small stream stoke.

[tomicogs]

Got back into it, got back on the water this season. A tired & cranky knee has requested that I tone down the bike related activities for the time being. But gotta do something, gotta get out, gotta be outside.


So I splurged, turned 40 and splurged on a new outfit. Used to fish bamboo, used to have a nice quiver, then parted out the rods to finance the bikes...oh how I wish I still had one or two of those rods, that 2wt T&T. Time to start over, went up to Coburn, to the Feathered Hook, spent an afternoon trying out rods...went home with a sweeeeet 6'8" 2/2 3wt and a darling little Forbes disc reel. Great set up for stalking the wild brookies and browns of PA...


Enough words, pics from the last month and a half probably say more...
Michaux brookie:

the fabled Letort

Another Michaux native:

Hatch matching:

14" Letort brown, breaking in the new 8' 4wt by Dennis Stone:

Weiser State Forest:

Weiser brookie:

Fungal dreamcicle:

Tuscarrora trout stream:

Drakes!

#14 Adams works fine:

not quite Jaws:


to be continued...

[OSECS]

Sweet !! .....

[schwerty]

Wow! That's some pretty water/country! Love the bamboo stoke too! Keep it coming.

[DeeAre]

sick post! keep that shit coming.

[DeathVan]

Awesome! and this bamboo rod is breaking my heart it's so pretty

Looking forward to more, and Happy Birthday!

to be continued...

I usually think "dream-catchers" are lame, not anymore

[Crystal_Mt_Dreamin]

Sick spots, beautiful pics and NICE bamboo rod. I've got a few heirlooms from the grandparents I should restore.

[Jer]

Little streams and native brookies rule. Bamboo is cool as well although I'd be afraid to actually take one fishing.

[L8APX]

what they said! keep it coming and happy birthday

Nice sticks too.

[Denny1969]

Tomicogs,
I like your style!

Denny

[gretch6364]

So I grew up in Western PA and we had a couple small streams up north that would hold some 6 or 7 inch natives mixed in with the stocked fish, but those were VERY far and inbetween. Seemed like the fishermen were so reliant on stocked fish and they just went out each year and took as many of them out of the steam as possible and the fishing sucked until opening day the next year.

It looks like the natives you are catching are bigger and the streams are better maintained. I am trying to decide if I want to take my fly gear back to PA with me over the fourth or if I will just be dissapointed after the couple years I have spent in CO.

Edit:
So much good trout water in that part of the country was lost to industry way back...hopefully it starts to complete some of the rebound. It also looks the like PA Game Commission is trying to concentrate more on wild trout and catch and release. They have begun a program where they are mapping the small trout streams that are finally starting to support wild trout again and I am hopefully they will start to protect some of these waters.

[72Twenty]

Those photos = NOICE.

[tomicogs]

thanks guys, glad ya'll like it....

gretch, definitely bring a rod along! I imagine the wild brookie streams are a slightly different game than what ya'll play out in CO, but it's probably just a matter of scale. Having not really been fishing much for the last ten years, I was surprised to find that there are now state regs for the specific protection of brook trout drainages, and they also don't stock, or at least are not supposed to, what's classified as a Class A wild trout stream. So I usually check the state stocking list, then head in the opposite direction...

So, I've been hatching plans for a little getaway next week. Was supposed to help out with a bike race for the week, but bailed due to the tired knee...still taking the week off work though. Looking at the rod quiver, I saw a hole that needed filled, not difficult at all. The DreamCatcher is an incredible rod for small streams, but it's two piece configuration isn't quite suitable for bike/hike travels, and that 8' 4wt I got from D. Stone is awesome in the meadows and packable as a three piece, but a bit long for jousting thru the rhodo & laurel thickets... Kept an eye on the eBay and found another D. Stone rod up for sale, this one a 7' 3" three piece for a 4wt. Picked it up for an awesome deal and it arrived Monday. A lawn casting session had me finding the pace of the rod real quick, a delightful fastish-medium action.

Got it out for a little real world shakedown last night, couple of pics...

Made a new friend on the drive down, found a reallllly long stick and helped him get safely across the road..


New toy glamour shot:


An eager little Michaux brookie:


Tonight I think I'll check out this meadow on the Letort, and hope
that the big snapping turtle I watched drift thru is elsewhere:

[DeeAre]

Excellent serpent shot! Truly fascinating creatures.

[plugboots]

Great pics. I laughed hard at the hatch matching shot.

[tomicogs]

snuck out to the home stream Weds eve, testing out the wet wading setup, see how it works in the Letort swampiness. Not using hippers is nice, dig the even faster and light commute...crafted a sling for the rod tube from parachute chord, snap on the fishin' waistpack and just spin over on my bicycle. No need for the backpack to haul the clunky boots.

The meadow shown above which I wanted to fish was murky from work being done up in the cress farm, this is just below the confluence of the two branches. So, I went further upstream to clean, new to me, water. Man, that last hour before nightfall is certainly magical, sulphurs start popping and the trouts go on the feed. Luckily, I was first one to work this particular meadow, plenty of mellow undisturbed fishes. After a couple of refusals, a fly change, and a not hurried pace, finally fooled this fine trout, 14-15" of wild Letort brown, what a fun night!



Also been shuffling gear, making plans for some time in the forest next week. 2000cu in = an easy three day/two night excursion up north, restock then explore another neighboring drainage, I've got allllllll week.


oh, and stay away from the DEET, that shit will fuck up the varnish on your nice bamboo rod...now I know. (it's just cosmetic though, working on the fix..)

[pepperdawg]

^^^Nice Brown


Heres a shot of a small, but beautiful native brookie I got from a small meadow brook last week......stream was maybe 6-7 feet wide.....caught and release 6-7 of these littel guys - was fun...

[Deadmonton]

Very, very nice.

I miss playing with the brookies in the tiny creeks back at my folks place in Ontario.

I wish it wasn't still snowing in Alberta...

[tomicogs]

[gretch6364]

looks awesome!

[tomicogs]

well, I got home from the backpacking excursion, and hit up some local streams for the rest of the week.

Managed to do something I'd yet to do, hit the Daily TRIFECTA!

Started out on Big Spring Creek in the morning for a few hours,
talk about spooky water....


Caught all of two fish in those couple hours, the first was this little wild rainbow:


And a bit bigger inhabitant, a nice wild brookie:


The rainbow was my first for the year, thought that was kinda neat, then figured I may as well hit the Letort in the evening, see if I could hook up with a brown....
Success!, but this fella was a bit camera shy:


and, oh, yeah, unexpectedly seeing this relic was a good reminder to watch your step, now that wet wading season is upon us...watch your toes...

[samthaman]

sweet shots! is that a henry shires tarptent (i used to be way too into ultralight hiking)?

[tomicogs]

hey Sam, good guess!, but no, not a Shires, this one is a Six Moon Designs. Pretty much the same dilly....it's pretty sweet to know you can easily stay out for a few days w/ a pack weight in the low 20's, originally picked up all this light gear for bikepacking/touring....saw some AT thru hikers yesterday, damn do they carry some BIG packs...

[schwerty]

You got a good thing going.

[tone capone]

I love the small stream stoke. I used to inhabit a similar place. Looks beautiful, more please.

[hartzejr]

Damn pudry waters and fish. Keep it coming.