I recall one March morning with Russ Jr and Bill Littlewood in Miles Standish state forest when I learned how good a 4x4 could be, and how active spring trout could be. There was a little known (and less fished) pond with an inlet stream and coves where brookies rolled all over the surface on gnats and gnat emergers. If I recall there were still a few patches of snow on the ground, and the trout we kept were red-meated holdovers, or maybe even better than that (though I dare not say wild).
Since then, I enjoy fishing the early march brown and New England black gnat hatches on lakes and ponds in the region, to bide time before the earliest arrival of the linesiders and blues on the south facing shores of the Cape.
Over the last couple of springs, I've had the best luck in stillwaters using dries or emergers in the film; and nymphs on a dropper tied to a stimulator style dry.
This is not to say that I am any trout expert, I've spent so much time over the last two decades double hauling into the surf or swinging flies over steelhead currents that the level of finesse associated with trout tactics has all but left my fingers. Let's just say that the beadhead wooly bugger has saved many a skunker day for me on trout ponds and streams.
Anyway, I'd like to propose a research project wherein we make a few excursions to streams and ponds in the pre-striper days of spring and capture the findings to share with members on this forum.
The first step might be to post any known patterns from years gone by as prep work for the advent of ice-out. Any general pattern discussion is of course highly valued as well.
I'll start by scanning a tiny midge emerger pattern tied with a piece of packing foam sheeting for the folded wing case tonight.
Hope to see some patterns emerging in the archive thread soon...
Since then, I enjoy fishing the early march brown and New England black gnat hatches on lakes and ponds in the region, to bide time before the earliest arrival of the linesiders and blues on the south facing shores of the Cape.
Over the last couple of springs, I've had the best luck in stillwaters using dries or emergers in the film; and nymphs on a dropper tied to a stimulator style dry.
This is not to say that I am any trout expert, I've spent so much time over the last two decades double hauling into the surf or swinging flies over steelhead currents that the level of finesse associated with trout tactics has all but left my fingers. Let's just say that the beadhead wooly bugger has saved many a skunker day for me on trout ponds and streams.
Anyway, I'd like to propose a research project wherein we make a few excursions to streams and ponds in the pre-striper days of spring and capture the findings to share with members on this forum.
The first step might be to post any known patterns from years gone by as prep work for the advent of ice-out. Any general pattern discussion is of course highly valued as well.
I'll start by scanning a tiny midge emerger pattern tied with a piece of packing foam sheeting for the folded wing case tonight.
Hope to see some patterns emerging in the archive thread soon...