Nice start to 2012

I was invited to join BRK TRT and his friends for their annual first day of the year fishing trip to a class 1 trout stream.  Being somewhat monomaniacal (completely, according to my family), I jumped at the chance to go fishing once again.  Adding to my generally fishing excitement was the fact that it was my first trip to this stream, one that was on my list to visit.  I got there early and was amazed to find the stream flowing right past houses, just a short drive off the highway.  Looking south I could see traces of fog hanging over the stream, while northward it was bright and clear.

BRK and his friends, TROUT1 and Apache Trout, arrived shortly and after a nice warm cup of coffee and a donut we hit the stream.  Quite often I find that my first time on any given stream is not very successful, and today was no exception.  The flies that have proven to be very successful on other streams (like the Gartside sparrow  and birds nest nymphs), were not generating any excitement in this stream's wild residents.  However, with the sage advice of TROUT1 (along with one of his special flies), I was finally able to get on the board catching a beautiful brookie.

We fished for quite a while and decided it was time for a break.  After a delicious lunch of sausage and peppers, we returned to the stream for another round.  Try as I might, I was unable to catch another fish in this stretch of the stream.   I headed back to where we had parked with the intention of going home, but decided to head downstream to talk to BRK TRT before leaving.  Seeing more nice water to fish I couldn't resist the temptation to take a few more casts, but once again to no avail.   On the walk back upstream with BRK TRT he stopped at a run that he had been fishing and suggested I give it a try.  After a few casts and slow retrieves of the sparrow nymph a fish struck and a brief battle ensued.  In that relatively short stretch of stream I hooked and lost two fish and had another overt strike all with the sparrow.  My comfort fly did in fact work on this stream, with the excellent advice of BRK TRT on where to fish it.

In the future when I return to this beautiful place I know that my ability to catch some of it's wild residents will be greatly enhanced due to willingness of BRK TRT, TROUT1 and Apache Trout to share with me their knowledge of the stream.  I also really appreciate their sharing the first day of the year fishing trip with me.  Thank you very much guys.  Happy New Year.