November Browns

Yesterday I spent a few hours on a Class 1 wild trout stream. I have not fished this stream since the snow storm of a few weeks ago and was anxious to see how much damage was done. The stream holds both wild browns and brookies, and the browns predominate. As I walked into the stream the damage was easy to see. Trees and limbs scattered about, some of them very large.
Upon reaching the stream I observed some of the better pools had completely changed, and the familiar runs were gone. I said to myself I have a new stream to explore, and proceeded to do so.
The first fly I chose was a Bomber dry, this is a fly that always worked here even this late in the season. Well I gave this fly all the time it needed to bring a trout to the surface, and that did not happen. I changed to a Picket Pin wet and this produced one bump. This was going to be one of those days where I was going to do some hard walking and enjoying the stream and the woods. I say this because the flies that would have been a good bet,streamers, were in a box at home.
Looking at the choices I had I tied on a worm like, caddis like, I guess a bug that looked like it had a chance to fool one or two fish. The second drift as the fly started to sink the trout hit, and hit hard. A very respectable battle took place, and the TFO 2wt was tested and did its job. I held the brown, took a photo and sent it off, it was gone in a heartbeat.

As the day went on, I learned where the new trout lies where and had a wonderful day.

These were the flies that worked so well. Also a longer version with peacock tied in as legs. It was centipede like. I don't have a photo of it for I lost it, along with the three other flies. I'll tie a few up and post them later.

This was a good pool.

Beautiful wild browns. Nicely spotted and very aggressive.

You can see the other fly in the browns mouth.

This was a part of the stream that was so beautiful and peaceful. While taking in the view I was startled when a wind gust brought down a large branch.

Thanks friends.

Penn's Woods

This time of the year not only offers fine fishing for me, but also the anticipation of the whitetail deer season. My son and I have hunted this area of Pennsylvania for a quarter century and we have many fine memories. For those who never hunted deer, it is a very challenging quest, but one that has many rewards. The friendships that are made last lifetimes.
While the actual opening day is the Monday after Thanksgiving, several weeks before that day some scouting of the woods is necessary to see if there are deer in the area, especially bucks. Bucks leave distinctive markings, trees that marked by them show bark that has been rubbed of the tree. They also make scrapes in the dirt, these scrapes are used as mating signs. Since we hunt oak ridges, acorns and the abundance of them is also a good sign.
So with this preseason work and some luck we will be able to place a tag on a special gift..... a Pennsylvania whitetail.

Although I have never fished this lake it is one of the best. It produces a great variety of fish, including some nice trout.

The mountain ridges we'll be hunting. Every year they seem to get higher and rougher to climb.

I now find it easier to walk a half mile out of my way just to find a gentler slope to access the top.

A whitetail rub. By the size of the tree, this might be a good buck.

A whitetail scrape. This one is active, the ground was damp, this is hard to see from the photo, it was a windy day and the leaves were blown into it. Notice the sapling, it is well rubbed.

There are many little creeks running through, some containing brook trout. This is a favorite.

The Alpine....a favorite spot to stop. The best German smoked sausages, and provisions. Landjaeger.

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Nor'Easter, the Aftermath

On October 29th Connecticut experienced a Nor'easter like it has never witnessed.
The storm left as much as a foot of heavy wet snow which covered tree limbs, which still had almost full leaf cover. The trees cracked from the weight and took down wires. At the end of the storm 833,000 homes and business' were without power.
I had no power or heat for 6 days, and I was fortunate, thousands still had no power as of Monday. Restoration crews were here from all over the United States and Canada, for which I an very thankful.

This post is also about how a small stream fared in the aftermath of this storm.
As I entered the wood I could see some of the damage. Trees were down all over, many of them fell into the tiny stream. Leaves were in the water and covered the bottom like a mosaic art. Tree limbs floated down until they got hung up, leaves followed and created large dams. Some of these will be blown away with a heavy rain, but some will remain. They may prove to be beneficial, providing, deep wintering pools for the trout.
As I finish a cup of black Nantucket Blend coffee, hoping it takes effect to enable me to complete this post. I realize it's not me who is slow, it's my computer.

Some of the damage to the little stream.

I did manage to drop a fly or two in between trees and found the trout very hungry.

I was surprised to see this guy around. Several hard frosts, two snow events.... he's a survivor.

These are the flies that worked so well....Picket Pin, the one on the right is what they are supposed to look like, the other was retired after the long battle.

One of the rewards of small streams. He to is a survivor of many storms.

Natures reconstruction, for better or worse....time will tell.

Some Things, a Bit Odd, Well Maybe

When I was growing up this guy was very familiar.

Over the course of time spent fishing I have taken many photos. Some of them of real interesting, and some well you say to yourself why did I take that picture.
These are a few photos of some of my odd, I mean photos that I took that had no special meaning but after looking at them much later are not to bad.

An old Medalist. Lots of turns of the handle with this one....still going strong.

A head on view of some workers.

The black and white version of two of the best.

Everything sweet.

An old covered bridge. It spans the headwaters of the Connecticut River in Northern New Hampshire.