Browns in the Rain

The forecast today called for a high in the mid 40s and scattered showers. That sounded like good fishing weather to me, so I decided to make a trip over to a tributary of the Kinni.

I arrived around 10 AM and started fishing under the bridge where I parked. There's a deep hole under the bridge, and I've found that the fish like to pod up there in the winter. Despite the warm temperatures, there was still a fair amount of ice around the edges of the pool, so I was limited in where I could cast. I started out with a yellow version of the Salter Fly I posted a few weeks back, stripping it slowly near the bottom. It wasn't long before I felt a tug and pulled in the first brown of the day.

I saw a few fish spook after I caught the first fish, so I decided to move to a new spot. Farther upstream there is a side channel about 100 yards long arising from a spring. At the head of the spring is a deep pool where I've had good luck in the past. I switched to a pink squirrel with a balloon indicator and began casting to the edges of the pool.

The spring is at the end of the channel on the right

On the second cast I saw the indicator go under and I pulled in what looked at first like a small trout, but turned out to be a chub. I kept fishing, and soon saw the indicator dip again. This time I knew I had something more substantial. It turned out to be the biggest brown of the day.

As I fished the spring the rains came, and soon reached a level I would no longer call a "shower". I was still catching fish though, so I couldn't stop just yet. I pulled in a few more browns, then went back and fished under the bridge to get shelter from the rain. That was enough for me, so I called it a day after catching 7 fish in 2 hours and turned for home.

 

Super Trout Sunday

With cold temperatures on the way for the next few weeks, I decided I needed to get out yesterday. A friend and I left the house around 8 and were on the water by 9.

The action was slow at the first pool we tried, so we decided to move up to a spring-fed backwater where I found some nice fish last winter. My friend tried a couple casts, but he wasn't able to get the distance necessary to reach the fish without spooking them. I decided to give it a shot, and sure enough, I saw a boil and felt a tug on the first cast. I pulled in this nice brown on a variation of the salter fly from my last post.

We tried a little longer but didn't find any more fish in the backwater. Our time was limited, so we decided to try the first pool one more time.

This pool lies under a bridge and it's deep, probably at least 6 feet. Fish tend to pod up here in the winter, so I thought it was worth a second try. At first we found nothing, but then I let my streamer sink all the way to the bottom and inched it along slowly. It wasn't long before I saw a flash and felt a tug. I pulled up and this nice brookie went airborne trying to shake the hook. He was unsuccessful, and I was able to get a quick picture. He had a big head, but the rest of his body was quite skinny - I guess that's just a result of winter fasting?

A few minutes later my friend got this nice brown using the same slow and deep technique. Interestingly, the browns both seemed quite fat for their length, while the brookie was quite skinny.

We were out of time, so we drove home after a quick but satisfying day on the water.

A Salter Fly

I had most of my success during my recent salter brook trout fishing trips using one fly. It's basically a small wooly bugger variant, but it uses a smaller hook than a typical wooly bugger and dubbing in place of chenille.

Hook: Size 14 Streamer
Bead: 1/8"
Thread: Any Color (color is seen only in collar)
Tail: Marabou (Any Color) and Krystal Flash
Body: Hare's Ear Dubbing
Hackle: Grizzly

Start out by building up thread behind the bead to hold it in place. 

Tie in marabou in a color of your choosing to form a tail roughly 1 shank in length. Leave the excess marabou alone for now.

Wrap forward over the marabou up to the bead to form a thickened body, then cut off the remainder of the marabou feather. 

Return the thread to the tail and tie in a few strands of Krystal flash.

Tie in a grizzly hackle feather.

Dub the body with hare's ear. You don't need much - the body is already thick from the marabou. 

Palmer the hackle forward and tie in behind the bead. Remove the excess hackle.

Build up a small collar of thread behind the bead, whip-finish, and you're done.  I add a little bit of head cement, but that's optional. 

More Salters, and a Big Surprise

On Friday I went back down to the Cape for some Salter fishing. I'm back in MN now, so I decided to try to fish where my odds would be highest before I left. It was between Salter streams and the Swift, but I think I made the right choice.

Spring-fed waters allow green plants to grow year round

I caught 4 brookies out from under the brush in this bend pool

I started out around 8 AM, when it was about 25 F. The fish were not as aggressive as last weekend, so a slower retrieve was key. Once I figured that out, I consistently found fish in deeper water. I got more than one fish from several pools, so I think the fish may be podding up for winter in the deeper pools.

After catching quite a few brookies, I found myself at the pool below. It looked like nice water, but nothing special.

I let my fly drift by the woody debris in the water, when I saw a sudden flash. I pulled up, and saw an enormous fish on the other end of the line. I thought it was the salter of a lifetime, but as I got it closer I saw a flash of pink. Fortunately, the stream was small enough that there was no room for the fish to run, so I was able to land the rainbow quickly, even on my 2 weight.

This stream isn't stocked, but the pond at its source, 2 miles upstream, is. So even though it's a stocker, it's pretty cool to see it where I caught it. Also it's by far the biggest fish I've ever caught out of a stream this small.

After the rainbow I caught a few more brookies, then moved on to another stream. I knew the tide would be rising when I arrived, so I decided to check out the mouth of the stream at the bay. I've never caught a fish there, but I know the fish are there at least some of the time, so I decided it was worth a shot. I didn't catch anything this time either, so I moved upstream to more familiar waters. The tide was high, but I managed to get one nice fish out of the murky waters. After that I called it a day, leaving in time to beat rush hour traffic home.

Largest of the day - caught in the estuary at high tide

A Salter Weekend: Day 3

Sunday's forecast called for very warm temperatures, but with high winds and heavy rain. I couldn't convince anyone to come fish with me, but I decided to try for a few fish by myself before I headed home.

I ended up catching three brookies, but it wasn't long before my jacket was completely soaked through. At that point I decided to head home.