Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Part Time Home Water Ep. 2: Big Fish and Snow

I only took a one day hiatus from my new "part time" home river... the fish gods decided I had to go back. Rik Frankel and I had planned to make the trip up to Massachusetts to fish the Swift tail water. Checking the forecast every afternoon until today, I watched the outlook get progressively worse and worse. By the time I was getting ready to buy my Mass license it had completely gone in the wrong direction... winter weather advisory from 10:00 a.m. Rik and I smartly decided against making the long trip and began making a new plan. There was no doubt in my mind, we had to visit my new part time home river. I just had to see a fish come out of it. And so we found ourselves parked near the stream this morning, a cloudy and very cold day, and rigging up streamer-dropper rigs.



I don't often fish streamer-dropper rigs, they are a tremendous pain in the butt. That being said, on a cold day when it's nearly impossible to strip streamers, both because the fish don't feel like moving and because after just four minutes your fingers just fall right off.  It is also very helpful to have a smaller option when the fish are in a picky mood. Today my rig consisted of a size 4 olive Woolly Bugger, 14 inches of 4x tied to the bend of the hook, and a size 12 Sexy Walt's.

Ten minutes is all it took. I was into a fat 16 inch wild brown trout that behaved very much as tough it were being electrocuted. It actually vibrated when it jumped. At first I though I was into a holdover rainbow based on the purplish reflections on the fish's sides and the ridiculous jumping, but when I got it to hand I was happy to see it was a wild fish. That was all I needed! TRIP MADE!



Two of my favorite things in the world are streamer eats and small water wild fish. As such, that fish had me whooping and jumping around on the bank for a couple minutes, and walking around in circles with my hands in my pockets whispering expletives followed by "that was a beautiful fish" or "what a great fish". I don't do this all the time. I talk to a lot of the fish I catch, but the complete mental break down only follows a particularly good fish caught after a lot of time and effort, and based on the research and exploration I have done of this particular stream that brown certainly deserved that sort of celebration. 

One problem: this time of year, a fish like that being caught in the first 10 minutes is a death sentence for the rest of the day. This time, Rik and I were thwarted by water fowl. Ducks and one Canada goose swam and flew downstream in front of us, spooking the fish. We only got a couple of grabs. I was glad to spook a few more substantial fish. Now I know for sure where there are wild trout in that river that. Next time, I'm going to fish it hard and try to get some numbers. I don't know what the population per mile is in this stream but it shouldn't be impossible to get at least 10 wild trout in a day there. But more importantly, I think it has the potential to produce some serious brutes. Much bigger than 16 inches.



It started snowing fairly early. By the time we left that river the roads had become fairly slick. But there really is nothing prettier than a small stream is fresh, white snow.

8 comments:

  1. Always glad to hear you had a celebration. Beauty of a fish! That water looks like it should hold a good supply of them. Way-to-go Rowan.
    Tie, fish, write and photo on...

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    1. Interestingly, I usually behave pretty much the same way after I loose a particularly large fish.

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  2. Great post. Nothing better than being surprised by a larger than expected wild fish from a small piece of water. Always gets you so psyched.

    A quick question - how are you able to definitively able to determine the wild fish from the stockies/holdovers? I realize wild fish generally have fins that are in better shape and have brighter colors, but am never able to definitively say that makes a wild fish, myself. Is that all you're looking at or is there something else. Your many days on the water obviously help.

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    1. How the fish fights, where it was caught, color, parr marks, and fin and body condition all come into play to different degrees.
      With this particular fish, the fin size and color are indicative of a fish that has spent its entire life in the river, as are the colors. It is very deep bodied and muscular rather than soft like many stocked trout would be after a brutal summer/fall cycle, and it fought like a bolt of lightning. Most of CT's stocked browns are either very sluggish or just slosh around at the surface a lot.

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  3. Looks like a great day on your new home water.

    Have you fished the swift up here before? It's a blast with unique challenges - if you have not, you are going to love it! That said, it's busy, even mid winter.

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    1. Mass and VT are the only New England states haven't fished yet. The Swift has been on my list for about two years now, more because of the brook trout than anything else.

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  4. As a loyal reader I'd like more on that tactics that you employed to fool the fish. No need to tell me where you fish, but more on how would be welcome.

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    1. I will when I find it pertinent. With a streamer dropper rig I cast up and across, tight line dead drift the rig until it comes tight in the current, then I let it swing. If there is enough current at the end of the swing I'll let it hang there for a minute. In this case the fish took on the hang in fairly heavy current.

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