Bluelining for Brownies: Stream X Revisited
By Tom Chandler on Jul 2, 2007 in Backcountry, Fishing Report
“Bluelining” is the practice of scouring maps for the thin blue lines that suggest fishable trout water. It smacks of adventure and absolutely reeks of old-West romance — the twin pillars of any alpine fly fisher’s fantasy life.
The lead Undergrounder (me). Don’t I look handsome & virile? (S. Bertrand photo)
After last week’s Stream X adventure, Steve Bertrand and I went looking for fish on a slightly different stretch of the stream, hoping to get there via a different access point.
Amazingly (and “amazingly” is the right word if you ever saw us trying to read a map in a moving car), we ended up at the right place, catching the same skittish brown trout on the same dry flies in the same tiny stream.
Brown Trout: A Many Splendored Thing
Out here, we don’t catch a lot of brown trout, so when you find a stream full of them, you tend to marvel at the color — and the variations between them. In the space of thirty minutes, we landed the three browns below:
This brightly colored specimen came off a sunny bank
This one even had some rainbow-style coloration (in addition to bright red spots)
Steve caught this fish from an undercut bank; he was a muted, chocolate color
Sneaky. You Gotta Be Sneaky.
Any trout raised in a shallow, narrow stream will grow up skittish. Predators loom large on a daily basis, and once a fly fisher’s profile pops up on the radar, the fish run like they stole something.
Steve Bertrand on one of the few “open” sections, doing what has to be done.
You pretty quickly fall into a few predator-friendly behaviors, like fishing from your knees, keeping your silhouette below tree level, and largely staying out of the creek, though the surrounding trees and abundant deadfall usually have something to say about that.
Embrace sneakiness, and you might get to see the trout (before spooking them).
The Wild Wild West
The fishing was excellent; Steve and I caught good numbers of browns, though in truth, we both had our moments with the fly-eating trees, leader-vacuuming deadfall, and predator-aware trout.
Of course, the difficulties are offset by the general lack of fussiness on the part of the trout, and if you don’t think the setting justifies a walk (even a fishless one), then you’ve driven to the wrong part of the country — we don’t have many shopping malls up here.
During the trip, we saw a bear, many deer, trout, a hawk, and even a cotton tail rabbit (plus the usual array of birds, chipmunks, butterflies and other bugs).
Another aspect of the Wild West is — of course — humanity, and the group camping at the access point were playing music so loud that you could hear it upwards of 3/4 of a mile away.
Ahh, sweet wilderness.
The Details. The Future.
The equipment and flies involved weren’t too dramatic; Steve fished an older Orvis 8′ 4wt (the softer Orvis tapers are good for this kind of work), and I fished a newer 8′ 5wt Diamondglass rod that was also big fun on this tiny water.
A short cast under the overhanging brush, and viola!
I don’t think fly selection was critical, though a smaller yellow stimulator matched some of the stoneflies flitting about, and that fly worked about as well as could be expected. If you’re headed for water like this, keep in mind your short-range trick casts are more important than fly selection (like your fly box, don’t leave your bow-and-arrow cast at home).
Steve and I each landed a single Brook Trout, and I wonder about the Brookie population in the stream. Could call for more research. Until then, see you on the Alpine creek, Tom Chandler.
Technorati Tags: fly fishing, fishing, brown trout, bluelining, small stream, alpine fly fishing
Larry Swearingen | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
Looks like fun to me !
Wish I was there instead of here in the office.
Oh well, two more weeks until retirement.
Last official day at work is July 13.
We flee the state on July 22.
Larry S
Tom Chandler | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
How many hours after you cross the state line will we get a report from the AuSable?
Larry Swearingen | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
I think the trip to NE Indiana will take us up to a week depending on how long we take at relatives place in North Arakansas and Missouri.
A minimum of 4 days for the trip. That’s for our
caravan of 3 vehicles to get to Fort Wayne.
We’re shipping all our household encumberances
by U-pack so we need to UN-pack when it gets there.
I’m thinking 2 weeks in Fort Wayne before I start going stir-crazy and head out for a 2 week
trip. I won’t be taking a computer with me (I’m
retiring, remember ?) so it’ll have to wait until I get back to the new home.
