Spring "Sizzler"

That's what best describes the outing I had Wednesday. I arrived at the stream, the sun was shinning bright and the air temp was about 40. The past few nights were also decent with temps holding in the mid thirties. Armed with the new TQR 5ft 2wt and the first fly of the day, an Edson Tiger I started searching. Several drifts and a few places later I had my first response. The fish hit the fly hard and was on, then off....that was quick.

I continued to fish the streamer and it was not touched again. I noticed some small stone flies about and a few larger may flies dancing also. This was encouraging, but no rises.

I came upon this small trib to the stream I was fishing. Looking down into the water I observed some small trout and dace darting for cover. It was amazing to see them disappear in such scant conditions. They must learn quickly.

I tied on a dry fly just to see if there might be a taker. As the fly drifted just past the log entering the water a 5 inch guided missile launched and missed its target. Several more drifts later I finally had my first brookie on a dry in some time. Several more wild jewels were to fall to the dry this day, a day that I hope will be repeated soon. By the way the water temp was 45, which is a good sign.

The little TQR 5ft 2wt was awesome.

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"Comet"

The other day while going through some tying material, trying to get things organized, I came upon a ring necked pheasant skin. It had been dyed red, and while this is not something exotic, it did look brilliant the way that the sunlight cast upon it. So I plucked a few rump feathers and placed them on top of a few claret saddle feathers and held them up in the light. They were very striking. So along with a few other items I tied up a streamer. The addition of a bright yellow throat, and the peacock herl gave the streamer a sort of bursting effect to the eye, "comet like", is how I saw it..... thus the name "Comet"

I hope you enjoy it.

"Comet"

"Comet"

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Four Ounces Of Wonder

He walks to the little rocky stream, something he has done for as many times as there are flies in his fly box. It's a stream that flows clear and cool through the oak, maple and hemlock forest, its origin in the hills of northeast Connecticut.

As he stops to tie on the little Wulff dry fly to the tippet he notices movement in a tree. His eyes make contact with a regal looking Blue Jay. Soon the Jay's loud scolding begins and is relentless for a few moments. Soon the Jay feels that the woods are aware of the fly fishers presence and departs to another tree.

As the fly fisher prepares to release the little fly, he looks into the water and thinks, what a tough way of life for those who inhabit the little stream. Everything floating in or on it maybe food, or perhaps death.

As the fly starts its drift along the riffled water it moves to the far bank towards a fallen tree branch, a sudden swell is seen on the surface, the sign of a trout trying to take the little fly.

As the fly fisher pulls on the line he realizes the attempt has failed. He then sends the fly out a second time and as the fly nears the branch a flash of orange appears from the ten inch depths of the stream and a wild brook trout takes hold of the little fly. After a brief  but spirited fight the six inch jewel is held in his hand.

For a few moments he admires its beauty, wild icy colors, and heavenly halos that cannot be reproduced by any artist. The fly fisher places his hand in the water and the wild one darts away into the stream.

As the fly fisher steps back onto the bank, he says, Thank You



By,
Brk Trt

Connecticut

Raccoon Siesta

Sitting here and trying to gather the energy to go out and fish. A second cup of Nantucket hasn't taken effect 'cause I'm still light headed. Perhaps a cup of Fog Lifter would serve me better. Oh well!

Over the past month I've taken some photos of various places we've been. These are all in Connecticut.

A Sweet Time

The Sun Trying To Warm This Stream

Remembering The Past

The Connecticut River, and Goodspeed Opera House

Breakfast

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A Handfull Of "Worry"

Here are a few simple ingredients used to create a pretty effective bucktail streamer. The "Wardens Worry" was first tied in 1930 by Joseph Stickney of Saco, Maine. The original pattern called for a body of wool, "picked out". I could not find such material and used yarn. While I have not fished this pattern here that much, and when I do it's in ponds and lakes where it works on smallmouth and crappie. I have fished it many times in rivers and streams in Maine and with good success with brook trout and landlocked salmon.

"Wardens Worry"

This is the first day of Spring 2013. A small stream that wont be seeing dry fly action for awhile. Happy Spring all.

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The Tryout

"Good Morning"....Eggs are not always a sign of morning, some enjoy them for lunch, or dinner, or late night. So perhaps I should say good morning, afternoon, evening or night. Oh well get on with it.

Last week I purchased a new rod for small streams, a Cabela's TQR. I paired it up with an Orvis reel that was a bit to heavy and did not balance well. Saturday while in Cabela's again I saw an interesting little reel. It was a Redington Drift 2/3. It felt nice and light and would probably fit the TQR well. So the card came out and I went home with the new reel. Mounting the reel on the rod, I felt it balance so well. I put on a line and went outside to lawn cast it. It was perfect. Now to test it on the water.

Cabela's TRQ 5ft 2wt....Redington Drift 2/3 Reel

I had the opportunity to fish it yesterday on a small stream. The water was on the cold side, but the sun was out and it felt good. I started fishing small streamers.

