Long Time No See, Good Friend

It has been a few weeks since I last fished for wild brook trout on a small stream. This is mainly because I caught enough in New Hampshire to hold me over for a month at least, and the streams here are in bad shape. But today I couldn't stand it any more. I needed to fish for something as pure and native as the rock and the hills.

It was foggy this morning, as Kirk and I found on a morning stroll looking for carp (didn't catch any). It stayed cloudy ad rained a little for most of the morning, but come midday the sun was out and I was done with the work I was doing (not finished, just bored out of my skull) so I jumped on the bike and went for a look at a few local streams.

The first stream did not give up any fish. I saw some and had one take, but no luck.

I only used one fly all day, a classic wet fly that doesn't have a name but just screams "BROOK TROUT WILL EAT ME!!!".

It was the same story with the lower stretch of stream #2. There are often people lounging or sight seeing because of the waterfall, so the fish here are easier to spook. I did see one hiding out under an overhang.

I also fished at the mouth of the stream. These are the kinds of places where you never know what will take the fly. It helps that there is a dock nearby. The water here was abnormally clear, and I watched pike fingerlings nipping at my fly. None were hooked.

I went to the upper stretch of stream. There I focused on rippled pockets, places where brookies could hide and feed without being spotted by predators. This did the trick. I also saw a few big brookies in calm pools, and I marked these as places that would be good to hit on the way back down.

The place you see bellow is the home of a big male brooky. On my way back down I got him. He is just getting dressed up for fall, with the fins turning maroon and the belly orange, while the back darkens and forms a hump at the same time a kype is developing. I love those colors. Fall is coming, and I am excited about that!