Hookmanski
04-05-2020, 06:23 PM
Saturday i hit up a WTS looking for some wild browns. I haven't had much luck with them in NJ, and wanted to break that streak. Fished from 8am to noon, only saw one fish which I spooked. I threw the kitchen sink but came up short. Ran into a fellow NJFer (across the river, practicing social distancing :D). Good to see you man!
Fast forward to today. I got up at the crack of dawn. Not to fish, but to move the rest of my belongings out of my childhood home. After being on the market for over a year, it finally sold and the closing is coming up. I drove the hour to get there and moved things all day long. Halfway through the day, I came across my childhood trout rod, the one I used every time I went trout fishing with my dad. I also found 2 old, random spinners in a drawer. My house was a 5 minute walk from a trout stream and I used to take that walk as often as I could. So after finding the rod, with 5-10 year old 8 pound test on a half working reel, i said "what the hell, one last walk."
https://i.postimg.cc/HsW-fzGdT/IMG-8350.jpg
I walked down the trail my friends and I used every time we went exploring in the woods. I have two holes that I know always hold fish, and with only about 30 minutes to spare I figured I would focus on those 2. I got to the first one to find a few feisty rainbows, hooked one but ended up losing it. Got a few more swipes, but the fish got smart and stopped following. Onto the next hole.
Usually I fish this hole from the opposite side of the stream, but with my sneakers and khakis I wasn't in a position to do any crossing unless I was willing to drive home with cold wet feet. I gave it a few casts and thought, "Well, doesn't seem like anyone is home, but it was great to get out here one more time." Right after thinking that, i got WHACKED. Thought at first i was snagged until the fish came barreling out of the water flying feet into the air. I reeled him in and was shocked to find a wild brown trout had bit my spinner.
https://i.postimg.cc/sfq1kRD4/IMG-8349.jpg
In all 20+ years of fishing this stream I had heard of browns lurking around but had never caught one, let alone seen one. To catch it on a partially broken Garcia Trout rod from the 80s or 90s with old mono on the very last day I will ever step foot in my childhood home was an insane feeling. Took the walk back home with a smile ear to ear, asking myself how that just happened.
I will miss that house. I will miss that town. But I will always return to this stream. There is no other place like it in New Jersey.
Hope everyone is staying healthy and safe, and fishing when you can. Tight lines!
Fast forward to today. I got up at the crack of dawn. Not to fish, but to move the rest of my belongings out of my childhood home. After being on the market for over a year, it finally sold and the closing is coming up. I drove the hour to get there and moved things all day long. Halfway through the day, I came across my childhood trout rod, the one I used every time I went trout fishing with my dad. I also found 2 old, random spinners in a drawer. My house was a 5 minute walk from a trout stream and I used to take that walk as often as I could. So after finding the rod, with 5-10 year old 8 pound test on a half working reel, i said "what the hell, one last walk."
https://i.postimg.cc/HsW-fzGdT/IMG-8350.jpg
I walked down the trail my friends and I used every time we went exploring in the woods. I have two holes that I know always hold fish, and with only about 30 minutes to spare I figured I would focus on those 2. I got to the first one to find a few feisty rainbows, hooked one but ended up losing it. Got a few more swipes, but the fish got smart and stopped following. Onto the next hole.
Usually I fish this hole from the opposite side of the stream, but with my sneakers and khakis I wasn't in a position to do any crossing unless I was willing to drive home with cold wet feet. I gave it a few casts and thought, "Well, doesn't seem like anyone is home, but it was great to get out here one more time." Right after thinking that, i got WHACKED. Thought at first i was snagged until the fish came barreling out of the water flying feet into the air. I reeled him in and was shocked to find a wild brown trout had bit my spinner.
https://i.postimg.cc/sfq1kRD4/IMG-8349.jpg
In all 20+ years of fishing this stream I had heard of browns lurking around but had never caught one, let alone seen one. To catch it on a partially broken Garcia Trout rod from the 80s or 90s with old mono on the very last day I will ever step foot in my childhood home was an insane feeling. Took the walk back home with a smile ear to ear, asking myself how that just happened.
I will miss that house. I will miss that town. But I will always return to this stream. There is no other place like it in New Jersey.
Hope everyone is staying healthy and safe, and fishing when you can. Tight lines!