These are 5 things I wish I knew when I started Fly Fishing for Brook Trout in the US!!
Before we get started my intent with this video is to have something that fly anglers who want to learn to brook trout fish can use for years to come, so if you’re someone who’s been brookie fishing for a while leave a comment and let people know what’s something you wish you knew when you started brookie fishing, and then like a few comments that you find interesting or important. That way new fly fisherman can read through the comments and learn something that is beyond this video because I know I’m leaving a few things out. Oh and one more thing is that brook trout are native in the eastern US and invasive in the western US. So if you’re out east take care of the fisheries and treat them with respect. The brook trout are the state fish in 9 US states… and that’s for good reason. Their beauty is unmatched and they’re held in high regard by anglers, biologists, and anyone else who calls these areas home.
1. Be Stealthy. Brook trout, especially native brook trout in the eastern US, almost always live in small creeks and tributaries of lakes and rivers unless you’re up farther north. And because these fish live in smaller water that is almost always perfectly clear the fish are very aware of their environment. I’d say one of the biggest mistakes I see newer brookie anglers making is just walking up to the holes without any regard for what the fish are doing or where they are, often times spooking the hole before even making a cast. The predators of brook trout in most areas are herons and other birds of pray, so casting a shadow into or standing above a hole will always spook fish. Also be very aware of where your wake from walking in the creek is leading.
2. Brook Trout are AGGRESSIVE. Out of the species of trout, brook trout are much more like brown trout than rainbows or cutties. They’re overly aggressive and feed on just about anything that hits the water within reason. There are of course exceptions to this rule in heavily pressure water or very low gradient streams that have a lot of still water, but as a general rule of thumb brookies aren’t shy. This makes catching them far less difficult than some species of fish and makes techniques like streamer fishing and throwing overly large flies very effective. For native brookies, throwing a big size 10 simulator dry fly into a hole often times something they can’t turn down because they may not know when their next meal is coming.
3. If you come up to a big hole, sit down and watch for a few minutes before you even make your first catch. Often times the fish will reveal themselves if you’re even halfway patient and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been able to target specific large fish because I took 5 minutes to watch a hole before casting. Then be observant the entire time you’re fishing the hole, constantly scanning the creek for any indication of a fish. If a brook trout is rising and you cast at it, there’s an amazing chance it will at last hit your fly because they are so aggressive. So stay alert, watch for fish, and don’t be afford to sit down and take a sip of water or have a snack if you reach a hole you think should have some bigger fish.
4. Brook trout move long distances for spawn, thermal refuge, food, and all sorts of factors that we don’t totally understand sometimes. In other words the fish you’re catching in that creek could have been in the river the day prior, and could be 3 miles up the creek the next day. Obviously they don’t always move long distances, and most of the moving is done seasonally, but if you think of the creeks and rivers as brook trout highways you may start to fish them differently. What I mean by that is you have to fish everything, even the small pockets, because you could find a fish that’s on its yearly migration Also pay attention to barriers, even minor barriers that they can’t pass until the water rises again. Because you don’t know what fish was moving up and couldn’t make it past that gnarly log jam or waterfall and are just hanging out near the bottom of it.
5. Finding brook trout. That’s probably the most difficult thing for new anglers to figure out. But it doesn’t have to be. Almost every single state has publicly available data on which streams hold wild trout, and some even specifically list out brookie streams. Not only that but organizations like eastern brook trout joint venture literally have interactive maps that give you accurate data on which streams hold brook trout across the eastern US. I can almost guarantee you that every stream you’ve ever seen me brook trout fish is on a list somewhere, and most people are just too lazy to even do the bare minimum amount of research to find them, or don’t want to hike a little to find the one’s produce the best fish.
