Stalking the small water

On sunday morning I had it all planned, get up early and spend a good 6 + hours fishing the same spot from the week before that held all the nice rainbows.  Started off with the same fly and a little upstream of where I left off on the last trip.  On the first or second run I felt the line go tight!

But it never moved after, caught bottom on a stick. And thats the way it went for the next 4 hours, no fish, no strikes....just sticks and rocks.  After changing flies several times I left.  A bit dejected I felt, I mean just 3 days prior I had landed over 8 fish in 40 minutes.....and today...blanked!

However I still had 3 or so hours before I had to get going so I decided to hit a small stream on the way south.  Its my feel good home water stream.  A short time later I was streamside.

I tied on a size 12 humpy and a size 16 PT dropper and as usual the local residents came out to play.

It starts out pretty open with lots of room to cast, nice small pools and moss covered rocks.  This water is cold!

Lots of large and interesting fungus about.

And trout.

After awhile things get a bit congested.

Often times I am practically crawling up the middle stream hunched over.  Keeping that profile low and planning every cast.  Some times you win....

And other times no matter how hard you try your only reward will be fleeting dark shapes.  Its hard fishing, but very rewarding.

I also came upon several groves of lady slippers.  Kinda creepy, invasion of the body snatchers re-visited!

The unsinkable humpy doing what it does best.

Many of the best looking spots on this stream are simply un-fishable. I know they hold nice 6" + fish.  I scare them all the time trying to outsmart them!   At times I am temped to go ahead and move logs or snap away pesky fly catching branches but then I stop, and think.  I didn't come here JUST to catch fish, I came here to enjoy everything that nature offers.  Nature creates the most beautiful places without our help, humans can try but in the end its still man-made and not natural.  Who am I to say I can make it better just for the sake of catching a few more fish? 

Sometimes....the fish deserve to win.