Red Brook September 2015

We just got back from a few days of roaming the streams of Cape Cod in search of wild brook trout. These are also known as "salters" they are the sea-run variety who also find the the waters of the salt water bays to their liking. This stream is a favorite of mine, and I have fished it many times over the years. I first fished here at the time when the first dam on Red Brook was dismantled. This was an achievement which was to begin a restoration that would see all of the dams removed and open the brook to prime spawning areas and give these very unique brook trout a home.

The Lyman Reserve, a conserved area where Red Brook flows through is just as beautiful as the brook trout that call its waters home. There are wonderful pine trees which seem to dominate, mixed in are mini-oak with the smallest of acorns. As Jeanette said you could fish here all day and not catch a fish, and still be fulfilled.

Walking these woods trails after a cool night and seeing the dew on the oak leaves is a start to a day that will put most of your cares aside.

Red Brook....places as such will perhaps hold a brook trout, maybe two. It does hold the ability to captivate and to bring your mind into focus as to what Red Brook really means to those who have seen it.

The watercress that moves gently in the current can be a target that you'll never miss. An anglers fly will find these beautiful green blooms on many attempts to gain that right drift. But it's these areas that provide cover for the brook trout.

After turning over a few brook trout I was finally able to hook and bring to hand my first Red Brook trout to hand. The fish was stunning as it's colors showed through the watercress. The sun was in the right spot to enhance my pleasure.

The water was cold and a check of the stream proved just how cold it really was. Fifty four degrees, just as Jeanette said it would be.

Another wonderful pool. Red Brook is filled with such places, one more beautiful than the last.

A wild brook trout, maybe one that has been to the salt, or perhaps this maybe the first time he'll venture out. The trout was into it's fall coloration which are stunning.

This morning we were to meet members of the Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife, Trustees of the Reservations, Trout Unlimited, and The Sea-Run Brook Trout Coalition, who were about to do a stream survey. A very necessary task to check the health of Red Brook's "salters". The fishing would be not so good after the shocking so we headed for the bay to try our luck there.

Buttermilk Bay, and the mouth of Red Brook. More to come in the next post.