Keepin it real, here are my legendary boots being repaired for the last time, the trip to St. Mary's will be their last major expedition. My repair job would not hold up to the 65lb pack and the 2600 feet of elevation loss on the way in on a rough 3 mile hike in to camp, plus up and down another 1500 feet each way to the falls on several days, and as well as the punishing hike up. Bye bye boots, you served me well on many mountains and fishing trips. A moment of silence please....
Hell yeah, we got to camp quickly (this is a shot from later in the evening), from the bruise on my knee from two tumbles on a steep decent, I think I should have slowed down. We set up camp and Mike and I headed out for some fishing.
everyone made fun of me for bringing heavy waders and wading boots, but a spill in the St. Mary's put mike out of commission, the air temp was around 55, but the water temp was in the upper 30's. I fished on in rough conditions, wading was necessary as the scrub along the river had no trails, you were required crawling on your hands and knees through game trails. Rough fishing I tell you but great!
Here is the release of the first brookie, caught on a micro jig. I had him within 10 minutes of starting to fish. I caught 7 or 8 that afternoon, most 5-7 inches. I lost at least a dozen. I didn't take too many photos because I wanted to release them quickly.
I had to creep upstream and hide to cast most of the time, they have sharp eyes and will not bite once you have been spotted. Here is the view of a hole I am creeping up too on the main river.
It rained that night hard, our big fire kept us dry, but we ate early and were in bed by 9:30. A good time was had by all. I "retired" for a while under the tarp on my chair, and of course the boys had to mess with me. No, I do not have pictures.the next day was gorgeous. Here is sunrise from the camp.
This is what all the fuss is about, a St. Mary's Wild Brook trout. These are the native brook trout that have lived in these streams for a million years. This is a sub adult , check all of the cool markings.... I don't have a picture of an adult (I was too busy fishing), a little bigger, but the colorations change depending on where you find them in the river. Check out the orange, black, white anal fin.
Fishing a creek with a serious case of hat head. I am settting up my drift....
Hooked up with a nice brookie! Hell yeah!
I've almost got him, this is were you usually lose these little fighters, like bluefish they never give up and run and shake to throw the hook, insane headshakes. I lost this guy as soon as I stuck my hand on him.
A nice hole on sugar tree branch, I caught 3-4 great adult brookies out of this hole over two days. Dark purple/brown backs with orange bellies and fins and bright red spots surrounded by blue halos, crazy little fish!
Sunset over the river that night near camp.
Jason and Shad enjoying the fire.
20 degrees in the morning, the kind of morning that makes you dread going to the bathroom. I got up early to fish.
The release of a nice brookie, if you view the picture larger you can make out some of the spots. These trout on the main river, were a deep golden color to blend in with the exposed rock, unlike the dark fish that hid in the deep holes on the tributaries,
The Crew (minus mike who left on Sunday). Shad, Jason, Me, Adam and Bowen. Aaron, maybe you Matt Grimes and Sean can make it next time. Some day Blair and Greg will join us too.
Adam and I stayed an extra day. I had a successful morning hiking and fishing, but the next day I had to haul this ridiculous pack out. Next time, less stuff. If is warmer I can condense my fishing gear. What a great time, Thanks everyone for going, its always good to hang with good friends. Keep stretching old men, the soreness will go away. I want to go again with you guys this summer, keep in shape!
The falls, I had to go check it out, and I did it solo on my last full day. Good time and tight lines!
