A Two Hour Trip

Yesterday I decided at the last minute to go fishing after I realized that there was no way the grass would get mowed with all the intermittent rain showers we were getting. I hung around the house all morning catching up on a few chores that needed doing like cleaning out the chicken coop, all the while waiting for the yard to dry out enough to be able to use the lawn mower without clogging it up. My plans were to do yard work yesterday, and hopefully fish this morning. By lunch time I'd given up on the idea of mowing grass. It was too wet and with more rain showers in the forecast for the evening I knew that it was a lost cause. So what's a fisherman to do with a free afternoon? It didn't take me long to figure out the answer to that one.

Fast Water

I decided to fish one of my usual streams about an hour from the house. It's not the biggest water, and it doesn't hold the biggest fish, but it's close enough to home to make a quick trip feasible. Once in a while this stream surprises me with a nice trout or two, but the scenery and beautiful wild fish always make the trip worthwhile. I also wanted to catch a few fish to continue my goal of catching a trout each month, and since I had yet to go during August I thought this would be a prime opportunity. 

Wild Brown

One more reason I wanted to fish (as if I need a reason to go fly fishing) is to try out some flies I had just tied on some new hooks. I had ordered some barbless competition style hooks, and wanted to see how they compared to the old hooks I've used since I started tying years ago. I don't fish competitively, but these hooks were supposed to be designed to minimize lost fish while still being barbless. I've not fished barbless hooks much at all, other than my one trip to Yellowstone years ago where they were required, but I decided that I'd like to start tying and fishing more barbless flies since I'm going to be releasing the vast majority of fish I catch, especially the wild trout. I have to say that I was very impressed. Several of the fish I caught jumped at least once, and I didn't have any long distance releases. I do believe that I will be using more of these type hooks in the future.

Barbless Size 12 Thunderhead

Driving up into the mountains, I ran into a couple of rain showers but nothing heavy enough to deter me from fishing. Once I left the pavement and headed up the gravel Forest Service road, I could tell that it had rained at least enough to settle the dust. From the road the creek looked like it had more water than usual, especially for August, but not blown out from any recent downpours. Once I got in the water, I confirmed that there was indeed more water in the creek than the last several times I'd fished here. It was just slightly dingy in the deeper pools, but still clear enough to see bottom. Over all, it looked like good fishing conditions. I started the day with a size 12 Thunderhead dry fly tied on the new hooks, and this wound up being all that I needed. The only time I tied on a new fly was when the rhododendron decided to steal one. 

Wild Brown

I worked my way upstream, fishing all the likely looking pools and runs. Some of the usual holding lies were tough to fish due to the volume of water, and getting a drag free drift proved to be a challenge at times. The fish seemed to be holding just at the edges of the faster water, and when I managed a good presentation most of the time they were willing to eat. I never seem to know what to expect at this stream species wise. Some trips I catch mostly rainbows, and other times it is mostly browns. 

The Lone Rainbow

Yesterday was a brown trout day, with only one of the fish I caught being a rainbow. They were all pretty wild fish, with bright red spots and adipose fins. I did raise a fish that just judging from his head would have been quite the trophy from this stream, but unfortunately I didn't connect.  Still, it is encouraging to see signs of bigger fish here, because for quite a while it seemed like this stream only had six inch rainbows. The last year or two the brown trout have made quite a comeback, to the point where they seem to at least equal the rainbows in number. All this is based on my very unscientific observations of course. Either way, it is always nice to see healthy wild fish in a stream, whether I can catch them or not. 

Brown Trout

After two hours or so of fishing, it was time to make my way back down the mountain. It was a short trip compared to most, but it was well worth it. As I sit here typing this and reflecting back on yesterday's trip, the sun is shining and the dew is drying off the grass. I've put it off as long as I can, but now I think it is time to go crank the lawn mower and catch up on yesterday's unfinished business.

- Joseph