Fish Pictures

[DFoster 0]

16 hours ago, partsman said:

Nice rainbow DF, have you been using your bamboo rod? I’m still waiting for the rivers to come down a little here in Michigan, maybe this week.

Mike.

Thanks Mike- yes I used the bamboo 3 weight all of last year as well as this year.  It's become my go to on most days. I did a lot of experimenting with my home made leader and have found what the rod likes best relative to my particular casting style.  I can generally hit my target area out to about 35' which is all I need on the smaller streams I frequent.  One issue has been that tip no.2 has a persistent set to the right that keeps returning.  I use heat to bring it back to true but by the end of the day it's back although to a lesser degree.  Each time I straighten it the set becomes less and less so I think it's simply a matter of time until it's gone for good. 

 I hope your waters calm down enough to allow you to fish.  It seems like the season took forever to get here.  

[DFoster 0]

10 hours ago, niveker said:

Great fish, DF

Thanks- it's one of the better ones I've landed in recent memory.  Given that I've had so many "spit the hook" on me this spring I was a bit worried that I was going to loose that one to.  Sometimes thing just go right.

[DFoster 0]

A nice fat one.  Caught on a Wickham's Fancy winged wet.

[Steeldrifter 0]

That's a football 👍

[DFoster 0]

Two from Monday and yesterday- We've had a good amount of rain lately and the rivers are high and ripping.  As it' all but impossible to get a good drift with the heavy flow I've been swinging wets.  

 

[Steeldrifter 0]

The way the spots cover the entire body of those bows is really cool. The ones here in Michigan usually only have the back and half the side spotted. That's neat the way it is all over on those there.

[DFoster 0]

On 5/3/2023 at 9:38 AM, Steeldrifter said:

The way the spots cover the entire body of those bows is really cool. The ones here in Michigan usually only have the back and half the side spotted. That's neat the way it is all over on those there.

These are definitely stocked fish, maybe that makes a difference in their appearance?  I vastly prefer wild trout but that requires a 30 minute drive.  This river is 9 minutes down the road so it's perfect for after work.  Other than the first 2 weeks after stocking I haven't seen another angler. 

[DFoster 0]

I had a really enjoyable couple oh hours on Saturday early morning.  The weather was perfect, 45  degrees at first light and warming as the morning went.  I decided to fish a spot that I have never been to before.  Massachusetts classifies this area of the river as a "cold water fishery" and therefore has the potential to hold wild trout. We'll see.  The most likely part of the river to hold natives has a few miles of thick tree canopy which begins just past the abandoned rail road dam in the photo.  To get in and fish it will require some bushwhacking unless I can find a trail.  I had lots yard work waiting for me on Saturday and didn't have the time to really explore.  Still I hooked 3 rainbows. The 2 that made it to the net gave great accounts of themselves, hard fights with many jumps.  I got careless with the 2nd bow and he slipped from my grasp before I could get a pic. Several fall fish and a yellow perch made for a fun couple of hours.

[feathers5 0]

Nice assortment of fish. Are they wild rainbows?

[DFoster 0]

5 hours ago, feathers5 said:

Nice assortment of fish. Are they wild rainbows?

These Bows are complements of the State of Massachusetts.  We have native Brook Trout and wild populations of Browns here but  most are fairly small 6" to 10"s. They fight twice as hard as the stocked fish and I personally would rather catch a 6" brookie than a 12" stocked bow.  The nice thing about the stocked fish is they are only a 10 minute ride from my house.  I haven't found accessible wild trout water any closer than a 30 minute drive so I save them for the days that I have a little more time.  I have caught wild rainbows but they are fairly rare here in Mass.

[feathers5 0]

2 hours ago, DFoster said:

These Bows are complements of the State of Massachusetts.  We have native Brook Trout and wild populations of Browns here but  most are fairly small 6" to 10"s. They fight twice as hard as the stocked fish and I personally would rather catch a 6" brookie than a 12" stocked bow.  The nice thing about the stocked fish is they are only a 10 minute ride from my house.  I haven't found accessible wild trout water any closer than a 30 minute drive so I save them for the days that I have a little more time.  I have caught wild rainbows but they are fairly rare here in Mass.

In my world a fish is still a fish regardless of size, wild or stocked. As long as I feel that tug on my rod tip.

[DFoster 0]

13 hours ago, feathers5 said:

In my world a fish is still a fish regardless of size, wild or stocked. As long as I feel that tug on my rod tip.

For me catching any fish stocked or not, big or small is just fun.  Like most of us here I enjoy it to the point that I've spent a lot of money, time and effort to become proficient at fly angling.  Where I live, most of the area's that the state stock are heavily pressured for about 2 weeks by the catch and keep crowd.  The trout that survive the 2 weeks of rooster tails and worms become pretty tough to fool and are great sport.   I have no prejudice against fishing for stocked trout, I do it often but wild fish are my favorite.

[feathers5 0]

1 hour ago, DFoster said:

For me catching any fish stocked or not, big or small is just fun.  Like most of us here I enjoy it to the point that I've spent a lot of money, time and effort to become proficient at fly angling.  Where I live, most of the area's that the state stock are heavily pressured for about 2 weeks by the catch and keep crowd.  The trout that survive the 2 weeks of rooster tails and worms become pretty tough to fool and are great sport.   I have no prejudice against fishing for stocked trout, I do it often but wild fish are my favorite.

I agree. I like wild fish because where I find them is usually in secluded places that takes effort to get to. Most people don't enjoy that effort.

[DFoster 0]

This is a small river not to far from my home.  

[feathers5 0]

Beautiful. Do you ever pull out any large  brookies from there?