Opening Day Fishing Report

Like I wrote in my previous post, I went fishing last Saturday for the first time this year. I took my buddy, Bryon, out to one of my secret brook trout creeks that I hadn't been to in several years. It's a tiny little thing that can be jumped across in some spots, but it is chock full of brookies, and we had a hankering to catch some, so off we went. I spent the entire morning teaching one of my Community Ed. fly tying classes, so we didn't leave for fishing until about 1 PM, and then we had to stop to buy new fishing licenses, and then right after we crossed the border we made a run to the border to scarf down some delicious tacos and burritos, so we didn't make it to the creek until almost 3 PM. It was a sunny but unseasonably cold day, made worse by the gale-force winds that were hammering us from all directions. Wait a minute, if they were hammering us from all directions, would we even feel any wind...? Perhaps I should rethink that last sentence...

Since we were on a super-secret creek, I had taken some time beforehand to tie up some super-secret new brook trout flies. Actually, they were well-known flies, but I tied them in a smaller size than I ever had before, to better fit in a brook trout's mouth. They were mini Madame X's, tied on size 12 hooks. I have caught tons of brook trout over the years without these new flies, but when the Opening Day of Trout Season is coming up, I feel the need to tie something new. My new flies worked well, and I can only believe that it was because they were super-secret and new, and not just because brook trout will eat anything...I should say that the new flies worked well for one of us. I won't name names, but half of the people on this trip caught far fewer brookies than the other half of the people on this trip. It wasn't because of the flies though...

Size 12 Madame X's

After a few hours of freezing our butts off at the super-secret brook trout creek, we drove a few miles so we could freeze our butts off on a stream that mostly holds brown trout. We did not even try our super-secret new flies on this stream, because both Bryon and I knew that these wary browns would require a different approach. So we each tied on one of our favorite nymphs, and immediately started catching fish. And this time, 100% of us were catching fish, instead of just 50% like on the other creek. We weren't slaying them in record fashion, but there was enough action to help us forget how cold we were. Plus nobody fell in the river, which is always optimal. What a great way to start the trout season! 

One of Bryon's many browns

• Gear Used: Bryon fished all day with his newly acquired Phillipson "Johnson Profile" Series 800 7'6" 6wt glass rod and Cortland Vista M reel. I switched off between my Anglers Roost 6'10" 3/4wt glass rod and Daiwa Lochmor 200A reel while fishing for brookies, and my Fenwick FF756-4 glass rod and Lamson LP-2 reel. All gear performed flawlessly.