A Rainy Christmas Eve Morning, Filled With Healty Trout

The last time I fished on a Christmas Eve, I caught a spectacular wild Brown Trout, the likes of which I have not touched since that day. To celebrate the one year anniversary of that catch I went out to spend the morning on that same stream.
This time of year nymphing is the way to catch the fish, and as much as I prefer dries and wets, and streamers for that matter, I started fly fishing using nymphs and I'd like to think I am a sort of pocket water nymphing Jedi master.
Although I started out by missing four nice fish, I eventually got in the groove and caught a colorful acrobatic brown. The cast after I released that fish I hooked into a bigger one, but by the way it fought I am certain it was foul hooked. I wasn't disappointed, therefore, when it got off.

Then I had to put my Nymph Jedi skills to the test. A large branch had been washed down during the runoff and was lodged above the tree shown above. Normally I'd hook a few fish right where it was sitting, but clearly that wasn't happening today. So I got into position to high stick into the pool on the right side of the tree. I had to cast carefully to avoid hanging in the branches, but I eventually got the fly where I wanted it. The line went tight and I was in to a fat wild fish. This is where things became really difficult, as I had to cross the log and weave through the branches as the trout peeled line down the fast water. I made it to a spot where I could land the fish safely and was relieved he had stayed on.

Further upstream I was hopeful that I would pull a bunch of trout out of a deep riffle above another fallen tree. Unfortunately the tree had moved and the riffle was gone. The next tree had come down in a landslide some time ago and formed a good pool. I had yet to catch anything out of it. Today, however, I had a good drift and this big fellow took:

In a long stretch of pocket water I eked out two more wilds and sight cast to a stocked brooky from who knows where. The pink worm won that guy over. By that point the rain became unbearable and I called it quits. I was home before 1:30.