Scotch Run
looking for natives
Patrick had a small ultra light spinning rod with a micro shimano reel. Whenever fishing a trout stream he used 2 lb. test. When wading he wore a vest to keep his hooks, jigs or spinners.
On one spring morning on Scotch Run he worked a small area of the creek from a boulder on the bank at the base of a hill. In that spot there is a current race that flows into deeper water turning back into rapids a little farther downstream. At the base of the boulder is a backwater. At first he drifted a meal worm on a #4 hook. The fish were right on the edge of where the race met the backwater. He caught several brookies that were 10 or 11 inches making the same natural drift. The trout were holding in the same place on the edge of the race. He landed a small rainbow in the same size range as the brook trout catching five fish drift after drift. He freelined the fish for a second or two before hooking up. The fast current made landing the fish more challenging. Pat saw this as a good chance to land fish on an artificial. He had small white foxee-jigs. He made his cast into the same part of the current race jigging as his lure drifted downstream. It worked on the first cast. An aggressive brookie darted up out of the rapids into the backwater to strike. Pat had the drag set on real light pressure at first until he could work them into the backwater at the base of the big boulder he was standing on. He landed on more rainbow on the foxee-jig after several casts. The rainbow was in the rapids downstream of the deeper water. Rainbow trout hold in fast water. Pat caught one more small brook trout after that making it eight fish in that one part of the stream. Patrick noticed his father walking over. He said he caught three rainbows above there wading in slow moving shallow water.
JIM "man this is a great looking spot, I caught three rainbows wading upstream of here, I let them go"
PAT "I caught two rainbows, I caught eight fish right on the edge of this race, most of them were brookies, I released all of them"
JIM "good going man, what a great morning"
PAT "I thought about walking farther upstream to see if I can find natives"
JIM "how far?"
PAT "farther than I ever went before"
JIM "alright man, go exploring"
Pat climbed up to the top of the hill above where he was fishing until he got as high as he could go. He hiked over a mile walking along the ridge until he came to the edge overlooking the creek. In his sight was a bend in the creek that looked good. The creek meandered through the mountains. The get to the part of the creek that he wanted to fish Pat had to climb down the rock ledges below. Pat fished below the bend in the creek he noticed first. It was fast water flowing through small boulders. He waded upstream as he worked the current with his foxee-jig. When he got to the narrow bend he found a shallow outcropping to cast from. The current cut into the bank forming a deep edge. Pat was almost nervous as he drifted his jig along the deep bend anticipating a fish. After several casts he hooked a fish. To his amazement it was the native brook trout he was looking for. He measured it before he let it go. The fish was 14 inches, big for a native. Pat kept on casting. He landed two more natives before walking back to find his father.
Jim was casting in the shallower water where he caught the rainbows earlier in the morning.
JIM "I walked about a ½ mile downstream, I caught two brookies casting a small spinner"
PAT "I found natives, I caught three over a mile upstream"
JIM "awesome man, lets call it a morning"
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