Foliage, Beaver Ponds, and Brook Trout

Fall in New England is a special time. It's easy enough to forget that if you've lived here for a long time. It's just so quick it can slide by before you know it. It's important to take every moment given to soak in the glory, and that does go for every season, not just fall. 

Fall Foliage

I often try to cram as much into the day as I can this time of year. Comfortable weather to be outdoors in is limited. I'll fish for a half dozen different species, hike or bike a few miles to get to an overlook, and look for herps in the same day sometimes. A few days ago I went to visit a stream I hadn't fished in more than a year, one beavers took over a while ago. I was worried for a long time they'd pose a threat to the resident brook trout, but that proved to be a faulty assumption. Sure, the big open ponds that beavers create can indeed warm a stream's waters enough to make them inhospitable to char. But that isn't always the case. Beavers and brook trout have coexisted in southern New England for millennia. I've found that more often than not, beavers and brook trout get along without too much conflict. Here's an example: a wild brookie from a CT beaver pond, on of a dozen I caught this lovely October day. A Picket Pin, stripped along just under the surface, resulted in numerous violent strikes. That fly rarely disappoints.

Funny enough, it was the ponds that produced the most fish. I caught only two in the stream itself this time. I'd have thought more fish would be staging to spawn in the creek, but it is still early. Some fish are on redds in a few places, but most haven't yet started their dance.

I should point out though that despite many of the streams I fish that beavers live on and have built a number of dams on have brook trout, finding brook trout in a beaver pond in CT is atypical. It is far more common in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. I tried for a number of years to find beaver pond brookies in CT before I found some, actually just a few ridges over from this stream.

Until next time.

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

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