"Epitome"

Brook trout fishing, brook trout fishing in New England in particular may mean tossing a fly into those famed rivers in Maine, or perhaps a back country spring fed pond in Vermont that has been held a secret to a few over the years. There are the large lakes of New Hampshire, and Massachusetts where trolling a fly will bring a bend in the rod. Rhode Island, while not know for their brook trout, as they are for stripped bass, do have a few beautiful brookie streams.

My native state of Connecticut is gifted with many streams that hold and sustain wild brook trout. The Farmington River while not a small stream does have wild population of brook trout. To me this is fine and well accepted. But  the "epitome" of wild brook trout fishing is a small freestone stream.

These streams have been flowing this way for years. They were dammed at one time or another, perhaps sustained a man made mishap, and natural disasters that are countless. Still they survive as do the brook trout that call them home. It is on these streams that you'll find me. As a matter of fact they will be my choice for almost all of my fishing. I believe this to be because I have never experienced a bad day on them, not meaning in terms of catching brookies, because there are skunks out there, but the whole small stream experience.

The "Ausable Bomber". This fly is the creation of Fran Betters. In the back of Frans mind I believe he created it for small streams and wild brookies. These "Bombers" were tied from materials from Frans shop. "Bombers" have taken brook trout in every month of the year. The "Bomber" is the "epitome" of a small stream fly.

A small stream that I fished Monday. The fly used was the "Bomber" Letting it work in pool, riffle and run. There were lots of brookies rising to it and even a few to hand.