Along The Stream And Through The Wood

Snow flurries this morning, accumulations of a dusting to maybe an inch....oh well. The day was right out of mid winter. Dark gray skies and snow squalls that caused a whiteout at times. The coating soon became more and the brief winds made for tough fishing. Now I do not do a great deal of casting when fishing small streams so that was not a big issue. The problem came from the slick snow. Footing along the bank became slippery and concentration became enhanced just to keep from falling in. But I must say it was a beautiful scene.

Winter outings are not fish producers. The subtle take of a brookie is most times reward enough.

And the times when your actually able to bring one to hand is a super reward worthy of a hot cup of coffee.

On this day the images of a winter stream were breathtaking. On view was prettier than the one before. Sparkling clear cold water and the occasional willing brook trout made it seem all was good.

And it was.

"Resolutions" Better Yet "Requests"

Good morning friends. 2020, a new year, a new decade and some new changes in the works. It seems that every year about this time we all put forth our resolutions for the new year. Most of us are well intent on making them stick and some of us actually keep them longer than a week. I will say I'm in that crowd that usually keeps the one week resolutions. So what I'm going to do this year is to call a resolution a request. The thought is that a request may be easier to keep. Well we shall see. One of my requests will be to cut back on my egg consumption. I love that hen fruit. I usually have eggs 3-4 times a week, and that is at least 2 eggs a sitting. Goal half that amount. How about a mushroom, pepper, onion and cheddar omlet.

I have to get control of this area. It's so bad that I tied up a dozen bombers for a gent and I lost several of them on the desk. It's at a point where I have two of everything tools included just so I can find them when needed.

Here is a request for your new year. Get a copy of this book. This is written by a truly genuine person. It details more then fly rod building it details life. Erin Block is gifted in many ways but her ability to master words is remarkable....."salt on watermellon"...

Sunday Jeanette and I were out and this stream came to mind. I have been here many times but have never fished it. The request is to change that come May.

"Blue"

A bright sunny winter day, a day when sky and water seem to blend into one. Last week I experienced such a day and here are some thoughts on that day. The stream was in prime condition. Water flowing over rocks and boulders. The brown of winter along the shore is only visible to the eye in a photo, a live observance erases all other color except the blue color of the water. It's said that sky and water have no color and that's probably true, but we as anglers may have different views on that.

The fishing on the stream was great but the catching was slow. That's OK though because I still found so much pleasure just being there.

There is a sense that I have that say's it will be just fine. Mr. Skunk will be avoided this day. In a soft spot in the stream the fly moved in a dead current. A movement could be seen under it. The fly was grabbed and the line tightened. The little pocket became frothy and soon the brookie could be seen. A moment later he was at hand. Oddly the brookie also displayed a royal blue color, fitting for such a day.

Color does it make a difference in how a fly looks to a trout? I think so. This spider uses blue silk for the body, a thin dusting of hares ear and a turn or two of woodcock.

Over the next few weeks I'll feature a few more of these spiders with various silks and hackles.

NYD Meet...on the board in 2020

Yesterday was our annual New Years Day meet. The crew has been doing this now for 10 years. This year there were three of us, Rowan, John and myself. This year the weather was not bad. Air temps in the high thirties with sun at 9:30 am. First thing, a priority mind you was to enjoy some Dunkin' donuts compliments of John, and luckily he brought a lot of them. Hot coffee and conversation was strong. A plan was made on how we were going to take on the day, geared up we set off to find a willing fish. It was a so-so start with not a single fish hooked. Faith my friends.

"Pete's Run"

The stream we chose to fish was a favorite of a mutual friend of ours "Pete"...this section of stream was special for Pete and a small sign was placed on a tree along a run he loved to fish. Today John placed a favorite fly of Pete's a bead head soft-hackle pheasant tail. We fish this stream several times a year and now when ever we fish this run a bead head soft-hackle pheasant tail will be the only fly used.

We continued to fish this stream all morning with out success. We chose to go back to the cars and have some lunch and plan the afternoon. The menu was going to be hot dogs. I had everything with exception of one item...that was the stove to cook on. I left it in the garage. We were a bit hungry and here is where the ample supply of donuts came in...lunch was had and to be honest it was good. Thanks John for thinking ahead.

For the afternoon fishing we chose to fish another stream not to far from where we had fished the morning. This stream is a sweetheart. It reminds me of fishing the streams of Shenandoah. It turned out well, Rowan got the first brookie of the New Year. The fish taken under a beat up wood bridge.

I had moved upstream and came to this pool below a nice waterfall. Several casts were made and I noticed a fish swirl behind the wet fly. A couple of more casts and the fish took.

My first of 2020. A healthy male.

We continued to fish for an hour or so. We needed for John to hookup. He was close but....I imagine by weeks end John will be on the board.

Thanks guys for making this NYD meet...it was great to fish with you again.