A Mid December Small Stream 12-14-14

Sunday morning dawned with a bright sunny sky, and a promise of slightly warmer temps as the day progressed. Warmer is relative in the middle of December here in New England, but a few degrees in air temp can translate to a few degrees in water temps and those few degrees can make for fishing success in terms of activity to the fly.

I teamed up with Kirk and the plan was to visit a small stream in northern Connecticut. We had not fished here since first fishing it in late August. At that time the stream was low and while giving up a few fish it did not show us what it could be like in better times. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that December is prime time for fishing, but what I mean is the water conditions as far as flow is concerned were almost perfect.

As you can see the water was very clear. The trout were aware of us long before a cast was made. While peering down into the stream you could see the bottom and everything that moved along it. What seemed devoid of fish the stream came alive as the "pinkie" drifted along. Suddenly there were little brook trout who were holding on the bottom darted for the fly. Watching this is almost as rewarding as hooking one of those wild char.

Drifting the "pinkie" in places as this I finally managed to hook a brookie. I had experienced several hookups before but this was my first to hand.

A Connecticut wild jewel. This guy was so spunky for a fish it's size. After releasing the brookie I continued to fish the "pinkie". The fly continued to attract attention and what I noticed was that the interest in it was at midway between bottom and surface. I reached into the fly box and selected a Smoky Mountain Fork Tail. Yes sir some dry fly action was in the back of my mind.

I worked a beautiful stretch of water and the Fork Tail did the rest. Many looks, a few takes, and finally one that got caught.

Fishing a small stream always excites me, and instills in me that special rewarding feeling that's hard to put into words. I can only say this the smile on my face when I held this brookie, a trout that took a dry fly in a clear December stream, would have been smile for the ages.

Kirk and I fished this stream this day, both catching fish. We enjoyed cups of hot coffee and tea along with some prime venison jerky. We ended the day stopping to check on a few other streams and headed home.