Water, Water and More Water..

October was a very rainy month, and November is adding to the totals. I ventured out today and did not know what I would find. Last night we had anywhere form a half inch to more than an inch depending where in the state you were. T he stream I selected was flowing full. Leaves were in the water along with lots of pine needles. On average you were able to get a few feet of drift before your fly found either a leaf or a needle but every so often a fish would take the fly.

A high flow wild brook trout.

Water every where.

And brookies every where.

A very deep pool. I wondered what was in it. Perhaps a streamer would be a good choice.

Looking in the box I selected Salars Nemesis.... It was the right choice.

I caught 4 brookies in that pool, this one was the biggest.

Conditions, Spiders And Some Comfort

Conditions yesterday were perfect, that is for hiking and not fishing. We have received a great deal of rain in the last few weeks and it has produced some rather full streams. I fished yesterday selecting a couple of streams I thought would handle the heavy rain that fell Friday night and Saturday. When I got there it was not what I had hoped for. Both streams were full to capacity. I fished the edges and soft seams and managed to hook a few, the tally was 0 for 7.

The last few glimpses of the "glorious season" along a small stream. What a beautiful day to be out.

Woodcock and Orange

I was gifted with some beautiful woodcock wings and feathers by a reader of SSR's. Lovely markings on the feathers and it will provide some fine flies and a great deal of enjoyment at the vise this winter. Here are a couple of spider patterns tied with woodcock.

Woodcock and Olive

Now for the comfort. Baked turkey vegetable soup. We have a day coming soon that features the turkey and this is one of the ways I enjoy it, the other is a turkey sandwich. This soup can be made in a quick version also. You can use canned chicken broth, browned ground turkey, and canned mixed vegetables. Add sliced cheese, I like mozzarella and baked until cheese browns and is bubbly.

Well this one worked out.....

Over the course of a year I'll find about a dozen or so new streams. Of that dozen I'll maybe explore eight, and of that eight perhaps four or five will hold trout. The trout may be browns or brookies and some may be there in numbers and some of the streams will have but a few. Exploring these streams is enjoyable in the cooler months of April and May and again in September, October and November. One of these streams I had the pleasure of fishing was located in the hills of eastern Connecticut. The stream was flowing with clear cold water and it tumbled down the hill through a nice mix of hardwoods.

A series of pools and riffles provided the necessary habitat for a few willing fish. I would guess this stream holds fish all year long and may have a few added to it's roles come October from an adjacent larger stream.

Here is one the beautiful residents of this stream.

Pretty sights abound. A variety of soft-hackle flies came into play..and a dry or two.

You never know what might be in a place like this. Most times you just see it as it explodes swimming away form you. But sometimes you have the first shot and a drifted fly gets attention.

A special moment when your able to lift the jewel from the stream. Photograph it and release it, suddenly it's gone, vanishing into the thin water.

At the end as you walk to the car your at peace. All is well my friends.

Super Soft, Soft-Hackle

The hen pheasant. I think it's the most versatile soft=hackle material out there. Just look at the amount of excellent usable feathers. There are so many sizes, and color variations and they can be applied to create almost any insect out there. Another good point to bring into this is the fact that the cost of this hen pheasant skin is cheap in comparison to other bird materials. It's value is tops in my book. The photo above shows a section of the pheasant skin near the rump. The thread spool is near the feathers that are very soft, marabou like. They have a slight barring to them and when wrapped on a hook make for life like movement in the water.

A pheasant marabou feather. I have tied several flies using this feather and have been successful especially in the last few weeks.

The pheasant and orange soft-hackle. Along with the super soft marabou feather I also slightly dub the body.

The partridge and olive, with a slight dubbed body. This fly has been working very well.