Greg and I left early Friday morning with plans to catch the Hex Hatch in full bloom on my favorite Maine trout pond. We meet at Mike Holts Flyfishing only shop where Greg received the final assembly instructions for his new float tube. Mike recommended a tan maple syrup flie to fish under the surface in case the Hex weren’t coming off. So equipped with the right flies, the right time of year for the hatch, and a perfect windless day we were physched. Everything was perfect except for the hatch. It just didn’t come off. We fished all day anticapating the water would come alive with the hatch and feeding trout. So what do you do when the hatch disappoints you. Well on this pond, you dredge. A fast sinking flyline stripped along the bottom will eventually catch a trouts attention. The trout in the picture, (estimated by Greg @4lbs) was fooled by a black ant. The fish put up a formible fight and was several minutes before surrendering to the net. Greg of course asked if I had a second ant in my fly box. He had made about 5 cast before he was hooked into a trout that by its actions appeared to match the one I had landed. Unfortunately for Greg his trout won his fight and shook the hook. We both managed to catch some smaller trout throughout the day, but never hooked into any of the lunkers that call this pond home. But this fish is why I return to this pond and fish the tedious method of dredging. I know there are several fish here that are measured in pounds. You work hard for them and the days are long, but the reward is worth the wait. Morale of the story, when everything you hope is going to happen doesn’t adapt your fishing style to suit the fishes wants. It may not be what you dreamt it would be but it beats getting skunked.
Pat,
excellent fish tale…love the fact that you fly fish for the native brookies in the “never been stocked” locations. that is the real deal and it must feel so rewarding to catch fish like that…knowing that a fish like that can not be traced back to any outside influences.
Also…when you say..”adapt your fishing style to suit the fishes wants”…to me..that is what its all about and that is what i do. i fish dry fly when the trout are on top or when i want to tease them up, emergers/wetflies when they are just below the surface and nymphs when they are laying on the bottom. in my opinion, that makes a well rounded fly fisherman. some guys claim in a kind snooty way, “i only fish dry flies.” well that’s fine by me…i love dry fly fishing as much as the next guy…but i also love steelheading and if you want to steelhead you better put your dry flies away and learn how to nymph…cuz those steelhead ain’t gonna eat anything dry except under rare instances. to each is own, but i am with you…adapt to what the fish want and realize that each method of fly fishing is equally as much an art and science as all the others. thanks for posting.
What a nice looking brookie! That has to be one off the most colorful I’ve seen. Congrads.
Ryan
thank you. you should see this fish in spawning colors in the fall. brillant reds and orange, the white outline of the fins jumps at you.. Where are you from?
Around where I live there are a lot of waters where the the hatch can be dissapointing.
I am finding that I sometimes a tad slow to adapt/change tactics but if you want to see fish you will have to.
I remember one occasion when I fished a certain pool with nymphs and got no hook ups at all. I knew there where fish in the pool for sure. One of my buddies offered a streamer and said I should try it in the pool.
After various fruitless attempts with the nymph I finally tied on the streamer.
I immediately was into a fish at the first cast. So it pays to adapt.
Since I never have caught a brookie (not native around here) I am wondering how they behave in relation to other trout species. Across the border in Germany I know one river that has Brown-, Rainbow- and Brooktrout. Do the Brookies favor other haunts than the other trout?
The brookies in this pond are native. The pond is 25-30 acres. The bottom is very muddy, and plant life is abundent. Maximum depth in this pond is 25freet. These fish when hooked have a tendency to go to the bottom and sulk. They will hardly move except shake their head until you begin to win and move them up. Once they are brought close to surface the action begins as they strip line off and head for deep water.
I love to see them come to the surface when a hatch comes off, but this pond in recent years does not show the fish the way it did in the past. My thoughts are they are feeding well on the insects before they reach the top so threrefore do not have to expend the energy to chase food to the top. The rising fish are more likely to be offspring of the lunkers that are laying lazily in the weed beds waiting for the insects to go by. It amazes me the number of people that come to the pond equipped only with a floating line, leave disappointed because they did not catch a quality fish. My methods may not always be that of a purist but my goal is always to catch fish.