Fly Fishing Road Trips
Good People      Good Water       Good Fish

THE QUEST TIMELINE

FEBRUARY 2024 OKLAHOMA-TEXAS-LOUSIANA-FLORIDA TRIP (48 OF 50)

TEXAS:

My first attempt at a Texas trout was in 2018 on the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, between Austin and San Antonio.  It was hot, and my research didn't help me fish the stream.  Two large rainbows jumped out, and one almost hit Brooke Trout in the head, but nothing hit my attempts, so I moved on to New Mexico.

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 In February 2024, my wife visited family in California and Tennessee, so I took advantage by adding a Texas detour to my scheduled winter retreat to Southern Florida.  I would now fish for trout in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.  To catch trout, I created a 2,750-mile fly-fishing road trip with my two chocolate labs.  However, Texas is the only new state on this Quest Roadmap.

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I arrived at the free BRA Area #1 camping ground on Possum Kindom Lake late afternoon as Jiffy Lube screwed up my brakes in Mountain Fork, Oklahoma, and Jiffy Lube in Paris, Texas, had to fix them the following morning.  I spent the night at a gas station parking lot with my two pups.

With the remaining daylight, I drove nine miles to the Brazos River at Possum Kingdom Stone Arch Bridge for a Texas trout.  This location is not a secret; I knew from YouTube videos.  When I got to the bridge, I saw about ten cars on both sides.  Looking over the bridge, I saw about 12 people fishing beside each other.

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I saddle up with my 4wt fly rod with a dry dropper rig, a Dry Caddis with a Green Copper John.   I walked down to the waterline and decided to be chatty with the first fly fisherman I saw by the fastest part of the river.  He told me he had about 35 fish in his day's span.  Well, I was excited, after driving over 1,100 miles, a trout should be easy.  The gentleman decided to wrap up for the day, and I could take his spot.  What a place I could see dozens and dozens of small 8 to 10-inch trout.

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I pulled out some line, and not being dramatic, on my third cast, I landed a small trout!  After a few pictures, I set up and caught six more, keeping one for dinner.

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Back at the campsite, I got a large ribeye from an Oklahoma butcher shop and fried up the rainbow with a nice bottle of wine!
 

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JANUARY 2024 HAWAII TRIP (47 OF 50)

HAWAII:

Where do I start?  This trout fly fishing road trip is dedicated to the late Deane Gonzalez, and this is where the story must begin.

Hawaii trout fishing has been on my bucket list for 20 years.  The timeframe stated that the internet was solid, but I needed help finding much information; I only saw one article about trout on the Big Island, which required more accurate information.  Slowly, I found more information, checking in once a year or so.  Eventually, I found the history of trout in the Hawaiian Islands in a blog.

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Trout are not native to Hawaii but were introduced on at least four islands: O'ahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island.  Sugar plantation owners first introduced rainbow trout to the Hawaiian island of Kauai around 1920.  While a tropical island would generally not be considered the most optimal trout habitat, the fish thrived in the cool, higher-altitude freestone streams of the remote Kokee region on Kauai's west side.  The other islands were not prosperous in reproducing the stocked trout.  Stocking occurred regularly on Kauai until abruptly discontinued in the early 90s due to concerns regarding the trout's impact on native damsel fly populations.  These days, stocking is limited to a single reservoir that receives relatively high fishing pressure during the short 3-month season—meanwhile, wild trout swim in the consistent tea-stained cold waters in remote mountain streams.  Wild trout in a jungle setting is unique and only revived in Costa Rica in my journeys. 

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Since 2019, I have missed the existence of the Hawaii Chapter of Trout Unlimited and its website.  Also, about the same time, I stumbled on a fly guide that took people to Waimea Canyon, where the rainbow lives, but nothing came of it.  Lastly, I dug into blogs but needed help finding someone who could give me enough information to commit to a trip.   At least I knew there were trout.  The key was I needed something more concrete before I spent capital and time traveling across the Pacific Ocean.  

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I met Deane Gonzalez on the Hawaii Trout Unlimited website.  Wow, my answers could be realized!  Deane had created dozens of fly fishing videos about Hawaii trout fishing and other locations worldwide.  His video gave me a great idea of Kauai Trout fishing.  Later, one of his friends told me he pioneered trout fishing in Hawaii, so I contacted Deane immediately.

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From June 2023, we exchanged emails at least weekly.  In January 2024, we planned a four-day, four-night trip to the Waimea Canyon at his 1920 Rice Cabin.  We would revisit a section of rivers he had not visited in seven years and his favorite stream above and below waterfalls.  He promised me a Hawaii Trout and adventure.

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But, in mid-November, I lost contact with Deane as he contracted bacteria in his bloodstream and Unfortunately died on February 4, 2024.  Before I could talk to him again, I cannot tell you how I was hurt; I lost my new friend. 

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It was in late December when I tracked down his wonderful wife to find out about Deane's health issue; she quit the fisherman, too.  Trout is unimportant; the priority is friends and family,  but I was flying out on January 12 to Kauai, and I needed a strategy.  Lucky Deane had great videos, and where I needed to go through Google Maps and Google Earth, I would be alone was the only issue.  I was not too fond of hiking on non-official trails without a buddy in possible bad rainy weather.  Luckily, I contacted two fly fishing guides who had fished with Deane, and they gave notes and GPS coordinates, which aligned perfectly with my hunches!  When I contacted Nigel Warrack, he had not heard about Deane, and he spent about an hour telling me stories about when he met Deane at the age of 13.  He told me stories about himself, his friend, and Deane stocking trout, tracking trout, clearing streams, and fishing.  He had also been trying to contact Deane for a while.  Derek Draplin I met through an article I found and tracked him down in a fly shop in Colorado.  He looked at his notes and confirmed my assumptions.  I want to thank them both for sharing their worry about Deane and helping me.

