Brook Trout and a Broken Rod

Today I spent a few hours on a stream in Central MA. I fished this stream for the first time this past winter, so I was excited to see how it fishes in warmer weather.

Mt. Wachusett

I arrived and found the water level low, but quite cold, probably somewhere in the 50s. For now the trout are ok, but if we don't get some rain soon the temperatures could start rising fast.

The low water made fishing a little tricky. I had to focus on stealth because most of the trout were holding in shallow water. Fortunately the gradient of this stream is somewhat steep, and the fast-moving water helped mask my movement.

I saw some trout rising under the road bridge where I entered the stream. I put my elk hair caddis near one of the rises and soon had the first, and biggest, fish of the day on the line, a brook trout around 8". He unfortunately didn't want to be photographed.

I decided to walk downstream for a bit and then fish back up to the bridge. Most of this stretch was skinny pocket water, but I was able to find quite a few deeper pockets with willing fish.

About halfway through this stretch tragedy struck - during an attempt to free my fly from a tree, I smacked the rod tip into a rock, and the first ~2" snapped off. I've heard of people fishing without their rod tip, so I decided to give it a shot. It actually casted quite well and I was able to land several more fish with the broken rod.

Echo has a lifetime warranty which will allow me to get the rod fixed for $35, and I will take advantage of that, but I want to use the rod on Saturday, when I'll be traveling to a remote pond in the White Mountains. I read online that the tip top guide can be removed and replaced onto the broken rod, so I gave it a shot. A lighter, some sandpaper, and a little super glue later, and my rod is fully functional. I took it out for some backyard casting practice and I couldn't tell the difference.

A finished repair