DFoster

C'mon up guys the spring trout fishing is peaking and the weather won't turn nasty for another 8 months (a Floridian might say 3 months) but either way you got time.

I really only “wet wade” on blue line streams so usually no deeper than 12” with some rock hoping will get me to a good casting lane. I’ve been using my Muck boots which are great at keeping my feet dry and warm but really suck in the “grip” category. Using neoprene booties with my regular boots will work. Another option I found are these Korkers over shoes that I could wear over the Mucks.

Great looking page of flies- well done!

Yes the rod is pointing down stream. When my Father in Law purchased his Massachusetts farm in 1968 the deed said "30 less or more acres". In 1982 he had is land surveyed for tax purposes he learned he had 85 and a few acres had been logged. My wife asked her dad back then if he was going to seek legal recourse against the people responsible. He said "Nope, last night I went to bed thinking I owned 30 acres and today I own 85, it's been a good day, why ruin it with lawyers"? Smart man-

Cool- I can't imagine getting into trouble in there at all when I was a kid!

This weekend was hot and humid locally. After fishing a larger river on Saturday morning I decided to stay cooler in the shade and go back to this stream from this post again. As you can see from the photos it's under a beautiful tree canopy. It was like fishing in AC at least until about 11AM. I had a ball and caught over 2 dozen fish from fingerlings to 9". All of them were Fallfish or River Herring so the quest for wild trout here continues. I did find another spot to the North with public access to the water so I'll try there in the future.

I tie a lot of winged wets but not as small as 18-22. I'm assuming your only using the tips of the quill slip. If so for flies that small have you tried quill slips from Starling, Woodcock or Partridge? Just a guess here but perhaps the smaller scale would allow you to use the "choice" part of the quill and they might not want to split as easy?

Over the weekend the temps here hit the mid 90's with humidity to match. Saturday I got to the river at first light to fish until it got uncomfortable. I often fish small streams under a tree canopy so this particular river being fairly wide meant a lot of sun exposure depending on where I was standing. It's got plenty of wild trout as well as stocked fish and because I've been in a slump lately when it comes to small stream wild trout I thought this was a good option. All morning a lot of trout were rising with heads completely out of the water, taking very, very small flies, so small I couldn't see them. Midges or even mosquitos? It was really early when I left and in the mental fog before coffee I forgot to grab my micro box. 😲 Fortunately there was plan B- throw every thing else and hopefully find something they like. Two hours and 20+ flies fished on 3 rigs later a #10 black woolly bugger on a dead drift with only the slightest tug, just enough to pause it, did the trick. I ended up netting 3, losing 1 and missing 3 so not so bad. I have to wonder though how I would have done if I had my micro dries? These are the questions that haunt me in over the winter.

Nice fish sir- the last photo looks a lot like the Ware River?

Great pattern, with many potential color variations.

EDSON TIGER HOOK: #10 2XL HEAVY WIRE. THREAD: #70 BLACK TAIL: BARRED WOOD DUCK ABDOMEN/BODY: PEACOCK HERL- NATURAL UNDERWING: BUCK TAIL - YELLOW OVER WING: HEN FIBERS - RED HEAD: S.H. HARD AS NAILS

Topic back to you.... I grew up in a small town 12 miles outside of the second largest city in New England, Worcester, MA. Worcester was mostly working class with pretty much no night life considering it's size. I was told the city paid a steep price result a feud between the city government and the state DOT. Years earlier when the state was building the Mass Pike, a highway that runs from the New York boarder to Boston this feud led to them building right past Worcester without a putting in a single exit to the city. Take that city hall! Anyway for a long time the only option to catch a concert was to drive. In 1982, despite still not having an exit into Worcester the Worcester Centrum finally opened and A list entertainment followed. Over a decade I went to many shows but the first one, Van Halen on October 23, 1982 is seared into my memory as my favorite. Van Halen were at their peak and they were probably the "biggest" band in the world at that time. This was my friends and I first concert and as unsupervised teenagers the place felt really dangerous. Everyone got frisked entering the facility for "weapons, alcohol and recording devices" -cool! Then on our way in to our seats a group of workers rushed past us carrying an unconscious lady who was completely topless- whoa! The smell of weed was everywhere and getting stronger as we got to our floor seats. Once there a guy and his girlfriend passed us a flask he snuck in full of Jack Daniels and randomly said "safety in numbers". ??? When the lights went dark we almost got trampled as thousands rushed forward to the stage. At the same time several loud M-80 explosions detonated over our heads having been thrown by people sitting in the upper balcony -double whoa! The band was powerful and loud and there were beautiful girls everywhere. Being teenage boys we were all just blown away by the whole thing and It's a great memory from my youth that will never be repeated. As the years went by my friends and I went to many shows from Paula Abdul to Ozzy Osbourne to Aerosmith to Billy Squire to Kiss. After a while for me concerts just lost their excitement and became somewhat redundant. Maybe it's because I'm a musician myself, I don't really know but by 1993 I stopped chasing tickets. Even the subsequent visits of Van Halen didn't carry with them the adrenaline rush of that first show. Ticket prices now are just too high- $650 to see the Stones, I'd rather have another fly rod thanks. From what I've seen on TV it looks like most performers have gone way overboard with their light shows and those obnoxious jumbo screens. These days I'm content to listen to the excitement in my daughters and my oldest grand daughters voices as they tell me all about the latest show they've seen even though half the time I've never heard of the band. Who the hell is Dustin Lynch? 😆

Awesome display of will power Steve! I'm on the new inflation/price of fuel diet where government policies drive a hyperinflationary economy so that I can't afford food. I'm looking forward to the new me! 🙂

Glad to hear this is just a cleaning project because according to prophecy "Norm quitting tying" is one of the signs of the end times- up there with earthquakes and floods. 😦

I couldn't agree more, it's about not being detected more than anything else when it comes to the small water. The faster broken water's small pools in photo 2 we're deep (2') when compared to the flow which was 6" to 12". I drifted a small dry on every one up that run without result. I forgot rule no.1 and was moving way to fast that day and casting at too close of range. Now that I've seen a lot of the stream the next time I go I will spend some