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OK,  now to the fishing.  Lauren and I arrived in Kauai a day late, spending a night in Oahu.  The delay was due to a light bulb in the cockpit and a Chicago blizzard, which caused us to miss our connection from Los Angeles to Kauai.  It is more reason to get out of the Midwest.  We arrived on Saturday just in time for the farmer's markets for fresh Hawaiian vegetables, fish, and a handmade t-shirt.  That night, we walked down from our Princeville condo to 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, a 5-star resort, for a large glass of Chardonnay and a look at Hanalei Bay. 

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We spent four days on the north side of Kauri, going to beaches, kayaking, hiking, and eating local cuisine.  On day five, we booked a place on the island's south side on Shipbreak Beach next to a former Italian restaurant chef's.  Randell and I had many deep conversations on cuisine as I worked at a French restaurant many years ago.  Since we could not stay at the Rice cabin in the canyon, we found a place only an hour away.

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Unfortunately, I caught a bad cold right before my journey to the mountain and the day I went to the fishing spot.  I did not feel great, and it was cold and raining.  My head was full of energy, but my body was slow.  I left our bungalow around 7 am, grabbing a breakfast sandwich from a food truck and a latte in the town of Waimea.  Waimea is a 30-minute drive to the Kōkeʻe Lodge, and across the lodge is a dirt road where a 20-minute drive is necessary to my fishing spot.

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  The dirt road drive was better than planned, even though it was full of potholes, but I got a jeep, and to my surprise, it was reasonably straightforward.  The challenges in roads in Deane's video would come later.  The drive was about three miles until I got to the second bridge and my place to fish.  Everything I researched and visualized was precisely what I thought, which never happens.   I pulled over at the bridge running over the River Kauaikinana.  The river is more like a creek here.  The valley was white-washed with fog just above the tree line with spartic rain.  Ready, I hiked down to the river prepared with rain gear, hiking pants, wader boots, and a fluorescent orange baseball hat.  Orange, just so some wild pig hunters didn't shoot me.  Moving through the thorn bushes on a faded path, the stream opens up to layers of green hues of tropical palms, ferns, and canopies of tropical trees.  As in an oil painting, the variety of green values is from a lost world of dinosaurs.  The valley is plotted with water falling over Volkswagen-sized boulders.   I set up will black and blue shimmering wooly bugger targeting a small pool.  On my second cast,  a solid hit, and then it was gone!  Immediately, I generate a high-speed flashback of all the research and planning over 20 years that this is now real.  On my 3rd stroke, I lay the streamer perfectly above the whole,  a few strips, and fish on!!!  Hawaiian done after a few pictures of the 4-inch Wild Hawaiian Rainbow.

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 Boulder hopping and climbing, you need to get up the stream.  I do this while throwing my fly in a shallow pool, hoping for some strike.  I felt what seemed like a strike several times but could not confirm it.  I climb over a wall of boulders and stumble on the most beautiful tropical oasis I have ever seen, a 50-yard trout pool resembling a waterfall screen from Jurassic Park.  Jurassic Park was partly filmed in Kauai.  This trout section is perfectly lined with tropical fauna, crystal clear water, and a possible trout along the way.   The water was super deep.  After fishing in pools only 2-3 feet deep, this water was far over my head.  I approached a massive boulder in the water to stand on, flicking my trout wand back and forth and laying it into the water as I waded.  I stumbled and fell into the water above my waist.  Fish on!  I am fighting a much larger trout with one hand on the rod and the other on my wader stick, so I don't fall over my head.  The unthinkable, I took my finger off the fly rod, why I don't know, and slack now exists; the trout swam off the hook and back into the pool.  I hooked five more fish and could see them through the ice water, but I could not land one.

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I explored another 200 yards up the stream to a small waterfall that looked very promising, but nothing struck my line.  I thought about scaling up the cliff to see the other side of the waterfall, but it would take some strength, and I was cold, wet, and sick.  So, I started headed back, finding some trails that made it much more manageable.  I was ill but not too sick to drive back up the dirt road to the Koki's Lodge to change into dry clothes, a beer, and a local Hawaiian beef burger.

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After an hour of rest, I will search for the black pipe and Koke'e Stream.   The road was a different path than the Kauainana.  The black pipe is part of the irrigation system created during the sugar cane plantation era.  I found all the clues left to me by Deane and Nigel: the main road,  the side road with down trees, and the black pipe path signs.  I decided to follow the path Nigel spoke of, but the side road would be better.  I was right.  Without a guide, I needed a couple of days of exploring, and as a rookie, I was bound to get lost.  But it took about 45 minutes longer because I went down the wrong way twice.  I felt I would return someday to this canyon, so I was OK returning to our bungalow by 3 pm as promised without finding the stream.  Little problem: my jeep got stuck in the mud; thank God, I could move the jeep into 4-wheel drive, and boom, I was out.   You need a jeep if you are going to explore the backroads.  

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The four days of fishing didn't happen; Deane passed away before I could meet him and thank him for all his work to make my dream come true.  I can only pray to thank him and his wife, Donna, for this opportunity because I don't think it would ever happen again.

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DECEMBER 2023 MISSISSIPPI TRIP (46 OF 50)

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MISSISSIPPI:

For the last five years, I have been focusing on getting trout in Mississippi, as the guys at my Florida plantation pond gave me hints of a lake with rainbows in "The Magnolia State." The challenge in Mississippi is that only one location in the state holds trout. On top of that, the Department of Natural Resources(DNR) only stocks the fishing pond adjacent to Lake Larmar Bruce once a year. So, the timing of when you can go to Mississippi is strict. In the past, stockings were anywhere from Christmas week to the third week in January.

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I finally got to Mississippi Lake Larmar Bruce's fishing pond while passing through a trip from Chicago to Florida in February 2022. However, I only fished for 15 minutes because there was nothing online to tell me the DNR  stocked any trout that season. It was a big mistake as the DNR did release trout...they were there!! The scare came in 2023 as the DNR didn't even stock! So, now I missed my chance as the DNR might have given up permanently stocking the lake. 

