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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

My Home Water

I talk about my home water a lot, and for good reason. It is very special to me. It is really where I learned to fly fish for trout. You may notice I don't call this stream by name, and my reasoning behind this is that I am very protective of it. If I were to come back to it after being away for a long and find it filled with trash and it's wild trout gone, I would be absolutely devastated. So, I'm going to continue to not telling y'all where it is unless you are sworn to secrecy and clearly a catch and release angler.

Honestly this stream may not seem very spectacular to other fisherman. It isn't the most richly populated. Although it is beautiful and fairly isolated I'm sure there are more attractive places even in the same county. But to me it is the most amazing, beautiful, wonderful stream. It has captured me and enthralled me and I love it. I love seeing the barred owls that populate the area, the big buck, even the rare mountain lion that once stepped into the pathway in front of me. That in it's self was a phenomenal event that really shook me to the bone. He didn't eat me then and hopefully he doesn't have plans to. But of all the animal my favorites are the fish. My home water has a population including native brook trout, wild brown trout, wild tigers, even the extremely rare wild rainbow (I've caught three of those), a of white suckers, bluegills, and the ever present atlantic salmon parr and chubs. Once I even caught a crappie. Each (except the bluegills if I'm honest) have a rule and play a part into making the stream a good fishery, one that has produced some big wild browns and the biggest native I have seen in these parts. If I told you how big he was you may not believe me.

I just want to say, if you know the stream I speak of, please be respectful. It is a special place, as most small streams holding wild fish are. If you can't see that you shouldn't be there.












10 comments:

  1. Definitely a special place to keep under wraps. I am amazed by the diversity of wildlife along this stream especially the mountain lion! In one of those pictures it looks pretty big for a brook, which suprised me. And I have to ask...how big was the native?

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    1. I assume you are talking about the 5th picture, it spreads out in a shallow riffle there. That is the widest part of the entire stream. Great spot to pull out a bunch of fish. My dad fished that once and came back down to where I was saying he was ready to go. In twenty feet he had caught something like fifteen fish.

      I'll just say it could be comfortably weighed in pounds. It popped loose five minutes into the fight.

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  2. I agree with you on not telling anyone where your stream is. Only those you trust.
    I think I may know it but would never let it out.

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    1. I am fairly certain you do now it. I trust you.

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    1. Thank you. I think every fisherman probably does, and also some none fisherman, even if they don't call it that.

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  4. This stream is protected, thankfully, due to its location geographically. As I think I mentioned before, the reason that I was given (and the reason that I believe to be the most true) that this stream isn't a WTMA is because its simply "out of sight out of mind". If the stream were to be marked as holding wild trout, anglers from all over the state would have it's location marked on a map. This stream is just too precious to be "exposed", and I agree with DEEP in their thinking. I have fished this stream for years and I am convinced we are the only two who regularly do. I've seen you a few times out around in the area but have never decided to say hello. In fact, I was fishing just upstream when the kid from "Dry Flies and Manors" incident pushed you out. Maybe ill see you on the stream sometime. l'm usually wearing a navy SIMMS hat with a brown trout on it... -Weightforward

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    1. That is the most logic I can find in anything the state has done. Even if they just stopped stocking it suspicions would be drawn. We are almost definitely the only two that fish there other than the three stocked spots anyway.
      We probably will see you out there, hopefully we'll both be hooked up to nice big trout.

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  5. This is a special place. Nature has a way of speeking to us and there are times when it is so apparent that we must pay attention.
    We can only educate others and hope that all those who come upon these special places will show the respect that all creatures and nature deserve.
    Write, educate and tie on...

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