Escaping the Heat on a Salter Stream

Rhododendrons are blooming

I spent the weekend visiting family in southeastern MA, and I was lucky enough to do a little sea run brook trout fishing while I was there.

Dawn on the stream

Yesterday I met up with Geoff and his friend Justin, a member of the Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition. While temperatures were in the 90s inland, the high on the coast was in the upper 70s. The stream we fished was freezing, as it's fed by springs which keep temperatures cool all season long.

We started near the head of the tide and were into fish right away swinging small streamers downstream. The first few fish were in the 6-7" range, which is respectable in most wild brook trout streams, but somewhat small for this stream. Justin told us that several fat 13-14" trout were found in a recent electroshocking survey. 

Later we walked upstream to the last trail access point and fished back downstream. In this stretch we starting hooking into some nicer fish. I caught this ~10" brookie in the first pool we entered. He came out from under a root wad and smashed my streamer.

As we moved down we all got into fish, landing a few each and hooking many more. The average size in this stretch was probably 8".

This morning I had a couple hours to fish before I needed to leave for home. I woke up with the sun, hitting the road at 5:40  and arriving at the stream around 6:00. As I pulled in to the parking lot I saw a group of teenagers loading up two cars with music equipment, including a guitar and a banjo. They left as I was rigging up my rod, so I'm unsure what I stumbled upon. Maybe they were shooting a folk music video at sunrise? I guess I'll never know. 

The fishing turned out to be great. I got my first fish in a riffle near the road a few minutes after arriving. I moved upstream and began fishing down, hooking into several nice trout. 

After that I moved up to farthest access point to work my way down the same stretch we fished the day before. In the first pool I hooked what I believe was the same 10" fish from yesterday, but I wasn't able to get a photo to compare patterns. 

I hooked into several more nice fish, with the highlight of the day being this beautifully-colored 11-12" brookie. He hit three times as I drifted the fly past the undercut bank he must call home. Each time I thought he would spook, but fortunately I was able to land him on the third. I finished up around 8:30, leaving before anyone else had arrived. 

A Cool Interview with the Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife Division

While doing some research on trout in Massachusetts I found this cool interview with several members of the Fisheries and Wildlife Division. They go over some of the behind-the-scenes details of trout stocking in the state and spend a good amount of time talking about wild trout, including salters.

Also take some time to check out the blog where I found it: Talkin Trout

Brackish

Here's another video from my trip to fish for salters with Geoff back in March.

Brackish from Geoffrey Klane.

I'm finding that video can capture the colors of a trout in a way a picture can't. I think it's the way the light is reflected/refracted by the water, causing certain colors to come through only at certain angles. With video, the camera and/or fish moves enough to show everything.

We're planning to make more videos starting when I get back to MA in late May, this time in some new locations. Small streams in the Deerfield watershed and remote ponds in the White Mountains are two of our priorities, but hopefully we'll get some other spots mixed in as well.

A still of one of the prettiest brookies in the video.

Another Salter Video

Geoff and I made another video from our recent salter fishing trips. It was a lot of fun to make, and I think it came out great!

Check it out here:

Salter City: What winter? from Geoffrey Klane on Vimeo.

 

Daydreams Fulfilled (Part I)

I started this blog as a result of the constant daydreams I had about fishing while stuck inside last winter. With the good weather (at least from a fishing perspective) we've experienced this winter I haven't had nearly as many of these, at least until this week. I was busy over the last few weeks and didn't have any time to get out and fish. I knew the weather was getting nicer, which only led to further frustrations. Every time I let my mind wander, images of deep, clear, flowing waters filled my head.

Fortunately, I was able to get some relief this past weekend.

On Saturday Geoff and I left bright and early for a Salter trip. We were the first car in the parking lot, and quickly made our way to our favorite pool. We didn't get much action at first, but just as I was suggesting to Geoff that we try a new spot, I felt a tug on my line. I turned and quickly pulled in a nice brookie.

Soon after, we ran into Max and his son Nate, who were fishing for Salters for the first time. They seemed pretty thrilled at the couple of big salters we pulled out from under the road while they watched, and they took a few pictures for us. They later told us they were unsuccessful for the day, but this stream can take some time to figure out.

We moved upstream, where we found some smaller, but still fun, brookies hiding out among the watercress and fallen logs.

A beautiful day on Buttermilk Bay

Around mid day, having fished most of the good spots, we decided to hit a small wild brook trout stream in Central MA on the way home.

Looking downstream into the meadow

We saw a ton of stoneflies flying around the stream, so I decided to try a dry, while Geoff stuck with his small streamer. Geoff was the first to pull in a fish, getting two hookups from a pool beneath a culvert. We moved up to a large pool below a small impoundment, and I was able to get my first fish on a dry. It was small, but beautiful nonetheless.

We moved downstream and began seeing occasional rises. We managed to move a fish in nearly every likely spot as we moved through a meadow formed by a drained impoundment and then into a forested ravine. After that we headed home and I geared up for my planned trip the next day.

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