"Labonte"....A Streamer

I have a yellow saddle that is now pretty short on prime feathers. Looking at it the other day I said to myself maybe there's one more set of feathers on there to allow for one more nice streamer. In searching for a matched pair I actually found several, which is good for the fly fishing shows are a few months away, in which time I'll probably find another yellow saddle to my liking.

Below is a streamer tied using the yellow feathers as well as a few others.

"Labonte" is a streamer fly tied in the "Rangeley" style. It is named for a lovely place I frequent.

A Winter Outing...The First Of This Year

A mid December cold snap moved into southern New England Friday, Saturday and Saturday night. The day temps were around 30 with a very strong wind. Sunday's forecast was for sunny skies through mid-day with the clouds taking over, temps about 40. Not what you would call prime weather. I decided to fish anyway and my starting time would be after ten. The stream had a thin coating of ice in places along with some very slippery rocks. There were areas of water that were ice free and if you were able to get the fly into them the possibility was there to hook a fish.

Not that fly patterns make a big difference in a small stream but in winter it's even simpler. Today I used a small bead head fly.

As I would cast the fly I observed it drift some and then just hang on the bottom. At times movement could be seen and the figure of a brook trout would be on the fly. Even in cold water they are aggressive.

An example of how rewarding winter fishing can be. In times of cold, with air temps at or below freezing it's best to keep the fish in the water.

Luckily my day turned out to be a good one. The air seemed to warm up a bit, and I was fortunate to fool two wild ones.

I could have followed the stream back to the car but chose to walk the long way back through the woods. The extra time gave me the opportunity to "reflect" on the time just spent along a "small stream"....

Mountains And Forests

Mountains and forests and brook trout seem to go together. When they are looked at separately their beauty and grace are almost unbeatable. When they are combined there is nothing in the natural world that can compare. In her book "Brook Trout Forest" author Kathy Scott wrote..."someone once said that if you pour cold water on mountains you'll get brook trout. If you pour cold water through forests you'll get them too". When you think about that your conclusion has to be the same.

Such is the case for this little intimate stream here in Connecticut. Not a destination of traveling anglers, or a stream written in the pages of fly fishing literature. But it is home to wild brook trout and for this angler that's enough.

It's little runs and plunges hold brook trout...if your "not" careful you'll see them as they dart away.

But when care is used and a fly placed on the water a little jewel will grace your hand.

I'm glad for these tiny places, and I'm always excited to fish these small streams.

The true "spirits of the stream".....

"Cabin Creek" Almost A Zero For.......

Sunday morning dawned quite crisp, well cold. There was a breeze that made it feel colder. With a decision to fish made already the only thing left to decide was what time to leave. I had to be home by two and it was almost ten so quickly the gear was loaded and off I went. The stream I chose was close to home, "Cabin Creek" a stream I'm familiar with and have written about before. The stream has both brook trout and brown trout with the latter prevailing. I started fishing a dry fly and it was not welcomed. The pools held enough water to fish a nymph but a soft-hackle was the fly selected....partridge and orange.

As it turned out it was the right choice for I had a hook-up on the second cast. Great......

Up stream I moved fishing beautiful pools and hooking fish. I assume they were browns but I was not certain for I was given the slip in all of the hook-ups.

Upon the time of arrival at this pool I was 0 for 5. That would be a good day but you would like to bring in one for a photo. I cast the fly near the branch sticking out above the water. As the fly drifted I saw the fish chase and suddenly back off...perhaps I was spotted. I cast several more times in different areas of the pool. And on one of those casts a fish struck. The brown jumped and cleared the water....stop that I said, not wanting to loose another.

Moments later I finally had him in close. I lifted him up and a quick photo and back into the stream. I went 1 for 6, but it was one of my better days.

Restocking the box......