It has been a wonderful spring so far. I have been having a blast fishing for some naturally reproducing brook trout, but wanted to see if I could go find some new places and get into some bigger fish. I also wanted to try out a new to me Cortland Pro-Crest 1-620-1.
I took last Friday off to make it a long weekend and fished all three days. That is a rarity for me, but I did not have any commitments, so I got up early Friday (4:15) and decided to make some coffee and jump in the car and head out. I was able to fish some spots in central Massachusetts that I had never been to and I was rewarded with a rainbow, a couple brook trout and nice brown. I had been catching 7-9" brook trout in a local brook, but went to a larger river and then to a smallish stream that had piqued my interest from some books I had read. I am sure that these fish were the result of the stocking truck, but they all looked good and did not have beat up fins. Friday I used the Pro-Crest with a 5wt old SA Mastery line I had for a long time on the bigger water and then switched it up to my favorite rod - a 4wt 7' Fenglass with a Cabelas 4wt line. Was using a BH prince nymph and sometimes had a small BH black midge or a small hare's ear beadhead trailing it.
Saturday I went exploring some more of the stream that I have been having luck at after unsuccessfully prospecting around looking for spots on a more well known river that is supposedly well regarded. I just wasn't loving the spots on the bigger river and there were a number of other anglers out and I wanted to avoid the crowds.
Sunday had me go to a stream 20 minutes from me. I went to a spot that I had not been to in 12+ years. I was excited to not find anyone there and the conditions looked good with regard to flow. As I was gearing up a pickup pulled up with three young men in it - I was a bit bummed as this place is not that big. I struck up a conversation with them and they were really nice guys. They even had a couple of fiberglass rods and were nice enough to let me work upstream as they went downstream. I was able to catch a nice rainbow and another nice brook trout not far from where I started in a deeper pool. After working further upstream and getting soaked by a good rainstorm - I headed back downstream and almost landed another fish - touched the leader trying to land it on my CGR 4wt and it got off the barbless hook.
I also hit another well known spot in Central Mass Sunday afternoon, but it was a disappointment. Featureless sandy bottom and straight runs in the lower part of this river. Was using an Aventik 8' 5wt that I do like with an older Battenkill 5/6 reel I have had for 20+ years. More roll casting practice than anything else. I think I picked up some poison ivy to boot, but small price to pay for all of the fun.
I felt like a little kid after the weekend. Here are some pics - first time posting pics here and it has been a little challenging - and I am supposed to be a tech guy. Wanted to share as I love viewing the pics on this site and specifically in this sub-forum.