I plan on doing all my intensive fishing on
NON-Weekends or if I have to go on a weekend
to fish smaller rivers/creeks. I hear that
canoeing is VERY popular in MI. They call it
the “aluminum hatch”.
You will hear from me and I’ll keep watching the
TU believe me. I can’t imagine that I’ll find
any rivers that supplant the Upper Sac and Mac
as my favorite rivers. I’m sure I’ll find some
nice ones but those two have a hold on me. Hard
to explain innit ? :>)
Larry S
Dan Hayes | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
Thanks for posting the great brown trout pics once again. If only I had more free time to escape the Rogue Valley and explore N California a wee bit. Not that this area doesn’t have its moments from a piscatorial perspective but, skittish browns in a small stream setting, that’s what makes my heart go pitter pat. You are blessed to live where you do!
Dan
Scott | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
Why don’t you guys simply break down and buy a GPS? I mean, simply hold off on the slaw dogs for a couple of weeks and you’ll have enough money to buy a Garmin GPS that even Paris Hilton would envy.
opax | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
Great stuff Tom!
KW Morrow | Jul 3, 2007 | Reply
Fun article, Tom. Even more fun doing the actual fishing part, I’ll wager.
I love small stream fishing. Here in the Ozarks, we have a bunch of famous, tourist-magnet tailwaters that keep most anglers off of the much more difficult to access and fish spring creeks. So I tend to focus on them to avoid crowds and increase the challenge level. While they aren’t generally good places to work on your distance casting, they are fabulous places to work on everything else and have a great time in relative solitude chasing some wild trout. 7.5 and 8′ 3-4wts are the tools of choice. Soft hackles, Prince Nymphs, and small leech patterns rule until late August through September. Then it’s hopper and beetle water.
Biodiversity in streams is also a hallmark of the Ozarks. So we catch both warm and cold water species in the same streams…sometimes from the same lies. A few are too cold for pan fish, but most accomodate pan fish, smallies, and trout. A few include pickerel, walleye, and even muskies. That makes for some interesting hook-ups!
Tom Chandler | Jul 3, 2007 | Reply
Dan: Heck, I’m not “lucky” I live here, I picked the place…
Scott: GPS? Where’s the adventure in that? Not knowing where you are is half the fun, and that’s true whether Paris Hilton is along or not…
Opax: Thanks!
KW: I’ve heard about the Ozarks creeks, but never made it there.
Greg | Jul 3, 2007 | Reply
I don’t care if Tom knows where he is or was, just so that the rest of us know. My plan is to have him drugged and then implant a micro chip behind his ear so that he can be tracked by satelite. Of course we could try one of those house arrest ankle bracelets but he’d probably chew it off.
C3C Raine | Jul 3, 2007 | Reply
May I suggest the new 60CSX model by Garmin…I have the old 60CS and it’s damn cool. But it’s up there $$$wise. If not the regular old etrex handhelds are pretty hardy and reliable, and about the same price as a low-end cell phone. By the way, it’s now been exactly thirteen days since I went fishing, but I spent the last 6 in a tent…figure that out.
kbarton10 | Jul 3, 2007 | Reply
Too much technology.
All you have to do is offer Wally a slaw dog, he will repeat every step the boss made including the facial expressions.
Don | Jul 3, 2007 | Reply
Who has time for bluelining? In my teenage years, my best fishing buddy and I use to do that all the time. Thanks for posting this, I forgot how much fun I use to have. :>(
DaBeez | Jul 3, 2007 | Reply
Great news about Nestle! We had a great week fishing. Upper Sac was great as was McCloud. My biggest was 18″ at Pollard Flats, cross RR tracks past burned area at “U” bend. Great area you have up there. We camped at Lake Siskiyou, roughing it is nice when you get showers every day.
david roberts | Jul 4, 2007 | Reply
Great pictures and a good day on the water. I wanted to be down there all week, but my wife hurt her back so we didn’t get to go camping. I get a kick out of people loving those little trout on a small stream (as I do), but stick there nose’s up at them here on the Rogue. I have a blast with them. I even got a Salmon on a dry fly yesterday on the river, although it was much smaller that the browns that TC was getting.
David
Tom Chandler | Jul 4, 2007 | Reply
Bluelined last Sunday, hiked into some alpine lakes here on the Fourth.
Do I live in the right place or what?