Rambling - On Keeping Fish

A few weeks ago we hit a local pond, and the kids caught a mess of pumpkinseeds and blue gills - it was great fun.  Emily was a slayer - though they were all released :)

The other night I got out when everyone went down, and hit a local stream - it was great... And all the fish were released.

 Saturday we managed to hit the fishing derby at the gun club in my home town.  I've been hoping to get there and finally was able!  It's silly.  The pond is maybe 1.5-2 acres and they stock it very well.  The 5 and under kid's start first and get an hour.  Emily hooked but then lost a fish, and Will landed his first trout with Mom's help.  A chunky 13" rainbow.  Pride does not quite describe what he expressed with his catch.

Of primary concern for him... Eating the fish!  I think he would have done it right there if he'd had the choice.  Instead we brought it home, filleted it and cooked it in butter.  It's been YEARS since I caught and kept a trout... so even though I knew it was ok, it felt a little weird sinking a knife into this fish.

But it got me thinking - kids always want to keep fish.  All of them.  Some where that changes.  And those who love to fish, tend to shift towards catch and release.  But man, kids love to eat what they catch.

I think it's primal.  It's just a basic human need - "Me catch food, me eat food" to channel my inner cave man.

It's not until some level of greater awareness is found that we realize we dont need to, nor should we keep everything.

That said, the pendulum likely swings to far at times.  I see people freaking out (sort of) in blogs or forums related to fishing as if keeping any fish is akin to dropping chemicals in the water.  Number one, if you are helping a kid find fishing - whatever.  Allow them to experience it in whatever way gets them to love it!  If you are a grown up and want to keep a fish or two now and then to eat, cool, rock on.  Hard for a hunter like me to "cast stones" at anyone for keeping a fish.  Heck, my dinner last night was wild turkey I shot yesterday morning.  Doesn't get healthier than a big plate of veggies and wild game (or fish)!

That said,  there are very concrete limitations on game harvest, and a significantly greater landscape for game to roam to avoid you as you hunt.

Trout in a stream.  Even in a smallish pond.  Much less space to avoid you.  Much less of an ability to evade capture.

So, stocked trout, cool, keep a few now and then for a nice meal.

But wild trout, something that's just scraping by in many places.  Lets protect them.  They are not as adaptable as say panfish or bass or bull heads.  Those other fish dont have to fight against stocked fish who compete directly for space and resources.

Now, that said, stocked fish are fish too.  We all have a lot of fun chasing and catching them.  Lets all help to push out those who choose to keep multiple times their limit or keep fish with no desire to eat them.  Ill never forget, when I was a teen, and a guy held up a stringer of trout - probably 5-6 gorgeous fish - so he was done or close to it for that stream.  One brookie had to be 18" (stocked - all of these fish were stocked) and he asked if I wanted them because he was going to have them in his car while he was at work and they wouldnt be good any longer.

Even as a kid I could see the insanity of that situation.

Sometimes... Limits are not there for reaching.

Enjoy the amazing resource we all have and can experience.  Treat it like family.  Treat it like you hope to be treated by others.  Fairly, kindly, and with compassion.

A PR & Interesting Info for the Brookie Inclined

As is often the case for me, I hoped across the street today at lunch time for a little fishing fix with the 2 weight in hand.  Lucky for me, because I caught a few real corkers for this little stream.  One was 10 inches or a bit over, which may be my best on this water.  Certainly my best in a couple years... luckily, the fish posed for a nice looking in water photo, and a nice shot above deck as well...

Weirdly, the flow was not what I would have figured.  We have had a lot of rain of late, and I was real surprised to see the water only at adequate levels.  Must be the rapidly blooming greenup resulting in more water being taken up by plants before running into the streams.  

