Monday, June 10, 2013

Those hemlocks again

Here in the northeast have been blessed with some substantial rains over the last week. This rainfall has been a big plus in the to the anglers who fish small streams. These streams will rise very swiftly, filling to the brim, and almost as fast as they come up they recede. Fishing can be pretty good a few days after such an event, it seems to move fish around and take their fears down a notch.

This was the case one day last week for me. The stream was about perfect. The weather was a close second, the only problem was there was no breeze at all, real still. This prompted those tiny midges to fly about your face and become a pain in the a#*. That aside I tied on that cream colored parachute the one with the red underbody. This fly has been working so very well the last few weeks, and this day was no exception.

In this stream it seems that if there is a hemlock close to the water there's a good chance there will be a brook trout in hiding. And that was the case today.


The parachute didn't stand a chance this day.


Wild perfection.


Ant patterns are know to bring very selective trout to the surface, not so selective trout crush them. The only problem with fishing ants is they can't be seen to the angler. I picked up this ant pattern up last week in the Catskills. It's foam which makes it float well, plus it has a white tip that makes it very visible.


This ant fished well in various water types, fast, slow and it even worked as it got sucked under.




These brookies were fooled by the "top hat ant".
As I write this the weatherman is calling for rain today, perhaps an inch plus. Hopefully I'll be able to get in a couple hours on the stream before it starts, if not that's OK by me, for I'll take the rain and so will the trout.


I used to be able to eat this sandwich three times a week. Since happenings a year or so ago I might enjoy this three times a year. Well one of those three times came the other day. Local kielbasa, sauerkraut and onion on "Pittsfield Baking Co. rye bread.




CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE








18 comments:

  1. tasty looking sandwich! nice brookies, the rain sure helped all of this past weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LQN,
      Thanks.
      Long, man does not live on PB&J alone, sometimes he must take a wild ride.
      The rain so helped out, and it's raining again.

      Delete
  2. Do you ever wonder how hard it would be to fish in one of those bee keeper outfits? With your midges buzzing around and the flies out at Bear River, it might be an idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark Kautz,
      Thanks.
      I saw an angler the other day fishing with a head net on.
      Those midges can be awful.

      Delete
  3. dang, that sandwich looks great! so does your new header photo...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TexWisGirl,
      Thanks.
      That's a beautiful place.

      Delete
  4. Alan
    I like to think that the tiny bit of red on the underside of the parachute made a difference. I really like color in most patterns as an attention getter. The sandwich looks good, but like you I am limited as to the things I eat now days. thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell,
      Thanks.
      This fly really got their attention.
      I limit myself on the bad stuff also.

      Delete
  5. Love all the green. Those green runs under the stately green hemlocks are classic. And, as always, those brookies are superb. You've inspired me again. Time to catch some for myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim Yaussy Albright,
      Thanks.
      They are pretty vibrant.
      Go get some brookies, I'd love to see the post.

      Delete
  6. Hey brk trt, as usual well done.

    I love the sandwich!! Pittsfield baking company bread is my favorite. Any kind from there is a dandy. They acutually use to be about a 1/2 mile from my house. But they moved to a larger location behind guido's in Lenox, and really went gang busters with who they market to.

    Good stuff!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DRYFLYGUY,
      Thanks.
      They are a wonderful bakery.
      I buy their breads at Big Y. Like you said "good stuff"

      Delete
  7. The stream sure did look like it was in good condition. So did the fish. Nice visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RKM,
      Thanks.
      I hit the same brook yesterday. It was up higher, but the trout crushed the fly.
      Saturday we did some exploration and found a few good looking prospects.

      Delete
  8. The last brookie is a beauty. Fishing among hemlocks is always a joy, if not a little dark sometimes. I could hangout by those type of streams without fishing anytime.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kiwi,
      Thanks.
      What I have found out is that if there is a over hanging hemlock branch, there's a good chance there's a brook trout under it.

      Delete
  9. Hey Brk Trt - got to your blog via Gerry's blog on Fly Fish NE. I have a small stream like yours close to my house that I know is full of brookies. What I'd love to know is how exactly you fly fish a stream like this - I mean it's so closed in, that casting is almost impossible. Can you describe what tactics you use - a video would be awesome too if that's possible. Thanks - Joe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. joe smith,
      Thanks.
      Welcome Joe. Good info on Gerry's blog.
      I'm doing a book on small streams. And the info that will be in there will be of more help to you than I could give you here in a few lines.

      Delete