That first morning where you drove from high-water stream to high-water stream would have been a nightmare start for me. I probably would have just turned around and gone home, not wanting to risk my skunkless streak.

I'm glad we got all of the rain we've gotten in the last week or so. Streams were getting really low for early May. Now they are just starting to settle down again. There is heavy rain expected again this week though.

I'm starting to think this year might be a "system-reset" year. Sure, I've had some really good outings and expect to have more, but the consistency just isn't there yet. One thing that concerns me is that I fished about a mile and a half of a stream that usually yields copious numbers of fingerling wild brown a couple weeks ago with an unusual lack of success. I fished 3.25 hours that morning under ideal conditions and caught exactly three wild browns, none of which were little ones. I did not even SEE one little wild brown that morning.

 

I considered going home. If the streams I ended up fishing had been roaring or muddy, I would have. Like you, I want to keep my trout skunkless streak going.

I hope that it's a reset year. The past two years have been tough on many trout streams in the state.

Your experience on the stream that usually has lots of little browns is cause for concern. Hopefully it rebounds over the next couple of years.

 

High Water Fishing
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On Wednesday, I headed to a small freestoner that I hadn’t fished in 3 years. Due to extremely high water, I never took my rod out of the car. I drove to several other streams, all except one were high and muddy, so I ended up not fishing at all that day.

I contemplated going to a stream that I didn’t get to fish at all last year. The water was at a decent level, so I knew being a Saturday that it would get unmercifully pounded, so I returned to the freestoner not fished on Wednesday. It was much lower than before, but was still high. My inclination was to bypass it again and return next week, but decided to try it.

It wasn’t a good decision. The current was fast and fishing was very difficult. I landed a mere 12 trout in four hours fished. Seven were native brooks and the other five were wild browns. The largest trout there was a 10 inch brown. The native brooks ranged from 4 to 8 ½ inches. As is often the case, I should have left long before I did. The water temperature was 56 degrees.

The next stop was a stream that I rarely fish. The action there was better, but sporadic. 11 wild browns were landed and five others got off in two hours. The largest brown was a 14 inch beauty. Unfortunately, an even larger brown was one of the escapees.🙁

The tally for the day was 23 trout. 16 were wild browns with the remaining 7 being native brooks. All were caught on spinners. There were quite a few turkey hunters at the first stream.

I hope the rain holds off for a while to give streams a chance to drop.

 

Fishing in the Rain
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I’ve been itching to fish one particular stream for over a year, but the timing has not been right. Last year it was either too low or on rare occasions, too high. I considered going there last Saturday, but knew there would be an onslaught of anglers, so I went elsewhere. This time the forecast looked favorable to go there on Friday, but as often happens, the rain that was predicted was less than forecast, so I knew Friday was out. But yesterday, I woke up early and saw that the water level looked favorable, but waited to see if the forecasted heavy rain arrived. It didn’t, so I headed out, despite very cool temperatures. I decided against taking my bike.

Fighting through the brush to get to the stream, I wondered how many fawns were hidden in the tall grass of the field crossed. It took a little under ten minutes to catch my first trout, a 9 inch wild brown. The obligatory water temperature check showed an unseasonably cold 54 degree water temperature. Next came a 10 incher, followed by an 8 ½ incher on the next cast. The action slowed down, but I picked up a trout here and there for the remainder of the first angling hour. The hour concluded with my 10th trout, a triple jumping 11 inch brown.

About five minutes into the second hour, another three bounding 11 incher was released. The action was slower in the second hour, with 7 trout, but it could be described as leap hour. Five of the seven trout landed took to the air, with a gorgeous quadruple jumping 10 incher being the highlight. Three other trout gained their freedom in mid-air. It started to drizzle, then picked up, forcing me to put on my rain jacket.

Hour number three started decently, with three trout in the first half hour, but none for the remainder of the hour. I suspected that someone had moved in ahead of me. The remainder of the time in that area only yielded three more trout, so I trudged back to my vehicle to head to another section. The largest was a 12 inch brown.

The question was, which section to go to? After looking at the stream upstream from where I’d been fishing, I decided to head downstream to an area where the stream was a little wider. It was raining a little harder, but not enough to make me quit. After plying two excellent looking spots and getting nothing, three trout came to hand in five casts, browns between 8 and 9 ½ inches. The remainder of the angling hour produced four more trout, with the largest at 10 ½ inches.

