Early March Tradition

[Off The Path Outdoors]

Each of the last few years I've taken a trip into the mountains to chase some native brook trout the first weekend of March. It serves as the perfect transition from chasing late season rabbits through January and February with my beagles to getting in the trout fishing mindset. This year I took a friend who has only ever fly fished with me a couple of times in the past. We explored a beautiful, gradient, and secluded stream and brought a few beautiful trout to hand. I had my new camera lens with me so we only carried one rod which allowed me to spend more time handling my camera. I'm new to posting pictures on here and am realizing it can be difficult to organize them but I will hopefully get better at that with time!

 

[Off The Path Outdoors]

I typically minimize my gear on these trips and usually don't bring a net, which was a mistake on this occasion as I was hoping to photograph some more fish. I caught some of our adventure on video and it's quite comical watching back at us trying to safely handle these fish and snap a few pictures with no net. There is definitely a learning curve as I attempt to become a more serious photographer and videographer but it wouldn't be fun if it was easy! If you would like to check this video out and follow along this year you can find it here!

I'm really looking forward to seeing what I can do with my camera this year and I think it will make for some great footage and photos along the way!

 

[Shawn Joseph]

Each of the last few years I've taken a trip into the mountains to chase some native brook trout the first weekend of March. It serves as the perfect transition from chasing late season rabbits through January and February with my beagles to getting in the trout fishing mindset. This year I took a friend who has only ever fly fished with me a couple of times in the past. We explored a beautiful, gradient, and secluded stream and brought a few beautiful trout to hand. I had my new camera lens with me so we only carried one rod which allowed me to spend more time handling my camera. I'm new to posting pictures on here and am realizing it can be difficult to organize them but I will hopefully get better at that with time!

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What camera are you using?

 

[coyoterahn]

Very nice.

 

[pcray1231]

Nice,

I'd never take a net to a brookie stream, even most smaller brownie streams. You get better at it. If it's a small enough fish that there's no concern of breakage, I'm a lot quicker without a net. I just grab the line and slide my hand down till I get to the fly, then grab the fly itself firmly. From there you're in complete control. It becomes 2nd nature.

 

[Off The Path Outdoors]

What camera are you using?

Nikon z50. I would love to use it more but most of my fishing is by myself so that makes it hard to photograph the fish. But I've been taking along anyways lately and at least snapping some landscapes.

 

[Off The Path Outdoors]

Nice,

I'd never take a net to a brookie stream, even most smaller brownie streams. You get better at it. If it's a small enough fish that there's no concern of breakage, I'm a lot quicker without a net. I just grab the line and slide my hand down till I get to the fly, then grab the fly itself firmly. From there you're in complete control. It becomes 2nd nature.

I'm definitely better at handling them than my buddy who is pretty inexperienced, but the barbless hooks especially make no need for the net. A lot of time just by grabbing the line and giving the fish a little slack they are gone without ever needing to net or touch them.

That being said, I think I may pick up a smaller net to take along if I'm by myself and want to be able to both fish and use the camera.

 

[Shawn Joseph]

Nikon z50. I would love to use it more but most of my fishing is by myself so that makes it hard to photograph the fish. But I've been taking along anyways lately and at least snapping some landscapes.

I have a Nikon D500. You’re right, it’s a bit cumbersome to bring along with fishing gear.

 

[Off The Path Outdoors]

I have a Nikon D500. You’re right, it’s a bit cumbersome to bring along with fishing gear.

For sure. I really enjoy having it but it's probably going to be limited to times I'm fishing with others so I can focus on the camera. It's hard to do both

 

[silverfox]

Great photos & video!

I always carry a net. Most of the time I just unhook the fish without touching them/taking them out of the water like pcray describes. However, when you get one that inhales the fly and you have to corral it to remove the hook, the net makes life much easier.

 

[Off The Path Outdoors]

Great photos & video!

I always carry a net. Most of the time I just unhook the fish without touching them/taking them out of the water like pcray describes. However, when you get one that inhales the fly and you have to corral it to remove the hook, the net makes life much easier.

Thank you! I should get in the habit of carrying a smaller net for native streams. The stream that day was actually pretty big, but I usually leave it at home in case it ends up being a small stream as my bigger net just grabs on to stuff and can be annoying at times. Plus the holes are big enough that a lot of natives just fall through!

 

[Millsertime]

I enjoyed your video.

Curious with the nymphs...were you just flipping a single beadhead nymph and then letting it drift down? Any indicator or split shot?

 

[Off The Path Outdoors]

I enjoyed your video.

Curious with the nymphs...were you just flipping a single beadhead nymph and then letting it drift down? Any indicator or split shot?

Thanks! Yep, just a single bead head nymph and letting it drift down while trying to minimize slack so I could feel any takes. I do typically fish a dry dropper rig for natives when the water temps start to warm up.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Nice vid and pics, very cool.

I agree on the notion of not taking a net when going after natives. Seems to be just something else that can get snagged on brush and possibly ripped out of my pack, like the instance I had last year where I almost lost my Fishpond mid-length net. Don't know why I even brought that large of a net to a creek where the average fish size is about 5 inches.

For native/small trout release I like to try and shake them off the hook after I lift them out of the water. I just want to hook them and have them hop off instantaneously. I had an idea to modify a hook to cut it back for an even easier release but am unsure how to even do this.

Barbless hooks are a great idea too. My first time going to a native brook trout creek I tied on a dropper that had a barbed hook. I realized this after I got my first fish in and I angrily reached for my forceps. The fish was released safely without harm (at least to my knowledge) but my fishing partner definitely made fun of me for using a barbed hook.

 

[Kyle]

beautiful photos. nice job and thanks for sharing with us

 

[tomgamber]

good stuff!

 

[Off The Path Outdoors]

Barbless hooks are a great idea too. My first time going to a native brook trout creek I tied on a dropper that had a barbed hook. I realized this after I got my first fish in and I angrily reached for my forceps. The fish was released safely without harm (at least to my knowledge) but my fishing partner definitely made fun of me for using a barbed hook.

Barbless hooks are great. Everyone talks about how they are safer for the fish which is great, but they are also a lot easier to pull out of fingers and sweatshirt sleeves!

 

[JeremyW]

Barbless hooks are great. Everyone talks about how they are safer for the fish which is great, but they are also a lot easier to pull out of fingers and sweatshirt sleeves!

I torn holes in my jackets with the barbed ones, it's just as much for me as the fish.

 

[Off The Path Outdoors]

I torn holes in my jackets with the barbed ones, it's just as much for me as the fish.

No doubt. Just yesterday I netted a fish that had taken the nymph on the dropper tag. The point fly managed to get snagged on my wading boots and popped right out when I reached down for it. Barbless are just so much easier

 

[Fish Sticks]

Great photos & video!

I always carry a net. Most of the time I just unhook the fish without touching them/taking them out of the water like pcray describes. However, when you get one that inhales the fly and you have to corral it to remove the hook, the net makes life much easier.

Also if you have a net you can get a good shot of the brook trout in the net underwater or let the fish breath underwater in the net while you get your camera out and photograph as you release