Brook trout Winter

[supervdl]

Do you fish for Brookies on small streams in the winter and what are your go to flies and equipment (rod)?

 

[jifigz]

Yes I do fish for brookies in the winter and my go to rod and flies are basically the same as any other time of the year. It depends more on the specific stream as to which rod I may prefer and flies in the winter would be streamers and nymphs. Caddis larva work well, small buggers, and bright pink San Juan worms take plenty of winter brookies for me.

 

[Swattie87]

Yes. Brookies actually fish better and are more reliable than Browns in cold weather IMO. I just fish a small streamer, like size 14 small, dead drift like a big nymph. Normal Brookie rod is fine...7’6ish, 4wt-ish.

 

[jifigz]

Swattie87 wrote:
Yes. Brookies actually fish better and are more reliable than Browns in cold weather IMO. I just fish a small streamer, like size 14 small, dead drift like a big nymph. Normal Brookie rod is fine...7’6ish, 4wt-ish.

Interesting Swattie. I've never noticed a difference between the willingness of brook vs brown trout in the winter and both seem to readily bite.

 

[afishinado]

jifigz wrote:

Swattie87 wrote:
Yes. Brookies actually fish better and are more reliable than Browns in cold weather IMO. I just fish a small streamer, like size 14 small, dead drift like a big nymph. Normal Brookie rod is fine...7’6ish, 4wt-ish.

Interesting Swattie. I've never noticed a difference between the willingness of brook vs brown trout in the winter and both seem to readily bite.

Brookies are more willing spring > summer > fall > winter

 

[Swattie87]

Agree Brookies are generally always more reliable, but I think it’s most pronounced in Winter in my experience.

Browns do go stupid for a little while after a Summer Tstorm dirties the water though.

 

[Dave_W]

Swattie87 wrote:
Yes. Brookies actually fish better and are more reliable than Browns in cold weather IMO.

I agree.

In my experience, brookies are significantly more aggressive in cold water than browns or bows. I'm not sure why this is, but I have a half baked theory it has something to do with Appalachian brook trout evolving after the Ice Age to thrive under streams that are iced over for long periods of time.

Even with ice in the stream and heavy snow bankside, I expect brookies to eat, but rarely bother with the other species under these conditions.

I prefer a bright colored wet fly or nymph in the larger size range, think around a 12. Brookies are impressed by size, color, and movement.

 

[ryansheehan]

This got me thinking about my experiences on the lower savage that has good populations of both wild browns and brookies. I catch very few if any brookies during the winter months. I would describe the brookies on the lower savage as streaky, you get a bunch one day and all browns the next day. Maybe I just haven't hit the streak right.

 

[tomgamber]

I've found Brookies in the East and Rainbows out west to both be more aggressive in colder water than Brown's in anything but the upper 5° window of their alleged comfort zone. Based on their native waters I never found this surprising.

 

[coyoterahn]

Brookies in the winter, heck yea.
I use my 11ft Tenkara rod and soft hackles mostly fl. pink or fl. green or a combo of both colors. Although, sometimes any color works. Great way to spend a couple of hours during the winter.

 

[just_jon]

I like fishing small streamers in the winter. A #12 Shenk white minnow works well for me.

 

[MKern]

Nothing like wearing extra socks and seeing ice accumulating along the backs and over small waterfalls and then feeling the wiggle of a brookie.

I use the typical rod, but a cheap one because cold is not friendly to graphite, and heavy, bright flies.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

I've never had any problem with graphite rods during the winter months.....Depending on the stain to determine the size and color of nymph or streamer.

The fun comes when you have to break the ice off the eyelets every other cast.