FALL RUN by Todd Moen - Steelhead Fly Fishing

Some truly wonderful stuff here. Trust me. Watch it through to the end.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Moving, even just a short distance, is a lot of work. Although a lot of that is done, this week I will have little opportunity to fish and even less to write. It's a shame, it is supposed to be gorgeous. I will try tomorrow for a little Native Brooky fix, but that may be it for the week. Anyhow, here are some random pretty pix:

Spawn

Early this morning I headed out to search for big browns on Mice and Streamers. The only fish I saw I at first presumed to be dead. It was heavily injured. Then I noticed It's gills were moving. I poked it with my rod tip and and it kicked. I gently lifted it from the water and dispatched it, then carefully examined it for the cause of injury. It appeared to be scarred by either talon or claw, and the wounds had become very infected. It was really a sad thing to see. I will not post the picture, as it was quite disgusting.

It soon became evident that this was a hopeless activity, so I moved on to something more delicate and, well, more natural. There are quite a few tributaries to this river, and most hold Native Brook Trout. These, no doubt, would be more fun.
It is spawning season for the Char, and that is just what they are doing. This is the sight that greeted me in one of the pools:

These fish were bigger then most in a stream this size, and although I hooked one, a 13+ inch male, I did not land it. The next time I'm in the area I will get him! I did land plenty of wonderful fish, all in very beautiful color.

After exhausting that tributary's resources, I moved on to the next. There I found a holdover Rainbow and began casting to it with nymphs. On one of those casts a pretty male Native came over and chomped on it.

Next cast I hooked into that Rainbow, and he gave quite a scrap before I landed him. After releasing him I moved on to the next trib, actually a trib of a trib, and caught one more Native to end the day.

The Scarlet and Black Head Articulated Streamer.

A concoction of yellow and red marabou, wood duck, bucktail, crystal flash, crystal flash, and black craft fur, trimmed. 

Specks in Wet Weather

This afternoon I had a bit of time and a hankering for some "Specks", as the folks in Southern Appalachia call Brookies. The weather was not so pleasant: cloudy, windy, and with sputtering showers and mist. This, of course, does not stop me.
I worked for some time with wet flies and buck tails, pulling some healthy char out of a small woodland brook.  There was one that was larger then the others, but generally they were fairly small. Their colors did not match there diminutive size.

Eventually I decided to try a dry fly, and a Royal Wulff was tied on. It took a few thoroughly speckled fish, one being only a yearling.
On the way home, I stopped by another stream to see if it was inhabited. In a few casts I had my answer, and it was my last fish of the day.