Big browns are a different fish from smaller browns, and it’s not enough to show up on your summer vacation and throw a size 12 Adams at mid-day. If however, he’s playing grab ass with everything that swims by, a nice Sex Dungeon might be the ticket. . I’m pretty sure this brown isn’t a resident of this section. Even in a hatch a dropper is worth your time. Brown trout are tough customers. There are some good guidelines to start with. Also, what you might think are weeds on the river bottom might not be. When the fish went in the net we almost lost it. The point is moot as to which they are really after as both behave in similar manner and both get regularly eaten. You have to strike when the time is right. I know I’ll never forget the look on Justin’s face when he held that fish. Here are three more ways to do that. Small trout have to fend for themselves as best they can, while large trout will always take up the best, most secure lies in a system, and defend them from other fish. He calls it a Trout Brain and it’s one of those flies that preys on the fish’s curiosity. Big brown trout don’t like crowds. The woodwork and craftsmanship is second to none. Under the right circumstances those big fish will come out and feed. Time on the water When fishing for brown trout, there are three ways to go: spinning, baitcasting, or fly fishing. Unless you’re fishing for trophy brook trout in Newfoundland, a 3-weight fly rod is ideal for brook trout in the U.S. Besides it is a a good bass river so why give that up? Did I mention . If you’re just looking to catch fish, a nymph or dry will serve you much better. Some places are well known for holding big Browns. A sub surface eat asks less of the fish and is a surer bet. Brown trout can easily retreat into the depths for safety. With bait casting, aim your lure about 10 to 15 feet away from where you expect the Brown Trout to be and reel it in so it’s close to their position, within about 4 feet. Why Browns? Best Fly Rod for Brook Trout . Reputation alone, however, is not enough to go on. What not to do: Trolling won’t catch Brown Trout That’s one from column A. It’s October and the Browns are in pre-spawn mode, that’s one from column B. Landed some huge ones this past week on a stretch in CO well known for monster fish. There are certain events and times when they will venture out and, to catch them, you either have to know where they are or where they’re going, and when. If you’ve chosen your water well, you know that you are in the presence of fish. Either you can be lucky and just stumble into it, which is awesome and I highly recommend it, or you can do the leg work and put in the time. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. If you’re tossing an arsenal of lures lakeside, make sure the wind is blowing in your face. While it’s not a slam dunk, it is the most consistent pattern throughout the warm months, and works well on those late evenings and nights when the fly hatch you were after didn’t happen. Big browns are highly opportunistic and readily switch feeding behaviors as different food sources become prevalent. Time on the water Stealth is huge! Look for places and days when you can have some water to yourself. This is no time to have a wind knot or chafed leader. That’s right– we’re talking mousing. Study up on these three methods, put them to work and start catching some BIG browns. It had been a slow night with only a couple half-hearted tugs on our mouse imitations. Trophy hunters fish trophy waters. They are also targeting frogs. That’s column C and it’s time for the fortune cookie! Actually streamers and a couple of other strategies work well at night too, but most of the time you’re trying to imitate a mouse. Hit one of these hatches and you have a great chance at a nice brown. Occasionally someone will land a big brown while fishing for smallies but they are pretty spread out and way out numbered by the bass so they would be tough to target on the river. It was a magical moment to be sure. Here are the six best trout flies and fishing tips to catch big rainbow and brown trout in winter rivers. This article reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Not all streams or rivers grow big browns. At this point they become largely piscivorous, or fish eaters, according to researchers. Spencer Durrant is a fly fishing writer, outdoors columnist, and novelist from Utah. Scott, that sounds good in theory, but trophy fish are generally used to plenty of pressure. Time on the water One of the best strategies is to simply fish in the fall. Required fields are marked *. You may go brown trout fishing from a stance on shore or in a boat with any of these types of bait as well. Catch Trophy Brown Trout By Stacking The Odds In Your Favor. Great article. So I plan on using your advice to catch a big brown this year. Productive fall brown trout fishing locations during the spawning run include the mouths of tributaries, deep pools which offer a sense of security from winged predators and the prying eyes of human anglers, gravel-bottomed riffles and tail-outs that make superior sites for redd-building and, best of all, the holes at the bases of impassable waterfalls. So I have been reading up on the big fall pre-spawning browns and where to find them. Don’t despair. The second time he went in the net, I had his tail. If using a rod, it’s best to pick a medium-weight one that’s about six or seven feet in length. These articles give me inspiration. The big brown kicked his tail and back-flipped out of the net. Brown trout have the potential to get big– really big. