The Small Stream 2-Fly Challenge...Part One

Yesterday our little experiment "Small Stream 2-Fly Challenge" kicked off. I hope it will be an annual event and I'm sure the other participants feel the same way. The day could not have been better, bright sun, mild temperatures, no wind and a stream that was in prime condition. We met at 9am and had plenty of hot coffee as well as some snacks. Conversation began on fly choice, where we would fish and what time to meet back at the cars for lunch. A journal, really a pad was given to the anglers to record their catch as well as other aspects of their time on the stream. The real facts of these entries will be in a second part of of this post.

While there were 6 anglers fishing, the photos are of trout I caught. The other anglers will probably post their photos to their blogs or in the comment section.

My first brook trout came early. An awesome fighter who took a "Jassid" I continued to use that fly but after several strikes and short line releases the little jungle cock feather was weak and almost falling off. So I decided to switch to my second fly which was a black ant.

Bright sun and clear water was somewhat of a handicap. The fish were spooked to some of the most awkward of places. Caution and stealth were paramount. I had several fish rise to my fly here...they were one and done...no hookups.

My second brook trout of the day. He took the ant....strong fish and he gave my little 3wt a real workout.

Pete, had a brook trout of generous size slam his "Bomber" as the fly was slipping under the surface. The fish was hooked and made a bee line for some undercut tree roots....we all know how that turned out, and it was in the brookies favor.

My third fish of the day, and my last. The spirited little brookie came back 3 times to get the ant.

It was in tough places as this where you had to earn a strike. The fish were about 2 inches from the base of the tree, or should I say fly catcher.

They were in that run, but so very cautious. Matt tries to work his fly in front of a possible taker.

Kirk, Mark and John had interesting days also...I will highlight the details in the second part of this post.

It was around noon time when we assembled back at out starting point. We enjoyed a nice lunch which included grilled hot dogs and a pot of chili. Discussions abounded with the thoughts of the morning. I think it was a success and I truly enjoyed it.