So last night I was fishing a wooded section of a medium to large stream that I hadn't been to before.

I came upon a deep dark hole with a nice log jam in it.

I knew there had to be a beast somewhere below and crept up on the spot to plan my attack.

The woods around me seemed to grow silent with heightened anticipation.

I dropped my lure in a perfect little window and let it sink and…

Here are a few from Saturday's outing…

Stopped at a bridge crossing to see what the unclassified water looked like way downstream on my first targeted water. Looked like trout water to me, so stayed a while and got a few including this first one, right under the bridge…





Took it as a great sign that I got some around 9am on this 30 degree April morning.

Also foul hooked a 16-17 inch Driftless trophy sucker in the deep pool right beyond the bridge, but he fell off when I lifted him. That one stung.

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Lost a lure in this tangle (it's worse to the left out of frame) before getting this little brookie.





Not sure it was worth the lure, but you never know what could be in a spot like this. Was surprised to get a brookie as I was far downstream (several miles) from where I'd expect to see brookies on this particular water. As always though… what do I know?

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Being Masters weekend, went upstream to the golf course stretch of this stream and got a bunch of fish that would dart out from their side-stream undercuts.





Got this one on the par 4 16th…





Not my favorite kind of water, but having a full and diverse day planned, including a fair amount of tough terrain, enjoyed the respite of this stretch and the easy pasture walk.

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Went over the ridge to a different stream to go after large browns, hiked in a good half mile or more and this was the first fish I got…





and it was in the first nice looking spot…





Thought… Awww yeah, here we go!

Not so fast…





Loved the halos on this one though which always remind me of the RAF markings on a WWII Spitfire.

The next 7 or 8 fish in this stretch were the same size…





and the water was low and clear and there were no signs of any other decent fish – even in the deeper and darker holes and cuts, so left and headed downstream a few miles looking for deeper water.

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Got this fish up from a bridge in a corner hole that's behind me and over my left shoulder. Took the photo in the shade of the bridge.





Got 13 more solid browns including a couple 17s and a few 16s before this final fish of the day, which was my favorite…





Sun blasted photo doesn't do the flame markings justice and I held him high to get the complement of the blue sky. Was a striking fish and was very excited for it. Great one to end the day on.



Oh yeah… and found another face…

Good outing Gurth! Glad to see the local streams are back in business.

Funny how those Browns seem to stop growing just under 20". I've probably caught five that length over the years. Just can't seem to bust through that magical 20" barrier. I suppose it would help if I fished larger streams more often.


-Bill

Stopped by a culvert yesterday on my way home from bass fishing looking for a cheapie or two.

Got 3 or 4 dinks and lost a 16 that bit at my feet.

The most interesting thing was as I'm fishing, all of a sudden a duckling pops out of the culvert… riding it like a water slide in the Dells.

Peep! Peep! Peep! Peep!

Being a tree hugging bleeding heart where animals are concerned, was thinking I'd have to try and capture it and return it to the other side of the dam. Was gonna be a tough (impossible) task as the water in the pool is too deep to get in and the duck wasn't gonna just let me catch it.

Kept fishing and noticed there were now 2 ducklings and then I saw a third ride the culvert wave into the pool.

By the time I left there were 9 ducklings swimming around the pool and peeping away. No sign of mom yet so maybe more were coming down the tube.

Yet another little vignette of nature that I got to witness as a result of this pursuit.





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Edited by user Monday, June 25, 2018 2:53:45 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

There is no doubt that big browns are sometimes (maybe always) in this particular pool although I have yet to get one.

Was waiting for a top water explosion.