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Finding the right place usually starts with a tip, a fly shop conversation or a photo or article you found on the Internet. Your email address will not be published. Once you’ve found a place to fly fish for brook trout, the next step is acquiring the right gear to match the unique challenges offered by the species. For night fishing, try using a bass plug. Streamers or mouse patterns in low light. One of our local biologist is beginning to beleive we should probably emanating the system more like they manage coasters. Its ALWAYS worth a cast or two…, Pingback: Catch Trophy Brown Trout By Stacking The Odds In Your Favor | Fly Fishing | Gink and Gasoline | How to Fly Fish | Trout Fishing | Fly Tying | Fly Fishing Blog | The Ozark Fly Fisher Journal, Pingback: Stacking The Odds In Your Favor: Gink & Gasoline Blog | The Ozark Fly Fisher Journal. It’s no secret that trout, especially large trout, are most active during … 15 comments / Posted on October 19, 2015 / by Louis Cahill, how can this make you anything but happy? You end up with a situation where smaller fish are forced to feed during the day and in positions easily fished to, while the largest fish feed only at night or in spots impossible to reach. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! It was a Wednesday and with hurricane Joaquin hanging off the east coast, we’d had several days of steady rain. My international fly fishing trips have also mostly involved chasing big browns. (Read all about that here.). By the grace of God the hook held. Your best bet is the combination of good timing, the right conditions, the right place and a great presentation. Best Lake Trout Lures. The biggest I’d ever seen in this creek. You’ll need every advantage. Locations for How to Catch: Small brown trout like slow-moving water. Watching the weather and timing is important at this time of year, getting in just after a serious rainfall can reap the best rewards as fish are on the move, it is important to intercept them before they begin to school and pair up. Smacking the fly on the water triggers their instincts to hunt, thus more likely to strike. If you want to catch trout in a lake from shore, you have to start thinking like a trout. And call in sick on that Wednesday when it’s the perfect storm. How to fish for brown trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout, and trophy rainbow trout. Your email address will not be published. A whole book could be written on the subject, and one should be, but night time fishing big hairy flies is the main event. Conclusion. This big-fly type of fly-fishing is for those of you looking for a certain kind of trout, a fish of a lifetime—a “unicorn,” if you will. The strike was unmistakable, and I waited that extra half beat until I felt the fish before setting the hook. … TIME on the WATER? I can’t tell you how many anglers have told me, “I just want to catch a big brown.” We all want that but if you are serious about turning that want into real-life experience, you’ll need to work for it and you’ll still have to be lucky. Conceal your profile and stay in the fish’s blind spot. You don’t want to fish the same patter every other angler has shown him. Days like that are what we, as anglers, live for. “Whereas with bait fishing, a slow-moving fish might smell the bait and slowly inhale it, but with fly fishing you’re looking for actively feeding fish that you have to entice with the right presentation and pattern. Make delicate presentations and minimize false casting. He learned from experience that these fish would only eat during high water flows. Watch the water and you’d be surprised what you might see this time of year if you’re paying attention. Gather your equipment. Cast your fly within a few feet of where you expect the Brown Trout to be located. Another common way to catch trout is fly fishing. I pulled the hook on a gonzo sized brown last weekend. Prime months for streamer fishing are April/May and September/October, or when water temps are around 55 degrees. That’s short sighted and bad for the future populations, but there’s nothing wrong with targeting fish on the move. Do yourself a favor and buy or borrow the book Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout by Kelly Galloup and Bob Linsenman. I highly recommend it. Trout fishing is a sport that doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment. Once in a while the “perfect storm” really is perfect. There’s a lot that goes into a good presentation and I’m not going to waste time talking about drag-free drifts and line mending. While young trout mostly feed on insects and larvae (think mayflies and nymphs) as they reach that magical twenty-inch mark, insects no longer serve to curb the appetite. That is the spot that browns migrate to from a lake or river for spawning. Tie On Light Line. What we think we are seeing are big browns making their living in the main river, a pretty good smallmouth fishery, and moving into the cold-water creeks during hot spells in the summer, cold spells in the winter and like you said big flows and to spawn. Pale yellow sucker spawn patterns in the spring are like kryptonite for brown trout. The end of the day put us at run number three. That’s your best shot at hooking a leviathan. Brown trout are notorious homebodies, spending most of their lives in one run or even under one rock. Time on the water I was fishing a pool on a small steam over the weekend, stacked with Browns over 8lb and most were unresponsive to our offerings, bar 2 monsters that we landed over 9lb in a tiny spring creek no more than 6 foot wide! High water is always a good time to