Tuesday, September 22, 2015

The Streams of Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts

This is the acorn trail, a name given to it by me because of the large amount of scrub oak tress that line it, and scrub oaks mean acorns and lots of them. On crisp mornings when walking they crunch under foot and make a wonderful sound. The trail follows the stream, a stream that we have fished before. Jeanette says it's her favorite, because of the simply wild surroundings located in an area with many people. In the times we have been here we have only met a man and his black lab. I favor this area for it is home to another Cape Cod sea run brook trout stream. The stream starts inland and gains volume from the many springs that feed it ice cold water. It flows, meanders to the sea at Waquoit Bay. This stream has some very strong brook trout and every one hooked the chances for bringing one to hand are not good, at least for this angler. But the rewards come in many other ways.

We spent many hours on the stream that day and I was able to graduate from another class on fishing for wild brook trout with a taste for salt.


These waters possess a clarity that makes you wonder how fish are not consumed by herons and ospreys. When standing and looking into the stream I saw various little fish from herring fry to mini eels to brook trout fry. I guess that's why streamers work so well.




It's difficult to tell from this photo but the water in this pool was waist high, and this is where I encountered my first brook trout.


The brook trout put the Cabela Glass Rod 3wt to the supreme test. He bulldogged the bottom, ran up and down, entangled the watercress, and leaped several times before giving up. A quick photo and off he went. I'm having his photo printed and I will frame it for he was indeed a special catch.


Streamers...not many patterns are necessary, just a few in different sizes. I like marabou patterns best.


This was the average size of the brook trout brought to hand.....to hand not hooked.




A true story. I was fishing this run with a streamer. Several drifts brought a strike and a miss. On another pass the trout struck and it was violent. A battle ensued and I got the upper hand. I knew the trout was big but never realized just how big until I could see him. At first glanced he looked to be 16 inches. Jeanette was looking and said your going to have trouble landing that fish. He would not stop the strong runs. Finally I managed to sort of subdue him and was lifting him over a underwater obstacle when he threw the streamer. That fish was 18 inches. He sat for a moment to let me look and then was gone. Do you know what a 18 inch wild brook trout can do to your nerves? I've taken one that big in Maine many years ago and it is like nothing else.


Notice the pale coloration. Has he been at sea?
Another lesson...I continued to fish that same pool and caught a brook trout on a dry fly. I always try once or twice to bring one of these fish to the surface, this is the second time in the years I've fished these salter streams and actually taken trout on a dry.



23 comments:

  1. That last one has the look of one that has spent some time in the salt, but an 18 incher is almost definitely a salter! Unfortunate that you couldn't get a photo of him, I'm sure it was a gorgeous beast.

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    1. RM Lytle
      Thanks
      Rowan that is my thought also. They scoot out in the bay a feed, now they are entering the fresh water in to prepare for spawning.
      I have a mount of a 16 inch Maine brook trout and the one I missed was bigger.

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  2. Awesome adventure and location. An area that tests you angling skills for sure!
    Will

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    1. Hibernation
      Thanks
      Will the place is made for those memorable outings. You will need much patience when fishing here.

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  3. Wow Alan - an 18" inch brook trout must have had some serious shoulders as most large brook trout I've seen get quite thick relative to their length! One wonders about the old days when sea run brookies were present all along the NE coast from Long Island to Maine.

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    1. Mark
      Thanks
      The shoulders were impressive. I'm going to post a photo of my 16 inch Maine brook trout, so as to give an example of the size of the fish I lost.
      I think that Daniel Webster is said to have taken a 14lb brook trout from a salter stream in Long Island. One must believe that such fish were taken in New England, but to try to get info from "Yankee Fishermen" about such happenings will not be likely.

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  4. Alan, really great you connected with a big fish there on the Quashnet!

    Back in the early Eighties, the Quashnet was where I first worked with electrofishing - back then the place was full of stocked browns. My how things have changed.

    We didn't know it at the time, but some of the first seeds for what became SRBTC were sown there that gorgeous fall day back in 1982.

    Geof Day
    Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition
    www.searunbrookie.org

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    1. Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition
      Thanks.
      Geof we all appreciate your comments. As someone who is involved deeply in the SRBTC your expertise is a valuable asset to all who admire this unique char.

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  5. I've caught a couple of Brookies close to 18" and man do they make your heart jump.

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    1. Mark Kautz
      Thanks
      Mark I won't doubt that fact. Congrats on catching brook trout of that size.

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  6. Check out the Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition site.

    http://www.searunbrookie.org/

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  7. beautiful blue waters and fall asters. :)

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    1. TexWisGirl
      Thanks
      Theresa those asters dot the stream and add such color.

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  8. Great stuff Alan! I know what you mean about that 18" brookie. I'm still not right two years later after losing that 24"+ sea run brown trout.

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    1. Apache Trout
      Thanks
      John those big fish have log lasting memories. We'll get them one day.

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  9. Alan
    What a great post; how long did it take you to get the big brook off your mind? So impressed with the streamer patterns you were using. Just curious have you tried any of those patterns on the Farmington? Thanks for sharing

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    1. Bill Trussell
      Thanks
      Bill that fish is still on my mind. The Black Ghost and the Montreal Lady have worked for me on the Farmington.

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  10. Alan, wow. What a fish that 18 incher must have been! I just returned from Rocky Mountain National Park, where, insanely, brook trout are treated as some kind of invasive species. Yeesh :)

    I got into some Brookies that were over 12" up there and it was a real pleasure. I can only imagine what an 18 incher would do to one's nerves. I think you've earned some "river karma" and I hope you get into a 20" or larger fish next time!

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    1. Klags
      Thanks
      Adam I still have visions of it. Yeah the brookie is not welcomed out there. Next time they should think before dropping them out of airplanes. I read your blog and found it to be very interesting, as usual.

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  11. I like your fly box, I love the pattern of marabou also use it frequently. Good fishing has made with trout that size yes, ... here is also trout spawning season. Cordially Armando

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    1. Armando Milosevic
      Thanks
      Armando those marabou streamers tied in a couple of sizes, I like to use 10's mostly are all you need on this particular stream.

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  12. That is awesome that the stream you fished is capable of holding such large brook trout. I certainly would've gotten the chills if I had hooked a monster like that. The fact that these fish exist in that stream is a huge testament to the hard work of Warren Winders and the rest of the SRBTC members as well as some personnel from SE Mass TU and Steve Hurley. Without these people this stream would still be channelized and stocked with non native browns. It has certainly come a long way and hopefully it can continue to work its way back to the days when 5 pounders lurked in its waters.

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    1. RI brook trout
      Thanks
      Jonathan I was a bit jumpy when I saw that beast, a memory burned into my mind forever. When I was at Red Brook I had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people who were involved with it's restoration. SEE... my post Angling History, The Lyman Cottage.

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