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In December 2024, I was driving back from Florida and didn't even look to see if the Mississippi's DNR might have stocked Lake Larmar Bruce because they never stocked until the third week of December. The DNR stocked the fishing pond in early December, and I had just driven by thinking the pond was barren.

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This year, the dogs, my wife, and I decided to go south for Christmas to Georgia. Knowing there was a chance to hit Mississippi on our way back, I researched Lake Larmar Bruce, and now I know there are trout at the lake. So, on the eve of my birthday, we found a hotel in the birthplace of Elvis Presley, Tupelo, Mississippi. I woke to a dark, rainy morning with a temperature of 35 degrees. Thank God for a coffee shop outside our door and a knit hat. 

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The drive to the trout pond was only 15 minutes.   I set up with a black wooly bugger and fished the back end of the pond. Two other fishermen were fishing with corn. They were catching their limits when I had one hit on my first cast after my first hour. I talked to the guy, and I moved closer to the pier, changed my fly to a white wooly bugger, and the strikes often came after getting strikes on almost every other cast. There were times when the trout were in a feeding frenzy, so it wouldn't have taken me 30 minutes to finally get one. I finally hooked an 11-inch rainbow. I quickly pulled him out without a net, recorded, and dressed it for dinner.

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MARCH 2023 LOUISIANA TRIP (45 OF 50)

LOUISIANA:

Twice a year, my dogs, wife, and I head to Marco Island, Florida, for sunshine, exercise, and happiness.  It is also an opportunity to knockout trout states for the Quest.  This year I was focusing on Mississippi, where I visited the one location that stocks trout once in 2022.  However, I only fished for 15 minutes because I didn't know if the DNR had stocked trout that year.  Big mistake as they did!  In 2023 for this road trip, they did not pace rainbow trout in Lake Lamar Bruce for the first time in years; ugh!  So, plan B had to be created.
 
Louisiana is the only state somewhat on the way to Florida left on the Quest, but it is about 13 hours from Chicago.  The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries have a program called 'Get Out & Fish!' where they stock rainbow trout in about 17 ponds around Louisiana.  

The program includes a fishing competition and fishing education activities.  Through these events, the department hopes to provide the skills necessary to make even new anglers feel prepared to return to the site and fish at any time on their own.  It also provides a family-oriented fishing opportunity that gets youth and their families outside to spend the day together.  I'm impressed with this program.
 
My target was Elmore D. Mayfield Park and Grambling City Park in Ruston, LA.  I received advice from the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries that Mayfield had deeper holes as the weather was getting warmer; unfortunately, warm water is unsuitable for trout.  The stocking was back at the beginning of January, but the DNR confirmed that trout still should be in the lake.  Thunderstorms and tornadoes keep me from reaching my campsite at Lincoln Parish Park, so I stop by my mother in Little Rock, Arkansas, for Chinese food, good conversation, and a comfortable bed.  It would be a short three-hour drive the following day.
 
I left Arkansas at 6:00 am in the rain with fading thunderstorms to the west.  The forecast for Ruston, Louisiana, was clearing 67 degrees with a mix of clouds and sun.  After picking up a latte at Mill Town Coffee Co. in Sheridan, Arkansas, I arrived in downtown Ruston.  Ruston is a small town with old vintage brick buildings, a movie theatre, and a McDonald's at the end of the boulevard.
 
I drove just five minutes from downtown to Mayfield Park and circled the Cul-de-Sac, where the small lake wraps the road.  I walked to the lake while the wind blew about 20 miles an hour.  Primary due to the storms, the water was muddy blue.  The lake was large enough that I had no idea where to start, but I saw a car at the far end parked by the water.  I left the main entrance area and drove around, bypassing a 'Road Closed' sign to find the small dirt road leading to the water's edge where a bait-cast fisherman just threw a flopping fish onto the grass.  I nicely yelled, "Hey, is it a catfish or a trout?"  Mario, 6'2, wearing a satin durag, replied, "It is a trout!".  Wow, what luck!  Seeing a trout caught this late in the season and a spot I knew very little about was encouraging.  
 
I told Mario about the Quest, and he was very supportive about where I could fish by him.  He told me stories about the sizeable golden trout, also called Palomino Trout, that a guy caught last week.  He was fishing with corn kernels, so I sized up my strategy.  I would start with a dry dropper outfit, Yellow Stimulator, and a Blue Copper John.  If that failed, Orange Headed Wooly Bugger streamer followed up by an Orange Salmon Egg.
 
I fished down the lake to one end using the dry dropper with no hits but saws a few swirls in the water, leading me to assume they were trout feeding.  After 45 minutes of nothing, my mind went in and out with of confidence.  Mario left with his black pickup truck, so I traded my 5wt for my 6wt fly rod with the streamer on and fished his spot.  It only took two casts for a fish hit my lure solidly, "No way!" could this be a trout?  Learning from my Kansas trip mishap, I set the hook correctly by pulling straight on the line, not lifting the rod tip.  As it came closer, I could tell it was a large rainbow.  FISH ON!  I knew better not to use my net but pop it on the grass, which I did from the muddy blue water.  Good thing the wooly bugger was out of the specked fish's mouth, leaving the water.  It was a beautiful Louisiana Trout!
 
I headed to my Lincoln Parish Park campsite, voted 2022 Louisiana campground of the year, for a trout lunch and a half bottle of Chardonnay before heading out to pick up my wife in Atlanta, Georgia, eight hours away.

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JANUARY 2023 KANSAS TRIP (44 OF 50)

KANSAS:

Driving 11 hours from Chicago to my bed at I-135 Rest Stop, I was excited or scared of another failure in Kansas for a trout. But, before bed, I went to Lindborg, KS, for dinner. The Swedish town of Lindsborg is a brick-laid main street with white Christmas lights and two of the best coffee shops I've been to. I would be dining at the Crown & Rye for an excellent strip steak, baked potato, a large side salad, and two chardonnays.

