Small Stream Reflections: "Whitewater Pool"

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

"Whitewater Pool"

Small streams don't usually have their pools named, unlike larger rivers which do. These little blue lines change to much from season to season. A large dead fall can change the direction of water to create a new channel, massive clumps of woody debris can cause a nice pool to become silted over and change the ability of it to hold trout.

But the pool at the base of a waterfall usually remains constant especially when the falls are created by rock put there by nature thousands of years before. This is one such pool, I have named "Whitewater Pool". The first time I fished the pool I was impressed with the depth of it, the nice undercut in rock it provided as well as the swirling water created by the falls. On that day the sun was shinning brightly. I cast a dry fly into the pool hoping to see a wild brook trout rise quickly, but that did not happen. Many more attempts to bring a fish to the surface failed. I was not discouraged by the lack of response for I new that this beautiful pool had to hold a nice trout.

On my next visit to this small stream the conditions were a bit different. The pool was cast in some shadow and the flow was a bit slower. I cast a dry fly into the pool and suddenly a small brookie rose in a splash but missed the fly. Several more casts produced nothing. I then tied on a Picket Pin, a wonderful fly for taking brookies. Only this one was tied with a yellow tail and wing. I cast it and it floated a bit before the water pulled it under. As I started to retrieve the fly I saw the trout move to it, but darted for cover swiftly. On a second cast made up into the falls the steel made contact. After a brief, but admirable struggle a beautiful brook trout was at hand.