BROOKIE ART

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Hey all. Just wanted to show you a recent painting I did. It's called "October Brookie". I caught the fish last October. It was a beautiful fall day in the late afternoon and the sun just really brought out its colors. A memorable day. View attachment 1283
That's absolutely beautiful! You are quite the artist. What kind of paints did you use?
 
HI Marty. Thanks for liking it. I used oil paints. The canvas size about 14" x 20". FP
Thanks CoHiCntry. Maybe I'll also do a Rainbow and Brown to go with it. No Cutts though here in the East. FP
A Brown or Raibow would be great flashpoint! A lot of trout fisherman have caught both and can relate to your fine work.
Do you start with a stream-side picture of your catch..then work from that?
 
Hi Marty. Yes I do. If I am keeping the fish I then have time to do some sketches. If I am releasing, I try to get the shot as fast as I can. The Brookie I gently laid on the grass at streamside and took a fast shot then released him. With so much going on and his movement and my effort to get him back in the stream quickly, didn't really allow time for a good composition. Later in my studio when had the time, I tried to work out a good composition. I added my rod and the rocks for interest to complete the piece. For framing, I use an artisan in New Hampshire who carves the wood and uses 18 carat gold on the inside of the frame that is right next to the canvas. The colors of the trout, the gold edge really makes the piece stand out. On a painting I did of canvasbacks over a frozen bay (boy do they move fast), I had to rely on some photos, mounts, and my own knowledge in order to complete that piece. Some of my work appeared in Sports Afield, Fur-Fish-Game and Gun Dog. Wish Sports Afield was still around. It was a great magazine. Thanks FP
 
FP nice job on the painting. Brook trout is really the only native stream salmonid here in New England (and eastern US) (other than Atlantic salmon and they're pretty much gone). They are stressed by development pressures especially in southern New England but we still have decent populations of wild fish in smaller streams and Brooks. Iconic! Massachusetts has a Brook trout licence plate where some of the money goes to the fish and wildlife agency I believe. Good job.
 
Thanks Bobby. I used to fish the Battenkill years ago. New England sure has some beautiful streams. FP
 
... New England sure has some beautiful streams. FP

It sure does, and LARGE trout too! Here's my best ever New England Brown Trout caught years ago.
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Wow Marty, what a beautiful fish. And look at that girth, just amazing. He looks like a real breeder and I bet his colors were outstanding. I don't see any ware or tear on his tail or fins from some concrete runway either. I live in NJ and I am pretty much use to catching trout in the size range of maybe 10 to 14". One afternoon in very early spring, nothing I tried (nymphs, caddis, etc.) was working. The stream was really cold and a bit high. Anyway, I thought what the heck, I'll try something really different. So I tied on a nice Hopper. Now Grasshoppers don't come out around here till late August and here it was early April. So I tossed it in a really beautiful pool and wham. A trout took the fly in a flash then bored down to the very bottom of the pool. Seemed like he skulked down there forever. Now, I am using a 5X tippet so I really need to be careful. Finally he came up and was all over the place. There was a little falls below the pool and he headed for that. I was able to turn him and slid him up into the shallow area and into my net. For me, this was the largest Brown trout I had ever caught. He went 20". With the struggle with the rod in the water, me kneeling, the net and him thrashing around, he got out of the net and threw the fly. So it was only luck I was able to grab him and hold on so he couldn't get back. Now as I said this was the biggest Brown, and like yours had no worn fins. He looked like a wild fish to me. His color was exactly like it is in the picture. I was so excited and I just couldn't fish anymore that day. It was seemed that it was some sort of a spiritual thing, I can't explain it but it cause me to really evaluate the reasons why I fished. Anyway, spring isn't too far away. Thanks for sharing.Beautiful Brown.jpgThanks for
 
Thanks flashpoint. Congrats on your flyrod Brown! Beautiful. ;)

Biggest flyrod Brown for me was perhaps 14 inches.

As you can see from my somewhat-faded photo it was caught using a closed-face reel with 8 lb. Mono Test Line and a small REBEL lure ( It's actually in the fish's mouth in the photo ). I only wish we would have captured its hooked jaw in the photo. Picture was taken by a friend of mine using his better 35mm camera. And yes...the colors were outstanding.
 
Your fish is everything a brown trout should be. Do you have any color shots of him? FP
 
those are two fantastic brown trout. i'd guess that both are holdover hatchery fish, but, id have to see the fish to be sure. The fins on both fish although not eroded look like they may be slightly deformed. a characteristic of hatchery trout which never goes away. Beauties nonetheless
 
The photo is
Your fish is everything a brown trout should be. Do you have any color shots of him? FP
Actually, my photo is in color, but faded from being exposed to the sun on a desktop. If you look closely you can see the green spool cover on the reel. I'll see if I can find a better photo that brings out the trout's colors.
 
those are two fantastic brown trout. i'd guess that both are holdover hatchery fish, but, id have to see the fish to be sure. The fins on both fish although not eroded look like they may be slightly deformed. a characteristic of hatchery trout which never goes away. Beauties nonetheless
No doubt mine wasn't stream born.
 
Thanks TCCherokee.
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p.s. For those interested, my Brown was caught at the earliest of dawn in KETTLE CREEK, PA. KETTLE CREEK is a 43 mile freestone stream.
 
What county in PA is Kettle Creek Marty?
The KETTLE BROOK watershed encompasses three counties. The upper reaches in Tioga and Potter Counties and the lower reaches in Clinton County. KETTLE BROOK has both Wild Browns and Native Brookies and is stocked with trout as well. It also has fly-fishing only sections.
 

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