The next hour was leaping hour, the sequel. Six of the nine trout landed cleared the water at least once. Again, the biggest trout of the hour was 10 ½ inches. Seven more trout were added to my tally as I neared a tributary, which I tried for 15 minutes and caught only an 8 inch brown. There were fresh boot prints there, so I headed back to the mainstem.

The channel had changed from the last time there. I picked up two more trout before hitting a deep water section. In the past, I’d done particularly well in a short section up to a small bridge, which unfortunately is posted above the bridge. Four more trout, between 6 and 11 inches, were released. I expected fast action in the area ahead, but spotted one of those vile yellow signs on the left bank. There was nothing to do but turnaround and wade out.

As I walked back to my vehicle, I considered heading to another section, but being cold and wet, decided to end the day. The water temperature started at 54 and only reached 56. The cold overnight air temperatures did not help. Despite the cold water temperatures, I landed 53 wild browns. All but one hit spinners. A stunning 33 of the 53 caught cleared the water at least once. The largest trout was 12 inches. I walked 5.3 miles and saw ten deer during the day.

 

Enjoyed that read Andy. Im glad you finally got to hit that creek!

 

Thanks Zak! Would like to fish it when the WT is a bit warmer!

 

What is your ideal WT for trout fishing a stream?

 

Sunday Fishing
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Yesterday I had the urge to fish, but many streams are still very high. I decided to return to a stream that I’d fished earlier in the month. A friend had fished there a few days before. My hope was that the heavy rain had “reset” the stream, but my expectations were low. I also wanted to check out more of the water there that I’d never fished before.

I stashed my bike in the woods and locked it to a fallen tree, then drove to my starting point. The air temperature was only 46 degrees. A trout hit soon after starting but I missed the strike. The action was even slower than anticipated, as it took a little over ½ hour before landing my first trout, a 7 ½ inch wild brown. Only two more trout were released the first hour, an 8 ½ incher and a feisty, double jumping 6 incher. The opening water temperature was only 52 degrees.

A few trout followed without hitting before one hit, leaped clear of the water, and threw the spinner. A short time later, a 9 incher came in. About 15 minutes later, browns of 10 and 10 ¼ inches were caught on back to back casts. Maybe that was a sign that the action was going to pick up? No such luck. Only one more trout came to hand in the rest of the angling hour, a 7 incher.

The trout were more responsive in the next hour. It started with browns of 10 ½, 8 ½ and 9 ½ inches. Two trout hit and got off before three more trout (8 ½, 8, and 8 ½ inches) were added. While wading upstream, a fawn bolted from the high grass on the bank. It’s the first fawn I’ve seen this season, which is always a high point. The hour closed with browns of 7 ½, 8, and a double jumping 10 incher. The nine trout caught in the third hour was more than the first two hours combined.

A doe bolted across the stream to start angling hour #4. The trout catching improved, with 11 trout landed. They ranged from 7 ½ inches to a beautiful 12 ¾ incher, which was the last trout of the hour. I took the water temperature again, which was 56 degrees.

I reached the area where my bike was half hour into the next angling hour. Browns of 9 ½, 9, 7 ½, and 10 inches were released during that time. I saw another doe and heard one snorting, so I’m sure it had a fawn or two nearby. I rode back to my vehicle, loaded it onto the rack and drove around looking for another section to fish. Unfortunately, almost all the places were marked with no trespassing signs, purple paint, or both.😡. One place that I could fish had no place to safely park my car. Finally, I tried one section for 30 minutes, but only caught two trout, a twice bounding 9 incher and an 11 incher. I headed back to my vehicle and drove to a stream that is close to where I used to live.

It took about ½ hour to get there and about 15 minutes to walk in. My second cast was intercepted by a 10 inch smallmouth bass, the first bass of the season for me. A little while later, a 10 ½ inch wild brown came to hand. That was followed by a little bass, then a 7 inch brown. Further upstream, another little bass was released. Another 7 inch brown followed. I wondered if the bass-trout catching pattern would continue. A 6 ½ inch brown broke the sequence. The water temperature was 63 degrees, which wasn’t surprising, as that stream warms rather quickly. Three more browns between 7 ½ and 9 inches were added to my tally before I walked back to my car and drove to another section.

The action there opened with an 8 inch brown. A cast to a deep spot along the bank elicited a strike on the drop from a 13 ¾ inch brown, the largest of the day. A nice brown rolled out from heavy cover to strike, but I whiffed on the hookset. Browns of 8 and 9 inches concluded the day.

