It has been not quite two months since ice out in my neck of the woods.
Since April 1st, I have had some pretty good experiences on my expedition to more "distant" waters like the Sawmill, Chicopee and Farmington.
But I have done comparatively poorly on my own stomping grounds right here in northern Berkshire County.
While managing to catch a various warm water species (large mouth/rock bass/perch/sunfish/crappie) at Fish Pond in North Adams, and brookies on some of the smaller streams in the area, I've had virtually no luck on the Hoosic River since the open water season began in early April.
In fact, until today, the only trout that I've caught on the Hoosic since January was a 14" rainbow that I landed on the North Branch last Sunday.
Fortunately, my luck seems to have turned today.
After a brief stint at a pond cleanup workbee for a fishing club that I belong to earlier this morning, I seized the opportunity to fish the South Branch of the Hoosic, from Cheshire Harbor to ALADCO, between 10 AM and 2 PM.
The weather was ideal (overcast/63 degrees) and Goldilocks conditions prevailed for the stream levels
The results were gratifying, to say the least - - six assorted (10" to 14") browns, one big (16") rainbow and a tiny (5") brook trout - - which makes a "hat trick" of sorts.
Hopefully, this marks a harbinger of things to come for the next several months ahead.
We shall see,