I tried a new stream and it was rugged. It took about an hour just to get to a fishable part of the creek. Half that mile was basically bush whacking. I wanted to take a picture of the trail but wouldn't have done it justice. We were earning the fish on this day. Heading up the trail we were breathing hard and eating spider webs. Finally we got to a place where we could go after brookies.
With all the rain we've had this year the river was obviously higher than normal. There were still plenty of pools to fish but it was really hard getting a proper drift. The foliage was a whole different challenge.
Even with the obstacles I was able to catch a fish after just a few casts.
The success was deceiving. The first fish was easy but the rest were very tough. It took a couple of hours for my buddy to catch his first brookie ever.
This fish made the hike worth it. We hooked plenty more but your first brookie is always special. My buddy was fishing a L.L. Bean 5'9 3wt Streamlight. This is a pretty sweet rod for $100. I was really impressed with how it performed.
That looks like tough water...even tougher than what I usually fish. The rewards did make the trip worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteHoward, I really wish I could have taken more pics of the trail. It was like a game trail. Rough going downhill and uphill. It was fun doing it but I wouldn't want to hike that every day. The rhododendrons make fishing rough. You have to almost crouch to cast half the time. It's fun to do every once in awhile but there is no way I could do it all the time.
DeleteThat looks even tougher than most of the brook trout streams I've fished, and I thought they were rough! Congratulations to your buddy on his first brookie!
ReplyDelete