Watch out for them little blue lines

Sometimes you’ll hear fishermen speak cryptically about “little blue lines.”

They are referring to the little brook trout streams that show up on maps as, you guessed it, little blue lines.

That’s if they show up at all.

I fish three little blue line streams in northwest Connecticut on a regular basis. One of them is listed in the Connecticut state angler’s guide. One of them is on private property and you need to ask permission. And one is so secret that I hesitate to even mention it.

What they all have in common are: difficult terrain and spooky brook trout. A whopper is 10 inches. And you can’t take them home.

Even if you did, a 5-inch brook trout will yield enough meat to maybe cover a saltine. You’d be fishing for hors d’oeuvres, not dinner. 

Other exciting features of these obscure streams are the distinct possibility of getting mauled by bears, bitten by snakes, exposed to poison ivy, and attacked by ticks bearing exotic diseases.

And if this isn’t enough, it would be easy to twist an ankle or break an arm, and there is no cell service.

So stay out.

If you are crazy enough to try it, you’ll want a short rod with some play in it. My favorite is a Cabelas 6.5-foot 4-weight fiberglass rod, which has a nice slow action but is sturdy enough to turn over a weighted fly.

I also use a variety of shorter (i.e. 8-foot) Tenkara rods.

Brook trout like bushy flies. If you carried nothing but Stimulators in various sizes you’d be fine.

But Humpys, Irresistibles, elk hair caddis, hoppers, X-caddis  and any Wulff pattern will suffice.

Subsurface, try mops, small Woolies (size 12), and weighted nymphs. Wet flies like soft-hackles, spiders, Tenkara soft-hackles, cracklebacks; classic winged wets like an Adams or Light Cahill are good to have in reserve.

Tippets should be light. I use 4-5x nylon and 2 pound Berkeley Vanish fluorocarbon (equivalent diameter to 5x).

You’ll be casting with water loads, backhand flips, bow-and-arrow casts, parachute casts, all in close quarters.

And sometimes the stars align and there’s enough room for a proper back cast.

If you go, bring extra water, a first aid kit and a flashlight.

And tell someone your plan, so the rescue guys will have an easier time finding your mangled corpse.

I realize this is not very helpful in terms of where to go. But I found them; so can you.