Local water

With only a limited amount of time available to me for fishing, I headed to two local streams to see if I could entice some of the residents.  The first stream is stocked (and is supposed to have sea-run browns).  Previously I had caught a couple dozen browns, all about the same size and color, with next to no effort.  Today I caught five browns, but now they looked a lot nicer, with much better color.  As usual the sparrow nymph was effective at getting their attention.  As you can guess, no sea-run brown for me.  The second stream has both wild browns and brookies, but today it failed to prove it to me.  Maybe next time.

 

If only all streams had trout

I went out scouting some streams yesterday and on the way home stopped at this one for a quick fish.  While a few of the pools seemed quite nice (pics 2/3 and 4/5), no strikes were elicited by the light Edson Tiger I was casting.  The pool in pictures 4 and 5 was about two feet deep with a nice undercut bank below the tree.  It may be that this stream becomes very low and warm during the summer or that it has a poor supply of food and consequently holds no trout.  Or I simply didn't present its residents with the right stuff.  Too bad since it's quite close to my home.

Class 3 humbling

I went to a beautiful Class 3 stream on Saturday to enjoy the warm weather and hopefully catch of few wild trout.  Unfortunately, I was put in my place by its residents.  I had one strike early in the trip and then nothing for quite a while.  I finally had a strike on a picket pin in a beautiful pool (last photo) and after a couple more casts a hook-up.  It was a small fish, but at least something to play.  Once again when I sat down to get my camera out I allowed the fish to slip away.  While I have no pictures of fish, I thought that the stream was worth showing.  I subsequently found out that there are some very impressive brookies and browns in this stream (only adding to my disappointment!).  I'll just have to improve my fishing skills to bring one to hand.

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.

A last minute gift from mother nature

I went for a walk with my wife and daughter today at a nearby preserve that just happens to border a "picturesque" stream.  Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to catch a trout (or char) on the last day of the year, I brought along a fly rod.  As soon as we reached the stream I abandoned my family and took to the water to take a few casts.  I don't generally consider myself to be a person with good luck, but on this occasion luck was on my side.  After a couple of casts I thought I felt a bump, although a rock was more likely the cause.  Two casts later the fly (Gartside sparrow nymph) was taken by the brookie pictured below (along with three views of its home).  I was completely shocked by the size of the fish, the largest brookie I've caught all year.  Whether or not it is a wild fish I don't know.  I hope it was wild, but either way it was an amazing way to finish the year.

A few more photos from the trip with BRK TRT

BRK TRT (Small Stream Reflections) eloquently summed up the value of brooks like this.  I certainly hope to stumble upon a few more next year.  You can be sure that I'll be looking.

Can anyone identify this plant?  It almost looks like holly, except that the leaves are rounder and without the spines along the margins.

After Christmas surprises

Taking advantage of the sunny weather, I headed to a couple of nearby brooks that have native brookies in them.  Since I pass by this barn quite often, and always say to myself that I'd like a picture of it, I finally stopped.  In some light it's quite beautiful.

I hiked back to the brook and found it running clear and cool.  Unfortunately, as I worked my way upstream I was repeatedly skunked, even at the pools that I normally get at least a strike.  At one point I looked up from the water and noticed what appeared to be a headstone standing by itself fifty or so feet from the brook.  I crossed the brook and went over to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me, and darned if it wasn't a headstone standing in a pile of stones.  I figured that if it were truly a burial site, then surely it couldn't be for a human, but more likely a pet.  However, the epitaph read:
"A Friend, A Fisherman, A Legend, Louis D'Antonio, 1966  2005".  I'm amazed that I never saw it before, considering it's proximity to the brook.  A quick search on Google lead to a few articles about him and his murder.  Apparently he was from East Hampton and was an avid outdoorsman (camper, fisherman, hunter, clammer) and it was the last activity that lead to his death.  Crazy and sad story.

Finally, in a nice pool that has never been particularly productive for me a fish attacked the Gartside sparrow nymph I was using.  After a very brief tussle it was off.  Undeterred, I cast a few more times into the pool and it struck again.  This time I landed it and took some photos.  The question I have is what is it?  If you look at the mouth (maxillary) you'll see that it does not extend past the eye.  You'll also see that the adipose fin is devoid of spots and the spots on the body are without halos.  These are a few of the characterstics of salmon, in contrast to brown trout.  So is this a small salmon or brown trout?

A natural headstone with a moss epitaph standing at side of the brook and a group of mushrooms clinging to the side of a tree also caught my eye this time.

My second stop was a small brook, which is generally a pain in the neck to fish due to the small trees that run right up the edge.  At least I was rewarded for fishing it one more time.  A beautiful little brookie fell for the sparrow nymph.  It was the only taker on this brook today.  I can't complain.