The Streams of Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts

This is the acorn trail, a name given to it by me because of the large amount of scrub oak tress that line it, and scrub oaks mean acorns and lots of them. On crisp mornings when walking they crunch under foot and make a wonderful sound. The trail follows the stream, a stream that we have fished before. Jeanette says it's her favorite, because of the simply wild surroundings located in an area with many people. In the times we have been here we have only met a man and his black lab. I favor this area for it is home to another Cape Cod sea run brook trout stream. The stream starts inland and gains volume from the many springs that feed it ice cold water. It flows, meanders to the sea at Waquoit Bay. This stream has some very strong brook trout and every one hooked the chances for bringing one to hand are not good, at least for this angler. But the rewards come in many other ways.

We spent many hours on the stream that day and I was able to graduate from another class on fishing for wild brook trout with a taste for salt.

These waters possess a clarity that makes you wonder how fish are not consumed by herons and ospreys. When standing and looking into the stream I saw various little fish from herring fry to mini eels to brook trout fry. I guess that's why streamers work so well.

It's difficult to tell from this photo but the water in this pool was waist high, and this is where I encountered my first brook trout.

The brook trout put the Cabela Glass Rod 3wt to the supreme test. He bulldogged the bottom, ran up and down, entangled the watercress, and leaped several times before giving up. A quick photo and off he went. I'm having his photo printed and I will frame it for he was indeed a special catch.

Streamers...not many patterns are necessary, just a few in different sizes. I like marabou patterns best.

This was the average size of the brook trout brought to hand.....to hand not hooked.

A true story. I was fishing this run with a streamer. Several drifts brought a strike and a miss. On another pass the trout struck and it was violent. A battle ensued and I got the upper hand. I knew the trout was big but never realized just how big until I could see him. At first glanced he looked to be 16 inches. Jeanette was looking and said your going to have trouble landing that fish. He would not stop the strong runs. Finally I managed to sort of subdue him and was lifting him over a underwater obstacle when he threw the streamer. That fish was 18 inches. He sat for a moment to let me look and then was gone. Do you know what a 18 inch wild brook trout can do to your nerves? I've taken one that big in Maine many years ago and it is like nothing else.

Notice the pale coloration. Has he been at sea?

Another lesson...I continued to fish that same pool and caught a brook trout on a dry fly. I always try once or twice to bring one of these fish to the surface, this is the second time in the years I've fished these salter streams and actually taken trout on a dry.