Some fine looking trout!
Never Judge a Trout by the Stream it Swims In
9
With the “warmer” air temps hanging around, I made it a priority to get out Sunday morning. I’ve been on a kick lately to fish new streams or streams that I haven’t spent much time on in the past. I planned on hitting 2 new streams and a stream that I only fished once briefly.
Unfortunately while I was approaching the first stream, which ran through a public park, I noticed that the up and downstream sections were heavily posted, so I knew I would only be able to fish for about a mile before I would have to move on. The stream was only about 12-15 feet wide and about a foot deep in most places. The action was almost non-existent for the first 25 minutes until this little brown was fooled.
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The action picked up from there, but I was rusty on the hook sets and failed to bring a number of trout to hand. I did manage to hook and bring to hand a nice 14-15” wild brown, but it spit the hook and darted off while I was trying to get my camera out.
Here’s another typical brown from the first stream.
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After about an hour and fifteen minutes I hit the dreaded posted signs and began the walk back to my car. On the way out I stumbled across this deer skull. The remaining antler was heavily chewed on.
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I moved onto the second stream, which was a bit wider and deeper than the first. At this point the rain was coming down pretty good and it made seeing the bottom tricky. After about a half hour of sloshing around in the stream without a hit, I moved on to a third stream that I had fished once before.
When I arrived at the third stream, it looked low and clear. The stream is only about 10-12 feet wide and about 10 inches deep in most places, but has some nice plunge pools. The action was good from the get-go, but again, I was having trouble setting the hook. About 10 minutes in, I hit a nice hole with an undercut bank and this nice wild brown came charging out and I made sure that I set the hook this time.
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After a couple of pictures and a smooth release, I decided to throw one more under the bank and this stockie came ripping out. Kind of surprised me as the stream is not stocked, but it’s amazing where stockies end up.
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The very next cast to the same spot and I had a nice rainbow on the line for about 5 seconds before he spit the hook. After that brief fight, the hole was pretty trashed and I moved on.
As I waded upstream, I continued to pick off a good number of wild browns. What amazed me was the size of some of these browns based on the stream that they came from. I would never have thought such a small stream could produce a decent number of big wild trout.
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As I was taking pictures of this nice looking stockie, I heard a loud thump right next to me and looked up to see a deer running off that had jumped over the bank.
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A few seconds later and 2 of his buddies decided to do the same landing about 4 feet from me. It definitely got my heart beating. As I could see the posted signs coming up, I called it a day.
With the streams as low and clear as they were, the rain showers definitely helped me today. I don’t know how many more trips I have in me for 2012, but if the weather stays like this, I’ll definitely have to sneak out another day or two.
Unfortunately while I was approaching the first stream, which ran through a public park, I noticed that the up and downstream sections were heavily posted, so I knew I would only be able to fish for about a mile before I would have to move on. The stream was only about 12-15 feet wide and about a foot deep in most places. The action was almost non-existent for the first 25 minutes until this little brown was fooled.
The action picked up from there, but I was rusty on the hook sets and failed to bring a number of trout to hand. I did manage to hook and bring to hand a nice 14-15” wild brown, but it spit the hook and darted off while I was trying to get my camera out.
Here’s another typical brown from the first stream.
After about an hour and fifteen minutes I hit the dreaded posted signs and began the walk back to my car. On the way out I stumbled across this deer skull. The remaining antler was heavily chewed on.
I moved onto the second stream, which was a bit wider and deeper than the first. At this point the rain was coming down pretty good and it made seeing the bottom tricky. After about a half hour of sloshing around in the stream without a hit, I moved on to a third stream that I had fished once before.
When I arrived at the third stream, it looked low and clear. The stream is only about 10-12 feet wide and about 10 inches deep in most places, but has some nice plunge pools. The action was good from the get-go, but again, I was having trouble setting the hook. About 10 minutes in, I hit a nice hole with an undercut bank and this nice wild brown came charging out and I made sure that I set the hook this time.
After a couple of pictures and a smooth release, I decided to throw one more under the bank and this stockie came ripping out. Kind of surprised me as the stream is not stocked, but it’s amazing where stockies end up.
The very next cast to the same spot and I had a nice rainbow on the line for about 5 seconds before he spit the hook. After that brief fight, the hole was pretty trashed and I moved on.
As I waded upstream, I continued to pick off a good number of wild browns. What amazed me was the size of some of these browns based on the stream that they came from. I would never have thought such a small stream could produce a decent number of big wild trout.
As I was taking pictures of this nice looking stockie, I heard a loud thump right next to me and looked up to see a deer running off that had jumped over the bank.
A few seconds later and 2 of his buddies decided to do the same landing about 4 feet from me. It definitely got my heart beating. As I could see the posted signs coming up, I called it a day.
With the streams as low and clear as they were, the rain showers definitely helped me today. I don’t know how many more trips I have in me for 2012, but if the weather stays like this, I’ll definitely have to sneak out another day or two.
