2nd day this year

This has been a tough year for fishing, well actually the fishing has been good but just not enough of it. I have only been out 3x this season and it is the end of May. One was in the prestocking season. One was on a spring creek with beautiful fish that were willing and eager. The most recent was a few weeks ago on an unnamed dried out piece of water. I just like these "drips", no one was there and if i found fish than great news, if not than cigars ho.

I hiked down into a micro box canyon down to the edge of the posted private water via a steep and difficult trail and by the time i had hiked (really slid) down to the water i had scared all the fish below the usual spot senceless. I hike back up to unmolested water, and took a brightly colored male in the first pool. He was full and firm with colors ablaze. I fished up to the next spot but there was no fish and so moved up to the best pool, the fish was there but i could not take him and did not want to risk a fly switch. I moved up to blank water and took the best female i have ever seen on this water 10" + and full bellied.
I fished and caught a few more but ended working my way up to the dam, where i have seen fish before, but never taken one. At the large rock just before the dam pool there was a fast current pushing along the bank and below the rock. Much further up this brook above the fish line is a very large bolder in the same pattern, that is the bank angles the water away and square into the rock creating a scour and then flowing down stream. I hit the bank hard, the fly stayed in the water and in the lane until it drifted out of sight on the far side under the rock. I knew to lift the rod and was fast to the best male 81/2 " this water would hold at this time of the year after a year of drout.

Ahhh satisfaction, i need to get out more...

Rich Guys

I love rich guys, well... not the ones who post their land, but those who live upstream from public water. This particular rich guy bought both sides of a well "known" Brook trout stream up north. He built out the dam at the tail of a pond that showed up on one of the older USGS maps. He stocked it with exotic fish (read extra large Browns, Bows and Graylings). The dam was going to be used to power his house, which was more reminiscent of a great camp or the ol' Faithful Inn, than any cabin built to date in this area. Well either the dam was not powerful enough, or it got blown out for some other reason (he did not like the color?). In any case when a dam gets blow out the fish tend to wander and in this case they wandered to public water just down stream.

I found myself in a place where 10" natives are a joy to find and more likely you work your way up stream fishing 6-9" natives that are both colorful and eager but not enough to break even the lightest of tippets. I tied on a #12 simulator vs. the usual #16 humpy for this water and hit the pocket water. You can't imagine the fun hauling out 18-19"+ fish from 2' deep pockets. These were fish you would only occasionally see on the lower and much more famous "4675".

After an almost comical series of hits including the trifecta (one of each - a Brookie, Bow and a Brown), I hit one pocket along a viscous micro chasm and knew that magic lay in there. The trick was to hit the top of the feed just below the cascade w/o falling in or getting knocked over by the force of the water. Well i did both and struck one of the best browns i will ever see. Unfortunately i do not plan ahead normally and in this case there was really no way to plan for this fish, so once hooked i figured to "just real him in". However life seldom works that way and i had not considered the difficulty of playing a fish like this in such small water (he was never meant to be in a little brook). After some careful play the fish "launched" up and over me (i am 6' tall) and down stream to the pool below. Well what ever solid footing i may have had was quickly lost, mostly from shock at the sight of this great brown rocketing over head (i know, i did not think browns jumped either). We both precipitated down a viscous stretch of rocks and landed in the great pool by the road. Once there I swear we just kind of looked at each other in disbelief but genuinely happy to be unhurt let alone alive. I tapedhim outto 22", slipped out the hook and slide him back into the water, knowing that i would never see a fish like this one in such small water again.             Good times, good times.

1st Pool

Most of us (the 3 other guys i talked to) consider the first pool to be the one shortly after the bridge pool. The bridge pool is really the first pool on the "455", and it's not more than 100 yards off the main road. But i have never had a rise, or seen a flash, nor has anyone moved a fish in the bridge pool (if there even are any???) so we do not consider it the 1st pool.

After crossing the bridge, the trail winds up away from the stream and the next one which is beyond view, is the one we call it the 1st pool. In this pool you can plainly see the fish. Most of my prior experience yielded a big -O- on this pool, but after careful study (less fishing more observing and reading the water) I could make out the flow line and a deep pocket channel that runs directly under the overhanging branch against the far wall. This pool is a nightmare as the angle of the tail shoots the water away from the wall and makes it difficult to sneak up on the residents. Stealth while required on any small stream is especially so required on this 1st pool due to the likely activity is sees, these are at least college educated trout.

The trick is to carefully fish the pocket water below the tail and release the 2 or 3 fish (depending on water levels) below your wading position vs. scare them up into the pool, which spooks the entire pool. Then crawl to the rocks nearest to the tail (this is just painful). You can not start your cast early as evidenced by the tangle of flies caught in the branches which overhang the channel. Clearly others had found this line, but not solved the casting puzzle. In fact if i don't mind a bit of a swim i can usually pick up 2 or 3 files on the cheap.

So the question is how to lay one in with out loosing it? The answer is to get close and low with a good sidearm false cast to the wall (it is ok to hit the actual wall as flies don't generally stick to a mud / dirt wall). The back side is well short of the branch, then false cast back and to the to of the lip of the pool toward the wall side. This method has the added benefit of the line flashing behind the fish so as not to spook them. The current will carry the fly into the line above the channel and directly over the fish. Once there the fish will or won't take your fly depending on your selection and their mood. This pool isso deep that one can regularly catch a 10 or 11" brookie from it.If your there in thefall you get the added bonus of full spawning color and all the life energy one could ever hope for.

All this means that you will spend about 25 minutes or more gaining your position (moving forward all of about 20 feet) and will then quickly take 2 or 3 fish (at most) from the pool, vs spending 5 minutes getting into position and 2 hours wiping the water senselessly without  rise or success. It has been very hard for me to slow down the process, to think vs fish, to watch vs do, but the end result has been less time casting in frustration and more time in an elegant dance with some of the most beautiful creatures around.