New Stream - New Friends

Recently Sephora and I stopped and asked for permission to fish a new part of one of my favorite streams.  The person that owns the land was kind enough to give us the go ahead and fish it anytime we want.  Excellent!  We got our gear on, grabbed our poles and off we went.  It was getting later in the day so the sun was out in full effect.  Luckily we had packed a lunch and the camelbak was plum full of ice cold water.  Sephora was excited by a cat that decided to tag along on our fishing escapade and a new friend was made.  She loves cats!  The weather has been insanely warm lately so the fish were quite active and willing to chase some flies around.  I was amazed at some of the beautiful new holes we discovered on our journey.  Some stream improvement had been done to sections of it and proved to be providing some nice housing for the trout.  There was a nice stonefly hatch going on but I didn't notice a lot of fish rising to swallow them up.  I tested out a few new flies, but had most of my luck on the Mini Muddler Mud Honey.  I guess they just can't resist the peacock.  Casting proved difficult for Sephora due to all of the weeds on the back cast, so  I let her try and land a few trout, but they were slippery and escaped the net.  Next time for sure.  Here are a few pics from our journey.  Hope you enjoy the pics. 

Stone Fly Hatch

Some rip wrap to secure the banks from erosion is always helpful.

Sephora went running to her new best friend, that ended up following us on the hike.

Went a little to deep into the water so the boots had to be emptied.

Great minds think alike.

Spooked a few fish out of this stretch.

New Creation using hemp as the body for the fly.

Some good colors for this time of year.

Who cares about fish when you can toss rocks in and create a splash :)

A sweet new hole discovered.

Lunch stored in our sweet Plano box courtesy of O.B.N. ( Review to come soon )

First fish of the day fell for the M.M.M.H. creation.

First fish wide view.  Healthy and strong.

Another nice hole and another healthy brown, released by Sephora to swim another day.

There has got to be trout in them there waters :)

There's always time to stop and build a sand castle. :)

Hide Out Trout

Big ole Chubster in your face.

Another sweet hole on a different feeder stream.

This guy was hanging out at the top of the hole near the trout hide.

It is the stuff my dreams are made of :)

Just taking a detour over top of the creek on this fallen tree.

Can you find the Stonefly ?

It feels good to get out there and release some stress :)

Until Next Time..........Tight Lines to All !!!!!

HOPPERS AND WHOPPERS !!

There once was a boy, who picked up a pole.

As soon as he held it, the story was told.

The hook it went deep and the barbs they were three.

For this is a thing that was just meant to be.

The bend of the rod, the rise of a trout.

The freedom to roam and to wonder about.

The sounds of the birds and the streams peaceful song.

The sound of leaping trout as the evening grows long.

The pools and riffles,"What's around the next bend?"

A time to enjoy with your family or a friend.

Somewhere to relax and reflect on the day.

A place to escape and to just get away.

The thrill of the chase, this can't be denied.

I will wonder these streams, even after I've died.

                                                                T.M.

Met this older gentleman while out exploring a new stream with my older bro.  Sat and talked fishing for about a half hour.  He was kind enough to tell me of a place he use to go and catch 25" Brook Trout.  I will be checking that out for sure :) 

Beautiful new water.  Crystal clear and the trout were scattering everywhere. 

A rooftop of St.Croix fly rods ready to bend.

Older bro bought some Hopper patterns from local fly shop.  Drifting them along the banks produced some fish.

A trouts breakfast scared onto the water by the very thing that was in search of it.  Me.

One of my bros Browns taken on a simple Hopper pattern.

We would end up spooking more fish than we caught, due to the crystal clear water and fishing at high noon like a bunch of Goof Balls.  We ended up fishing during the absolute hottest time of the day and ended up pretty tired out from the boiling hot sun.  The stream is wonderful and I look forward to fishing it on a more ideal day.  Preferably not from noon to 4:30p.m. :)




The next day I had a few hours and decided to take the kids out since the sun was starting to retreat.  They were both excited and so was I.  My son chose to use a hopper pattern and was happy just watching it float down through the rapids.  I fished a hopper for a little while, but couldn't resist a new Bomber pattern I came up with.  It was tail, hackle, peacock, hackle and then the Calf hair.( I hope that makes sense)  As soon as I tied it on, I started getting hits.  Thank you Bombers!!  Here are some pics of our adventure, I hope you enjoy!

This hopper was made from a broken Nerf foam sword.  The legs are made from old fly line.  It floated well.

Tied up this "Thunder Thighs" pattern using foam from the Nerf sword and silencers from my bow string.  It ended up being pretty easy pattern to tie.  Not the exact colors I was looking for but considering the circumstances not too bad. 

They were having a blast looking for rising fish.

The first rainbow caught was a healthy little fellow.  This is the farthest down on the stream I have seen them.

The next fish was another colorful Rainbow.  Love seeing all the Bows this far down.

Same fish as above.  These guys seem to be growing quite well each year. 

Top view of the last fish of the night.

Side view of the Rainbow. 

I have caught this beast once before.  It put up a great fight and I released it to swim another day.  I always make sure that the bigger fish that I release make a full recovery before I leave their side.  I always worry that after I leave for some reason they will go belly up.  I was super happy to see this fish again, and was just like hanging out with an old friend. :)

I am pretty sure in the pic I took with it the first time, I had about an equally goofy expression on my face.  Sorry about that :)

I caught this Rainbow on a size 14 Bomber pattern trailed about ten inches with a little gray nymph pattern.  The kids were ready to head home and it was about 9:00 p.m.  I had just lost a 13" Brown so I said to them, " Just One MOre Cast"  I tossed it in and said "Ssshhhhhhh, I have to hear if a fish takes the fly."  At this point the visibility was nill.  Then I heard something and raised my rod and sure enough this is what waited at the end of the line.  Of course I didn't have my net, and landing this thing in the dark was a little tricky.  The fish was caught, photographed and then safely released and I watched over it until it was full strength and back up stream he went.  A wonderful day with the kids.  They really are my good luck charms. 

Can you spot the 6" Crayfish deep down?

Until Next Time....Tight Lines to all !!!!!!