Red Brook September 2013

Yesterday morning around 5 Jeanette and I were packed and ready to pay a visit to one of our favorite places. Red Brook Massachusetts. This wonderful stream is located at the gateway to Cape Cod. It's home to sea run brook trout "salters" as they are called. Eight AM found us in Buzzards Bay in the parking lot of Leo's breakfast emporium. Leo's is the place to dine for a great breakfast. After the meal we drove to Red Brook. Pulling into the parking area we were the only car there. I rigged up and soon we were walking through some of the most beautiful pine woods. The trail led us to the first area I will toss a streamer. This is where Red Brook turns into salt water. I have only taken a brook trout here once but it was a big one in the late fall one year. You still have to try it though for one never knows.

Tidewater. There are times when you could take brook trout here as well as bluefish, stripers and perhaps flounder.

Red Brook is an incredible habitat. You could spend days here and never fish yet still be rewarded. It is a tough place to fish. It's not your typical trout stream. It sort of meanders through thick brush and lots of in stream vegetation. Fly selection is also not typical. Dry flies, wets, and nymphs do not work well. Your best bet is to fish streamers. These brook trout feast on small fry from herring which spawn here in the spring.

This little guy was sitting on some watercress. I imagine he would be on the "salters" menu also.

This is a tough stream to fish. There are places where you could fish from the bank, but waders are a big plus. Years of restoration work have helped this stream flourish. There are dangers that must be watched for such as wood debris on the streams bottom.

The first brook trout of the day. The fish took a Edson Tiger fished along the watercress.

Even in bright sunshine and crystal water the brook trout have protection. They will slash your streamer form hiding places.

This absolutely beautiful wild jewel took a gray soft hackle streamer.

The afternoon found us at the place where Red Brook becomes Buttermilk Bay. This is pretty much salt. The brook trout can be found here but perhaps not at this time, the reason is there are to many predators. We walked the shore and I tossed the soft hackle streamer here and there. I received many responses from the snapper blues as well as a small striper who proceeded to swim out to sea with my fly.

A snapper blue. Scrappy fighters, and there's a reason they call them snappers. This can be realized when you go to remove the fly.

This day was completed in a restaurant in the town of Sandwich. A wonderful meal of Lobster Mac and Cheese, and Jeanette dined on a Rueben, with sweet potato fries.

I'll return to Red Brook again in late October.

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