I Miss Them!

One thing I miss most of all about the warmer days, something I haven't missed in years before this:
Cyprinus carpio, Common Carp.

It is true!
Why be upset about a goofy common mans fish when I could be out catching trout?
They are just fun! They are challenging to hook, they fight like a truck, and they have their own sort of beauty. I know for some carp are just not their cup of tea. And that is O.K. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. And perhaps there is something very wrong with those of us who chase the big one on a fly rod. It just seems like a bad idea until you try it. Heck, it still feels like a bad Idea. I've lost close to one hundred dollars worth of gear during fights with big carp: line (and I mean a whole damn fly line worth over $40), countless flies, leaders by the dozens, and even my first spinning rod.

But I just love catching them, or rather trying to catch them,
so here's to carp!

I'll meet you next year my scaly golden friends!

Brookies Like Pink

That's fairly well known. I do much better with pink worm flies then red or brown. So today when I went out into the snow to fish a mountain freestone I tied on a pink copper ribbed worm. It worked.

Thank god for Brookies. When it gets cold brown trout often eat less and less often, while Brookies eat the same amount if not more and as usual: almost all the time. The weather today was just a bit warmer them yesterday and it was still cloudy, but the small stream natives were ravenously feeding, at least on little pink worms.

I fished pocket water resulting in only one tiny Brooky. But I knew a pool upstream would be holding a lot of fish. It certainly was, and boy were they willing! I must say this is my favorite time of year for brooky colors, because as the spawning colors are fading into a beautiful pink on the bellies and fins, a soft color that I love to see on a fish that is beautiful all the time anyway. And in streams that lack tannin staining, some fish start to turn somewhat lighter in coloration.

Eventually I put a cast into the head of the pool. I watched as sizable fish materialized and chased down the fly it took but came off in the middle of the pool. Not to worry, this was a wild Brooky, not a picky Brown. He just felt a pain in his lip and been pulled a few feet downstream, but his instincts told him he must eat. So he did. I landed this gorgeous creature after a surprisingly long fight. And the pool was still good for another fish.

Downstream another pool, bellow the cool mist of a waterfall, gave up two amazing fish. the second took four times, starting ten feet away, and finally being hooked three feet in front of me. Amazing.

Experiences like this make up for the drudgery and frustration on trips like yesterdays. I'm so glad I went out today.

A Snowy Winter Solstice

The shortest day of the year, thank goodness in the months to come I will get more and more fishing time in the evenings. Unless it gets brutally cold. Which it undoubtedly will.

The Wrong Weather

Today was supposed to be partly cloudy, mid thirties.
Mother Nature said "Nope!!!"
I spent the day biking in a cold breeze, the temperature didn't get above freezing, and it sleeted. If you haven't biked in sleet, don't. Its painful.

Not only did the conditions make those many mile on the bike a pain, they prevented good fishing. There were fish in the stream. I saw them, including one whopper over twenty and some big ones that I will mention later.

The first stretch I fished is low gradient with fine gravel bottom and some plant life. It is almost spring creek like. I saw the occasional rise, and the above mention twenty plus among many eight to ten inch wild browns. I tried big nymphs, small nymphs, wets, and worm patterns. Nothing would budge.

So I went to try a section of this stream I had scoped out yesterday on a topographic map. I found something amazing:

This pool was one hundred yards long, up to fifteen feet deep, and in the depths I could see shadows. Huge shadow, with tails slowly moving with the current. Brown Trout. Enormous fish that would ignore every fly I had. I will be back to this spot, on a summers evening maybe, with big dry flies and streamers. If I'm lucky this spot will remain secret until then. I wandered upstream. There I discovered a gorgeous little tributary. I suspected it would hold Native Brook Trout. Sure enough it did, and I caught a tiny one on a Copper John. I know that there are bigger fish there too, and when weather permits I will catch some. 

On the way home I spotted one magnificent stream I also need to visit some time. It runs through a deep gorge. No doubt some gems are hiding in it's turbulent runs. 

Hopefully tomorrow's weather will be conducive to big Browns on my home river. 

Excessive Biking, and Maybe a Few Wild Browns

My plans for tomorrow are to bike about 40 miles in total to fish a wild brown trout stream that keeps defeating me. Oh, yeah, and I'll get a lot of exercise and keep warm in the cold but sunny conditions. I'll be up before the sun, and by seven thirty I hope to be on the water. If my luck with the big brownies doesn't hold out I plan to visit a few streams out that way that hold native brook trout. But I'd really love a nice eighteen-twenty inch Salmo trutta. 
What flies do I plan to use? Big nymphs, maybe small dries if there are risers, midges, or streamers. Wish me luck!