Nature Pictures from Trout Streams, Page 18

This old artificial dam (possibly the former site of a bridge) creates a nice little trout pond upstream.

This school of young-of-the-year brook trout was basically trapped in a pool in a remarkable little brook trout stream stricken by drought. The adult trout population seems to have been wiped out by the drought and a previous flood, but the young trout are as thick as minnows.

The picture is taken from above water with a polarizing filter and a telephoto zoom lens. There is one other picture of them.

This is my largest brook trout ever (as of June '06). Disclaimer: Before any C&R evangelists go for my throat, I'll point out that this is the only trout I've kept all year, and it inhaled my dry fly directly into its gills and ripped one of them out during the fight. It was mine or the herons'.

Here's the most famous pool in the world. I was shocked that the fishing was so good--I had expected such a legendary place to be overfished. While it certainly sees a lot of pressure, it's still possible to have the whole 300-yard pool to yourself once in a while, and in the fall it doesn't get anywhere close to the combat fishing it sees during the major hatch seasons. It supports a terrific population of the most picky free-rising trout I've ever seen.

An 18 inch brown trout.

The moon backlights a willow after midnight on a favorite trout stream.

One of the best casts I've ever made rewarded me with this 18 inch brown on a size 16 foam beetle. I had to drop a backhand sidearm curve cast across the gathering current in the tail of a pool to place the beetle over the large, skittish trout rising sporadically against a log across the river. It was more luck than skill, but rewarding nonetheless.

This small stream splits around a large island.