a rock. This was my chance. The fish had knocked itself silly. It regained some strength for some headshakes, but I got it to shore where it would not fit in my trout net. I took some pictures, said a prayer (I am not religious), and let it go. 26" of fattened, beastly Vermont Landlocked Salmon. Unbelievable.
I love fishing.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
juro - please let me know if you need any Vermont info. My favorite times are spring/early summer for smallmouths and fall for landlocks and browns. The streams up here are always fun to tromp around in, even though the wild fish don't always fair so well.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top