I snuck out for two hours this afternoon to try my hand at terrestrials.  I was excited about having time to trout fish and to explore a section of Irondequoit Creek that I used to fish twenty years ago.  Upon arriving at the creek, I realized left behind my vest (fly boxes/tippet/nippers/hemostats/leaders, etc).   Several of my friends keep a fly fishing specific check out list before each trip.  Not that bad an idea…

Fortunately, I carry a small plastic box of back up/emergency fly fishing items.  I was able to scrap together a few beetles, as well as several streamers (see photo of my limited flies).  Armed w/ half a dozen flies and only 7x tippet, I hiked downstream.  The trail doesn’t follow the Creek, so I ventured through plenty of heavy brush, briars, meadows and swampy vegetation.  It sure seemed muggy and I was soon drenched w/ sweat.

Once on the river, I worked my way upstream casting a beetle imitation.  Early on,  a small fish nipped my fly and a decent brown jumped over my fly as it landed.  Both fish were in the same shady run, but neither hit the fly.  After that I fished several hundred yards w/ not a strike.  Long casts, stealthy approach, prospecting into shady zones and no trout.  Finally, I landed two chubs near a bridge.  Striking out on terrestrials, I tied on a brown bugger and enjoyed three follows from trout in a few short minutes.  The fish didn’t hit the streamer, but the flashing follows were promising.  In hindsight, I should have switched to my limited streamer collection sooner.  Just as I started to get excited about streamers, a thunderstorm moved in, the mosquitoes descended and it was time to head home for dinner.  Nice to get outside and enjoy our local fishery.