Catch And Release...A Brook Trout Story

I woke up at five with the intention of being stream side at 6. Breakfast was a fried egg and a half of an English muffin and two cups of coffee. The Honda was rolling east and soon I was at my destination. But rather than fish the familiar section of stream I chose to explore a bit. Please join me and lets see what happens.

I know there is a stream out there. The only issue was the heavy head high flora in the way. My walk through the field was tough, but the smells and the color made it OK.

When I got to the tree line I saw the stream...a beautiful sight.

I stopped here for a spell, just taking in the sights and sounds of this pristine wild place. While I enjoy the solitude I am really never alone.

A companion, while they can't tell you what fly to use they still add to the pleasure.

Looking upstream I noticed a rise. The brook trout grabbed something on the bank....perhaps a grasshopper, or damsel fly.

I gazed downstream looking at a place to enter the narrow stream. A problem is that the bottom is so soft in places that it's better to challenge the briars, well maybe not.

The fly, "The Cinberg"...this fly has a following among brook trout fly fishers. The fly first fished in the Catskills in now a favorite of mine. This fly was tied by a fellow from New Jersey, his name is Chuck, also known as "Barleywine" on various forums.

I gazed at the trout rise, he came up several times in the span of a minute.

I could see the brook trout. He was a sitting along the bottom, and I knew he saw me. The issue was the cast. Once the cast was made either the fly, line or my movement would have spooked the fish. I moved a bit further upstream and just flicked the fly out into the current. The plan was to let it drift downstream by itself with no casting involved. The Cinberg moved close to him, he moved quickly to the fly and then he struck. I pulled back and the fish was hooked.

He battled as if he were a giant. Gills flaring and his flanks became inflamed. I soon got control and the wild jewel was at hand. As I lifted him up to take a photo I noticed the fly came out. I had only seconds to get a photo and that was of his release.

Goodbye friend...we will meet again I'm certain.

It's Here..Happy September All

Well it's September first, the first day of Autumn, meteorological Autumn that is. The actual day is the 22nd of the month. I for one am very happy to see August go. Around here it has been one nasty month with hot and humid days and scant rainfall. But as I sit here typing this post it's raining and that is a good sign for the start of the "Glorious Season".

The pictures in this post are of what we have coming. The changing of leaves, pumpkins, tart and sweet apples and the awesome deserts that are made with them. These are some of Autumns specialties. But the one thing that epitomizes the season is the brook trout. In Autumn he shows his finest colors, and can be hard to duplicate by anything in nature. I for one am happy to see September, for the changes it brings will be welcomed.

From The Neversink.........

Neversink River, NY

The sport of fly fishing is so rich in history that a mans time on earth won't allow him to even scratch the surface. I'm a person who loves history and I started digging a few weeks back into the history of the Neversink Skater. The skater was created by Edward Hewett in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The fly was tied to imitate butterflies which the brook trout would jump for. Some of the fish would clear the water for such a meal. The skater was tied on a 16 hook with oversize hackle. When I look at one it appeared to be a dandelion puff. I paid a visit to the Catskills to get some first hand information on Hewett's Skaters. I found someone who enlightened me and now I have a place to start. Well Hewett's skater led me to the limestone stream Letort in Pennsylvania. There was a fly tyer and angler by the name of Ed Shenk who also tied a variant of Hewett's skater, I believe he called it a spider. Shenk's spiders are responsible for taking some big browns, including an impressive one in Argentina. So armed with that knowledge and the Neversink history I tied up some of my own.

This is a Neversink Skater as tied by Harry Darbee according to Hewett's recipe.

Here are three of my "Skaters" the problem I had is the hackle is sized for number 12 flies.

I have since acquired some much larger hackle. This fly is tied with that hackle. A note, Ed Shenk suggested putting a tiny bit head cement on the hackle to make it stiff and skate across a pool much better.

The day I tried my skaters on a small stream the flies worked well with out the added cement. One particular brook trout shot clear out of the water and grabbed the fly on the way down, that's the honest truth.

Here are a few brook trout that found the skaters to be irresistible.

I'm going to continue to fish this fly but will also add various color hackle.

A Vermont Walk

Here are a few photos I'd like to share with you. A recent trip to the state of Vermont, for a nice hike through the woods and country side. The walk was gentile for the most part with a few tough spots. I hope you'll enjoy.