Each year, peaking in the early summer, I enjoy nothing so much as fly fishing on small streams for wild trout. It is, in fact, the most enjoyable form of angling. Within five minutes drive of my cabin is ten miles of catch-and-release trout stream that is loaded with wild trout.  This creek is small. Very small. The county puts a few thousand run-of-the-mill stock rainbow trout in it each spring. But it is the brown trout that thrive. Wild browns that average 12 inches are common and when approached with a three or four weight fly rod they make for great angling.

My guide service guests that are from out of the state (like as in California or Idaho) I will take to my favorite stretches. But mostly I keep these pockets and pools and bridge holes to myself. While the trout are generally small, it is not their size that I measure them by. Their colors, acrobatics and willingness to follow the script when a fine presentation of the fly is made is more important than their size.

This time of year small errands to the store can sometimes turn into an hour of stalking trout. The gear never leaves the truck and it can be tough to get anything accomplished. But I do. Time spent studying trout with a fly rod is time spent wisely…If you ask me.

Just don’t ask my wife.

Peace

Mike