Guardian of the tiny stream

How nice is it to find a tiny stream less than a mile from your house?  It is amazing.  I know I am not the only one who has fished it, but I am one of the few.

I drove past this stream every single time I went off to fish Timber Coulee or the North Fork of the Bad Axe, ignoring its tiny little trickle of water.  

But after just a few minutes of research with fly rod in hand, I had a new favorite tiny stream.  It is full of good sized native brook trout.  You don't catch much around here in the larger streams.  Most of the trout are introduced brown trout, that are now naturally reproducing in our streams here in the Driftless.  I was surprised at the size of some of the fish I was catching.  

The only problem is I know I caught the same fish in the same lie on two consecutive trips, split up by a week.  I don't think this gem of a stream could take any more fishing pressure.  I then have become the guardian of these amazing little brook trout a mile from my house.  

I hope I don't see you there.