Mid-Week Report

I've been able to fish every day this week so far.

On Monday the forecast was for showers and highs in the low 40s, so I decided to stay relatively close to home. The weather turned out even worse, with highs in the 30s and some sleet mixed in with the rain. I knew the water would still  be on the warmer side though, so I figured it was worth a shot.

I fished through the majority of the stretch I intended to fish with only a couple of bumps, some of which may not have even been fish. Growing disheartened, I elected to try one last pool before hitting the road. After a few drifts through the pool, I felt nothing. As I turned away and began climbing out of the pool I felt a jerk on my rod. I pulled up and felt a fish on the other end. It's funny how the strike always comes the moment you stop paying attention. I pulled in this small wild brown, and, encouraged by my success, decided to fish a bit further downstream.

Again, I had little success through this section, and I decided I would fish one more spot before turning around. It was a textbook undercut bank, about 3 feet deep, with fast riffled water in the main channel and slower water under the overhang. I cast my streamer into the riffled water, then slowly swung it towards the bank. As the fly reached the current seam the line stopped dead. I pulled up, saw a bright yellow flash, and then felt slack. I cast again and found nothing. I've found that with browns, unlike brookies, you usually only get one strike before they're gone, especially if they feel the hook.

On Tuesday the weather forecast was similar, so I went to the same stream as Monday. This time I got a few bites in the first pool I fished, but nothing else, so I moved to another stream nearby. I had a long distance release in the first pool I fished, so I knew I picked a good spot. As I moved downstream I didn't find much else until I reached a riffle flowing under a fallen tree. I drifted the streamer under, and once again the line stopped dead. I felt a strong tug and saw a large brookie, at least 10" long, splashing at the end of my line. Unfortunately it, like the brown the day before, got off. I didn't get anything else that day, but it felt good to hook into a few fish at least.

On Wednesday I decided to head a bit farther afield. I started out at the Western MA stream I visited with Aaron on Sunday. In the same pool where he took his large rainbow I saw a bright flash behind my fly. Then on the next cast I felt a pull, but when I pulled back I snapped the line. I haven't fished for anything big enough to snap my tippet in a while, so I think I was a bit overzealous on the hook-set. I rested the pool and then tried again, but this time I was successful.  After a brief fight I pulled in this hook jawed male - I wonder if the rainbows are attempting to spawn? This stream has wild browns and brookies, and it's been stocked for years, so I think if rainbows were able to reproduce here, they would have by now. It would be pretty exciting to have another wild rainbow fishery in MA though.

Hook-jawed Male Rainbow

I moved upstream, breaking off yet another huge fish in another pool and landing a small brookie. At this point I had fished most of the good water in this stretch, so I moved upstream. The upstream section is slower and deeper, with numerous fallen trees providing cover. My first strike came as I was drifting my streamer under one such tree. In the process of pulling in the fish I got the line (and fish...) stuck in the branches of the tree, but I was able to get it in without losing the fish.

I lost a big fish below the crooked tree

Skunk Cabbage in bloom

After that fish I saw a rise in the corner pool ahead of me. I watched intently and soon after saw another rise, then another. It became clear that at least one fish was actively feeding on the surface, so I switched to a dry. I've noticed a lot of stoneflies flying around this week, so I tied on a humpy of similar size. While a humpy doesn't look much like a stonefly at first, I think the bushy hackle is a perfect representation of the way stoneflies rapidly flutter while laying eggs on the surface. The brookies seemed to think so too, and on the first cast I got a strike. My dry fly fishing being as rusty as it is, I missed that strike, but managed to hook the next fish. After that I got one more strike from what seemed to be a bigger fish, but again couldn't hook up. After that the rises ceased.

I decided to break up my drive home with a stop at the same brook I fished Monday and Tuesday. I arrived at a different section, this one located in a drained impoundment, in hopes of finding some dry fly action. Things were looking good until I saw a coupe fly fishing out in the meadow! They didn't look too stealthy, so I'm hoping they didn't catch anything and won't come back! Fortunately there are several other streams in the area, so I decided to explore one just up the road. I got 3 more brookies here and even saw a few rises, but I didn't like how close the stream was to some houses, so I called it quits early. Next time I'll explore further downstream away from the houses.