Now, if you want to learn some awesome ideas about finding brook trout, wild brook trout, check out the Trout Stream Day Dreams blog.  Coleman over there has some great adventures in the midwest and hear in MA and New England.  But better, he's done an amazing job of laying down some great info on how to find excellent trout water.  Check out his blog and poke around - information about how geology and hydrology impact fish and insect populations, and how you can use government sources to find out about your area or areas near you.

Most of my stream finding is old fashioned.  It may have been the result of word of mouth - someone mentioning they or someone they knew used to catch wild trout in X Y or Z area.  Or my curious nature and enjoyment of exploring the forests near my home.  You start exploring and finding good water, and suddenly you start understanding how to find it in new areas.  You apply heuristic decision making strategies - given you cant know all there is to know about an area - and you determine how certain areas may workout... Often just by looking at a map or driving and then hiking or biking through the area.

Weird observations start to come to you.  For example, I used to think sandy areas would drain quickly... but I've found consistently over the years that there is often lots of sand (sand pit's even) near areas where good trout streams flowed.  I've learned that those sandy areas often have better than average ground water flows and thus help keep streams flowing nicely and cooler than other near by streams.  I figured that out by osmosis, but with the technology today, you can reach those conclusions about given areas much easier.

Likewise, I've found clusters of streams often occur.  For example, on one ridge within a couple miles of my house, there are 4-5 named streams which start their flow.  Each seep out of the same hill side over about a half mile section.  Among local wild brookie fishermen, one is "famous" as much as a brookie stream can be, another is known by a few but hard to fish given much of it's run is private land or literally through factories - that's the stream which flow's through a landlocked (by private property) bit of state land into a larger local river - and across the street from my house.  It's where I caught the fish pictured above.  A few others flow within a quarter mile of the stream by my house - one right through the center of the 36,000 person city I live in.  Each of these is listed as having cold water fluvial fish.  A couple have not shown brookies via electroshocking, and I've not caught them either... But Ill keep trying... 

That will be my last point.  If you know a stream has wild trout, check out everything near by.  There's a stream in my home town, which has a few wild trout streams - fueled by cold seeps along their routes and interestingly, beaver swamps with massive floating grass mats which act like insulation for acres of water which sits under those mats, dark and cool even on the hottest days.  One stream, supposedly showed no brookies when electroshocked several years ago... I'm not going to say it's a favorite of mine for the catching... but it is for the beauty, and you know what, sometimes I catch a brookie or two in the awesome pools and runs along it's length.  If a stream enters a another system you know has wild fish - check it out, more than once.  Dont give up because you dont catch fish the first time or second.  Very often, they are there, just in small numbers.  You may have a super peaceful, beautiful and rewarding bit of water that NO ONE will share with you.

So, check out Coleman's blog, use the amazing info he lays out there to find likely spots near you, and now, get out and wear out the boot leather checking out streams.

Just do me one favor, if you are going to keep trout for the table, please keep stocked fish vs wild ones.  At the risk of sounding obnoxious, I'd like my 4 year olds to have a shot a wild trout here in MA as the grow.  The state here does an amazing job providing fish via stocking.  If you are going to keep fish, keep those.  Let the wild fish go.

Enjoy the woods and waters

Will

Awesome interview with MDFW regarding trout in MA

I found the following on Trout Stream Day Dreams, where Coleman over there had discovered this interview with MDFW regarding trout in MA via another blog, Talkin Trout.

https://soundcloud.com/user-441315023/tlking-trout-interview
Even if you are not from MA, it's worth checking out.


Will

Some random pic's

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

Fun little ride

Got a mountain bike ride in yesterday.  Whenever I cross this little stream I always look to see if I see any fish.  The "pool" under the bridge often seems to hold a few 2-3" long brookies.  It's an amazing thing.  The stream runs all year - even when super dry - due to springs along it's route and good groundwater perking up through the sandy substrate in the area.  it's got good shade in many areas via hemlocks or heavy forest cover.  All of that screams brookies... But it's size is teeny.  It's maybe 4 feet wide in the riffle  in the center of the top pic.  The pools are at most a foot deep - during run off!  

