Wild Winter Browns

With clear, cool weather Friday and Saturday morning, I fished the Ken Lockwood Gorge.  The water clarity was crystal clear, and the fishing was great.  Friday morning, I missed a couple hits, and had a fish snap my line.  I was able to land one large rainbow which was between 15-20 inches.  Saturday morning the fishing was once again great.  I carefully walked down the hill to the river, ready to drift nymphs in a stretch right by the parking area.  Two or three casts in, my indicator went down, and I set the hook to feel the pull of a fish.  I reeled in, and surprisingly it was not a rainbow, but a brown with beautiful red spots.  I moved to a couple more spots, before finding a run that was right above a small waterfall.  I drifted the nymphs around 5 yards above the waterfall in the swiftly moving water, and once again saw my indicator sink.  Another wild brown was to hand soon after, and another after that.  I continued to fish in other spots, and missed a couple hits, but landed no more.  Friday and Saturday the trout were feeding actively at the gorge and the fishing was on.

Fall Trout

Returning home for Thanksgiving last week, I fished for trout for the first time in months.  The first two days, I had no luck at the Ken Lockwood Gorge.  The third day, I fished my favorite small wild trout stream, and lost 2 native brookies and landed 2.  My last full day home, I went on a guided trip with my father on the South Branch of the Raritan.  I ended up landing one 20+ inch rainbow, and my father, a first time fly fisherman caught 4 all around the size of mine, and one even bigger!  All in all it was a great vacation, and great fishing, and I look forward to returning to the streams in a couple weeks when I'm back in NJ for Christmas and New years.

native brookies

big bow on the SBR

native brook trout stream

Nighttime Docklights

For the last few weeks, I have been fishing up in Fort Pierce at my Grandpa's on the Indian River.  I fish mainly at night, and caught my first saltwater fish on a fly near a marina.  I stripped in the popper, and soon after heard a violent strike, and had the fly line ripped out of my hand as the reel started screaming.  A little Jack Cravelle, but a good fight on the 8 wt.  The following morning we went out with a guide, where I lost a few strikes, caught another very small Jack Cravelle, and a small snook.  The next couple trips following would be my most productive to Fort Pierce for fishing.  I found a small dock near my Grandpa's place, with two very bright lights at the end on both the left and right side.  The fishing at this spot on a good night, was the best i've ever seen.  every cast or every other cast would be a follow or a take.  The lights provided baitfish that many game fish feed on.  I have caught Jacks, numerous ladyfish, and trout, but there are also snook, reds, and other fish I can see under the lights.  The first trip I caught around 5 or 6 ladyfish. The first night of the following weekend, I caught at least 8-10 ladyfish, a 20+inch speckled trout, and a jack.  The following night was slow, because of the clear sky and the full moon.  I still ended up with one of each a jack, ladyfish, and trout.  With the peacock bite down, the Saltwater is all I have been fishing.

dock during first light in the morning

first saltwater fish on the fly. Jack Cravelle

Ladyfish

Speckled trout

A good sign for the future

Peacocks were originally introduced into Florida's waterways to help decrease on the population of cichlids, which were illegally introduced.  The freeze Florida saw a few years ago killed off many Peacock bass, from the climate conditions that were unbearable for fish that are native to year long tropical weather.  Because of this, I was unsuccessful catching any.  The numbers this year however have increased rapidly.  This past week fishing though, has been somewhat slow.  I only took a few fish to hand, but what I did end up catching has shown good signs for the future.  I caught one peacock which was of a decent size, around 3 pounds.  Two other peacocks I caught however were only 6 inches or so.  These fish had not even gotten their orange and yellow color yet, but showed that there are plenty of adolescent peacocks, and in increasing numbers.

average sized pea

two younger peas

Freshwater

I got out yesterday morning on the canal for about an hour before the lightning and thunder was to close for comfort.  Weather wise, it was a nice morning, the usual overwhelming heat was cooled from the winds of the incoming storm.  For the hour that I was out, I was able to catch one small peacock and one small largemouth.  I got back to it in the afternoon around 415, and fished for a couple of hours.  This two hours was the best fishing I've seen yet here in southern FL.  I ended up with two more peacocks, one which was 4-5 pounds, who stripped line on multiple hard runs.  I also caught two mayan cichlids, and a small fish resembling a bluegill, which I believe was a black acaria, another non-native fish to florida's freshwater canals.  All fish were taken on a small streamer.

small cichlid

small pea

cichlid

black acaria?

biggest pea

small pea

non-natives

I decided to go fishing on the same canal again after I caught the peacock, so I was back again in the morning.  I was using the same fly, a blue and white streamer, which when stripped has a little action to it.  I cast it across to the other bank, and a few strips in felt the pull of what felt to be a big fish.  as I reeled it in, I once again saw the flash of orange, but it was much smaller.  The fish pulled drag, and when finally landed it, it was a small Mayan Cichlid.  I continued to fish for about another hour or so, and hooked into another one on the same streamer.  This fish too fought hard.  It took a couple minutes to finally land, and when I did, I saw that I had gotten my first male peacock.  They are identified as males when they have a large bump on their head.  I continued to fish for a little while longer.  I had two peacocks follow my streamer, saw another two swim by, and watched a gar violently attack, but nothing else was taken to hand.  All in all, a good morning.

