
First brookie of the day in hand.
First brookie of the day in hand.
This spring I have spent more time than usual creeping around the “little blue lines,” those streams that show up on good maps as, yes, little blue lines.
This is where to find wild trout. Often brook trout, occasionally browns or rainbows.
The first thing to do is get used to kneeling. The fish are generally aggressive, but they are also incredibly spooky.
Once they catch sight of an angler, or even a rod going back and forth, they will zoom off to their hidey holes and sulk.
If you don’t believe me, go to one of these streams and wade right on in. Watch as the little dark shapes whizz around.
When I was a callow youth of 45, kneeling was no big deal. At my advanced age, I have gone to knee pads, as worn by roofers and the fellows who restock potato chips at the grocery store. (It was one of the latter who kindly took his pads off and showed them to me.)
Reading the water is more important than ever in this context. What you want is “soft water.”
Imagine a pool that has a chute or plume of water coming in from above. As the faster-moving water enters the pool, it creates white water. On either side of the chute, there is calmer water. That’s soft water.
You’ll read about finding the seam. The seam is the line between slower and faster moving currents, or white water and soft water.
Trout like to hang around somewhere that offers protection from predators, not too much current to battle against, and adjacent to faster current, which brings food.
Finding the balance of these elements is what trout do all day, except once a year, when they have what passes for sex in the fish world.
It’s a depressing prospect for an ambitious fish, so don’t dwell on it.
So when approaching a likely pool, identify the different currents, areas of soft water, and the seams. Do this from a kneeling or crouching position, of course.
Soft water flows down the little blue line.Patrick L. Sullivan
Now you have figured out where to stick the fly. Pausing briefly to savor the lower back pain, try a dry fly first. A bushy dry fly that floats well and that you can see.
Park it in the soft water. It will bounce around. Don’t let it sit more than a second or two. Flick it in, wait and flick it out.
Sometimes they’ll whack it right away. Other times they will want to see it a few times.
Next hit the seam. Sometimes it will disappear in the foam. Maybe it will sink. Don’t worry about it. Keep flicking.
When you do this often enough, you’ll get good at making miniscule adjustments from cast to cast. On big water, this is a matter of feet or a few inches. On a little blue line, it’s an inch or two tops.
None of these casts are going to be long. Use water loads, bow-and-arrow casts, even roll casts if you’re good at them. (I am not.)
You’re probably not going to be rearing back with a standard forehand cast too often. Not enough room, and no point to it either, since you’re sneaking around in kneepads and peering around boulders.
Whatever you do, don’t get stuck at one pool just because the big one flashed your fly but did not take it.
A good rule of thumb is: Show the fly to them six times. After that assume you are boring them, and move on.
When do you go subsurface? As usual, it depends.
One of my favorite tactics is to use a Chubby Chernobyl or any foam-bodied dry fly, really. It serves as an indicator 90% of the time.
I tie a piece of fluorocarbon tippet, usually 4X, to the bend of the dry fly hook with a clinch knot. The tippet piece is usually between one and two feet.
I start with a wet fly or an unweighted nymph. If that doesn’t work, I go to a brass beadhead nymph, which sinks some. And if that’s a bust, I go to a nymph with a tungsten bead that really sinks.
And if all that fails I cuss a bit and chuck a Wooly Bugger in there, just to show them who’s boss.
What rod to use?
I have a number of small stream rods, ranging in length from five and a half feet to eight feet, and in line weights from one to five.
More often than not I grab a Cabelas CGR six and a half foot four weight. It’s a slow action fiberglass rod, quite inexpensive. I have a discontinued CGR click and pawl reel for it, and a double tapered line.
For fixed line fishing in small streams my favorite is Dragontail’s Kaida, a zoom rod that fishes at nine feet and a bit, and 10 and a half feet. This is considerably longer than the fly rod, but the extra leverage allows me to keep most or all of the line and tippet off the water. The extra length is also helpful if I latch onto one of the little blue line Leviathans.
About that: Little blue line fishing is extra-crazy. You have to accept this.
After all, you are expending considerable energy in difficult terrain, performing a highly technical task, in pursuit of quarry you are not going to kill and eat.
And even if you did, a creel full of six-inch trout will yield only enough meat to cover a few Saltine crackers.
You wouldn’t be fishing for dinner, but for hors d’oeuvres.
LJMN Media, publisher of The Lakeville Journal (first published in 1897) and The Millerton News (first published in 1932) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization.
