It's So Good My Friends...

Thursday morning broke with one of the coolest temps of the summer. My thermometer said 58 but the temp in the part of the state I was to fish in was a lot different. It was a morning when I broke out the flannel shirt to help take away the chill, woods and water helping to reverse what the flannel's mission was...I need coffee.

The stream I was fishing offered a bit of everything as far as terrain, there was that rocky freestone mountain type and a more gentile meadow type of flow. Areas like the one pictured above had these lovely quiet pools with boulders and lots of high grass.

In these pools were some very hungry brookies. Most of these little pools held a couple of fish but the disturbance of hooking one put the remaining fish in hiding.

In looking at this photo when I put it on the computer I noticed just how perfect this wild native was. So beautifully proportioned.

A Hummingbird getting some energy from a Cardinal flower, a high speed lens would have helped.

As you can see the fly that was working was a caddis, a big caddis.

A bend in the stream, foam on the water, a slight woody tangle and a good flow of water....you think there might be a fish there?

There was and on the second attempt at the fly a hookup.

What a great small stream combination....Cane and Silk glass rod, Battenkill reel, and a killer caddis.

Inspiration and my PB Farmington Brook Trout

BA Caddis

Fishing for as many years as I have inspiration comes in many ways. One such inspiration came in the form of a fly. I had been tinkering with a caddis pattern since last May, tying it in different sizes, colors, and materials. I first fished this caddis in a stream under a bridge and proceeded to take a nice brook trout. Since that first time I have fished it many times and it has produced quite a few fish including several nice wild browns.

Monday armed with several BA Caddis in large sizes, 10, 12, tied on streamer hooks I headed to the Farmington river. We had some heavy rains a few days prior but the river had dropped to a fishable level, with the exception of the many newly formed wood piles. The section of river selected is one I have not fished in maybe 10 years, I don't know why but I just haven't. An email conversation with Pete about it sort of inspired me to try this section again. Entering the water I found the waters much to swift to wade comfortably. So walking down stream I found a good looking run I could fish. With the mid afternoon sun shinning bright on the water I realized my best chances of connecting was the deep swift pockets where a trout would hold. The caddis was big enough to bring the trout to the surface.

It was this section, where the second boulder protrudes that a cast of the BA Caddis drifted. As the fly sort of stopped in front of the boulder it was pulled under. I could feel the weight of the fish as it headed for the current. I turned it back to calmer water and could feel its head shakes. Soon I felt confident I would land this fish thats when it made a run for the submerged log. Hoping for the best I put pressure on the trout and eventually won the battle.

As I laid my hand in the water I realized what a beautiful wild brook trout I had fooled. The fish had a spectacular tail, and markings that were incredible. This was by far my personal best wild brook trout taken from the Farmington river. A true inspiration.

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Flies of Southern Appalachia and Another

The brook trouts natural range in the eastern U.S. is from Maine to Georgia. They are doing well in the south because of very hard work by many concerned people. They live in the mountain streams which run cold and clear.

There are many anglers who seek these trout in the Appalachians and in doing so have created some very unique patters. Here are two of them from Roger Lowe's book. I have fished both these patterns, one a wet fly the other a dry and have done well with them at times.

The Yellow Palmer. It's a simple pattern that is easy to tie and requires few materials.

I have done very well with this pattern in late summer and early fall.

Yellow Palmer

The Yellow Palmer...simplicity, and like the brook trout beautiful.

Yellowhammer

This is a wet fly pattern of the south....The Yellowhammer. This fly has worked well for me in the spring.

BA Caddis

This is a pattern I created. It's called the B.A. Caddis. I have been fishing for a few weeks and it has been taking trout. I've fished it in a small stream as well as the Farmington river.

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