Daydreams Fulfilled (Part II)

On Sunday I met up with Aaron to explore some streams in the Pioneer Valley of Western MA. We started out around dawn (after much confusion over DST...) and started working our way west on Routes 2 and 202.

We arrived at the first stream around 8:30 and hit the first large pool. Having caught plenty of fish on Saturday, I told Aaron to take the first pool. I started walking downstream towards another hole, but soon I heard him yell and I turned to see his rod doubled over. As I reached him I saw the fish - a huge holdover rainbow. This stream is lightly stocked, but the last stocking was last spring, so this fish was in the stream for a long time, a fact confirmed by its excellent fin condition and vibrant colors.

We moved upstream a bit, where Aaron hooked and lost what like a small wild brown. I didn't catch anything in this stretch, and we had exhausted the nice pools, so we went back to the car to move upstream.

I've mostly caught wild brookies in the upper section, but some of the browns and stocked rainbows end up there as well. the fishing was slow at first, but soon Aaron hooked into a very big wild brookie in a nice corner pool. As we moved downstream I missed a big strike on a small streamer fished in front of a fallen log.

Aaron's ~12" Brookie (he has huge hands, so it might look smaller)

At one nice pool we spooked a big trout that must have been at least 18" and a few others in the 10-12" range. This stream has some of the biggest fish I've seen for its size. We got to a section with thorny banks and several beaver dams, so we decided to explore a new stream instead of bushwhacking, although there was some nice looking water in this stretch.

Coltsfoot getting ready for an early bloom

The final stream was farther up into the hills on the Eastern end of the Pioneer Valley. Though the hills aren't huge, this stream had characteristics reminiscent of a mountain stream, with large boulders and many solid bedrock ledges. There were also several waterfalls and cascades nearby.

The fishing was slow, but I did manage to get two brookies on a pink squirrel in a pool below one of the falls. At one point we stood next to a very deep pool and watched two brookies feed right below our feet, apparently unbothered by our presence. We tried to get a nymph down to them, but the water was too deep and fast to get a good presentation, so we gave up and started the long drive home.