As you can see I was fishing the riffles and as I retrieved the streamer a fish struck, and I missed. It was at this time I noticed a fish rise. It was right near the bank where the log is. I drifted the streamer as close to the position of the fish, but no response. Several more casts and the same result. I tied on a dry fly and sent it off. The dry met the same result. I went to a Picket Pin and on the second cast the fish went to the fly. Hookup and hook off. I figured this was going to be on of those days.

I continued to fish the stream for an hour or so, fishing various flies. I came to this fishy looking place. I cast down stream a bit and retrieved the streamer through. The trouts take was hard and I hooked up. The little rod worked him away from the nasties and soon was at hand.

I was very pleased with the performance of both rod and reel. I was able to fish three types of flies very effectively.

TQR Report

This is a report on the Cabelas TQR 2wt. Friday we headed out to fish a class 1 stream that's known for nice brook trout. The stream is a small to medium size tail water with an easy flow. Well that was not the case this day. The dam must have been releasing water and the stream was up, and not to our liking.

So we headed out to a small freestone a little further south. I have never fished it but Kirk has. Well when I laid eyes on it I fell in love. A beautiful place, with wild brookies. Now the test began.

Kirk trying to coax a brook trout. A classic brook trout stream...hemlocks, moss covered stones, pools and runs.

The TRQ paired with an Orvis Battenkill. The rod preformed very well, but the reel was a bit heavy. I have since replaced with a lighter reel and it feels so much better. I'm going to test the new combo and will give you a report on that.

A brief lunch before we began our trek along the stream.

It was a while before we had a taker. Within a few minutes I had a brookie rise, and Kirk had a hookup. But both fish managed to wrangle off.

As we were about to leave, we decided to try a few last pools. In this one I cast the Tiger into the run and worked the streamer. After several casts the line went stiff, the hook was set and the trout was on. It felt like a nice fish. The 5ft 2wt did its job and a beautiful brook trout of about 12 inches lay at my feet. As I unzipped the pouch to get the camera the fish twisted and was swimming freely, back to his home in the brook.

I vowed I would return to this wonderful stream, perhaps at a time when the trout will be rising.

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Cabela's TQR, And......

While browsing a local Cabela's I noticed a rod that was marked down, actually several marked down. But this model caught my eye, especially the bottom line price. I picked it up to check it out a little closer and to get the feel of it. I noticed it was a 2wt, and only 5ft. It was 2 piece and had a cork reel seat. The blank was a nice olive color and the cosmetic stuff seemed OK. The rod is Cabelas TQR, I guess that means tight quarters rod. I'm going to pair it up with a few reels to see what balances, and give it a test today. Another nice feature is the cloth bag and hard tube, along with the mark down price of $76.00.

Cabela's TRQ

Veal meatballs, cooked with fresh Roma tomatoes, garlic and parsley.

Venison slices with onions, mushrooms, and served over noodles.

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Reflections Of 500 Posts....Thanks All.

On April 10, 2010 I put forth my first post. It was not much, more or less telling of my new venture. The very first comment was made by "Apache Trout", and that first post landed me three followers. Since then I have managed to find 274 more people that find the same joy in the small streams of Connecticut and beyond. They have also endured some of my cooking, fly tying and thoughts on books to videos and gear. I try to be informative, and at times inspiring. While I like writing about my adventures, I prefer to post photos and let them tell the stories.

My love of fly fishing, and wild brook trout from small streams have been my focus and will continue to be. I appreciate all your comments and try to give my best responses. So in keeping with this blogs theme here are some photos of past posts showing the beauty of small streams, both in and around. In the last photo, my grand son Ethan is lovingly holding his first wild brook trout. It was a very special moment for him and me.

Thank you..........

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Brook Trout And Yellow Bucktail

We enjoyed another snow storm Friday, reminding us it's still winter. Depending on where you live in the state you received from 4 to 20 inches of snow. Saturday dawned sunny and bright with air temps into the 50's, and the melt began.

I could not fish Saturday, but I was able to get some free time yesterday, and took advantage of it. I arrived at the stream around 10:30, or 11:30 or whatever. The change in time to day light savings will have things screwed up some for awhile. The sun was doing its work and the air felt good. The stream was up and somewhat and off color from the melting snow. As I walked along the stream to my first location I looked for any surface activity or the presence of insects, either in the air or on the ground. There was no trace. I tied on a Picket Pin and began fishing. I worked the stream in various locations without so much as a bump. Several other flies used brought the same result. Perhaps the snow melt was the reason. After stopping for a spell to eat an apple, I chose to tie on a streamer. After several casts into a deep pool I noticed a trout follow the streamer. A half hour later, and several other streamers there was no hookups.

I tied on a yellow wing bucktail, with some red for a head dress and sent it off to hunt. Several slow drifts later and fish on. Soon a wonder of a wild brook trout lay at my hand. As I photographed its beauty in the water I said to myself, yellow and red= brook trout. I was able to bring another to hand, and tempt one who had a move or two and escaped. It was a great day.

Wild brook trout, in very healthy condition

A simple bucktail

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