As we head into this Thanksgiving week I had the time this Sunday to visit a small stream. As I walked through the woods I saw this remnant of a rock wall. There are many of these scattered through out Connecticut, property lines from old Yankee farmers reverting back to the earth. As I snapped the photo I wondered how many Thanksgivings had they witnessed.
The stream was in good shape, flowing crisp and clear. The air temps were near 50 degrees, so very comfortable. I tossed out my offering and the stream did the rest.
It was a long time before my first bump, and slowpoke that I am missed setting the hook. But soon another hit and this time ole swifty had my first hookup. A lovely wild brown was at hand. The brown was admired and sent upon its way.
I continued to have a good day, then again I seem to always have a good day on the stream regardless of what the fish provide or don't.
A nice trout was hooked at the tail of this pool. I never was given the opportunity to see what it was for it soon found refuge under the log and broke off.
Two wild browns were taken from this run. They used every possible angle to gain their freedom. They both succeeded, only one had his picture taken.
This guy was taken in the little creek below. I spotted him near a bank and was fortunate to place the fly in his zone, and he took it. As I walked the little creek I saw several other trout.
As I pulled int my garage, I could pick up the smells of something good. Upon entering the kitchen I was greeted with this sight.....Pumpkin Bread...Thanksgiving week has begun.
Brk Trt,
ReplyDeletewhat a way to spend a day!! Great photos of your woodland & stream travels. I myself have many thanks this year.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours....DRYFLYGUY
Pumpkin can do no wrong.
ReplyDeleteSince I moved to L.I. stone walls in the woods are something I have missed (not a whole lot of woods or large stones for making walls here). I always remember seeing stone walls where ever I went when I was a kid growing up in the Hudson Valley. Thanks for the pic. I can smell that pumpkin bread from here!
ReplyDeleteDRYFLYGUY,
ReplyDeleteThanks.
I'm sure you do.
Happy Thanksgiving to you friend.
CD,
Thanks.
Chris I'm in complete agreement...pumpkin rules.
Kiwi,
Thanks.
Those walls are so much a part of the northeast...if they could only talk.
A great way to kick off the week. Looks like you had another nice little walk along the creek, with some good looking fish to show for it.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great Thanksgiving!
Looks like you got some good use out of those worm flies. Great looking trout stream, and it really looks like a nice deer hunting spot.
ReplyDeleteSanders,
ReplyDeleteThanks.
The main stream had to much company, so the creek was less populated.....good choice.
And a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Savage,
Thanks.
They really produce. I picked up some sparkling hackle that I'm going to twist on, and give them a shot.
The deer are there, but no hunting.
Hey Alan....what type of camera do you use?
ReplyDeleteAlso, it looks like Mrs. BrkTrt was busy while you were in the woods. Nothing says love like pumpkin bread around Thanksgiving.
Have a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving.
A great way to start a great holiday. Have a good one!
ReplyDeleteEd,
ReplyDeleteThanks.
I use a Nikon 4600. She's a wonderful lady.
Happy Thanksgiving Ed.
G Lech,
Thanks.
It sure was.
Happy Thanksgiving to you.
Nice to get out and enjoy a warm late November afternoon. I think I recognize that fish in the 4th shot ! Amazing how all the branches in the water have changed lies isn't it. I was torn between heading to a small stream for a few hours or chasing some salmon. Glad to see your choice worked out well too !
ReplyDeleteTake care, count your blessings this thanksgiving
thanks giving week is my favorite. Great food and I know Muzzle loader hunting camp is right around the corner.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing and good luck in PA next week.
Wow some really great pictures and beautiful flish as well. I felt like I was right there fishing too. Seems like every day on the stream is a day for thanks being given :) That pumpkin bread must have tasted just as good as it looked and smelled. Tight Lines
ReplyDeleteMark,
ReplyDeleteThanks.
That particular stream really changed.
It is still a good choice.
Passinthru Outdoors,
Thanks.
I'm really looking forward to that PA. trip.
Trout MaGee,
Thanks.
Very true TM. Those small streams are a blessing.
Not all of those stone walls primarily were boundary markers. In fact, many are just the "trash heaps" of stones cleared from fields in the late 1700s. Practical farmers found that it took less energy to haul the stones to a perimeter of a field than to a pile. Of course, the walls became de facto boundaries between fields, if not between neighbors. When the forests were originally cleared in the late 1600s, there were few surface stones, but over a century of winter frosts brought deeper ones to the surface and made farming difficult. When the Ohio frontier opened up in the early 1800s many abandoned their southern New England hardscrabble farms for stone-free soils out west. The forests grew back and we get to wonder why anybody would build a stone wall in the woods. ;-)
ReplyDeleteGary,
ReplyDeleteThanks.
It all makes sense. Thanks for the history.
There's a stretch of highway where the median has rock walls running all through it.
Very nice, as usual. Those fish are like living jewels.
ReplyDeleteMatt Grobert,
ReplyDeleteThanks.
That they are.