Clear Water and Pretty Fish

I spent a couple of hours today at the stretch of creek I fished with the New Year's Day crew. I was hoping that the warm temperatures (the water was getting close to 40 finally) would convince the brook trout to rise. Unfortunately there wasn't much insect activity, but a few small grey mayflies were hanging out on the shoreline. I didn't see any rises but stubbornly stuck with the dry flies. An ant got no reaction, a caddis didn't work, but eventually I got a take on the Bomber. The pool was flat and slow, and maybe three feet deep. The fish took with a gentle dimple rise, and I was not expecting it to have much size but was presently surprised when it began to battle. It was a stunning brooky, and to catch anything like it on a dry fly in February is wonderful.

From that point on it was difficult fishing. I worked the pools and riffles with very little action. I changed to a Something or Other wet fly, then to a Green Weenie, and that got eaten eventually.

I came to a place where the stream divides into a series of different channels, and where the two bellow come together was very deep and fishy looking. I let cast the line up the small channel and let the dueling currents pull it to the bottom, where the Green Weenie got weenied by a good fish. It was quickly apparent, however, that it was a fall fish. That's fine by me, he actually fought harder than the brooky, jumping twice and running hard.

With the water so perfectly clear I think the fish were a bit shadow shy today. The warm weather has done it's worst on the ice, and tomorrow may well be a pickerel or carp outing, depending on the wind.