Top Secret

We all have those sacred “secret” fishing spots that we don’t like to share with the general public. We think that if we keep quiet about those special locations then they’ll remain special. We have fears that other people will discover them and over fish them.

Today the RBT crew visited one of our “secret” spots and we brought along a trusted friend. We wanted to share the Tenkara experience with a friend who loves to fish for bass on spinning gear. We were hoping for a good day on the water and the chance to show off the Tenkara experience.

It was a really hot day for this early in the season as we headed south of Boston towards the “spot”. We got stuck in the typical weekend traffic headed towards Cape Cod but luckily we didn’t have to go that far south. When we arrived at the site our friend grabbed his gear and started to head for the pond directly behind the cars. We let him get close to the pond before informing him we were headed to a tiny brook that is at most 20 ft wide and at its deepest probably 3 ft. It’s a brook that is often overlooked because of its size and shallow nature. But to those that know, it’s a beautiful haven for trout and the elusive sea-run brown trout. This brook is shallow and crystal clear so you have to approach the edge with care or you’ll spook the fish. There would be no wading today as we were going for optimal covert attack.

After a brief explanation of the tenkara gear we made our way downstream. It was an extremely hot day so we were checking all the shady areas hoping the trout would be hiding in the cooler waters. After trying several areas in the upstream section and not seeing any fish we decided to make our way down to the largest pool in the brook. This section usually produces fish and we were hoping today would be no different.

At the big pool we could see a few good size fish hanging out and occasionally rising to the surface. There were no hatches today so “match the hatch” wasn’t an option. We tried several different flies but the fish weren’t interested. Our friend decided to switch back to his spinning gear. I was secretly hoping he didn’t show us up. After trying a dry pattern and several nymphs to no avail I decided to pull out the green pheasant tail tenkara fly that has become my “when all else fails” fly. I cast the fly right above the pool and dead drifted it right into the pool and sure enough a fish took notice and went right for it. I watched the fish take the fly and set the hook with a quick rise of the RBT rod.

As I worked the fish over to the edge of the brook I could tell this was a rainbow trout. It gave a good fight as I got the net ready. I didn’t catch the sea-run brown trout that we were hoping to find but a beautiful rainbow none the less. heads or tails see you later We spent the better part of the afternoon fishing the big pool trying to get more fish to bite but it was a very tough day with the temperatures in the mid 90’s. Eventually, we decided to call it a day and stop for lunch.

While eating lunch and swapping stories we began to talk about secret fishing spots. It’s funny how protective we can be about these special fishing areas. I think we tend to project a sense of ownership on things that we become emotionally attached to. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that most “secret” spots are the only secret in our heads. In this day and age of amazing technology it is so easy to use gps, esri and all the various mapping software to find the next secret spot. So don’t be surprised the next time you pull up to your favorite spot and find another angler already fishing.