Summertime and the....

We are well into summer around these parts. 97 degrees as I type this. It's been hot and no real relief in sight. So with that I have turned to the lakes and ponds for my fly fishing fix. Those blue gills and bass are willing to take my offerings and will keep a bend in the rod. My stamina in the heat is not good, an hour or so and I'm heading back. Water is a must and I drink plenty of it. I'm sure this heat will pass and cooler temps will return.

Until then here are a few winter scenes to cool you down. I may just fish that stream soon....
 

 

...with the "Winter Brown".
 

The Winter Brown is a very productive soft hackle fly.
 

 

Looking for moose....

Yesterday we took off in search of moose. Connecticut has a resident population of these giants as well as migrants from Massachusetts. The area selected was located in northwest CT. on a very large tract of state land. This was chosen because of recent sightings of moose as well as my previous knowledge of seeing many places here with moose sign, tracks and antler rubs in the Fall while hunting. In years past this tract was a grouse hot spot but over the years that has been lost. Woodcock can be found here and I still do hunt them. There are several ponds of varying sizes in the tract which is a good draw for moose. The bogs and small streams also help. The woods are of mixed hardwoods and evergreens and are pretty thick. We found a few trails that were cut and followed them looking for any possible evidence  of moose.
 

 

After a couple of hours and no sightings we headed for a large meadow/bog that looked promising. It is really hard to spot a moose along the edges. Unless they are moving they will blend in. The one encouraging sign was the fact that a large animal had recently walked through the bog. I did not see any tracks of a moose but the area leading in was dry. So not having seen a moose I decided to fish one of the ponds and see just what a soft hackle can persuade a fish to take.
 

It did not take long. A feisty colorful sunfish took the fly. This was repeated many times.
 

In the mix were a few small bass. These guys will make a 3wt glass rod work.
 

Grilled lamb. This is a favorite of mine. I take the simple route when grilling these and here it is. Use shoulder lamb chops. Place them on a hot grill and cook them to where they are just pink in color. Remove from heat and rub with fresh garlic. Then salt and black pepper them and feast away.
 

I like grilled lamb with ripped iceberg lettuce. Some fresh squeezed lemon juice or olive oil, salt and pepper. Simple and easy.
 

 

You just never know what a small stream will show you....

I love to follow those small tributaries that seem to be havens for wild trout. Some of these real thin blue lines can show me some impressive trout. Why trout choose to find such places hospitable I can't give you a reason. I believe that some of these trout may have been born into the tiny stream and will perhaps live their entire life within a fifty yard stretch of water, that's remarkable. The tributary pictured is one I have visited many times, several posts have been written about it. It helps supply clean cold water to the larger stream which in and of itself produces some very nice trout. The streams banks are soft and walking can be problematic. The stream has numerous undercut banks and root balls. There are areas where wood collects and provides sanctuary.

In the past I have caught both brown and brook trout in this tiny stream. In some years the browns tend to dominate and I see more of them then I catch. In other years I have seen an abundance of brook trout. I can't explain this but it just happens. Last week I walked along this stream and observe some brookies along with....
 

 

 These brook trout were grouped together over a small patch of gravel. Most times this would be because of warm waters and this would be a cold water source seeping up from a spring. But water temps taken along the stream indicated the water to be 60-62 degrees. Well for whatever reason they were clustered together I managed to get a photo before one of them spotted me a scattered the group. When i got home and uploaded the photo I saw what I think is a wild rainbow. If you look at the first three trout you can recognize two of them as brookies, but sandwiched in the middle is a fish that looks like a rainbow.  Look closely and let me know what you think.

 

Hackle

Hackle is a probably the most understood material in fly tying. A person could go nuts trying to figure it out. Dry fly hackle, wet fly hackle capes, necks streamer and spey hackle it's enough to turn anybody away from tying and go to buying flies. I am not going to try and explain all of the various hackle out there but i will focus on two that I use on most of the flies I tie and use. 

Dry fly hackle can range from super stiff to almost limp. The stiff hackles are great and will keep that dry floating high. Then there is the economy hackle like the cape you see pictured above. These economy capes can range in price from six to ten dollars, where as a grade A Whiting cape will require a substantial debit in your Mastercard. I use the economy hackle on my dry and soft hackle flies.
 

 

This is a Whiting dry fly hackle. When wound on a silk thread body it makes an effective dry fly.
 

Here is what helps make a soft hackle fly so effective. Notice the air bubble that is trapped as the fly moves to the surface. Trout key in on that, because that is just what happens when an insect moves to the surface.
 

 Native strawberries are in season now. What a delicious lunch.