I was bummed to see that some cool pic's from a teeny stream I fished Saturday for some reason were not saved... that's just a factor of getting used to my new phone. it's nice, the camera seems nicer, but I'm working out the kinks.
Today I fished a small local stream at lunch. The fish were biting well, but, man... I was rusty, my hooks were dull, or I just had one of those days - I probably hooked 6-7 fish, some teeny (3"~) some pretty stout (8"+) which is nice for a stream that's quite small... But the picture god's laughed. The first fish I got in my hand, but trying to get the camera, he fell in the water and swam off. The next few I just missed. Then a nice one I was trying to get an "in the water" pic and he got off before I could do it. On the way back down stream many hit the micro bugger and all got off before I could get them to hand. Oh well - fun regardless.
Here's a few pic's I did get from recent outings or other fun times...
Will watering his mom's flowers. I was watering the new grass I planted and he LOVES the hose, so he wanted to do some watering as well. Good way to get back into being home after school!
Saw this today. The ring around that blue spot is a SHOE! This is in a spot that would not be fun to walk out barefoot - lots of thorns. Weird. But an interesting find for sure!
Took this pic after he "flipped off", but the first fish today, a spunky 6-8 incher I couldnt get a grip on to get a pic of, was living under that log. I took the pic after he swam off. He took the fly just in front of the green grass at left center. Like I said... it's a small stream :).
Best part - I got the solitude I wanted, and there were all kinds of people fishing the "stocked" water a quarter mile down in another stream, or in the reservoir down the way. Good deal - keep fishing those spots people :)
Biggest fish took in that slot of calm water in the right third of the pic, he got off before I could do the "in the water" photo. Oh well. Does that plunge SCREAM brookie or what?!
Keep well
Will
Making me jealous! I had a very large brookie move towards my fly in that plunge back in December... As you move up through the hemlock ravine there's a few more similar pools.
ReplyDeleteThe section around the next road crossing was fishing well back in March. Worth taking a look if you're in the area again.
Coleman - That hemlock ravine is full of nice little pockets and holes eh? For a stream this size, the size of the fish impresses me... the color too - sort of pale but vibrant if that makes sense. I've never gone above that road crossing... I know where Ill go next time out now though :)
DeleteHave a super day
Will
Definitely one of the best streams in the area for size and numbers. There's a band of relatively alkaline bedrock that passes over this stream, as well as a couple of the others we both fish, and my theory is that makes for better insect populations and therefore bigger fish.
DeleteI first explored this one because it had a surprisingly large number of brook trout in the survey for the Water Quality Assessment - turned out to be a good idea.
Looking forward to seeing how you do next time. Hope the camera cooperates!
Coleman - Camera was fine - pilot error is the problem :)
DeleteInteresting on the bedrock. It also has a nice strong aquifer further up - above the road crossing you are noting, and again down low closer to it's termination point. Must help it stay cooler to boot.
I had not noticed that in the WQA, but, a friend of ours that works for MDFW and I were talking about wild brookie streams and he mentioned it was one of the best around based on the sampling they had done.
Have you seen many people fishing it? It feels like a spot that's totally bypassed by all the folks fishing the more well known waters near by. Thats ok by me :)
There's a stream I like 3 towns west and slightly north of there, it's a hair bigger stream, but has a few pools like the one you had that nice brookie inspect your fly last winter. Pic's in a post from early March - check those out if you get a chance to see if you have fished that one.
Never seen anyone else fishing it, nor any sign of it. One time a cop showed up at the next road crossing and talked to me for a little. It's a dead end so I think someone called him because they didn't think I could really be fishing that stream. He seemed surprised that there were fish there and told me there's much bigger fish in the reservoir...so people definitely skip it for the well-known waters.
DeleteThe WQA definitely confirms the water temps as well - they have a max summer temp of 21 C down, which is pretty good.
Never been to the stream to the west. That part of MA is an awkward location for me to get to - it takes almost as long as getting out to streams in the CT River valley, so if I'm going to drive that far I usually go all the way out west.
True - that other area is a tough one to access - sort of a "cant get there from here" area. Interesting on the temps - that's a real bonus. That was my guess on other fishermen... The police man just needs to learn that it's not about the size of the fish :)
DeleteKeep well!
Will
A question just came to mind - how does your friend at the MDFW feel about releasing survey data? Most of the data in the WQAs is incomplete and/or 10+ years old, but looking at their website it appears that they still do surveys.
DeleteGiven that they're a public agency, I think they would have to release them if I made a public records request, but I'd rather not do that if I could just ask them directly.
At the same time I could see them being hesitant to release that data to anglers. Any thoughts?
Wonderful photos Will.
ReplyDeleteThose instream shots of brook trout are beautiful.