Watch for falling trees -

[DFoster 0]

 I had Tuesday and Wednesday off from work and had an interesting couple of hours fishing.  Upon arriving at the stream I was surprised to find this huge pine had fallen across what's known as "Cable Pool" effectively cutting it in two. I was here a month ago and that tree was standing.  Good cover for the trout but it does limit casting angles on a river that already doesn't have a lot of open pools.  This pool is probably the deepest on the river and is heavily pressured in the spring.  It's the first water you come to after leaving the parking area and it's one of the locations that our state stocks with Rainbows. It' a popular spot as you can imagine.  The second photo is taken from the opposite side.  That little sandy area under where the tree landed offered great casting angles and you could cover the entire pool without getting in the water.  After the spring stocking on any day someone would be fishing from that spot (maybe even me) so I'm glad this didn't happen then or someone could have been killed (including me).  At this time of year there are a few Rainbows left but this river stays cold and holds many wild Brook and Brown trout which are of far more interest to me .  Generally by the end of June I have the place all to myself because most people are not interested in working at catching the "little" guys-  

 

I followed the trail to a small path that leads down to one of my favorite spots.  I had walked in a short distance and I found these White Face Hornets had built their home right on the side of the path at about 4' off the ground.  Thick brush prevented me from going around without some serious bushwhacking and I didn't want to risk damage to my waders.  The only other option was to pass in front of the nest roughly 3'- 4' away, nope, not doing that.  Of all the wildlife in our state White Face Hornets are easily the most foul tempered creatures in the woods.   I wasn't about to learn the hard way what is the minimum distance they would tolerate me from their nest.

So it was time for plan B- back track a bit and try an area that I had never fished before. 

Over my years fly fishing this river, from time to time I have run into another fellow wild trout chaser.  Were all notoriously tight lipped about the location of natives. On occasion though a few have been kind enough to point me to some good spots.  Now they only did so only after they had spoke with me long enough to know that I cherish wild trout as much as them. The truth is that  I'm strictly catch and release, using barbless hooks, wetting my hands before handling fish, returning them to the water quickly and doing everything possible to insure they survive the release.   I want be able to keep catching these jewels for as long as I'm able. It's crucial to me that these wild trout to live on and reproduce.  I keep only a quick photo as my trophy.  Anyway I remembered one of those conversations from last Autumn and that lead me to a beautiful location.  One of those spots where there is a path in but you'll only find it if your looking for it.  Sure enough there were no boot prints in the mud but my own.  Dries were all I needed- Ausable Bombers, Ants and Hoppers were all working.  I know these fish are not big but they are beautiful and fun on a 3 weight.   I'm truly thankful that most don't want to chase these little guys...

 

 

[Steeldrifter 0]

Nice pictures. Falling trees can be a blessing and a curse. I've had spots that trees fell in and ruined the hole, and others where they fell in and made a new hole where there previous was not one. Goes back to the old saying of how a river is ever changing. Are white face hornets a different breed than bald face hornets? I've had a couple big bald face hornet nets here over the years but never noticed those to be all that aggressive. Guessing the white face ones are different and much more aggressive?

[niveker 0]

Jesus, thats a good day, DF.  Beauteous fish.    

On two occasions I've had large branches fall into the river not far from me while fishing the Swift.  

[cphubert 0]

On 9/8/2023 at 11:14 AM, Steeldrifter said:

white face ones are different and much more aggressive

I don't know if they are different but we call white face hornets are very aggressive and hard to escape once they are on track to let you know you are trespassing. Their bits are painful and swelling and infection is not uncommon. I dropped a tree once with a nest and ended up in the hospital my experience with them was worse than any yellowjacket or stinging bee I had ever encountered.

[DFoster 0]

On 9/8/2023 at 11:14 AM, Steeldrifter said:

Nice pictures. Falling trees can be a blessing and a curse. I've had spots that trees fell in and ruined the hole, and others where they fell in and made a new hole where there previous was not one. Goes back to the old saying of how a river is ever changing. Are white face hornets a different breed than bald face hornets? I've had a couple big bald face hornet nets here over the years but never noticed those to be all that aggressive. Guessing the white face ones are different and much more aggressive?

Yep - they're the same.  Mean little buggers.

