SNP brook trout -- report 4-3-14 and 4-4-14

[TurbineBlade]

We had the day off Thurs and Fri and fished both days over in SNP.  Thursday was one of the best days of fishing either of us have ever hard -- it was phenomenal.  The day was overcast early on and resulted in a couple of good hatches of some kind of grayish-looking duns and also some creamy, yellowish midges that the fish started feeding upon reliably at various times.  Sight casting to rising brook trout was a first for us and a LOT of fun.  We also took many on nymphs -- most in the 5-6" range....several nice ones in the 10-11" range.  We counted 50+ fish between the two of us....which is by far the most brook trout we've ever caught in a day of fishing.  We took a lot of pics -- but have none yet.  

I learned two things:

1.  Nearly every rock you turn over in ANY of the trout streams around here has at least *some #18-24 baetis nymphs attached to it -- pretty much across the board.  The #12-16 nymphs everyone carries are much less common, so it makes sense to always carry the smaller sizes out there.  

2.  Fine tippet does make a difference in our catch rate, particularly when presenting dries all day.  I've always disparaged light "X" tippet in the past...but switching the usual Maxima 4-pound over to 6-7X was like flipping a switch in the number of takes, and also the quality of the takes (i.e. not slapping it or turning away last-second) and the number of fish we ultimately caught, having changed nothing else about how we worked the stream.   That 7X tends to kink a bit, but it actually holds fish very well -- we only broke it when we wanted to break it (bushes, trees).  

Friday was much more down-to-earth, but still great to be out.  

I also had a great time flipping rocks out there -- I could probably kick seine and catch bugs all day and keep myself entertained.  

The brook trout streams are a real gem in this region -- especially if you enjoy a vigorous hike when you're fishing ;).  

Going out again today -- then sleeping all day Sunday.  

Gene

[Matt S.]

What a great report! Glad to hear you had such a good time.

I've got to find a way to get past the Honey-do lists and get out there, it's driving me nuts.