Joy

Nothing to say about an amazing valley view.

We were in Connecticut Sunday evening and most of the day Monday because we were going to a memorial service in NYC.  We did it so we would not have 6 plus hours of driving all in one day, but I did not complain because it meant we would be near some really fine trout streams and rivers.  I had grand thoughts of hitting the Housatonic River and trying to catch some monster trout, but the weirdest thing happened on the ride to the river.  The mountains were electric green and looking alive and all my thoughts of landing a monster trout on the river faded.

That first fish but the picture doesn't do it justice.

I had a complete change of heart and suddenly felt the need to reflect on a much smaller stream.  So I went to a small mountain stream that I did not fish at all last year.  It is one of my favorite streams near Sarah's parents house for many reasons.  As I parked the car and strung up my rod I could hear the stream down the trail and right then the reflecting started.

One of many delicate releases this day.

This guy might have been a new addition to the stream by the state early this spring because the color was not like that others I caught the rest of the day.

 This stream is kind of special because I fished it the second time I came to visit Sarah and her family in CT.  That same weekend was the first time I met the lady who's memorial we were going to.  Then a couple years later I took my brother fishing on the steam, the weekend my family came to visit Sarah's family (because we had just gotten engaged).  There was also the week of our wedding where I fished it alone as an unmarried fisherman for the last time.  I fished it alone because my brother could not be in the wedding due to some obligations he had to the Coast Guard (he had just gotten out of boot camp and needed to report) and the trip was going to be just him and I.  Looking back that was the last time I fished that small brook that tumbles down between two mountains until this past Monday.

Up till this fish that had all been much smaller.

This is the only rainbow I have ever caught out of here, and the picture again doesn't show the colors the way they were.  He had a lime green back, and a neon pink strip and when he was in the water it was an amazing sight.

I have never been skunked on this stream, I fished it in a downpour once and still managed to land two small brook trout.  So it was only fitting that after I tied the ausable bomber (Thanks Small Stream Reflections this is my new small streams go to) on and made my first drift down the left side of a pool. A small trout came up took that fly off the water like it was the first food it had seen all day.  I spent the better part of four hours Monday morning reflecting on that stream and fishing of course.  I caught countless trout and even managed to land three of the biggest fish I have ever caught on this stream.  Truth be told all those other fish did not matter because with that first one I was instantly filled with joy.

Saying good bye to the big bow. This was now the biggest fish of the day.

Joy.  I remembered why I love fishing for native and wild trout.  They are beautiful, smart, fast and joyful.  With each fish and each memory I smiled bigger  and at some point near the end of my fishing trip with mosquitoes and flies dive-bombing me I started to laugh because I was still catching trout and did not want to leave.  Now as I am scratching those bites on my arms, hands and neck I am reminded of how great morning adventure it was.

Two casts later in the same small pool was this beauty! Until I landed this fish I didn't believe fish this big would be up this stream as far as I was, because I was in skinny water at this point.

On my 15th or 20th last cast I landed this fish and my ausable bomber was losing it's tail and a piece of hacked was dangling from the back.

Now I am looking forward to the next adventure on my National Take Me Fishing Week Tour:  My home waters back in PA.  My brother will be home from WI and I hope to get out fishing with him at least in the short time I will be there.      


-Bruce