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Giana Dormi, no. 3 of Pine Plains, and Michelle Blackburn, no. 12 of Pine Plains, put the pressure on Juliana Manginelli, no. 11 of Tuckahoe, as she tries to find a pass during the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. on Tuesday, March 11.
NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The Pine Plains Bombers were knocked out in second round of the Section IX regional tournament after a hard fought game against the Tuckahoe Tigers on Tuesday, March 11.
The Bombers won the tip and got off to an early lead, but the Tuckahoe Tigers outpaced them quickly and finished the game 59-25.
Giana Dormi, no. 3 of Pine Plains, and Neveah Rennie, no. 34 of Pine Plains, started the game strong, scoring six points for the Bombers in the first few minutes. Tuckahoe responed in kind by promptly running up the score, sending Cara Doherty, no. 5, to the backboard for four field goals before the end of the first quarter.
Tuckahoe's runaway lead started in the first quarter. Going into the second that team led the Bombers 19-8.
The lead was further cemented in the second quarter, when Tuckahoe sank another nine field goals — one a three-pointer from Grace Kern, no. 15 — adding up to an additional 19 points and putting the score at 38-13 going into the half.
Neveah Rennie, no. 34 of Pine Plains, attempts to drive a layup through a group of Tuckahoe defenders during the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y., on Tuesday, March 11.Photo by Nathan Miller
"Tuckahoe's a great team, they've got everything," girls varsity coach Les Funk said. "They're in shape, they run. Those kids out there didn't even look like they were breaking a sweat. That was a tough matchup for us."
The Bombers tried their hardest, but Tuckahoe's precision in defense was too much for the Pine Plains girls. Tuckahoe's fouls only sent Pine Plains players to the free throw line on five occasions. The Bombers couldn't make those free throw attempts count, with the team racking up a free-throw make percentage of just 20%.
Coach Funk is setting his sights on next season and another chance at the regional title. "They've got a taste of it now," Funk said. "I think if they work in the off-season they've got a chance."
The Bombers held their heads high after their loss to Tuckahoe in the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y., on Tuesday, March 11.Photo by Nathan Miller
Dan Aymar-Blair
POUGHKEEPSIE — Dutchess comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair released a special report early last week on federal monies and how they move through the county level, including the disbursement process in the county; how federal funding benefits Dutchess residents and whether any fiscal distribution issues have surfaced locally as a result of actions taken on behalf of the Trump administration.
According to Aymar-Blair’s report, federal programming represents roughly 10% of Dutchess expenditures, not including any COVID-19 assistance. As an illustration of federal- to county-level distribution and spending, in 2023, under the Biden administration, the county received approximately $65 million from the U.S. government with $25 million going toward direct aid in support of such programs as home energy assistance and food stamps. Federal monies were also disbursed — and continue to be directed — toward county-level agencies, programming and supports such as adoption, foster care and child care needs, emergency/disaster assistance, infrastructure development and maintenance, and workforce initiatives.
In addition to federal-to-county funding, Aymar-Blair noted an additional $1.9 billion annually is directly distributed to Dutchess residents from the U.S. government via Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. These entities are clearly not immune to the impact from the Trump administration as the Social Security office in Poughkeepsie, for example, has been poised for a reduction in office services. Whether Social Security benefits to individuals are reduced or cut entirely remains to be seen.
While data pertaining to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid recipients particular to Northeastern Dutchess was not readily available, data from the Social Security Administration provides some clues as to the number of individuals in Dutchess County who could potentially be impacted by benefit cuts. According to 2023 figures from the SSA, 4,730 Dutchess residents received Social Security benefits, 4,232 persons were categorized as blind/disabled and 2,904 persons were listed between the ages of 18 through 64. For adults 65 and over, 1,261 received Social Security benefits. The number of persons under the age of 18 receiving SSA benefits was listed at 565.
While cuts to Medicare and Medicaid have not been announced, it is possible under the circumstances. According to a Feb. 27 statement from Alan Morgan, chief executive officer of the National Rural Health Association, any disruption to these benefits, particularly Medicaid, would worsen an already challenging situation.” The Medicaid program is a lifeline for rural hospitals, providers and patients,” Morgan said. “Any cuts to the Medicaid program will disproportionately affect rural communities. Rural Americans rely on Medicaid coverage more so than their urban counterparts with about 20% of adults and 40% of children living in rural areas enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP,” the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Aymar-Blair agreed with the impact assessment as well as its potential outlier results, saying, “Dutchess County relies heavily upon this ... Cuts to Dutchess County’s federal funding could impact life-saving programs, and reduced consumer spending would be a likely side effect of reduced federal assistance like Medicaid.”
