This has been the year of the small stream monsters for me. I've caught more wild trout between 14 and 22 inches from small CT freestone streams this year than any prior year. Two wetter than average years in a row resulted in ideal conditions for some of the older fish in the streams to grow more rapidly than normal. That, combined with a number of discoveries I made, lead to me getting onto lots of exceptional small stream browns and some excellent brookies as well. And although we transitioned into a bit of a drought this fall, some windows have opened after the passage of storms that have produced more excellent fish. On one recent outing I had wanted to fish a much bigger stream that I haven't been able to since spring, but found it much too high and a torrent of leaves and debris. My plan B was good one, but the day wasn't done throwing punches. The prior evening I'd been mousing for wild brook trout and whacked the tip of my 5wt, the only rod I was carrying, against the top of a culvert while attempting to cast under it. It didn't break then, it broke while I was rigging up. I popped off the last inch and a quarter of the tip. Without a back up rod, and being many miles from home, this might convince someone else to call it a day. I'm not one to let that kind of thing stop me though. I spliced the tip with gorilla tape and continued with what I had intended. And I got a gorgeous some-teen inch wild brown within the first ten minutes.
Confidence bolstered I continued fishing with no more major mishaps or slowdowns. The conditions were ideal for streamer fishing, and I never had to change off of the white marabou muddler style streamer I started out with.
It wasn't much more than an hour into the outing that I found the biggest of the day, a drop dead gorgeous female who had clearly made it away from a close encounter with a large bird of prey. She was a gem, another real small water monster. Fish like this don't come easy in CT. It takes work to find them and almost as much to know how to approach, fool, and land them. I've said it before and I will say it again: there is no shortcut. Hard work, lots of time on the water, and good mentors are priceless.
A little ways upstream I encountered another healthy female specimen. This fish wasn't nearly as long but had girth to compensate. I'm aure she's just chock full of eggs.
Though I didn't get another fish over a foot long, I hooked a couple, and some of the fish I didn't lose made up for size with uniqueness. Check out this hunchback beauty.
And the fiery adipose on this lean and mean hen.
That wild trout can make it in these sort of small urban and suburban streams no longer surprises me like it does some people, but it will never stop impressing me. No, nature didn't intend there to be brown trout here. We put them here, and now we unintentionally compromise the places we put them. In spite of that, they power through it. These fish are tougher than we are often led to believe. That isn't an excuse to continue damaging the streams they live in, that needs to stop. But it's good to know they, as well as many other non-native and native species alike can take a beating and persevere.
Until next time.
Fish for the love of fish.
Fish for the love of places fish live.
Fish for you.
Thank you to my Patrons; Erin, David, john, Elizabeth, Chris, Brandon, and Christopher, for supporting this blog on Patreon.
It's a beautiful thing, it really is. These fish, these streams, the recovery of trout habitat after a very rough 19th century. That we have browns and char both, finding their niches and thriving hidden in plain sight. That stocked trout and wild trout both find a place, that we can have so many fishermen and still see wild fish in small streams thriving, these are all the sort of good news that we sorely need to hear once in a while. Like you reiterate though, it can slip away very quickly if we don't mind the store.
ReplyDeleteStocked trout and wild trout both finding a place... stocked trout end up in water they have no place in, that being, in my opinion, any water at all. Maybe public pools or impermanent ponds? But ideally I'd like to see the stocking of non-native hatchery species cease entirely locally in my lifetime.
DeleteI agree with you in principal. I wonder about the social aspects of "trout fishing" (in a way, the stocking has created unreasonable expectations...)
DeleteHumans have a way of moving fish all over the planet and good or bad these fish find a way to adapt. Catching these beauties made for a great day. That water is a dream environment.
ReplyDeleteTie, fish, write, conserve and photo on...
Organisms can't adapt that quickly, if there isn't a niche for a species to exploit it won't take hold.
DeleteThe fish you catch never cease to amaze me, RM. I love reading about the fish you catch in places that most would overlook. Reading yours and Alan's blog sites has changed the way I look at trout fishing and where they might be living. You're right, time on the water can't be replaced. One has to spend the time to get the education.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sam
Meant to mention, while fishing briefly after work last night, hate these short days, I heard a tremendous commotion from a large trout rounding up something for a meal. The first splash occurred in shallow water next to a bank, the splashing and commotion continued for a couple of minutes but in more deeper water as time went on until it finally stopped. I had no hits last night, but it was very worthwhile to see that action. I always had a feeling a big one lived in that particular zone.
ReplyDeleteProbably ate a mink, haha. (I wonder if *that* has ever happened? Probably..)
DeleteThis time of year I wouldn't be so quick to assume such a commotion would be a fish attempting to capture a meal. It's spawning time, and a large trout chasing off a competitor will make a ruckus.
DeleteEither way, it was a hell of a trout. A perfect zone for it to live in. What makes me think it was capturing something is the fact the ruckus still kept taking place as it made its way down into the deeper pocket downstream of where it started. Who knows? But a great sight to see take place as darkness fell.
DeleteTo what extent do you think this particular stream has such good wild trout and other wild fish is because while it is urban, it is on the edge of the urban area, lots of trees due to the circumstances of what is around it and most of its upstream drainage is more exurban and rural?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to me in particular because I actually "blue lined" that one in 2017 but never got up to it until we fished it together. At that time I wasn't sure I was thinking of the same stream but I see on google that indeed it was one of the top prospects--just a lucky guess effectively. Emphasis on the word "guess." Heck I might be completely mistaken!
I think I know that straight section--if its the same part I fished 10 days ago--it was so low then! Looks much higher now.
Yeah... this isn't the stream you think it is. The headwaters of the stream these fish came from are more boxed in by development than most stretches of the stream you are thinking of. It's all in the quality of the aquifer. I can name streams with a single house in sight for most of their lengths that don't hold wild trout any more because the aquifers they derived from couldn't take the strain of well pull from rural homes and small developments.
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