catch big fish and Browns are no exception. We’ve hooked up in as little as six inches of water on inside bends. Time on the water Fish are more comfortable in the dark and they feed when they are comfortable. Large brown trout like very slow moving water around cutbanks or around boulders that are blocking the flow of water. Pingback: 11 Incredible Proven Brown Trout Streamers That Will Make Your Day – Gray Wolf Life – Emergency Preparedness Survival Skills, Gear Reviews, Excellent article, we mostly fish for Mahseer and trout in the Himalayas in North India. How to fish for trout in the winter. Brown trout are addictive like almost no other freshwater fish. A prime example is during the spring Hendrickson hatch. It was about 1:30 am after a very long float down a tiny stream. He was in a section of a stream that I visit often to watch flows and count bugs as we are finishing up on a dam removal, 12 years after we started. The weight is something to look at when getting your fishing supplies. This varies a little with geography and weather but in the month or so leading up to the spawn brown trout are highly aggressive. Great advise. Each of these methods have their purpose. Browns prefer warmer water in the spring and area also likely to be near the shore when the wind blows out of the east. You want temperature on your side.” You’ll also need to stock up on sinkers, swivels, hooks and bobbers. Your best bet is to be a sniper; one shot, one fish. You need to get a sturdy fishing rod and fishing line, which can stand the fish’s weight. Don’t get in a rush. Time on the water Really good advice and it comes at a really good time for me. As mentioned, big browns are highly piscivorous, with minnows, sculpins and smaller trout providing the most consistent and sizable meal source in any given stream. You talk about being “delicate” with the presentation of the fly, but big browns are apex predators. The wind blows food into the shore area and typically muddies up the water. You’ll find … I talked to one angler who hunts for big Browns on a local tailwater, and catches them. Once you identify the river where you think you can catch that big boy, you have to start narrowing it down. We had lost two big Browns that day and we’d just talked about how, “sometimes it’s better not to know how big a fish you have on.” Justin was white knuckled. The world record is over forty pounds, and in lakes and reservoirs they commonly average ten to twenty pounds. Worms or large nymphs on high water. My buddy Dan and I were throwing around some dates for a fishing trip the other day and when those dates started falling in November he said, “As you know, fall will be all about finding big brown trout.”. I highly advise talking to your local tackle shop in regards to fly fishing as this method requires a different skill set. During the right season, eggs are like a drug to trout. I have also observed that large browns are generally more aggressive during high water times and can be targeted effectively through streamers. Justin and I did just that the other day. The same holds true went it rains. By identifying the times and conditions when big brown trout are most likely to be active and aggressive, you raise your odds immensely. Endurance casting, quality line control, proper fly movement, placement, and even fly selection all play a huge role. Obviously I’m just skimming the surface of three very different techniques, but it gives you an idea of where to start in the quest for big fish. In midsummer they shift their diets to include mice and frogs eaten at night. Although a fast retrieve will work with a big lure and big fish I estimate that 80 per cent of the overwintered trout I catch come to patterns fished statically or with a … You can increase your odds by getting after fish in smaller water when they are moving to spawn. Best Fly Fishing Equipment for Brook Trout . Here’s a few tips to make that dream a reality. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! We got down to one of the last holes with a feeding run above it and parked the boat. Actually streamers and a couple of other strategies work well at night too, but most of the time you’re trying to imitate a mouse. Your email address will not be published. If the fish is sipping BWO’s don’t start with a streamer. Fish rising, slightly off color water after a “worm rain”. The height of their spawning season is around the full moon of November. Presentation is always the most important part of the equation. Catch rate studies show them to be 5 to 6 times more difficult to catch than rainbow trout in areas with similarly sized populations of each. Great article, but I have one problem. Required fields are marked *. I have caught a few small ones but never a giant like these. Browns are fall spawners. On the right day and conditions, big browns will eat all day long, giving multiple opportunities for a photo op and a ton of excitement along the way. Records Fly Fishing Album, Search out the Small Water in the Big Water, Restore an Old Bamboo Fly Rod #4: Video Series. After all, fish don’t have hands, there’s only one way for them to satisfy their curiosity. A whole book could be written on the subject, and one should be, but night time fishing big hairy flies is the main event. They’re one of the first sizable insects to hatch in spring, and big browns can’t seem to resist them even though they hatch at mid-day. Catch Trophy Brown Trout By Stacking The Odds In Your Favor | Fly Fishing | Gink and Gasoline | How to Fly Fish | Trout Fishing | Fly Tying | Fly Fishing Blog | The Ozark Fly Fisher Journal, Stacking The Odds In Your