"That Stream"

 We all have those places we fish that hold special memories. Those memories may be of the day and how beautiful it was or perhaps the memory might be of the fly we used. The memory could center on how productive the day was and maybe it was of the trout you caught.

This is a memory of a day and a stream that may be in the top ten of my days afield. I'm familiar with this stream having fished many times over the years. It tumbles down a hill through a deep forest of mixed trees. The maples and oaks and the pine and hemlock with a bunch of white birch thrown in. It's a beautiful stream any time of year but especially in the fall. There is a brief walk along a trail before it vanishes, then it's a bunch of boulders and roots with some briers to make it a challenge.

 

I fished that day for a long way upstream. The results were not glorious and be it a dry or wet neither got much attention from the wild brookies.
 

My goodness what a beautiful pool, so peaceful. I think those were my words to myself when I saw the pool that day. I had a bomber on and it was the first fly I tossed into the pool. It was several more casts before a fish rose to the bomber and missed. I continued fishing the bomber and got another response with a hookup that did not last. The bomber ran out of gas and I knew there were a few more brookies within the pool. I tied on a soft hackle, almost like a bomber in color but with a dark soft feather.. I cast close to the white water at the where it enters the pool. In a second I felt the take but as I pulled up the rod I felt slack. Picking up the line figuring to make another cast I could feel the fish on. Now either he was on all the while and I did not know it or it was another brookie that took the fly.
 

Either way I was soon holding a spectacular wild jewel, from "that stream".....
 

 

"Ida" the weekend after..........

Last week on Tuesday and Wednesday we were hit with the remnants of hurricane Ida. The rain was heavy and amounts of 8-10 inches were widespread. On my deck my rain gauge measured 9 inches. So with that amount of water being pumped into the streams you can imagine the effect it had. I did not even attempt to fish until Saturday. I felt that two plus days would be enough time for the streams to come back to a fishable level. I fished both days of the weekend and I'll give you Sunday's report first.

The sky was overcast and a chance of showers were in the forecast. Walking to the stream was a damp one with a combination of dew and rain clinging to the vegetation. Upon reaching the stream I could see how the heavy rains changed things. In a way those changes actually make for a new "old" stream. Logs were moved, larges stones were not where they were before, areas of the bottom were scoured out and new channels formed. Totally remodeled.

 

 

A pretty yellow wild flower with rain drops on it's petals. Nature does some beautiful art work.
 

Because of the higher flows along with some still off colored water I chose to fish a streamer. Color and flash would give me an advantage over a dry or soft hackle. It proved to be a good choice.
 

This photo says so much about the experience of the day.
 

This wild jewel took the streamer about six inches from the bank. The current was swift and the fly sort of turned on it's side. The brookie hit it on the surface.
 

 In the next post I'll tell you of the Saturday after Ida.

 

Pan Fish, Pickerel and Pork Chops

I know most of my posts are about brook trout and small streams but there is another side to my fishing. I will seek and I must say be surprised by some of these fish as to where I catch them. As to favorites I will say brookies are number one but a close second is the sunfish. The pumpkinseed  you see in the first photo can rival the brookie both in color and fighting ability. These fish will bend your rods. Most times I will choose a pond or lake to fish for sunfish but I have taken them in small streams right along with brookies.
 

 

While you can take brookies on an assortment of flies, dries, nymphs, and even streamers I think the best offerings are soft hackle flies. Drifted, twitched on just allowed to sink to the bottom and then moved ever so slightly will bring a a severe strike.
 

The "redfin pickerel"...I love these guys. Most times when I fish slower pools with a bit of underwater vegetation  I'll catch a redfin. The one in the photo is about as large as I've ever taken. I find these in brook trout streams. They are lightning fast and strike the fly hard.
 

The Red and White bucktail is a god fly for the redfin. The same colors as the Dardevle spoon, which I consider the best pickerel lure ever.
 

Pan fried rib pork chop with green peppers and onions and a few tomatoes.
 

 

The Leaper

 Salmo Salar, "the leaper"...the name given one of our greatest fish. My experience with these has been with the landlocked version and a few broodstock. The fact that they leap when hooked is an understatement, they go totally insane. I've had some leap three times in succession and then run downstream like a corvette and then leap again. A strong focused and very determined adversary.

This post is not about Atlantic salmon but it is about a leaper. This leaper is Salvelinus Fontinalis, "brook trout"...while not known for their leaping abilities they will on occasion surprise you with a jump, and I emphasize "a".....The morning was overcast and the stream full. The large boulders along the banks made it difficult for the 75 year old knees. I love these streams but now only fish them once and awhile. I started fishing a bomber, and for the first time I tied on a dropper, soft hackle. The first few casts were well made and no issues were had. Then I had a rise to the bomber and as I tried to set the hook he was off. I continued to fish for a spell and my combo was not well received. I chose to remove the dropper and just fish the dry. That did not go well either, no response. I then went to the soft hackle all by itself and things picked up. It's a confidence thing and when you fish certain flies one way and have success you tend to stick with that method.

 

The first brookie of the morning. A spunky little guy who by judging from the size of his belly had been eating quite well.
 

The flowers and such that are blooming now show signs of a coming change.
 

I'm not pushing for a quick change but I do love the next page having read this book many times.

 

My favorite part of the stream...riffles...this set ran into a slightly deeper run. I started swinging the fly through every section of the riffle I thought held a fish. I had a good bump behind a rock and continued to fish it with several more casts. On one cast the fly moved through the head of the deeper run. Suddenly it stopped and as I lifted the rod I felt the weight. The trout started a run upstream into the riffles and put on a leaping show that would make salmo salar proud. I think it jumped 4 times. Then it turned and ran downstream into the deeper water. Eventually me and my bamboo rod got control and a glorious wild jewel was at hand.
 

I'm looking forward  to meeting up with this guy come October, bad knees hold on.