Remembering Our Father

 Yesterday we celebrated the life of our Father Alan Sr, exactly how he would have wanted it, simply, surrounded by friends and family. We even had the pleasure of meeting a few of you. We know we can never come close to his beautiful words, but we will try and keep up on some posts to keep his memory alive. Continue to share his love of nature and fishing through his photography, and stay connected with all of you, the community that loved and supported him for many years. Thank you all for the tremendous outreach and kind words, they have been so comforting to our family. Pops wouldn't have wanted all this fuss, but if anyone in the world deserves it, its him. 

I've finished life's chores assigned to me, 

So put me on a boat headed out to sea.

Please send along my fishing pole,

For I've been invited to the fishin' hole.

Where every day is a day to fish,

To fill your heart with every wish.

Don't worry, or feel sad for me,

I'm fishin' with the master of the sea.

We will miss each other for a while, 

But you will come and bring your smile.

That won't be long you will see, 

Till we're together you and me.

To all those that think of me,

Be happy as I go to sea.

If others wonder why I'm missin'

Just tell 'em I've gone fishin'.

~Dalmar Pepper

Celebrating Our Father

Thank you to everyone who has reached out with kind words and memories of our Father.  We always knew how amazing of a man he was, but you have all solidified to us how many people he has truly touched. 

For all who have been inquiring here are details about the celebration of our father's life. 

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newbritainherald/name/alan-petrucci-obituary?id=33194894&fbclid=IwAR1e8DkXZc7cCK0fnOY91XZuPQ-vwtil6eKAUO6QOeMZp3tzpUoRK1_StGw

To Dad's Dear Friends

 It is with heavy hearts that we must share that our beloved Father, Alan Sr. passed away early Saturday morning. Our Father has touched so many with his love of fishing, nature and his beautiful words and pictures. The only thing surpassing his love of fishing for native brookies was the love of his family & our mother Jeanette. We would like to thank all of you who have followed him for so many years. Whether only communicating with him through the blog, or in person, Dad considered each of you very dear friends. We know that you will all join us in our grief at the loss of such an amazing man. Please keep his memory with you. 

~Alan, Jr. & Candace

"Home Waters"

Home Waters....that  a place anglers call the stream the place to be. This is my home water...I call it such not because of it's closeness to my home and not because of the large brook tout it holds, the latter is somewhat of an exaggeration. It's a stream that has gone through some major changes over the decades I have fished it. Large storms and nasty winters have sent the stream in different directions. Some pretty big trees have fell and have dammed the flows. Droughts have reduced it to a mere trickle at times and it was at these times I was most concerned about it's survival. But year after year she came back.
 

 

Mt home water is small yet it has named pools...."mossy pool" for one. Within it there are always wild brookies..."moe's pool" is another, I don't know who moe is but when I fish his pool I take a hit.
 

Autumn on my home water...."fill your waders run"...many fond memories.

 

A couple of wild jewels that have come from my home waters over the years.

 

I have not been able to fish my home waters in the past year. I will hope fully accomplish that in 2022.
 

It is "Home Sweet Home"

 

 

Lets step up and knock one down....

 In 1771 Boston merchant John Rowe wrote of traveling to the town of Pembroke, where he caught 62 brook trout while fishing the Indian Head River. Rowe did this during the month of April for three years running, with similar success. Although he does not pin point his exact location, it seems likely that Rowe was fishing below the dam of the Curtiss Iron Works for salter brook trout trying to migrate into the Idian Head from the tidewaters of the North River. The brook trout may have at that time still been able to reach the river above the dam through a flume in the dam left open in the spring to allow passage of herring and shad.

From the book Wild River..by Warren Winders...

These old colonial dams still present a major problem for the migration of wild brook trout. Connecticut has countless little dams that no longer serve any purpose. They cause more harm in the form of holding back heated silted waters. They block brook trout from upper reaches of streams where the waters are cooler and more conducive to wild brook trout. These upper reaches are also prime spawning locales and without access to them the brook trout cannot reproduce.

I will be quoting some more of Warren Winders thoughts and writings in future posts. 

His book can be purchased here

Wild River by Warren Winders – Sea-Run Brook Trout Coalition (searunbrookie.org)

 

 

 

Truly International...

A typical freestone stream in Connecticut. It has no man made obstacles as  it tumbles trough the forest of hemlock and hardwood. It can almost be said it has a brother and sister stream but not in Connecticut or for that matter  in the U.S....no but in Japan and Italy. Soft hackle flies have a following world wide. Both Japan with their sakasa kebari and Italy with the Valsesiana types of soft hackle flies. These flies were created to work in the swift mountain streams of each country ans I must say very effectively.  When allowed to drift naturally in the currents they are very life like in their movement. And when one is retrieved using a variety of speeds and rod tip manipulations it can be deadly.
 

 

Valsesiana...Tied on a Firehole Stick, 320..orange silk thread body, hares mask for the thorax and hen pheasant hackle. Traditional Italian silk thread is used but getting  it is almost impossible. Substitute any other silk and it will work just fine.
 

Valsesiana style flies use game bird feathers as opposed to others such as chicken. I love tying and fishing these flies and will tie them in sizes 10 to 16, but I prefer them in 10 and 12
 

 

 

No matter how you...

Protect...keep safe, keep from harm, preserve, safe guard....no matter the meaning it;s useless if we don't do what's necessary to maintain and protect this wonderful environment. I have seen what bad practices have done to some pretty brook trout streams. Streams that have gone from a robust population of wild brook trout to complete extirpation. These happen from both man and nature.

In years of drought the brookie will do it's part to survive. Most time he finds a way but other times he has no choice. Poor logging practices, bad planning in the construction of new homes and other retail developments just compile strain on an already  limited water supply.
 

 

Woody debris...so valuable to the brook trouts survival.
 

What looks to be a rain puddle is actually a ground water spring. It is full now but will dwindle in volume as the year progresses. A bad decision in logging can all but cause the destruction of this valuable brook trout water source.
 

 

 

 

 

 

  So as much as we love our native brook trout we must love his finely tuned environment. With out this there are no brook trout.

 

 I for one do not want to see him go...
 

Posted by Brk Trt at 7:01 AM No comments:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More than a feeling...

More then a book, A Fly Rod of Your Own by John Gierach is an inspiration. I pulled it of my book shelf at the same time I took out my bamboo fly rod for a dusting it did not need. I guess the need to assemble it and to feel it flex was the real motive. I have few possessions that I cherish more then my bamboo fly rod. When it is doing it's thing on a stream I feel complete. I, the rod, the stream, and all that surrounds me. It's a feeling that those who fish bamboo know very well.
 

 

There are many cane crafters out there. Their work is beautiful and the overall price of cane rods are within most of our budgets.
 

Several readers of SSR's have been successful in restoring old bamboo rods, and this to can offer a great deal of pleasure ans satisfaction.
 

 

To catch a spirited wild brookie on a bamboo rod is near the top of fly fishing's pleasures.
 

Stewart's Black Spider

 

Black Magic

Two very good small stone fly patterns.