But yesterday, I stopped and watched the biggest brookie I've ever seen in this stream - probably a 6" fish - ding a few caddis that were flitting about.  A second fish in the 4" range was about as well.

I may have to pack a rod on one of my rides this spring...

The middle section

Nice lunch time trek to what I think of as the "middle section" of a local stream.  it's got lots of hemlock, though mixes with laurels and oak forest along it's banks as well.  It's a stout gradient overall, surprisingly cool water even in August, and the clarity would make gin look dirty!  Ah, I shouldn't talk that way, I'm not a drinker, have never even had gin... So I'm going solely on the way it looks on TV or on shelves!

Point being, this stream is a pleasure to fish.  The coolest thing is that it's probably only 3-4 miles from another wild brookie stream which is much more sandy and much more pressured by fly, lure and bait guys.  Why people have not found this one, I dont know... I only know one other guy who fishes it, or has even considered it - Hi Coleman!

Any way, I usually fish where it crosses a road up as far as I have time to explore.  Sometimes I fish this middle section - basically below the road.  I really need to do it more, it's an amazing stretch of stream and the number of fish I clumsily spooked on my hurried trek down stream so I could dry fly my way back up was amazing in the clear pools.  I'm sure a more cautious approach, or, if I'd swung wet's on the way down I'd have caught a lot more fish.

In the end, I got maybe 6 on an orange dry with a deer hair wing.  I noticed it on the Small Stream Reflections blog - snuggly in BrkTrt's fly keeper prior to fishing one day... Given the experience he has, I did my best to replicate that fly, and I think my last 8-10 small stream fish have been on that fly!  Thanks BrkTrt!

The fish above came just the left of the main current on the left side of that boulder.  The fish struck on 2 casts in a row.  The first it flipped out of the water like a small mouth missing a popper.  the next drift it ate the fly and came to hand.

 This fish did a cool "levitation" thing.  It shot up from the bottom, and hovered for a second below the fly in the current right in front of the root ball on the far bank below.  I could see the fish perfectly for about a half second before it took the fly.  Wish I'd got a picture of that!

Got a couple in this nice run, from mid way up to the head.  Most of the fish today were mid run or at the head... didnt get a strike in a riffle  or at the tail of a pool or run.

This guy and his twin came out of the last spot - where the stream crosses the road.  it's a really great pool with maybe 3-4 feet of water and some great rock's to hide around for the fish.  I spooked a few at the front of the pool, but where it went under the road, the fish found refuge and I have no doubt that if I'd stuck round I'd have caught more.  Pretty amber tinted fish I thought!

Have a super day

Will

Fish looking up

Quick update.  Got out and fished a bit this afternoon after lunch.  The stream was flowing well but super clear.  The first nice pool I blew.  Spooked a nice fish I'd spotted with a poor cast, then missed several fish before finally landing one.  To quick on the draw.  The pick below was the 7" fish that I managed to land.

I like this pic, the water is so clear, that if you look fast it appears I'm just holding the fish in the air.  I'm not, you can see the water at his pectoral fins!  Amazing clarity.

The sad part is that one fish I missed had a really big head, I'd bet it pushed a foot.  That would have been an amazing fish on this stream.  Oh well, next time mr/mrs fish!

I fished up the stream with a bomber or stimi and then fished down with a Dark Eidson Tiger.  My missed fish string continued with a few misses, then a solid 10~ incher that I got in my hand but which wobbled away prior to getting it's photo taken.  Finally this pretty fish - with an almost surprising sparsity of red dots came to hand.

Despite my rust showing, it was a really good hour or so on the stream, and a great sign of what's to come with the warm weather expected this weekend.

There was a solid string of caddis flittering about, and some solid size 14~ may fly's around - I couldn't catch one of the mayflies for an ID - but it's good to see them!

Be well
Will