Local water

I took advantage (again) of this beautiful winter weather and went to a nearby stream to see if the residents were willing to reveal themselves.  The stream was in good shape, with very reasonable water flow.  Using the "pinkie" I was able to fool a few of the natives, two of which were large enough to warrant a photo.  While I've never caught anything that I'd call large here, the beauty of this stream and the woods through which it flows makes it a great place to visit.

Winter respite

What a difference two days makes.  From complete snow cover on Friday, to almost no snow on the ground today.  I couldn't let a day like today pass without fishing so mid-morning I headed out to a small brook that I love to visit.  The water level was finally respectable and the fish were quite cooperative.  I had a good number of hook-ups with Alan's "pinkie" the worm and Matt Grobert's "eggs over easy" pattern.  The presence of some winter stoneflies over the stream inspired me to try a Hemingway caddis dry, which also proved to be effective.  Thank you mother nature for the break in the winter weather.

Stream time with Alan and Mark

As was the case when I went out with Alan after Thanksgiving, I was able to entice a number of small brookies with a couple of different wet fly patterns but none of the stream's larger inhabitants.  At the second stop of our outing I was able to fool the brookie below using an emerger.  This was the "monster" of the day for me.  At least the streams are in much better shape than they were a few weeks ago.  The rain has certainly been beneficial.

Some recent activity

The lack of rain this fall has really put a damper on my fishing for wild trout in CT's small streams.  While I've been out a few times in the last month, invariably I've found very low water levels and little activity.  In spite of this, I've still managed to catch a few fish and enjoy the time in the woods.  The day after Thanksgiving, however, the water level in the stream that Alan and I went to was finally up (although not completely) and at least the smaller residents were willing to take the my fly.