I went home last Friday and paid a visit to my little stream. I had not been there since January where I fished it a couple of times in that month. Those times brookis were were found but they were far and few in small sizes. Brook trout are a lot like grouse, their populations seem to run in cycles. Some years good and some not. As anglers we accept that and continue to enjoy and be thankful for the time to seek them.
Well I was not prepared for what was to happen to me on this outing. The stream was fantastic, perfect flow, extreme clarity and some surface feeding trout. I did not hesitate in my fly selection, it was to be a "bomber"...when I opened my box to pull one out I noticed there weren't any....like the old saying, a "cobblers son has no shoes"...thankfully I had a few flies that were close and that's what I used.
Look at all that woody debris....wood is good.
The first brookie of the day. Took the dry and made my day.
More wood, this provided a sanctuary for the brook trout that held in the stream down below.
After many fish like this beautifully colored specimen a pattern was showing. The brookies were very plentiful and quite large in comparison to what I was seeing and catching a few months ago. "Where did they come from"
More of that wood. Trees that have been blown down do wonders for the natives who live in this stream.
They liked a dry fly this day.
Keep it coming, wood, wood, and wood.
Nice trip afield Alan. I'm in full agreement. Wood - is good! While it makes fishing a little trickier in spots, what it does for the stream is certainly worth it. Nice to see your home water fishing so well!
ReplyDeleteWill
Hibernation
DeleteThanks
Will some folks think the stream would be prettier with out the broken trees. A nice stream was killed by people clearing all the wood from it.
I'm going home again soon.
That's a beautiful stream, Alan. Glad you had a good day ...and the fish! They almost glow they're so bright.
ReplyDeletemike
DeleteThanks
Mike they are healthy and show it. Must be the stream is also healthy.
Our streams open the 27th. Only problem is there's about 10 feet of snow up there. I suspect it'll be June or later before we can even get to the streams.
ReplyDeleteMark Kautz
DeleteThanks
Ten feet of snow, wow. I feel for you buddy.
Alan
ReplyDeleteI assume all the wood help keep the quality trout in place during heavy overflows? Beautiful trout, thanks for sharing
Bill Trussell
DeleteThanks
Bill that it does. Wild trout are not easily swept away. Times of high flow they know just where to go.
Great photos of those stream jewels. Thanks for sharing your adventure Alan.
ReplyDeleteChris Ingrassia
Anonymous
DeleteThanks
Chris they are beautiful. I never tire of seeing them.
I'm glad you were able to figure out how to post.
Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteMatt Grobert
DeleteThanks
Always good to see you post.
Hi Alan,
ReplyDeleteTrout love woody pile ups and log jams both sides of the pond!
My local club has been working closely with the Tees Rivers Trust over the last few years to improve the habitat for trout and one of their main recommendations has been to leave in place tree falls and log jams in order to provide not only cover for the fish but also for the water life they feed on. It also helps to break up heavy flows and assists in stabilising the river banks.
It may look messy to the uninitiated but it is a lifeline for those who call the river their home, the quality of the trout on your blog demonstrates and the how valuable they are!
Thanks for sharing
Alistair
Alistair
DeleteThanks
It's great to see that simple things like letting nature to what comes naturally be allowed to stay. In some areas here in the states local TU chapters do what is called "chop and drop" it's where selected trees are cut and allowed to fall in the stream to help improve habitat. Thumbs up on your club for doing whats good for the trout.
Alan - that is so wonderful to see that little stream thriving with a healthy population of decent size brook trout! thanks for making my day!
ReplyDeleteMarkW
DeleteThanks
Mark I was thrilled what I found that day. They survived and came back strong. I have a very big brookie that was caught that day, I'm going to post it soon.
Brrraaaaaaaap! A big Bronx cheer to the new neighbor with the bad attitude. Having a "home water" stream like this one to go back to will no doubt take the edge off any disappointments caused by Mean People. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
ReplyDeleteBill Shuck
DeleteThanks
Bill I have been fishing this little stream for 20 years. I have seen dramatic changes to mostly because of natural doings, hurricanes, floods, drought's etc. It has rebounded nicely. Fran Betters had the answer to your question....
Dandy brook trout, Alan. Hard to beat catching trout on dry flies. That stream is another one of your gems. Good to see all the wood in there providing cover to the brookies.
ReplyDeleteSam
DeleteThanks
Sam this is one of those streams that have been written about in "Trout" magazine. Very little has changed here accept what nature did. The brookies can live with that and so can I.
It's amazing what a little cover and good flows will do , beautiful brook trout Alan. Did you use the bamboo rod?
ReplyDeleteBrad Basehore
DeleteThanks
Brad it helped bring back the brookies after some bad years. Yes I did use the bamboo rod.
Great to see the great pictures of your home stream and some healthy brookies! After moving away from my favorite stream last Fall I finally made it back for a few days and was amazed at how healthy and large the brookies were which made my whole trip. Let's hope for continued good water flows!
ReplyDeleteNJpatbee
DeleteThanks
Pat after a couple of good years the brookies have made a great comeback. And what is also good to see is that the stream insects did not suffer from low water during the drought years of15 and 16.. I'm glad your trout trip went well.