Aymar-Blair’s report does not include information on federal awards to businesses or municipalities, nor does it address the controversies attached to impacted in-county federal entities such as the Castle Point Veterans Hospital in Wappingers Falls, New York, which — as with the Poughkeepsie Social Security office — is also reducing its services with the closing of its E2 Acute Inpatient Care Unit, which eliminated 20 inpatient beds. While calls have gone out from local officials and residents to sustain the offerings provided by the Poughkeepsie Social Security office and the Castle Point VA hospital, no action has been taken just yet on the part of the federal government.
While Aymar-Blair concedes there has been no disruption from the federal level at this time to Dutchess funding, he has received a sufficient number of phone calls and emails from constituents to spur him to continuously monitor the situation. He is also working in collaboration with county departments to determine any impacts future actions from the Trump administration could have on funding for Dutchess County agencies, services and programs with the situation remaining very fluid.
For more information or to read the comptroller’s report in its entirety, visit: www.dutchessny.gov, navigate to “Government,” click “County Comptroller”, and click on “News and Announcements”.
The Stissing Center was bustling just before the show on Sunday, March 9.
PINE PLAINS — The Stissing Center was packed on Sunday for an afternoon performance of podcast and NPR series “Selected Shorts.” The sold-out show, which was recorded for national broadcast at a later date, brought a lineup of four accomplished actors and storytellers to the Pine Plains stage to recite a selection of short stories from award-winning authors.
“Selected Shorts,” a product of Manhattan-based performing arts powerhouse Symphony Space, features prominent actors who recite works of short fiction. The full program usually revolves around a theme; Sunday afternoon’s focus was “transformations.”
Comedian, writer and actress Ophira Eisenberg — or “renaissance woman of storytelling,” as Stissing Center Executive Director Patrick Trettenero introduced her — assumed hosting duties, warming up the crowd with jokes about Brooklyn egg prices and doctors with self-esteem issues — “I want a megalomaniac with a god complex and no hobbies.”
Every seat in the large coffeehouse-style auditorium was filled, and the crowd was engaged. “For a 3 p.m. audience, you guys are amazing!” exclaimed Eisenberg.
Actor David Straithairn took the stage first, reading a short story by Pulitzer Prize winning author Steven Millhauser titled “Green.” Straithairn’s classic, almost antique delivery suited the small-town American ethos of the story well. A somewhat detached but observant narrator recounts the story of a sort of anti-plant mania that started “innocently enough” in his town, stripping public and private property alike of all greenery. Eventually, a few intrepid neighbors add shrubbery back to their yards, prompting a swing back in the other direction: “After a brief diversion, a playful experiment, things had returned to normal in our quiet town — or had they?”
Straithharn’s reading was followed by an animated performance from actor Lauren Ambrose, whose long resumé is most recently punctuated by her role in the popular television series “Yellowjackets.” Ambrose read “Quantum Voicemail” by novelist and short-story writer Kristen Iskandrian, a woozy tale from a particular and slightly neurotic narrator who describes voicemail in probably the most poetic language ever put to page about the messaging format. Voicemail is “a stirring three minute soliloquy,” and “like a photograph, it capture[s] a moment of attention,” says the rapt narrator.
A brief intermission enabled patrons to refuel with drinks or popcorn from the bar, or head outside to enjoy the early spring weather. For those who remained in the theater, the sunken lounge-like space in the center of the room facilitated easy conservation between neighbors as they reflected on the performances.
Eisenberg herself recited the third story, “Squirrels” by Israeli writer Etgar Kenet. The action opens with a description of a family myth — or was it? — about a grandfather being reincarnated as a giant squirrel after a battle with cancer, and which subsequently halts his widow’s next wedding by biting the groom-to-be’s thumb. The story does get sentimental, which Eisenberg’s mostly comic oration accented well.
The final performance was of New York City-raised writer Jamel Brinkley’s “Blessed Deliverance,” a coming-of-age story about a group of college-bound teenagers growing up and growing apart in gentrifying Brooklyn. New York stage and screen actor Teagle F. Bougere handled the tension and confusion of late childhood/young adulthood well in his recitation. The plot reaches a high point when an unhoused man releases a pack of rabbits from an animal rescue shelter into the street while the group of teens looks on, cheering but not entirely sure what for.
After a few closing remarks from Eisenberg, the show was complete. Satisfied attendees made their way back to their cars and released the streets of Pine Plains into Sunday quietude once again.