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I woke up at a rest stop with Brooke Trout and fed her breakfast before heading into Lindsbor. It was early. I wanted to get to the Blacksmith Coffee Shop & Roastery when it opens at 6:30 am. I ordered a latte and sat in a nice leather chair, waiting for the sun to rise before heading 20 minutes to Kanopolis Lake and Sand Creek.   

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The sun rose through the coffee shop window, and I was out the door after purchasing a t-shirt and sweatshirt for my coffee shop collection. The parking lot already had about seven cars, but most people fish and the end of the stream. My target was the artificial bait section, about 1/2 mile down the path. Brooke is getting old, 11, and gets to sleep in the car temperature was 26 this morning, going up to 52 with 20-mile-an-hour winds for the south. The south wind works well as I'm throwing my fly with the wind, 

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I'm bringing two rods; my five-weight will be set up with a large stimulator pattern dry fly I received from my sister-in-law for Christmas and a blue-looking copper john. My second rod is a six-weight with an orange-headed black wooly bugger. When I got to pole 9, I ran into a fly fisherman with a felt cowboy hat who had just caught six trout on the same orange-headed black wooly bugger. Funny that he recognized me from my YouTube video! I'm famous...LOL! He also saw a video of someone from two weeks early using the same streamer. He also gave me his secret spot while he fished about 30 yards in front of me around a turn in the creek. While fishing, he caught eight more trout before me using the same fly.   I saw nothing in his secret spot. We flipped spots, and I caught nothing, and he didn't catch anything in his secret place. Two hours in, and I saw nothing. I thought this was going to be easy, and my forehead started to sweat in fear of another Kansas failure.

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I walked up and down the stream while more and more people came into the stream. Good news, bad news, no one was catching any trout. The cowboy fly fisherman landed bass only now. Finally, at the beginning of the creek, I through a cast around a grassy point with my streamer and hooked a trout. Wow! It was a weird angle, so I did not set the hook correctly; it was just a lousy fishing technique. I lifted my rod instead of pulling the line to set the hook. After about seven seconds, the rainbow was off the hook. It was about 1:30 pm. Tired, I hobbled a mile back to the parking lot and drove off for lunch to Öl Stuga in Lindsborg, 

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After a bacon cheeseburger and a Coors Light, I drove back to the stream. Brooke spent time on the way back meeting two fishing in the parking lot, going in and out of their legs. A happy old fishing dog! I was sorry she was not feeling well enough to walk to the stream as she was coming off a case of the flu. It was 2:30 pm, cloudy in the afternoon, and windy but warm, which should be good fishing weather. I returned to the best hole as I was running low on time. Most people were gone, but one guy was fishing live bait in the artificial section in the best spot. UGH! So, this was going to take longer.

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I fished to the beginning of the stream again, flicking my streamer, which I had been using all day. After a couple of hours, I walked back, seeing only the two guys Brooke met in the parking lot, the bait fisherman was gone with his friends. OK, I'm sitting at the best hole now. After several casts with my streamer. I grabbed by five-weight with the dry dropper setup. On my third drift around the deep hole, my stimulator dips down violently, and I set the hook. At first, the rainbow fought hard, but then it got contentious closer to shore with a place to hide and break the line. I've learned in new states not to use the net but throw the trout out of the water onto the shore. Well, that is what I did. The 11-inch rainbow trout had wings and landed on the soft grass at 3:32 pm Saturday, January 14., 2023.   

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As the sun set over Kanopolis Lake, it was time to fry up my catch around the corner at Kanopolis Lake Campgrounds. I had two bunches of hardwood in the car and a half-bottle pinot noir. So, Brooke and I hung out, relaxing and celebrating our achievements. Later, we drove back to the Crown and Rye for a T-bone steak, chocolate cake, and two glasses of zinfandel before saying good night at the I-135 rest stop.

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OCTOBER 2022 MARYLAND TRIP (43 OF 50)

MARYLAND:
After years of research, two years, and four trips, I finally got my Maryland trout. Thanks to my new buddy Matt from Swallow Falls State park, he introduced me to Bear Creek!   This was another trip to Florida, going a long way through Maryland from Chicago.

The first attempt was in May of 2021. After 23 days on the road, I could only give Maryland about three hours of fishing time. I mapped Herrington Run(39.4641, -79.44386) and Muddy Creek (39.50115, -79.41734). The rain blew out Herrington Run, and it was not fishable. I couldn't find Muddy Creek because I decided not to pay the $5 entrance fee to the State Park. The instruction from the booth girl got me lost going the back way.

The second attempt was in late October 2021, after a 9-hour drive from Chicago. In the afternoon, I was one hour from Swallow Falls State Park in West Virginia to work at a Coffee Shop and fish Deckers Creek to try to catch my West Virginia. It was sunny and 60 degrees in West Virginia, and it only took 30 minutes to catch a 14-inch rainbow. So, it was off to Maryland; what could go wrong? As the sun was about to set, I decided not to fish and go out for dinner, a big mistake. As soon as I got out to the bar/restaurant, it poured for two days. Trip canceled.
The third attempt was in August 2022. I decided to give myself more time, so I budgeted three and a half days. How can you not catch a trout in three and a half days? 

Well, that is what happened. I tried everything, even six streams.
The fourth attempt was the charm. I decided I needed to help and ask a buddy I met on my third trip. Matt introduced me to Bear Creek. On my third cast, I hooked a nice rainbow on Bear Creek in the exact location that produced nothing in August. I lost it but got my confidence back. 

The next day, Matt met me at Bear Creek and gave insight into the stream. It took about an hour, then I cast into a deep pool by accident and landed my first Maryland Rainbow. It was a stocker and good enough to eat. I caught a couple of Wild Brook Trout upstream, which always makes me happy as the day ends.

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AUGUST 2022 TENNESSEE VIA MARYLAND (42 OF 50)
This trip is to Tennessee via Maryland.  Our friend rented a beautiful large log cabin overlooking the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee.  Lauren was flying to Knoxville to spend time with her sister, so I took the Brooke Trout and the new puppy River Gator.  I gave myself 3 1/2 days to catch a trout this time.  There is no real rain in the forecast, so this would be easy, except it was August.  The water will be shallow and warm.

