For a little while I fished a Griffith's Gnat, both to catch the fish that were actively rising and get month 32 of trout and char on dries on the books. It worked to the extent that I caught a couple fish, but I was snagging leaves constantly.
After a little while I got sick of it and went to a method that works in all but the worst leaf covered water. I fished heavy nymphs, keeping constant contact with the fly and leaving only a short length of leader on the water's surface. That worked like gangbusters. It even got a blacknose dace, which was a real surprise on a size 14 hook!
A few of the brookies that took were quite large, and I lost a couple really heavy unseen fish.
The colorful fellow bellow was definitely the highlight of this short trip.He had a really pronounced kype and measured 11 inches, quite a trophy from this little stream. I tried to get a better photo by turning on the flash, but in doing so I let the fish swim around and that taste of freedom made him fight harder when I tried to take him out again, as you can see he flopped and in doing so threw the barbless fly and made his way home.
So, if you were wondering, all this great saltwater fly fishing has not ruined my small stream mojo. I was just as excited to see these guys as I was to land those albies from shore. Neither one is better than the other. I have been told to respect the opinions of others, but if it is your opinion that saltwater game fish are "better" than a wild trout or char... your opinion is worthless to me, and you probably haven't quite gotten the point of this whole fishing thing yet.
Nice catches on that stream and yes, beautiful colors and good sizes. Leaves can be a challenge but you have figured it out.
ReplyDeleteTie, fish, write and photo on...
Thanks.
DeleteBeautiful colors on those brookies. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Howard.
DeleteThe fish did most of the work, getting all jacked up, colorful, and angry for me!
Nice little trick to pass on, thanks.... great blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks Doug Korn!
DeleteRM - wow - what big brookies. What an awesome time on the stream!
ReplyDeleteAnd to think I just took a short walk from my second home to find them!
DeleteRowan
ReplyDeleteSome hefty Brook Trout you have there! All colored up in their fall dress. Very nice.
Thanks Pete! They are ready to dance.
DeleteGorgeous! Just gorgeous fish and fishing--even with the man-made pipe-plunge haha.
ReplyDeleteI had an epic day yesterday morning myself. I can't get over the fish I caught. I hope it lives to breed. I'm not sure male versus female though--what do you think?
I wrote about it in my journal under, "Trout Are Back."
The leaves--yes--I was struggling with that myself. But it was fun to get a fly to land on one, and then skid it off, hoping something would take it (nothing did--that way). I do think there may be a lot of fish hiding under leave mats. I know at least one was hiding under one such mat--I spooked it just walking toward the creek and saw the vortex when it fled.
the blacknose dace--that really is pretty funny. It reminds me of some of the tiny bluegill I caught a few weeks back--the "three finger" (as in as long as three fingers are wide) sunfish took a midge, but another one in the 4-5 finger category took a fly that was much too big for its mouth--a little popper--the same exact one that caught the brook trout yesterday! ---> it's in "In the search for native brook trout"-->
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BWK9ajpOomg/WbGHHDNIqnI/AAAAAAAAELY/Fx_8P8dT97wau8ZDGUTqjsvdzAN238MFQCLcBGAs/s320/36614679460_203d363965_o.jpg
Thanks Gios!
DeleteA little popper eh? So I'm not the only maniac who fishes for brookies with a popper!
Haha nope, and hoppers, too. that's what I caught another trout on a few weeks earlier on the same stream :-)
Delete(Now I have to figure out how to tie those cricket like legs myself--so that I can stop spending $2.64 each or whatever it is for them).
I never even knew what a popper was until last year. Yes I was living under a rock. A traditional fly fishing rock. But now I'm an iconoclast.