Plus Two

So needless to say that big beautiful brownie I caught yesterday upped my intrigue with that watershed, so when Mark texted me yesterday to say that the stream we were planning to fish did not look too productive, things started coming together in my mind... I pondered and looked over my map resources and formulated the plan for the last day of fishing in 2016.

So in the morning Mark and I got on the first stream, the same one I had fished yesterday, no idea what to expect. I must say, we did not have much of any action. There are some fish in that stream but the clouds and changing conditions probably had them laying low. But that is a GORGEOUS stream!

After the lack of fish in the first stream I guessed the only trout there were browns. Brookies tend to show themselves even when they aren't really hungry, so we went looking for a brook trout stream. In my mind it was a bit of a long shot, but you have to try.

The second stream had almost no access, but we parked at a small business and sneaked down along the bridge. I flicked my Ugly just into the opening of the tunnel and watched a fish come out and grab it. BROOKIE! In mere seconds I had a very interesting looking brook trout at hand. The spot color and distribution along with the super dark background made it a unique looking fish... as is often the case the photo does not do it justice, in person it struck me as just looking different.

After driving around for a bit and trying to figure out another access point we eventually decided to check out the third stream. A short walk along some old railroad grade and we were there. Along the way we passed an older gentleman walking in the other direction. He asked us if we were going to fish "in the brook". We said yes, he said "My son fishes there a lot, good luck". Mark and I looked at each other, I think we both new what that meant. There had to be something there to fish for. When we got there what we found was an absolutely minuscule brook. And yet, in a plunge bellow a culvert, a six inch brook trout chased my "Crazy Shrimp" to my feet before seeing me and hurrying off.

So that's it. The last trip, the last day on the water, the last fish of 2016. And two more streams can now be added to my ever expanding wild trout stream list. A good day on the water with a good friend. Tomorrow starts a new year, and with some of CT's best small stream anglers coming together on a very special stream, it promises to be a good start to 2017. Happy New Year everyone. See you on the flip side. 

-Rowan Lytle