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MARYLAND:

#3 attempt at Maryland didn't go well.  I tried all my streams and new ones.  I could not catch a trout.  Nothing all morning, all afternoon, and all as the sun was setting.  I set camp at Swallow Falls State Park again.  I love this state park!  Clean showers and easy access to trout fishing.  My neighbor at the campsite was a fly fisherman also; River Gator kept going into their camp.  He fished the Youghiogheny River at the bottom of the falls and pulled out a Brown Trout.  While I fished Mud Creek at the top of the falls, I caught nothing. 

I talked to him for a couple of days after I was fishing the Savage River with no luck.  He told me about Bear Creek.  I tried that on my last day. He told me about his spot, but there were two cars, so I fished upstream for Wild Brooke Trout.  The funny thing was I would fish these spots in the fall and catch trout, but nothing in August.  Before sleeping at a remote campsite on the Savage River, I eat at Dutch's at Silver Tree again for a good steak and crab cakes.  I would try again in October.

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OCTOBER 2021 SOUTHEASTERN TRIP (42 OF 50)
This trip is to Florida via Maryland and West Virginia. I'm picking up Lauren in Roanoke, Virginia, and heading back to Elk River Inn in West Virginia to fish the famous Elk River. Maryland and West Virginia are the two states still outstanding.

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WEST VIRGINIA:  
I was pretty excited at my second attempt at WV. Finally, I had more than enough days and two streams to fish Deckers Creek again and the famous Elk River.

The first water would be Deckers Creek near the University of West Virginia in Morgantown. I slept at the I-79 rest and arrived around 2 am. In the morning, I headed to Annie's Coffee and Creamery, one of my favorite coffeehouses. I love a place with a fireplace. I worked the morning at Annie's, then sneaked out for a two-hour try at trout between conference calls. I drove around Deckers Creek, unsure where to fish, but decided on one of the many turnouts and climbed down a steep embankment. On the way down was an old couch and trash, but as you got to the bottom, the stream was magical. Huge rocks the size of small cars and stream zigzagging around them.

Once, I geared and jumped from boulder to boulder, flinging my line in small pools. Finally, I saw a small 4x8-foot pebble beach. I climb on a rock just upstream from the clearing on the left. I threw a cast in what looked like a place that could hold a trout, but I didn't think it could happen. Then, on the third flick of the wrist, I felt a hard tug. Holy Shxt! Fish On!   

It took 10 minutes to bring the brown trout to the beach. Deckers Creek is stocked; from my readings, not all fish last the warm summer. So when I landed a 14+ brown trout, I was amazed!

Lauren and I fished the Elk River after this unexpected triumph. I caught a couple of trout, but nothing compares to the Deckers Creek Brown.

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MARYLAND:

Another nine-hour nonsuccess trip to Maryland. After catching my West Virginia giant brown trout, I set my sites an hour away t Maryland's Swallow Falls State Park. I didn't look at the weather as West Virginia was sunny at 60 degrees. I got to Maryland in time to fish for about 30 minutes and stopped by Herrington Run. The stream was clear, and my choice to try, but I was tired.  I thought I would go have dinner and wait until tomorrow as I had all day—a massive mistake. After dinner, I walked out to a downpour.  I spent the night at Swallow Falls in the car and heard rain all night.  Herrington Run was all muddy.  I tried fishing in Mud Creek in the State Park, but no luck.   All the other streams I laid out were like the Mississippi River. I was left to head south for the Elk River Lodge for the next three nights. 

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MAY 2021 NORTHEASTERN TRIP (41 OF 50)
This fly fishing road trip was my 25th wedding anniversary Our original trip to an island vacation was wiped out by Covid.  This trip also was a rescheduled trip from 2020 due to Covid.  It covers 11 states, but not all were successful.

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• DELAWARE:  
  Delaware was one of the first states in the East I researched about six years ago, so arriving at a river you planned for is always surreal. You also vision it much differently than reality. I expected an area with very few visitors that obtains a slow-moving river with a dirt bottom and a loose amount of trash beached on the banks. I couldn't be more wrong. It is a beautiful state park with many visitors, excellent trails, and a crystal-clear river.
  
  Brooke Trout and I arrived in Delaware around 10 pm after a 14-hour drive from Chicago. We hung her fur and my hat at the I-95 Delaware House Travel Plaza for gas and a night's sleep in the Acura MDX.  
  
  Morning arrived, and surprisingly, we had a great night's sleep. The first spot on White Clay Creek was at Paper Mill Rd (39.68908, -75.74869). Curtis Mill Urban Park gives you parking, and fishing access, which I had no idea existed until I arrived. I chose this spot for the waterfall I found when researching YouTube videos and Google Maps.
  
  I met a very excited young woman with her fishing rod who confirmed that the waterfall was a great trout spot. Fortunately, she told me the bridge was under construction, so no one had been fishing it. Walking down the trail, I passed a 40-pound carp swimming down the middle of the channel. Once, I was hiking between the bridge and the waterfall 20 yards in front of the elevated road; I spooked a trout. WOW! You drive 14 hours, and you see a trout at first look; it lifts your spirit.
  
  I continued fishing for about two hours up and down the waterfall as big thunderclouds rolled in. I could pull in a small bass and a chub, but no trout. I have ten other spots marked on my Google Map upstream to the Pennsylvania border, so it was time to pack up a move upstream.
  
  I chose the Hopkins/Tweads Mill Rd spot (39.72422, -75.76709) near the White Clay Creek State Park Nature Center, which I ended up parking. There was a nature hiking tour gathering when I parked my MDX. So I gathered my gear, and my 25-year-old 5wt Sage Rod fitted with a Yellow Stimulator and a Red Copper John nymph dropper.
  
