Nymphing on Two Small Streams

Today dawned warm and sunny, so I hit the streams. The first only produced salmon parr, but the second proved to be perfect. I fished upstream on the first creek alternating between nymphs and an Edson Tiger. Plenty of little salmon hurled themselves at the bright colored streamer, many jumping out of the water for it. I saw some big trout, but the bright sun had put them off the bite. The second stream was more shaded, and I found a deep bend pool to fish. At first some big browns were rising, but the wind picked up and rain started and pushed them back to the bottom. A Zug Bug did the trick, bringing a wild brown and a holdover brown and rainbow to hand. All fought valiantly and were safely returned home.

Stream #1

Baby Salmon

Wild Brown

Nice holdover brown trout.

Been a while since I last caught one of these. 

Why I love trout.

Cold Panfish!

Yesterday was cold. It even snowed a little, small pellet like snow that was too light to be considered sleet. It was windy too, with 30 mph gusts whipping up whirlwinds of leaves and bits of trash. The weather was not conducive to enjoyable fishing, but only if you aren't me. I'm most comfortable with a fly rod in my right hand and my line in the other, regardless of the weather and stream conditions. The fish could care less as well, the wind sometimes brings them food, and I'm the warm blooded one. So off I went, on a hunt for fish on dammed up sections of an urban stream, with too many dams to have trout for the first 2 miles. I was looking for panfish. The first location proved uneventful, but the second was better. I put on A bead eyed fly I typically would use for carp, but it would sink fast and that would be the issue of importance in cold conditions. I didn't really work the fly. I twitched the rod tip occasionally to see if anyone was home, and two hungry fish came to say hello.

Chilly Sunset

Get it Out of My Mouth!

Camo on a rock bass. Quite beautiful really.  

Deep Pool Brookies

Today seemed a fine day to fish, so I headed out to a small stream. I fished upstream with dry flies but had no luck, so I went down to a very deep bridge pool. It has very little current, so I put on a big nymph and cast it out. I let it sink and slowly worked it back using the strip-tease nymphing method. On the third cast a fish took. It was a good brookie. Shortly after I hooked and lost another. The very next cast I landed a second fish, another brook trout. I got a few light taps over the next half hour but no more fish.

No skimping on the spots for this guy.

Perfect Coloration

Brook Trout # 2

Trout Candy

Small Stream Action

Today felt like a trout day, so I headed to the river. It sucked.

I biked past some random small streams and thought to myself  "they have to have fish." They didn't suck. The first cast with a calf tail bomber and a trout whacked it. I only briefly felt his fight. No worries, the next cast a nice little salmon parr took. I worked my way upstream to find at the head of the next pool a perfect lie. The cast was made, and a beautiful trout of sizable proportions came up and slurped down the bomber. I continued fishing with only one hit and soon reached a pool too big and slow to fish and decided to check the other little creek. It poured out common shiners and salmon parr. The only trout was seen right as I was leaving and I threw a pine cone too his feeding lane to see his reaction. The crazy little brooky came up and whacked it! I decided to come back and catch him another day.

Fallfish

Pretty salmon par.

Blue Wing Olive

this will be some good terrestrial fishing in the summer!

She wanted it!

Sparse spotting.

A pool on the second stream.

More Fall Panfish

Friday was warm, so the obvious thing to do was to go fishing. I had a short time, so local panfish seemed best. They were hitting dries, so it was even more fun. I managed to get a few of the fish that chased down and whacked my fly from a small pond and adjacent stream.

A colorful little morsal

Whopper Green Sunfish

Saw these two on the way home, they didn't enjoy the attention.