male peacock

mayan cichlid

Not a trout but it'll do

Luckily enough for me, the weather held off today in southern Fl, and I was able to get out on the canals.  I stopped at the local fly shop and picked up a Lamson Konic II with intermediate line, and tried it out.  The day started off a little rough, as my feet were getting eaten by fire ants and I had no luck fishing.  I stopped for a little while, and went back to it later in the afternoon with socks and shoes rather than flip flops.  The fishing was still slow, and I had changed flies on numerous occasions, all subsurface.  Finally around 5, I stripped in the streamer, and felt the tug of a big fish.  As I fought it and got it close to the bank, the fish jumped fully out of the water and I saw the flash of orange and yellow, and knew I had my first peacock on the end of my line.  It's not a small stream wild trout, but fishing the canals with the 8wt is pretty damn fun too.

mayan chicilid from last year

first peacock

One Last Cast

Returning to southern Florida for school this evening, I had one more morning to spend fishing for trout .  I stopped at Dunkin on the way for a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee as I had so many Sunday's this summer, and was stream side by 630.  It was routine as usual: Fish the wild trout stream first and move on to the gorge after.  I originally wanted to fish strictly dries today, but that got too frustrating, and I soon after put on my usual bead head woolly bugger but in white rather than olive.  I hooked into 5-10 fish mostly brookies and a couple chub, but none were taken to hand.  The WB began to fall apart, so I put on another streamer, which was a brook trout imitation.  I hooked into more trout on this, but only took one to hand this morning.  My visit to the gorge was no better, as it was very slow.  I caught one rock bass on a size sixteen elk hair caddis, but nothing after.  I spoke to another angler who too had little luck.  Even though I only caught one trout, I was happy enough spending a couple hours stream side.  The diverse species that Florida has to offer doesn't match up to trout for me. The gentle sound of the rushing water and the rising bows, browns, and especially brookies will be missed for the next few months.

Resting for the next few months

catch of the day

rushing wts

KLG

Wild Brookies

With my days winding down here in New Jersey before my return to college, I decided to head out to my favorite wild trout stream here in Hunterdon county this morning.  With my 2wt, I used a small bead head olive woolly bugger, and cast into a small pool.  It was not long until a small wild brook trout was to hand.  The water was very clear this morning, and as I stripped in the streamer, I saw a couple of brookies follow it up to the surface.  I ended up with three brookies, two chubs, and lost a couple more.  This small stream is one that is fished very lightly, and offers much isolation.  I have never seen anyone else fish here, and cars rarely pass by on the adjacent dirt road.  The stream is heavily shaded by trees, which keeps the water temp low and the air cool and damp.  Fishing here always brings me serenity, listening to the leaves gently rustling in the wind, and the water flowing through the ravine.

large pool

"Bassin"

I decided to fish my uncles pond this evening for about an hour from 7-8, and am sure glad I did.  I brought with me my 5 wt, hoping to get some bass on a cortland popper I had yet to try out.  On my second cast, a small eruption engulfed the popper, but I missed the hook set.  soon after, a bass was to hand, and shortly after another one.  I ended up with 4 bass in an hour, and a sunfish to end the evening, all on the popper.  The bass were smaller sized, 10-15 inches, but still a lot of fun on the 5 wt. Watching the fish hit the surface was exciting as always, and made the perfect ending to my Friday.

bass taken on popper

view of the pond

"The Coop"

The Capoolong is a small trib of the South Branch, that is located minutes from my home in Pittstown.  along with numerous in season trout stockings, the creek also holds a small population of wild browns. The creek is one of my favorites for numerous reasons.  Firstly, the location of the creek is extremely convenient.  Being around 5 minutes away, it is always nice to get out on the river if i'm tight on time.  Secondly, my first fish ever taken on a fly was at a deep hole on the coop.  Only being my fourth time fly fishing, I cast out a dry (don't even remember what it was) not knowing what to expect.  To my surprise, a small splash of water engulfed it, and the rising fish was hooked.  My first fish/trout on a fly, and my first wild brown.  I couldn't believe my luck.
Unfortunately, the Capoolong is a typical NJ creek in the sense that it is overfished.  In a matter of days after stocking, mostly all of the fish are taken by anglers who keep their daily limit of 6.  The Capoolong has also taken a beating this year from mother nature.  The severe downpours we have received has risen water levels higher than I have ever seen before.  A recent trip showed me that the water was so strong that it uprooted a large tree, and moved it into the center of the creek.   This tree now takes away what is in my opinion, the best hole that I have fished on the creek.
I arrived home from college in late June this year, missing the stocking season.  I have fished the Coop several times and taken no trout, and only a couple of sunfish.  Even though the fishing hasn't been great, it will remain one of my favorite creeks, and I will continue to visit it in days to come.

first wild brown/first fish on a fly

another coop wild brown

 

ruined hole

from the trail

Summer Sundays

With the consistent rain through July and August here in West Central NJ, the water temps have stayed in the low to mid 60's, which has made trout fishing excellent so far this summer.  My Sundays mornings have been spent mainly at the Ken Lockwood Gorge, one of a few TCA's here in NJ.  The river has continued to produce fish, mainly browns and rainbows.  My first stop Sunday mornings is at a small classified wild trout stream, which has shown me numerous wild brook trout, and is only minutes away from the KLG.  This stream is full of small waterfalls, pools, and of course wild brookies.  Even if a fish isn't taken to hand, the sound of the running water is enough to make my Sunday mornings.

wild brookie

classified wts

wild brookie on a muddler minnow

small waterfalls

brown from KLG