  Filled with day hikers, as a path ran right next to the stream, I entered the shallows of the cold river. The trees overhung the water, so I tried several roll casts left and right on either side. The river was shallow around the area, and there was no action for an hour or two. The thunderstorms were coming closer. I had decided it was time to quit and take care of Brooke as it was medicine time. As I walked out, I decided, "OK, one more bend." In the distance, I saw a log down where the water looked deep blue-green, just the right color for trout. It was a honey hole.  
  After only two casts, a 12-inch rainbow came out of the depths after my Yellow Stimulator but missed. Wow! I was more than excited. Finally, I landed a rainbow with my Red Copper John after three more casts.  
  
  I caught two more rainbows, one on the nymph and one on the dry. I wrapped one in my net for dinner and put it in the water to keep my catch fresh.
  
  I thought I would try to catch one more trout before the storms arrived. So, I floated the flies down the same seam with my GoPro in one hand and my fly rod in the other. With one hand, the rod, I hook a trout! I remember saying, "Whoa, this one is a big one." It was a 16+ inch brown trout.
  
  The rain came hard with hail; it was time to leave. 

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• NEW JERSEY:  
  
  The Musconetcong River, NJ, was not my original NJ stream choice, so my research was limited. I drove most of the Musconetcong River through Hackettstown, NJ, to the source. It goes through old stone bridges through beautiful little towns and villages. Halfway up the river, I stopped to fish for 30 minutes before sundown as I was ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, I could not raise a freckled fish despite perfect trout water.
  
  I passed a packed Mattar's Bistro during Covid-19 and decided to celebrate my Delaware trout. Dinner, wine, and then sleeping at another rest stop.  ​
  
  The rest stop was a scenic overlook, but I couldn't see anything except black at night. At 1:00 am, I got a tap on the window from the State Patrol; no overnight parking at this scenic overview. With no services, I guess the correct rest stop was a quarter of a mile up the road, and I had to move. The state patrol was friendly, and I had no problems moving. At 5:00 am, I drove back to the scenic overlook...wow! NJ is more than just Newark.
  
  I'm an experienced small creek fisherman, so I headed to the headwater of the Musconetcong to find slower water. I could find anything, so I drove down, following the river and looking for a spot to fish. I finally found a bridge on Continental Drive (40.91911, -74.73663) with comfortable water.
  
  ​I enter the stream behind the bridge and cast my Yellow Stimulator and Red Copper John dropper. Throwing my rod line under the bridge, I hooked a nice 12-inch rainbow on my fifth cast.  
  
  ​​At about 6:30 am, I released my trout, not choosing to have it for dinner. However, with it being so early, I could now get Connecticut and Rhode Island done on the same day, which I did!

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• CONNECTICUT:
  After catching a trout in New Jersey at 6:30 am, I drove to Hawley Brook, Connecticut. Hawley Brook is a wealthy neighborhood of Connecticut with private access to the brook, so I went to a public trail, Trout Brook Valley Preserve. I arrived before noon, and the parking lot was packed, not of fishermen but dog walkers. The preserve turns out to be a beautiful trail to walk your dog. Unfortunately, it also has a sign of no fishing access, strike-one on a Connecticut trout stream. I did review my internet research later, and the creek is a Class 1 Wild Trout Management Area. Maybe if I had looked harder, I could have found access. Unfortunately, when you arrive at the water, you are in a valley and have no internet access to check.
  
  ​I moved on, following my GPS and trying not to hit bikers on the narrow million-dollar home streets as the cyclist were everywhere. Finally, after about 20 minutes, I arrived at my most likely candidate for catching trout in Connecticut, the Mill River. Beautiful homes also surround this area, but supporters of trout have put money into river restoration and access.
  
  ​The spot I selected was a designated trout parking lot (41.2409, -73.25385), which also puts you at ease that you are not trespassing. I grabbed my three-wt rod with a small Caddis Dry and Red Copper John. I flicked about three casts before hitting a small colorful Brooke Trout.
  
  ​​I caught about four more Brookies before leaving to move to Rhode Island, as it was only 12:30 pm.

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• RHODE ISLAND:  
  I arrive in the Wood River Area, Rhode Island, around 5:00 pm after catching trout in New Jersey and Connecticut early in the day. I decided I had time to set up my tent at Whispering Pines Campground, then quickly run out and try the famous Wood River.  
  
  After looking at the map and feeling fatigued, I would try a smaller feeder stream, the Flat River in the Beach Pond Forest Environment Site area (41.5941, -71.72033). I arrived at the creek traveling on a dirt forest road. Trilled, I spotted a trout regulation sign on the bridge. Leaving Brooke Trout in the car, I hiked downstream and found small holes where Wild Brooke Trout could live. After fishing a few spots, I landed my first Rhode Island trout.
  
  ​​I continued fishing, landing a couple more until I found two waterfalls created by manufactured structures from long ago. I climbed the waterfall to see a big pond and the distant hills. Fifteen minutes later, I had caught about 25 trout. So this area of Rhode Island is teaming with a trout population.

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• MASSACHUSETTS:  
  I left Rhode Island late in the evening after a night in torrential rain at my Rhode Island campsite and slept in a seedy motel outside Farmington, Connecticut. The following day I drive up roads following the crazy beautiful winding Farmington River across to the Massachusetts side of the Farmington. My career commitments made me not stop and fish the Farmington, but I drove all the spots I researched, which gave me a complete picture of the area. The Farmington has to be one of the best rivers I have ever seen.
  
  I stopped into a coffee shop to do my conference calls with my mask on, it is May 2021, and Covid is still on. Just outside the coffee shop is another trout stream. I researched the East Branch Housatonic River, but there was no time to fish again.
  
  ​After work, I drove to my campsite Mohawk Trail Campground (42.63823, -72.93628). I was hoping this would be the best campsite as my site is right on the Cold River; I was not disappointed. The campground was almost empty, with it being the early season and Covid still in place.  
  
