My last small-stream fly fishing trip unfolded without a camera, so this, time I’m doubling up on the photographs. (See? The Underground takes care of its readers.)
The catch? I’m too busy to write a lengthy report (like last time I skipped out and ran to Stream X). Instead, I’ll hit the highlights in between the pictures.
Spring Creek? Brown Trout? Dry Flies? Sign me up.
Stream X is a small, alpine spring creek, and it’s the kind of place the enforces a certain intimacy between the fly fisherman and the trout.
It’s nicely populated with wild brown trout (and the odd rainbow & Brookie), but features rough roads and enough mosquitoes to suggest the existence of a vengeful god.
Like all small streams, the trout aren’t particularly selective, but they are damned spooky, and this – simply put – is not the best stream for a novice, but I brought my relatively new-to-fly-fishing brother there anyway (suggesting the existence of a vengeful brother, bent on payback for the emotionally scarring cherry incident of my childhood).
Think sneaky. Sneaky is good.
Unlike my last visit, the stream was running at normal levels, but the weather was eerily similar; it started raining the minute we arrived (after a lot of bouncing around on some auto-unfriendly roads), and alternated rain and sun all day.
It was also colder than I would have guessed, and once again, the Patagonia soft shell jacket proved the perfect jacket for the gig – a good lesson in packing, since I’d almost left it behind (it’s summer after all).
In fact, fingerless gloves wouldn’t have been out of place.
Welcome to the mountains.
Predictably, the early bite was slow. Equally predictably, the early scenery was stunning.
Even when the trout aren't eating, the scenery's working.
The Fishy Stuff
Later – as it warmed a bit – the bite got a little better. In the afternoon, there was even the hint of a small mayfly hatch, and (gasp) rising trout.
Almost everything you catch is a brown trout, which range wildly in coloration. Some are a burnt-butter brown while others feature a lighter, milky yellow color, and still others offer a golden metallic sheen.
Some brown trout look like golden butter - their scales would look perfect on a stack of pancakes.
Some feature slightly washed colors, others offer up bright red dotted flanks that – if found on a painting – would lead a non-fisherman to accuse the artist of artistic license.
"I'm ready for my closeup now."
Is he giving me the fin?
Every once in a while, you also come across a Brook trout (the Official Char of the Trout Underground), and yes, the Underground’s veins fill with naturally produced chemical pleasure at the sight of the Brookie, and I’m not even sure why. Maybe it’s the colors.
Underground Fave Char: the happy pappa shows off his Brookie
Why so many colors? The Brook trout continues to impress.
The Non-Trout Stuff
The first couple hours found us catching one trout each (it picked up later, and we ended up with 10 between us). Which means we had plenty of time to marvel at other things, including a couple close encounters with deer, and even a very low flying eagle.
Then there was the stuff that wouldn’t run away when you found it, including:
My brother identified this as Columbine. It's pretty.
Proof of rain?
He's hairy, and he's cool.
We found one of these- an olive stonefly
The Hard Facts About the Fly Fishing
The fishing itself wasn’t what most would call “technical,” though when you find yourself crawling towards a ten inch fish on your hands and knees – and trying to thread a backcast through a narrow hole behind you – the fishing’s plenty technical enough.
These aren’t world-weary tailwater trout, habituated to the presence of humans or sophisticated flies.
Instead, these are trout as god intended – hungry, aggressive, but wholly intolerant of a sloppy, lazy predator. Trout darting to safety from under your feet is a common sight, yet despite a fair number of fly changes, I settled on a simple Beetle Bug attractor for most of the day.
This time, I also toted along a rod nicely suited to the fish and the waters – an 8′ 5wt Phillipson Peerless bamboo fly rod.
Underground Fave: The reddish-brown impregnated Phillipsons look stunning against spring green.
It’s a rod that gets fished, and fished hard (as Bill Phillipson intended), and yes, I think little’s harder on a fly rod than a wet, brush & tree-choked environment
Somebody out there is wincing, but this remained after I released a nice brown.
The fishing was slow at first, then gradually built over the day to the point where about half the really good looking spots seemed to hold a trout.
Nicely illustrating the concept of good and evil, the mosquitoes also built as the day progressed, and while I didn’t do for the garment what the Buff Babe did, I wore a Buff like a balaclava, protecting my neck and cheeks from the evil, bloodsucking Nestle bugs mosquitoes.
I may be back later this week.
Hint: There's a decent brown trout in the middle.
See you on a small stream, Tom Chandler.
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Beautiful photos, beautiful fish, great report; probably not my kind of fish. Kentucky Jim(Quote)
Ver’ niiice. Super good trout shots, many thanks. My first quality bamboo was a 7′ Peerless. They are excellent sticks, esp for the wet. Flykuni(Quote)
Outstanding! Every picture tells a story – sometimes it’s hard to convey beauty with just words. Sabrina(Quote)
Glorious colours on the fish. Great shots, Tom! paul w(Quote)
Very nice post indeed…awesome photos as usual. Mid TN Lee(Quote)
Simply fantastic Tom! Gareth(Quote)
Nice photos Tom-still using the old camera that you said was about to crap out? Or did you pry open the wallet and spring for a new one yet? Your color saturation is outstanding on this batch. I am going to have to upgrade my photo shop tools to get results like that I think (not to mention the camera). Harry(Quote)
Yes, same old camera. New one’s not exactly in the budget. And photoshop tools aren’t what’s needed (I’ve used a series of free, minimal editors). Automatic cameras always overexpose when conditions are cloudy and lots of green or water is involved, so if you think you can simply turn the saturation “up” with a slider, you’ll discover it’s not working.
I had the auto-exposure setting at -1 for these photos, so when you turn the contrast up a hair (to compensate for the flat lighting), the naturally saturated colors come out nicely. Tom Chandler(Quote)
Nice work Tom. Love the little streams. Mosquitoes I hate. “Technical” is an interesting concept. I think small stream fishing is definitely technical with the sneaky aspect as well as the casting-in-tight-quarters aspect. (Oh, and the slap, cast, slap, slap….slap, cast, slap, slap…rhythm of mosquito fishing adds an extra technical dimension to it all.)
I’m glad you took the camera–those are some great shots (no wincing with the coiled line and Phillipson because we don’t believe for a second that you would take the kind of time necessary to stage that shot just for your reader’s benefit, no sirree).
-scott c Cutthroat Stalker (Scott C)(Quote)
Damn I mist another trip to spring X. Too much water not enough time. (Too many show’s cutting back next year,) I need to fish. Outstanding pictures as always.
David David Roberts(Quote)
Lovely photo of the beautiful fish. I would never get to see them otherwise, and of course, hardly ever hear from them either. But still a beautiful world. cbchandler, cb(Quote)
Good report, GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY! Carolinian Boat Works(Quote)
Thanks for the tip Tom-I’ll give it a try. I have been using a polarizing filter as well and that helps out with the color also. Harry(Quote)
What camera are you using?.
Very nice…The closeups are very detailed…… Devin(Quote)
Tom:
Great stuff. Beautiful macro shots and the back of that brookie is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
JI Justin Ide(Quote)
I’d like to know which camera, too.
Dave Davem(Quote)
I agree, the brookie shot is amazing, and great photography. Well done. DR david robertson(Quote)