[Mark Knapp 0]

On 9/8/2023 at 5:48 AM, DFoster said:

 I had Tuesday and Wednesday off from work and had an interesting couple of hours fishing.  Upon arriving at the stream I was surprised to find this huge pine had fallen across what's known as "Cable Pool" effectively cutting it in two. I was here a month ago and that tree was standing.  Good cover for the trout but it does limit casting angles on a river that already doesn't have a lot of open pools.  This pool is probably the deepest on the river and is heavily pressured in the spring.  It's the first water you come to after leaving the parking area and it's one of the locations that our state stocks with Rainbows. It' a popular spot as you can imagine.  The second photo is taken from the opposite side.  That little sandy area under where the tree landed offered great casting angles and you could cover the entire pool without getting in the water.  After the spring stocking on any day someone would be fishing from that spot (maybe even me) so I'm glad this didn't happen then or someone could have been killed (including me).  At this time of year there are a few Rainbows left but this river stays cold and holds many wild Brook and Brown trout which are of far more interest to me .  Generally by the end of June I have the place all to myself because most people are not interested in working at catching the "little" guys-  

 

 

I followed the trail to a small path that leads down to one of my favorite spots.  I had walked in a short distance and I found these White Face Hornets had built their home right on the side of the path at about 4' off the ground.  Thick brush prevented me from going around without some serious bushwhacking and I didn't want to risk damage to my waders.  The only other option was to pass in front of the nest roughly 3'- 4' away, nope, not doing that.  Of all the wildlife in our state White Face Hornets are easily the most foul tempered creatures in the woods.   I wasn't about to learn the hard way what is the minimum distance they would tolerate me from their nest.

 

So it was time for plan B- back track a bit and try an area that I had never fished before. 

Over my years fly fishing this river, from time to time I have run into another fellow wild trout chaser.  Were all notoriously tight lipped about the location of natives. On occasion though a few have been kind enough to point me to some good spots.  Now they only did so only after they had spoke with me long enough to know that I cherish wild trout as much as them. The truth is that  I'm strictly catch and release, using barbless hooks, wetting my hands before handling fish, returning them to the water quickly and doing everything possible to insure they survive the release.   I want be able to keep catching these jewels for as long as I'm able. It's crucial to me that these wild trout to live on and reproduce.  I keep only a quick photo as my trophy.  Anyway I remembered one of those conversations from last Autumn and that lead me to a beautiful location.  One of those spots where there is a path in but you'll only find it if your looking for it.  Sure enough there were no boot prints in the mud but my own.  Dries were all I needed- Ausable Bombers, Ants and Hoppers were all working.  I know these fish are not big but they are beautiful and fun on a 3 weight.   I'm truly thankful that most don't want to chase these little guys...

 

Very cool. Pretty fish.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Mother nature has a habit of changing things in small waters - sometimes an improvement - other times things go the other way - whether it's a lovely freshwater stream or some backcountry brackish coastal area (where everything is actually temporary - until the next storm moves stuff around...).  I've been known to try to stuff a seven foot wide skiff up a six foot wide creek so we have our share of mis-adventures as well as successes.  A willingness to explore and push the envelope whether its trout waters or a salt creek can be very rewarding at times... 

Great report by the way - even though I'll likely never leave my jungle fishing... 

[DFoster 0]

23 minutes ago, Capt Bob LeMay said:

Mother nature has a habit of changing things in small waters - sometimes an improvement - other times things go the other way - whether it's a lovely freshwater stream or some backcountry brackish coastal area (where everything is actually temporary - until the next storm moves stuff around...).  I've been known to try to stuff a seven foot wide skiff up a six foot wide creek so we have our share of mis-adventures as well as successes.  A willingness to explore and push the envelope whether its trout waters or a salt creek can be very rewarding at times... 

Great report by the way - even though I'll likely never leave my jungle fishing... 

Thanks Capt'n - I like to share the more interesting things that occasionally happen out there with fellow anglers.  The environments are different but chasing the next fish is the same for all of us, as is the never ending search for the next "secret" spot.  I was fortunate to find a new one last week.

[DFoster 0]

12 hours ago, Mark Knapp said:

Very cool. Pretty fish.

Thanks Mark, I would imagine that in Alaska you have lots of falling trees and that all your waters hold trout if not salmon and Grayling?

 It’s a little different here in the Northeast. We have lots of flowing water in Massachusetts but a lot of our streams are too warm to hold reproducing populations of trout.  Our larger trout rivers are well known and as they hold the largest fish they (thankfully) draw the vast majority of trout anglers.  The small stream fly fishermen here tend to keep streams where wild trout are to be found a secret.  

[Mark Knapp 0]

On 9/13/2023 at 5:55 AM, DFoster said:

Thanks Mark, I would imagine that in Alaska you have lots of falling trees and that all your waters hold trout if not salmon and Grayling?

 It’s a little different here in the Northeast. We have lots of flowing water in Massachusetts but a lot of our streams are too warm to hold reproducing populations of trout.  Our larger trout rivers are well known and as they hold the largest fish they (thankfully) draw the vast majority of trout anglers.  The small stream fly fishermen here tend to keep streams where wild trout are to be found a secret.  

👍