  ​The Cold River has large boulders and clear water. Locals and state forest rangers informed me that a big flood took a lot of trout cover away, and recent rain flushed the stock trout from the stream three weeks ago downstream to the Deerfield River. However, I fished my first evening in what should have been good trout water into silence. After releasing so many other good fish while traveling in the Northeast, I wanted a trout dinner.
  
  ​I got some advice from a park ranger on fishing the Deerfield River, the Cadilac of rivers in the area. The Deerfield is a tailwater fishery with many dams. The water generation is consistent and starts in the late morning, with water level drops again in the evening. The following day I drove up to the dam, Lower Reservoir Bear Swamp, around 9 am, just before a day's conference calls. I fished just downstream with no luck. The river was starting to rise, and I had no chance. I felt out of my element as Deerfield is a wide river, and it could take several days to figure it out, which I didn't have as I was working during the day. However, in the following days, I did see serval cars where I was fishing, so I knew it was a good spot.
  
  ​On my last day, as I was getting very nervous about not catching a trout in Massachusetts, I researched and decided to fish above the Lower Reservoir Bear Swamp, hoping the river would be smaller. The place is Dunbar Brook Trailhead below Deerfield River Reservoir. Unfortunately, I had a two-hour break between meetings and a 20-minute drive to Dunbar Brook around noon. So I've primarily been doing my calls in a pullout on the Deerfield River (Sunpike Rest Area 42.63599, -72.90589) with significant bandwidth near Charlemont, even though I never fished the spot.
  
  ​Dunbar Brook parking lot (42.70429, -72.95017) was perfect as there was not a single soul there, plus there was a trail down to the Deerfield. Following the path while climbing over trees and large boulders, I arrived at the river. It was just like a Colorado stream. Clearwater with colored granite boulders, tall pines, and mountains peering up.   
  
  Once in the river, I was at home as the river was not as comprehensive as the lower sections, and large boulders created holes. I found two holes right away. I laid my Yellow Stimulator and Red Copper John into the cold water with lots of boulder climbing. The water was deep in narrow channels, there had to be a trout, and there was! I nailed a good size brown trout on my red nymph!
  
  ​​I caught two more fish, a Brook, and another Brown, before heading back down to my rest stop to start up work again.

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• VERMONT:
  I had Vermont as my number one confidence to catch a trout during my Fly Fishing Road Trip Northeastern trip.  It was the hardest.  I fished five or six streams over six days without a fish.  I did not stay long at any of them, which was part of the problem.  I had researched the South Fork Roaring Branch, picking a spot not far from its source, the Green Mountain.
  
  My wife gave me an hour and a half to fish.  It was a 25-minute drive, so I had about 40 minutes to catch a Vermont trout; otherwise, the opportunity would be a loss for another trip far into the future.​
  
  My research this time was perfect, exactly what I thought the creek would look like; pocket fishing with pools between boulders, my kind of fishing.   Finding the ideal spot did not take time, but getting around the stream was for a younger man.  Finally, I found a way; wearing my neoprene socks and wader boots made me more agile.  I stood up to my knees in cold water, hiding behind a massive rock.  Throwing my 3wt with a Caddis fly and a Green Copper John dropper around the rock, I landed small Wild Brook Trout.

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• NEW HAMPSHIRE: 
  Access to the river was easy; finding trout in the boulder-rich low-water wild trout scene was brutal. Our rental home had the stream outside our front door, but no one was fishing up or down the river. The river banks are vast, but in May, the water flow is light and about 1/16th its width.
  
  It took only about 45 minutes to catch a small Wild Brook Trout, but I needed my wading stick. Just going ten yards took work as the rock are large. Finally, I found a seam behind a large boulder flowing perpendicular where there was good flow and deep, where a trout did not have to work hard to gather food. Once I spotted the site, landing a Wild Brookie took only one cast.

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• MAINE: 
  What an ordeal! First, we headed on a gravel park forest road from our cabin in New Hampshire that crossed the mountain into Maine. The road was closed when we got about halfway, 45 minutes of driving. UGH! Google Maps is usually excellent for these things. My wife was already not thrilled about driving to Maine for a damn fish. So we backtracked and went around the mountain to the spot I researched. I was hoping to sit at the mountain lake to picnic and relax before fishing, but it was too late; nothing is worse than a woman with bug bits driving around God's earth for a fish. The car was full of tension.​
  
  We drove to the small stream, Cold River ( 44.26694, -71.00698), which was at the bottom of a valley with low tree cover and dampness. The environment was perfect for more biting bugs; thank God she didn't have a gun. I made a deal to fish for only 30 minutes. The stream reminded me of Wisconsin and the Driftless Area, so I was in my element. I moved upstream and, in the process, scared some large fish hidden in some leaves. I didn't know if it was a trout. After 25 minutes, I knew I needed to head back. I was on my way around; I couldn't believe what I saw. The slower part of the creek held too huge Brook Trout. I could even imagine the colors if I could land one, but I was missing my dropper and didn't see anything rise. As I started my tie exercise, the horn of my Acura MDX began to play, and I was doomed. I would love to come back to this place!​
  
  We drove up and across the pass where the water downstream was heading north on Evans Brook. It looks like East Branch Saco River, NH, where I caught a little Brookie early in the day, but the river is not as dull. I got a couple of hits at my Caddis dry, so I felt confident. Lauren was reading her book on a big rock, most likely being bit again. So I found a big rock to hide behind and threw my fly around the boulder while imagining it floating. Sri e! A nice Wild Brook Trout gripped it!
  
  We didn't mention fishing the rest of the day and went on three fantastic hikes.

