Yesterday the forecast called for temperatures in the high 40s and rain. Those are far from the most comfortable conditions for fishing, but they were perfect to get the fish active. The influx of warm (relatively speaking) rainwater into the stream warms it faster than the air alone, and the fish let their guard down a little in higher flows.
So, I explored a couple of small streams in Central MA in search of wild trout. The first stream has it's source on the flanks of Mt. Wachusett, so it was, predictably, quite cold. I didn't catch any fish, so I moved on.
I drove to an old standby of mine. This stream is very small, but it's full of brook trout, and it was one of the first wild brook trout streams I explored, so it will always be special to me. Here I found fish.
I stripped a small wooly bugger-ish fly I tied through the first pool and soon felt a strong tug. I pulled in this brookie, which turned out to be the largest of the day.
As I moved downstream I had strikes or hookups in nearly every pool, although many got off due to the difficulty of setting the hook in tight quarters. After a couple of hours the rain picked up and the water started to show a slight stain, so I decided to head home.
That second one is a pretty solid fish. Gorgeous colors!
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