Favor: Gink & Gasoline Blog | The Ozark Fly Fisher Journal, Tippets: Anatomy of a Fly Rod, Fish as Athletes, Chasing Trophy Browns | MidCurrent, 11 Incredible Proven Brown Trout Streamers That Will Make Your Day – Gray Wolf Life – Emergency Preparedness Survival Skills, Gear Reviews, Stipe Takes on Gierach, R.E.M. Another factor to consider is the changed social/dominance status that increasing size lends to them. Above 12" in size the Brown Trout will prey heavily on fish so try using woolly buggers or epoxy minnows which are good imitators of small fish. Just enough to have the mountain streams running high and stained. Trout don’t get big by being careless. Whatever is most common is a good start but there are other considerations. This includes major fly hatches. Don’t target fish on redds. Fly fishing is another alternative to catch Brown Trout and it’s an art form in itself. Run one was shot but we knew the Browns were in play. Approach the water slow and quiet. We fished on Pitsford Water, but Rutland, Grafham, Eyebrook, and many other large reservoirs will have a decent head of big brown trout that are instinctively acting in the same manner as the fish we caught on Pitsford. First thing that morning, I hooked a monster brown trout and lost it just a few minutes into the fight. Justin had a tape measure in his pack. It can happen for you too. So are cloudy days and even places where overhead vegetation blocks out the light. This year I have scheduled 3 extra days in the first week of November, by myself for exploring other parts of Montana. Where there are smaller browns there are usually cannibalistic monster browns … I’d chose stealth over instinct any day. He made a cast and came tight to a big fish. Pair it with a spinning reel and four or six-pound monofilament line. At night those big browns leave the holes and snags and head out on the prowl. As they grow larger they also prefer to feed after dark as long as available food sources permit this. Fall. . Even fly choice is easier when you can see how the fish is behaving. Pingback: Tippets: Anatomy of a Fly Rod, Fish as Athletes, Chasing Trophy Browns | MidCurrent, Pingback: Good Reads | Southern Culture On The Fly. Your email address will not be published. You must first be in the presence of big brown trout to catch big brown trout. Lakes and rivers are usually crystal clear in the fall, especially after a dry summer. I placed my next cast where the fish had hit, made a couple of strips and let it coast. Show Up Early And Stay Late. Pressure is a huge factor too. Big brown trout get big for a reason – they’re wily buggers and you’ll have to be on top of your game to put a trophy in the net. Spring is good too, when the fish are putting weight back on after the spawn. Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. But if you’re wading, make sure you’re wading silently, casting carefully, trolling long lines or, if you’re casting from a boat, make sure you’re keeping as silent as possible. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. That put us behind in the count but we were still motivated. … It’s more likely that you’ll be guessing. Their allure comes not only from their size and beauty, but also from their wily nature. You can catch trout with bait, soft plastics, flies, or lures. In general, the best way to catch brown trout is to be stealthy, silent, and smooth. I’ll assume that you know how to properly fish your chosen fly and get to some things that get talked about less. In midsummer, brown trout start to zero in on mice falling in or swimming across the river. It was several minutes before the fish turned and made a downstream run. Fishing for trout is a sport in itself, as they fight hard and have even been known to jump or run after being hooked. Photo by Louis Cahill. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. I’ve always wanted to catch a giant Brown trout. Obviously, always important but here is your chance to get inside the fish’s head. Stockies undoubtedly prefer a fast retrieve whether you’re fishing with lures or dry-flies, and this should be avoided. In the upper Midwest these include the Hendrickson, Isonychia, Gray Drake, brown Drake, and Hexagenia hatches. It may be obvious. Egg. Especially the big ones. Rainy days are big fish days, as long as the water is safe and not total mud. In good water the only limiting factors are mortality and food abundance. – Seneca The Younger. This is often deep under a cut bank, or at the bottom of a log jam in a deep hole. Oh… nice brown too. He has a brilliant, and time consuming, method that works well. That first 20+ inch fish was like flipping a switch for me. Fall is the peak of brown trout aggression. The only problem is getting the correct presentation in the deeper sections. Which is why I’m surprised how often I still hear even experienced anglers express that they would love to catch a brown over 20 inches. Finding the right place usually starts with a tip, a fly shop conversation or a photo or article you found on the Internet. Observe your target. Stipe Takes on Gierach, R.E.M. A little later, mayflies will be very active. You just need a big fly that leaves a tell-tale wake across the surface. Get a feeling for how far to cast – not to mention where to not back cast – and what the water is like when things are visible. Find the best trout fishing tips at Field & Stream. 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The equation these tips can eliminate some of the net we almost lost it just few! Is beginning to beleive we should probably emanating the system more like how to catch brown trout fly fishing...