The "outback"...an area that has been a place I visit a few times a year. It is a hostile place where the thorns cut deep. Where you have the feeling something is watching you. A place where a fallen tree will have landed in the worse possible place. The mud is the absolute slickest. But it also holds some very impressive wild brown trout within it's slow deep pools. Yesterday I spent several hours fishing the "outback"...the day was gray, there was an easterly wind that carried a cold and damp feel like early March. I was here and I was going to fish.
A common sight in the "outback"...along with other bones and lots of hair.
This walk will tear waders to shreds. Your arms will look like you were in a fight with a mad dog. This area must be fished before the "greening" takes place, for after that you better off fishing elsewhere.
The stream wanders through the "outback" and the pools like this have produced some bruiser brown trout. This day I found my ability to locate a few at a standstill. In the three plus hours I fished I had but one hookup and one substantial hit. The sharp drop in temperatures was the cause for a browns shyness. I continued to run streamers through the pools. A few other flies were called on with not much interest....never give up.
As the fly drifted from the bank to the center of the pool it suddenly stopped, then I felt the weight. The fish ran the area he knew best. A few moments later a nice wild brown was at hand. While not a bruiser still a respectable strong trout.
I guess one for three is not to bad for a cold day in April in the "outback"....
Alan - Good for you for venturing down there! Yesterday was a very cold raw day in Boston for opening day in Fenway! Is that just chennile on a streamer hook? Looking forward to opening day!
ReplyDeleteMarkW
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The cold at Fenway must have been the reason the Bosox lost, yeah right.
Mark the fly is the Maple Syrup...it's a nymph of the hex fly. Works good here. Real simple.
A little spooky walking thru an area like that. We have a lot of open spaces between mountains out here just like that.
ReplyDeleteMark Kautz
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Mark those areas seem to put me on alert. Spooky is a good word to describe it.
Beautiful wild brown, Alan. You sure earned that one.
ReplyDeleteSam
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Sam the "outback" is out of my system for now. I may revisit it come fall. I may be headed up to Mass. today to get some cheddar, there's a fine stream close by.
Alan Theriault of Saceyville, Maine invented the Maple Syrup, says it's the only fly you'll ever need. I add things to it just because it's sooo sparse. Alan just laughs at me and says I'm wasting material. I love the look of that country you just took us through.
ReplyDeletemike
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Somehow I knew you would weigh in on this fly. Yes Mr. Theriault or was it his daughter who first tied this "sleeper" fly. You are not the only Mainer to add a few personal touches to this fly...Kevin McKay also adds some hackle to it. I carry this fly but don't use it enough.
Alan
ReplyDeleteA lot of factors affect fishing and one of the main ones is cold fronts. Glad to see you came up with a fly that would produce---thanks for sharing
Bill Trussell
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Bill there was a cold front working through that day. Trout did have lock-jaw. Slow days will usually have me poking through my fly box to try something I have not used in a long time.
G'Day Alan,
ReplyDeleteThat's a very pretty looking brown trout taken from a very wader destroying environment.That Maple Syrup fly is a very simple looking fly that I've never seen before here in OZ, although there's a heap of US flies that never see light of day in Australia. Simple flies are quite often the best---North Country Spiders are a good example. There's an OZ fly that was tied with just a few strands of hessian and cotton thread that was popular 50 odd years ago at Eildon Lake--a large reservoir NE of where I live. I tried to find a link for it but no luck. It was called either a Bag Fly or Hessian Fly.
Kindest Regards,
Steve.
Steve
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Steve that area does keep Aqua Seal in business. Simplicity is a beautiful thing in most of our lives. Why complicate when it's not necessary. You speak of the fly that was popular a half century ago. I'll wager it still is but because of it's fish taking ability folks just keep it quiet. I'll do some poking around and see what I can find.