A Tradition and A Traditional Fly

Each year on the day after Thanksgiving Jeanette and I have taken to the woods to do a little tree decorating. We don't use traditional  ornaments but in place of those we use many forms of food that treat the local wildlife. The assortment includes apples, crackers, peanuts, popcorn, mixed nuts, dried fruits and dry cereal. The food is scattered about the tree, most of it falls to the ground but that's OK. We have enjoyed this tradition for years. We pick a different tree each year and have enjoyed seeing how big the trees have grown over the years.

We hope to do this for many years to come.
 

A traditional North Country Fly...The Partridge and Blue. The fly came from Robert Smith's book the "The North Country Fly"...the recipe for the fly is..Blue silk thread for the body, it is then dubbed lightly with natural mole fur. The hackle is a gray partridge feather.
 

The fly really fishes well and a story about it will follow soon.
 

 

A better name....

Invasive...hear me out. A brown trout is happily swimming in a lake in Germany. A group of men come along and sweep him up in a net. He is then transported to a facility where he is introduced to a bunch of eggs and he is stripped of his milt and that is applied to those eggs. It all sounds familiar. Now take those eggs and transport them to the US and fertilize them hatch them and place the fish into a river in Michigan. Fifty years later you have developed a fishery that is second to none. A trout that is sought after for it's many excellent qualities such as size, strength, willing to take a properly presented fly, not a stupid fish but one who is cunning. All of this in a trout that has been with us for over a century. Here's the kicker...he is called invasive, he invaded the US, not the folks from Germany or the US but the brown trout, he is the invader. He did it all by himself.

I for one hold this trout dear to me. I have found him in some of the most pristine waters. I have also found him in some of the most degraded waters. I have taken him from the deep lakes and the tiny trickles I fish. His beauty is not to be second to any other creature.

 

 

 

So perhaps we could come up for a better title then "invasive".....

 

Thanksgiving 2020

It has been a tough year, but I'm certain we all have something to be thankful for.

Wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving ..

Easy times and fighting oaks....

Down this gentle slope in an area of little hassles lies a stream that has similar attributes. Along the banks there is almost a feeling of being on the 50 yard line in a football stadium. There are the usual blow downs and a briar or two but nothing like most streams I fish. Note to "me" why don't you fish it more often? Well I really don't know why but maybe that will change. The day was chilly with clouds and sun. A breeze at times made it feel colder. I find that being in my seventies chilly takes on a whole different meaning.

 

 

For a small stream this one has a lot of nice deep pools. And in these pools were many brook trout. They were  willing and the hookup ratio was great. There was also a good mix of smaller trout which is good for the future of the fishery.
 

Most of the brookies were like this. In good shape and prepared for the not so hospitable winter about to come.
 

A Futsu Kebari, I hope that's the name. I tie this fly in many colors and hackle variations and they all work well. This day the purple bodied one or perhaps "eggplant" bodied one got it done.
 

My, My..look how open. Even the boulders did not present a problem.
 

 

Remnants from the fall drop. Many of these oak leaves were taken that day. Water logged they fell like a brookie.