Finding myself with a day off, a rarity for me, was a much appreciated occurrence. Without thinking twice, the alarm clock was set to 5:30...only to find that my internal alarm clock was set to 5:05. Driving to a new stream in the darkness of early morning is a wonderful feeling. The cool air is a relief from the past week of July heat. I find my way to the small dirt parking lot tucked away in the western Mass hill towns. Its not long before I hear the familiar sound that instantly makes everything else fade away into the background.



The first half mile of water was Brown territory. This one put a nice bend in the 2 wt.



Strangely, from this hole on there were only Brook Trout coming to hand. I've never really encountered this kind of division in trout population.





After a few hours on the stream the heat started to creep through the trees, a good ending point. The drive home from a stream is almost meditative. You find yourself in deep thought about your time on the water and whether is was a success or not. For me, I always find myself being satisfied, as any day on the water is a success, fish or not.

jay