The tally for the day was 44 trout, all wild browns, 3 bass, and all on spinners. I tried a small plug briefly, with not even a sniff from a trout. Only two trout topped 12 inches. 13 of the trout cleared the water at least once. I walked 6.7 miles.

 

Fishing a Fun Freestoner
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Yesterday I ventured to a beautiful freestone stream that until recently has been too high to fish. I brought my bike there for the first time. It took some time to find a place to put it where it was largely hidden from view. Last year I went to the same stream, but left for another stream after an hour due to no action. That would not be the case this time.

It took awhile before I caught my first trout, but it was a stunningly beautiful 15 inch wild brown with vivid red spots. Though I’ve caught big trout in that stream previously, my feeling was that this was going to be the largest trout of the day. After releasing the trout, it was time to take the water temperature. It was (I can’t fish) 55! My guess is that some readers of this thread will be too young to get the musical reference.

The next trout was a 9 ½ inch brown which cleared the water twice. Minutes later, a trout hit and got off. There would be plenty more of those throughout the day. Browns of 6 ½, 8, 9 ½, 11, and 5 ½ inches rounded out the hour.

The action slowed the next hour for some reason. Only four trout came to my feet. They ranged from 6 to 11 inches. Two of the four hit plugs. Unfortunately, I discovered that my net was missing. The attachment broke, so I’ll need to get another one.

The stream is very scenic, so I made sure to take some photos. The trout catching rebounded in the third hour, with 9 trout caught. The size ranged from 8 to 11 inches. One 9 ½ incher was a leaping fool, with 5 jumps! An additional five trout hit and got off.

Hour number four commenced with three straight get offs. One of the trout that got off looked to be in the 13-14 inch range. Ten trout were released during the hour. They ranged from 7 to 10 inches. I missed several strikes as well.

The next hour was déjà vu for losing trout. At least six hit and got off, the same number that were landed. The largest trout of the hour was a chunky 12 ¾ inch brown. It started to sprinkle on and off, though never hard enough to make me put on my rain jacket. Two deer crossed the path in front of me. As I approached a bush along the bank, it moved. It’s possible there was a fawn concealed there.

Next came the most productive hour of the day, with 13 trout. Quite a few others followed without hitting. Four trout threw the spinner in the air. The largest trout of the hour was 12 inches. The last section was very difficult to fish with lots of downed trees. I hoped to get a large trout before the end of the day to no avail. Thirteen more trout were added to my tally to finish the day with 60 wild browns. I felt that between the trout missed and lost that I could have easily have caught 80 trout, but it was nice to have good action.

I made the half mile walk to where my bike was stashed. I was interested to see how long the ride back to my vehicle would take, as it normally takes 45 minutes to an hour to walk back. The ride back took a mere 7 minutes, so it was definitely worth bringing the bike, though going down the steep hill was a little hairy at times with cars coming the other way. I ended up walking 4.3 miles and saw 7 deer and a turkey.

 

Nice stream photos! Beautiful wild brown!

 

Thanks Frank!

 

Last Outing of the Month
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I was looking forward to fishing a particular stream for a long time. It is one of the most beautiful streams in the state and has gorgeous native brook trout and wild browns. Unfortunately, it was far lower than expected and the action was so poor that I left after only an hour. I managed to catch only one 6 ½ inch wild brown there. One other slipped the hook. Though the water was low, there are spots there that almost always produce a trout or two, and didn’t grant so much as a follow. The water temperature was only 52, but I’ve had some excellent days there with the WT in the low 50s.

At any rate, I walked out to my vehicle, went to pick up my bike, and headed to another stream. My hope was to catch a decent number of trout and maybe catch a big trout. I haven’t caught a trout over 16 inches since my first outing of the month. Unfortunately, the bright sunshine made getting a large trout unlikely.

I fished the second stream for 4.75 hours and caught 47 trout and 2 smallmouth bass. The trout breakdown for the day in total was 42 wild browns, 5 native brook trout, and a surprise stocked rainbow between the two streams. At least a dozen trout hit and got off. I walked 6.7 miles. Though the vast majority of trout were browns, I only took pictures of the some of the brookies, as well as a few stream shots. The largest trout were several 12 inch browns. The largest brookie was 9 1/2 inches.