The King of the Stream

Every trout stream has a king. In the Farmington it is most likely a 30 inch holdover Brown. In the tiny streams I regularly fish for native Brook Trout, the kings are the ten to twelve inch kype jawed males. Occasionally you encounter one of these kings, as I did today.

Of course, it was an exceptionally good day on the stream. I caught plenty of the king's subjects, all in perfect for and vibrant spawning dress. The fly I used this afternoon is the now dubbed "Pine Special", a feather wing I tied some time ago and had not touched since. I don't know why, it works great. It certainly got the attention of the Char, and they smashed it aggressively.

In a culvert pool I was able to sight fish for a spell before the fish became weary of the streamer. I moved on upstream.

O moved up to a pool that even in the low water is deep and has plenty of cover. I cast the streamer up into the nearly still waters. The takes were surprising and symbolized anger rather than hunger. I caught a nice female and a few smaller fish, when something much more remarkable slashed the streamer. 

The fight used up most of the pool and involved a few jumps. Finally I got the fish to hand, the King of The Stream. He was thick, with kype and strong big tail. This big male was already fully dressed, with black and red stomach and crimson fins. In a stream like this one, it gets no better. When I catch Brookies like this I tend to talk to myself, as well as the fish. 

This was a miniature version of those fish in adverts from Labrador, and truly just as wild. This stream has never been stocked.

Of course there were more Brookies in this pool, and I continued to nail into them to my hearts content. I left more then satisfied. Boy is that a fantastic streamer!