NJ WTS January 2

[FIN-ITE 34]

Saturday the question was to either go to work or go fishing. Work lost out to fishing as I decided to hit up a NJ WTS for my quest of a fish on dry flies. I arrived at the stream with mostly overcast skies and an air temperature of 34° at about 11am. I selected a size 12 Red Humpy that I would fish on a 7' 3wt rod that I built about thirty-five years ago from a Cabelas FT blank. It's a good little rod that I like to use when bushwhacking small streams in the event that I roll down some hillside and have to press my MedicAlert pendant because I can't get up.
Anyway it was on down the hill to the stream where I took the water temperature of 42° with good flows from the previous rains. I began blind casting to all likely looking holding spots and after a very short time was rewarded with a rise and take. I set the hook and was expecting to see a brook trout but was surprised to see a beautiful wild rainbow.


I continued to fish upstream, blind casting as I went along and brought to hand another five fish on the Humpy, again all rainbows. Here are couple more pictures of these little beauties.





At around 2:30 the wind started to kick up which made the overcast day even colder, so I headed back to the car to call it a day. I guess I faild in my mission to catch a brook trout on a dry fly, but at least started off the year with a few fish taken on top.

 

[Barleywine]

Great report. You got them on dries too! Hmmm...red humpy you say.

Those are nice-sized fish these days from a Jersey wild stream. The lack of rain through the summer seems to have eliminated a lot of the bigger fish and left a bunch of dinks in most places.

 

[moosekid]

Sometimes I worry about Mac walking about without his life alert pendant on. Say Mac, did you know you can get life insurance for just pennies a day?? That's right, pennies. Best part is, you can't be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition -- like ugliness or stupidity.