Last Trout of the Year

Got to fish for an hour or so last Saturday, so I headed to Roscoe to see if I could dredge up one last trout for the season.

I stopped at Hazel Bridge pool, but there were a couple fellas working the water already. I could have waded upstream from there, I figured I'd try somewhere else.

I decided on a whim to fish the run in front of the CFFC&M. I hadn't fished this area in a couple years, it seems. At least around the bridge. Since nobody else was around, and the water was so inviting, I figured what the heck.

One eye was on the strike indicator, watching for funny stuff, and the other eye kept an eye on the downstream flats looking for rises. I missed a strike, and never did see a rise.

After working upstream to the head of a good riffle, and with time running out, I decided to turn downstream and cover more water by swinging a streamer. What a great stream for that, as I could cast to the slow water on the far shore and swing it across the entire creek. About halfway to the bridge, I got a strong hit in the smooth water along the far shore and soon brought to hand a feisty brownie. I thanked him for his time and sent him on his way, and called it a day myself.

I walked down to the rock wall and noticed some changes which I assume are the results of the recent violent hurricane-induced floods. The river used to split at the corner, and where it rejoined at the downstream tip of an island was a real hot spot. That little side channel is dry now, even with a good flow, and the little eddy is gone. I wonder what happened to that gigantic brown that trailed behind my streamer one day. I swear the top of his head was a good four inches wide. What a fish.

So, I figure that's it for trout fishing this year. What fishing I do from here on out will probably be for lake run fish up north. I'm already looking forward to next year's trout season. Once again, my eyes were bigger than my stomach, as I had plans to fish many places I never made it to.