I’m not really a “checkmark” guy – the kind of fly fisherman who needs marks on a checklist to feel good about a season of fly fishing – but I did notice I was about to walk away from 2010 without catching a single Brook Trout

That seemed odd, being as the Brook Trout is The Official Char of the Trout Underground, but it’s also a fish found in only a few places locally – places that are frankly drop-dead gorgeous.

Which is how I found myself hiking to a couple high-altitude, Brookie-rich alpine lakes with Craig Nielsen of Shasta Trout, essentially trading sweat and labor for what amounts to peace of mind (at least in the small char department).

Plus, it’s not all that hard on the eyes;

Alpine Brook Trout

Craig Nielsen fly fishing an alpine lake

Checklists are funny things; let them rule your life, and you’ll end up like the OCD guy with a notebook who records his life in ten-minute increments.

Ignore them entirely, and you might end up looking back over a trout season, wondering why the hell you didn’t make the trip into the high country before it was snowed in.

Somewhere in the middle lies an eight-mile hike to an alpine lake – and for trout that were likely to be smaller than the fish an eight-minute drive from your house.

In other words, it was a perfectly ordinary fishing trip – one that almost any fly fisherman would recognize, if not condone.

First, the good news. I got my Brookie:

Alpine Brook Trout

He ain't heavy, he's my Brookie

I also got to fish with Craig Nielsen – something that should happen several times over the course of a season, but hasn’t. After all, when headhunting isn’t on the agenda, some insightful conversation probably is, and the choice of fishing/hiking partner becomes critical.

Fortunately, Nielsen and I had plenty to talk about; everything from fishing to the Klamath Dam removal mess to the McCloud Hydro relicensing issue.

We live in complicated times, and while the ability to escape the madness is a godsend, sometimes making sense of it is almost as useful.

Then there’s the calming effect of honest labor; hiking an up-and-down eight miles at altitude leaves you tired but feeling like you’ve done something useful with your Saturday.

Hiking & Fly Fishing the high country

It's a walk, but a kinda pretty one...

In other words, fly fishing for Brookies in alpine lakes pretty much pushes all the desirable buttons: exercise, peace of mind, eye candy and a longer life.

See you on the trail (before the snow flies), Tom Chandler.

Posted in Backcountry, Fishing Report and tagged , , .