Small Stream Mania

I can't name this brook, by agreement with the property owners. But it's in the Northwest Corner of Connecticut.

And it's steep. Yesterday afternoon I bushwacked way the hell down the valley and fished back up.

This involves boulder climbing, rather than boulder hopping. It would be really hairy with a lot of water flowing, but the water was low, so I had to look for the holes with sufficient water, coolness and aeration to keep a colorful brook trout in beer and skittles.

Rod: Orvis "Trout Bum," a slow action seven foot, four weight, four piece. Flies: All dries,  Royal elk hair caddis, Adams Wulff and standard Light Cahill, all size 14. There are some spots where you can get off a cast, even a long cast, but much of it was flipping and snapping.

Below: First the bushwacking, reminding us once again not to string the rod up before clambering through the thick woods. Then the clambering and climbing. Then the angler sticks his head up over the next boulder and - aha! A plunge pool!

And even the least likely-looking fissures in the rock might hold a trout. This one's downright huge for a brookie.