Big, dark, mysterious holes

[StreamBottom]

I lob a big ole conehead zonker into the deep with the excitement of a kid on xmas eve.
It's quite graceful on a 3wt 😆

 

[JeffP]

Lots of pipe holes like this too!

 

[sarce]

This...this is what lives there 😉

That's a 6 wt in the photo. Fly was a meat whistle fished on 16 lb mono tippet. Most people who fish this same stream use a dry dropper and 5-6x tippet. They wouldn't have a chance against a brown like this. I like to give myself the chance to actually land a monster in the rare instance one bites in daylight.

I have some friends who would kill me if I posted a pic of the pool it came from but it's the deepest pool on a small stream. 5-6' deep and so picturesque it ended up in an episode of a very popular TV show.

I do think if there's a downstream connection to a bigger trout stream, however marginal, the chance of a true monster occupying these deep pools goes up dramatically, especially in summer. Isolated deep pools on small mountain streams with limited or no migration prospects can produce nice fish but unless the food supply is insane they won't grow too large. Think 11-12" brook instead of 14-16", or 17-18" brown instead of 22"+.

 

[5footfenwick]

Camp by it. Snorkel it. Then night fish it.

 

[Bamboozle]

LEAD!?!
View attachment 1641253594
- the horror 😉

I only use lead when I get low on my stash of mercury filled glass capsules from old light switches & thermostats...

 

[troutbert]

They are in there.

 

[rustbeltwilds]

Camp by it. Snorkel it. Then night fish it.

I only use lead when I get low on my stash of mercury filled glass capsules from old light switches & thermostats...

Now thats funny !!!!!!😜🤪🤪🤪🤪

 

[Cougarbaby]

This...this is what lives there 😉

That's a 6 wt in the photo. Fly was a meat whistle fished on 16 lb mono tippet. Most people who fish this same stream use a dry dropper and 5-6x tippet. They wouldn't have a chance against a brown like this. I like to give myself the chance to actually land a monster in the rare instance one bites in daylight.

I have some friends who would kill me if I posted a pic of the pool it came from but it's the deepest pool on a small stream. 5-6' deep and so picturesque it ended up in an episode of a very popular TV show.

I do think if there's a downstream connection to a bigger trout stream, however marginal, the chance of a true monster occupying these deep pools goes up dramatically, especially in summer. Isolated deep pools on small mountain streams with limited or no migration prospects can produce nice fish but unless the food supply is insane they won't grow too large. Think 11-12" brook instead of 14-16", or 17-18" brown instead of 22"+.

I know them rocks lol ,

 

[Cougarbaby]

I'd drift a micro dungeon with a split shot through there on my 3 wt and hang on, 8 lb tippet of course

 

[CinnamonJoe]

I wonder if the crews are able to shock such depths during a survey? If so, would be interesting to know if they ever find a unicorn.

Joe

 

[wildtrout2]

I wonder if the crews are able to shock such depths during a survey? If so, would be interesting to know if they ever find a unicorn.

Joe

I asked that very question quite a while back. I don't recall the answer. Electrofishing does have limitations, depth-wise though.

 

[JimKennedy]

I wonder if the crews are able to shock such depths during a survey? If so, would be interesting to know if they ever find a unicorn.

Joe

Depends on whether they're using the backpack - lacrosse stick shockers (no, deep holes won't be affected) or the raft-carried big water shockers.

Maryland DNR did its first ever raft shocking of the Big Gunpowder a year or two ago and turned up some absolute monster brown trout, all in the stream's deep holes. Not spot burning here. Big Gunpowder gets pounded.

And there are reports posted online (you'll need to scroll through this one): https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...+Trout+Managment+in+the+Maryland+Piedmont.pdf

 

[wildtrout2]

Depends on whether they're using the backpack - lacrosse stick shockers (no, deep holes won't be affected) or the raft-carried big water shockers.

Maryland DNR did its first ever raft shocking of the Big Gunpowder a year or two ago and turned up some absolute monster brown trout, all in the stream's deep holes. Not spot burning here. Big Gunpowder gets pounded.

And there are reports posted online (you'll need to scroll through this one): https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...+Trout+Managment+in+the+Maryland+Piedmont.pdf

Wow! They really did turn up some monster browns.

 

[Cougarbaby]

They did electro shot the Clarion between johnsonburg and Ridgeway this year they concluded the paper mill didn't affect the wild brown trout population,Hmmmmm

 

[jeffroey]

We’ve all wondered. You’re working your way up through a tumbling stream deep in a valley gorge. Boulders the size of RVs. Absolutely gorgeous. And you come up on a deep deep deep hole. Waterfall at the top. No bottom in sight. Tails out 40 yards below. Could be 10 feet deep.

Are there big *** trout down there, or is it really the shallow tail out where the fish live and eat? I’ve read Tom Rosenbauer somewhere saying that most trout are happiest in 2 to 4 feet of water

I’m always tempted to lug the 6wt with a sinking line and put one of those foot-long streamers to the test.

Before I do, who has a story about what lies beneath?

My short answer is abso-f'ing-loutely. I've hooked and pulled enough "pool bosses" out of those mysterious deep holes using techniques already mentioned (weighted meat patterns) that I longer sometimes longer than I should and drag lines at all different angles and speed before moving up.

I do start at the tailout and move up like others have mentioned.

 

[gfenlikestolosepasswords]

I wonder if the crews are able to shock such depths during a survey? If so, would be interesting to know if they ever find a unicorn.

Joe

Can you summon users here? @Mike ? That work? Maybe if I wish real hard?