Sunday 10/29/2017 - got my household chores done early so I grabbed my rod(s) and headed off fishing.

To be perfectly honest, I took 2 rods and only one was a fly rod. I recently bought a little 5-1/2 foot Fenwick HMG spinning rod which hadn't seen much creek-time. I also finally got my Sage TXL-F 000 weight and Sage Click-1 reel to the creek. I had both taken down poking out the top of my day pack. One of the reasons for the spinning rod is the breeze was coming up and trying to cast a 000 weight with any wind is ... a joke. I was basically fishing spinners out in the sun and flies in the shade.

The creek which shall be known as $%^&* Creek runs down the bottom of a large meadow surround by volcanic (andesite?) rock walls. It was homesteaded back in the 1850. Most of it has resorted to public ownership and is open to walk-in hunting / fishing / camping. It is also rented as cow pasture in summer.

$%^&* Creek valley/basin


$%^&* Creek


Almost 9" trout caught on a parachute adams which got wet and sunk - first fish ever on a new rod.


Sunset to the west


Moonrise to the east


I also caught 2-3 on small panther martins and lost a HUGE (for that creek) trout at least 13-15 inches long, maybe even a little bigger. It broke off 4-lb P-line and took my P.M. One reason for not sharing the name of the creek is ... I'm goin' back!!

Nice! Now is the time of year to get in some really good fishing. The fish are like bears, bulking up for the winter.

Gotta love little creeks. Nicely done.

A little bit of paradise on earth. Can you at least tell us which state you are in?

My state? Confusion!

(Seriously? Oregon.)

Tom

Nice, I never get any fall fishing.. To much to do. I must correct that some day..

Tom, I did not know where you lived. Sorry. Western OR, correct?

OrangeOkie -

No prob, don't apologize, I was just trying to be funny and it backfired. I'm in the southwest corner of Oregon not far from Medford. The creek, though, is on the drier east slope of the Cascade range.

WyoCoyoteHunter -

Yeah, me, too, for the most part. Feast or famine ... fall is "everything" season. I guided fly fishermen to pay for college. That turned fun into work and I burned out. I've been getting back into it after 25 years away, started 4-5 years ago. I'm focusing on little fish, mountain trout, not trying to pressure myself with big fish or anything like that, just hike, wander, take pictures, make a few casts. This year I drew a late deer tag (starts Nov 11) and skipped elk so I had time to fish. I think the itch has returned.

I bought a 9 foot collapsing tenkara rod in hopes I can carry that when I'm deer hunting in case I find a creek that looks fishy. I haven't used it yet.

Tom

I could tell the creek was in the rain shadow. BTW, that tenkara rod is a good idea.

T O M Good luck with your plan.. One of my friends gave me a good tip on huge browns in the fall,, But I can elk hunt, coyote hunt, waterfowl hunt, pheasant hunt, and who knows what else.. I start out once in a while for the spot, but never made it yet.. Like you small streams are my favorite.. Brookies are my favorite there.. Enjoy!!

I have a new thing to figure out. Up 'til a few years ago most of our small streams closed Oct 31 and didn't reopen 'til either the 4th Saturday in April or Saturday of Memorial weekend, but now some that are blocked below by falls or dams so they have only native, not migratory, populations, are staying open year around. I need to learn to fish flies in really cold water.

Brookies ... they're pretty! And pretty tasty.

Those little creeks are the perfect medicine for todays world if one will just accept the dose.

Envious. All of our water has been converted to dry matter, and I refuse to use my chain saw to break through. Good time to start tying some flies though. Good luck,

I've gotta say, I absolutely envy you fellas who live west of the Mississippi. The scenery is breathtaking, and there are so many more fly fishing opportunities, as well as trout, than my home state of Ohio. In fact, aside from Steelhead that run up the Erie tributaries in Northeastern Ohio, we don't have many Trout. ...and when fishing for them, my scenery consists of the Cleveland suburbs, which doesn't quite have the same "feel." I'm sure you pack iron for the 4-legged critters; I have to pack for the 2-legged variety!

T_O_M, looks like you had a fine day on $%&# Creek, thanks for sharing!!

Looks like fun. (From another in ohio)

When a very young boy, my dad, grandfather, and myself were coming back up the hill after catching our limit
About half way up, we saw others at the top coming down. I was instructed, when they would be asking "how's the fishing.?" to respond with "it stinks, theres no fish in that creek!"

Some secrets are worth keeping.

I also think it's pretty cool that your Dry Fly.sunk and you still hooked up. I've seen that a bunch. My wife had a favorite Hendrickson that was all torn up, hardly a hackle left on it, and it could no longer hold enough floatent to stay on top...one day I saw that ratty fly score 25 brookies. When they're hitting, they ARE hitting.!

So true. And for those that do, they find that it is indeed good medicine.