Monday, August 12, 2013

Still Life With Brook Trout*


Last year during our annual Okie Exodus to Estes Park, I managed to finish out my four-species trout slam (through the barest of technical definitions) by catching a single brook trout that some might consider a bit, uh...smallish. How smallish? Well, smallish enough that I actually didn't realize I had caught a fish until the damn thing came rocketing out of the water on my backcast and zoomed past my head into the shrubbery behind me. And bear in mind, I was using a three-weight. A tiny three-weight.

I found the poor little bastard hanging six feet up in the bushes, so I unhooked him, measured him against my pinkie finger trophy mark, snapped a quick picture for verification purposes, put him back in the water, declared flyfishing victory (quietly, and with an admirably straight face...), then got the hell out of there as quickly as possible in case anyone had been watching me.

So this year I was striving to complete the brookie part of my slam with a little more dignity, a lot more grace, and hopefully with a fish that could at least be measured in inches rather than grams.

Mission accomplished. Still small, but at least he stayed in the water when I set the hook. But just like last year, this was the only brookie I caught, mainly because I kept catching mostly native cuttthroats in the creek where I was supposed to be catching mostly invasive brook trout. Native pests. Here are my thoughts on those vermin... They should just get rid of those damn things so the brook trout can have a chance to flourish**...

* Please don't sue me, John Gierach.
** I kid, I kid...


2 comments:

  1. Haha spot on. Damn native cutthroats making comebacks
    lately... even in the water baby infested mudhole 40 minutes from my door..

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/us/lahontan-cutthroat-trout-make-a-comeback.html?_r=0

    I usually only fish it once or twice a year because it is the most boring place to fish on earth, but now I think I'm gonna have to put some more time into it after one of my buddies caught a 26lber this year, and about a dozen over 15.

    John Gierach doesn't own a computer, so I think you're ok, Chad.

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  2. NOTE: I have yet to hook into a Pilot Peak strain, but the Summit Lake strain that's been in there for years fight like a discarded t-shirt, even the big ones, hence my boredom out there.

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