Each year in late June I visit a brook trout high lake described by Enos Bradner in Chapter Two of his 1950 classic, Northwest Angling. This year I brought with my Sharpes 85 5 weight bamboo fly rod, a Farlows Grenaby loaded with intermediate line and a wallet of Enos Bradner fly patterns...
It's a shorter hike now than in Bradner's day and the snow had melted early this year (get ready for fires this summer) but everything else was the same. I'll quote Bradner: "They hit with abandon, taking any fly that was flipped out to them: bucktail coachmen, gray hackles with yellow bodies, queen of the waters or carrot nymphs...
None of the fish were large - they ran uniformly between 10 and 12 inches - but they were fast as lightning. Their flesh was deep pink, firm as marble and, fried crisp and brown for the next day's breakfast, they were as delicious a morsel as any mortal could ever desire..."
Here's to Enos Bradner. Next time you fish, tie on a Dandy Green Nymph or Carrot Nymph or Brad's Brat in his honor.
It's a shorter hike now than in Bradner's day and the snow had melted early this year (get ready for fires this summer) but everything else was the same. I'll quote Bradner: "They hit with abandon, taking any fly that was flipped out to them: bucktail coachmen, gray hackles with yellow bodies, queen of the waters or carrot nymphs...
None of the fish were large - they ran uniformly between 10 and 12 inches - but they were fast as lightning. Their flesh was deep pink, firm as marble and, fried crisp and brown for the next day's breakfast, they were as delicious a morsel as any mortal could ever desire..."
Here's to Enos Bradner. Next time you fish, tie on a Dandy Green Nymph or Carrot Nymph or Brad's Brat in his honor.
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