• VIRGINIA: 
  I left south of Vermont to capture a Stony Creek, Virginia trout. Unfortunately, it rained to a complete downpour when I pulled over to my research spot on Stony Creek. The water was too high and moving too fast from the storms. I was thinking about going home, but I had researched a second spot, Little Stony Creek. Unfortunately, I followed the GPS on a DNR road without cell coverage. I soon realized I was going up a small mountain that led to West Virginia.   About 3 miles before the top is a remote campsite with a bridge crossing the creek. The higher elevation did not affect the stream from the storms. It was 8:30 pm, but still light; I jumped out of the car, grabbed my 3-weight rod, and tried to fish. No luck, but I have time tomorrow.​
  
  The 3-mile drive from Little Stony Creek to Wolf Gap Recreation Area (38.92433, -78.68902) campsite was an adventure. Thick fog on a narrow mountain road, not knowing where I'm going. I have no cell coverage, so no GPS. The campsite at Little Stony Creek was taken; it holds one camper. I get to the top of the mountain, and to my surprise, it is the Wolf Gap Recreation Area campground. I researched the area 2 years ago but had no idea it was here. I pulled into a nice slip and slept in the car while it rained all night.
  
  The following day head down back to the creek.  The stream was crystal clear, and you could see small brook trout.  I took about 30 minutes to catch a nice, wild brook trout!  I caught about five more before packing it up and attempting to catch a West Virginia Trout.  It is a beautiful area!

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• MARYLAND:   
  After 23 days on the road, I could only give Maryland about three hours of fishing time.  I mapped Herrington Run(39.4641, -79.44386) and Muddy Creek (39.50115, -79.41734). The rain blew out Herrington Run, and it was not fishable.  I couldn't find Muddy Creek because I decided not to pay the $5 entrance fee to the State Park.  The instruction from the booth girl got me lost going the back way.

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• WEST VIRGINIA:  
  I attacked two streams in West Virginia through foggy roads and rain. The first was Trout Run down the mountain from Wolf Gap Recreation Area (38.92433, -78.68902). Unfortunately, I had no cell coverage, so I could not use the spots I mapped out, which didn't matter as it had been raining heavily for 3-4 days, and the stream was milk chocolate in color. However, I did pull off the slide of the road for 15 minutes to say I fished it. (38.99277, -78.6565)​
  
  I traveled to the North Fork of the South Branch Potomac River, WV, on Junkers Lane (38.983, -79.22666) to see if I could find better water. Parking at Junkers Lane was different. "Fishermen, Welcome, but you need to park on the main road," a sign said. The main road is a 1/4 mile away. No biggy, but still different. The river looked like a prime spot, and the rain had not affected the flow. The river water has some of the best colors of green and blue due to various rock formations. The river was wide, but maybe that was due to the rain. Where I was fishing, the river narrowed and was deep. I saw one great spot after another, but nothing will take my Yellow Stimulator and Green Copper John.
  
  ​After a couple of hours, I drove upstream to a bridge, looked down, and saw a couple of trout where the stream was vast. Finally, it was time to move to my prime river selection Deckers Creek. (39.56546, -79.82289). When I arrived after driving all day, I had already struck out in Maryland, but I was still excited about this small stream. Unfortunately,  three days of thunderstorms took their toll on little Deckers Creek was like the Mississippi River.​
  
  I had no energy left, so I left a day early to go home to Chicago, knowing the water would not recede for a couple of days.   I bought Ice Cream from a small shop and began to drive.

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FEBRUARY 2021 KANSAS TRIP (32 OF 50) No Change

KANSAS:

I've been researching the Kansas trout scene for at least 15 years. However, it wasn't until 2018 that I could visit the Kanopolis Seep section of Sand Creek. Unfortunately, I came in May and out of season. But I now understood the bits and pieces I found on the internet

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My luck in February 2021 was unsuccessful, but after you do all this research, you arrive and fish your vision. After driving eight hours from Little Rock, AR, from my Mom's house and sleeping at a rest stop, it was time to have coffee at the Blacksmith Coffee Shop & Roastery in Lindsborg, KS. Staying too long at the coffee shop, I didn't arrive until 11 am. I met a great guy in the Kanopolis Dam parking lot who had just finished fishing.   He said he didn't see any trout, just some bass and bluegills. Not what I wanted to hear, but he gave me some tips.

I headed down to Sand Creek to about the fourth utility pole.  I thought I saw a gold rock in the middle of the stream, but my experience knew better than to observe.  After about three minutes, the palomino trout's tail finally moved.  I had never seen one, so I was shocked at my first look into the creek revealed a trout.  I brought two rods, both 5wt—one with an olive wooly bugger and the other with a mop fly and pheasant tail nymph.

After six casts with the wooly bugger, without any movement, I switched rods.  On my first cast, about four feet in front of the golden, the trout took after the fly and ate the lure right away.  After about 30 seconds, I walked down to net it;  the hook was released from the trout's mouth and lost.  This move has happened so many times that I could shoot myself.  And that damn fish moved back to their spot and stayed there for the next five hours.

The Kanopolis Seep Stream is a one-and-a-half-mile-cold water section of Sand Creek that feeds the Smoky Hill River. It is the only public trout stream in Kansas. The Kanopolis Seep Stream and Smoky Hill River are from the water below the Kanopolis Lake Dam. The Seep Stream section is fed by several pipes from the bottom of the dam flowing at 56 degrees. The goal is to find ways to keep the water cool enough for trout to survive throughout the year.

Trout access to the stream has been available for around 30 years. However, in 2007 heavy flows washed out the creek. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Flatland Fly Fishers, and others completed stream restoration efforts from 2008 through 2010. The cooperative effort installed a series of rock riffles, lunker bunkers, and trees to create a realistic trout fishery. As a result, a few trout can survive the summer.

Trout season is from October 15 through April 15. As you walk the service road, utility poles are labeled by numbers. Artificial bait only (lures or fly fishing) at power poles number 9 through number 16.

So-called golden rainbow trout or palomino trout are bred from a single mutated color variant that originated in a West Virginia fish hatchery in 1955. The golden rainbow trout is predominantly yellowish, lacking the typical green field and black spots but retaining the diffuse red stripe. The palomino trout is a mixture of golden and common rainbow trout, resulting in an intermediate color. The golden rainbow trout is not the same subspecies as the naturally occurring California Golden Trout.

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