Favorite trout to catch?

[passionfly]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone wanted to share their favorite trout to catch while we all wait for next season to arrive! Personally, I just love catching those buttery wild browns, but I know some others prefer native brookies or even stocked bows! So, just wondering, what's your favorite to catch?

 

[dryflyguy]

Anything that's rising.

That said, there is something special about catching a sizable, wild brookie.
They're just so gorgeous.

Kinda curious about everyone "waiting for next season to arrive"
There is still plenty of good fishing left this year, if you know when and where to look

 

[ryansheehan]

Something about a wild rainbow, especially on the big D.....

 

[wildtrout2]

Anything that's rising.

That said, there is something special about catching a sizable, wild brookie.
They're just so gorgeous.

Kinda curious about everyone "waiting for next season to arrive"
There is still plenty of good fishing left this year, if you know when and where to look

Totally agree on the big native.

The most productive part of my trout season is the next 6 weeks.

 

[silverfox]

Hands down wild native brook trout for me. I fish for a bunch of species on the fly though, and smallmouth would probably be 2nd, followed by pike/musky.

 

[Bamboozle]

Since day one, I've been a fan of wild brown trout over wild brookies.

I don't like rainbows, even the wild ones I've caught over the years.

 

[Mike]

I’ll fish for any of the three species, but with respect to “fight” I can’t get excited by that put up by 6-8” ST. It takes 10-12 inch ST to get a decent length of fight that compares with, say, 9-10 inch RT and BT. The ST just don’t have the stamina, but they are still fun to catch for a diversion, casting without spooking exercise, or as part of a mixed population. I really enjoy the scenery of their typical habitat and male ST coloration, but ST stamina problems vs BT and RT remind me of 8” Rock Bass or Fallfish vs 8” Redbreast Sunfish. Furthermore, when I see videos of guys hooking small ST after small ST and having them come flying out of the water during the hook set or come skidding across the surface from the time the hook is set until the fish hits the landing net in mid-air, I think to myself; “what’s the point?”

 

[Penns Woods]

It's hard to pick a favorite, but I would have to give a wild rainbow the edge with a brookie second. I love the way rainbows give you two or maybe three jumps when hooked.

 

[RLeep2]

As trout go, my favorite to catch is probably small stream wild RT. I loved fishing for them in the southern Appalachians and central Wisconsin. They're hotter than firecrackers. My favorite to fish for are wild browns in just about any stream setting, although again, smaller streams are where I most enjoy catching them.. Brook trout are a lovely fish with a noble heritage, but generally in terms of size and pugnacity, I have to agree with Mike's Rock Bass comparison.

Actually, all things considered from sport value to convenience and so on, my favorite trout is probably a smallmouth bass...

 

[silverfox]

I didn't know the species' "fight" was a qualifier. I said brook trout because that's my favorite fish to fish for, but it's not because they're the best fighting fish. It's because of the places they live and the incredible beauty of the species. The whole experience, solitude, and to hold such a stunning fish for a brief second.

 

[Swattie87]

Once I’m fishing, I’m not that picky. Whichever species wants to momentarily attach itself to the end of my line via a fly is fine by me.

That said, and while I’m 100% for keeping Brown Trout out of places they aren’t currently established (another thread for another time), my favorite places to fish (for Trout) are small forested freestones that have both wild Browns and native Brookies. Generally, in most conditions, the Brookies are more consistent and easier to catch, but the Browns are bigger. I like a little bit of both. Wild Rainbows in small freestoners are a fun novelty. They grow on a size curve in a small freestone environment somewhere between Brookies and Browns, but closer to Brookies probably, and they don’t have the room on small streams to fight and run like they are capable of on big water. That said a high teens wild Bow on a small trifecta capable stream ran into a rootball and made a mess of me a few weeks ago.

For shear pulling power per square inch though, nothing beats a SMB. I warm water fished for the first time this season with my wife last weekend. First SMB I hooked, I yelled to her “Honey, I got a whale.” Thing was about 10” when I was done pulling it in. Happens every year the first time I switch to Smallies in the Summer.

 

[wildtrout2]

I didn't know the species' "fight" was a qualifier. I said brook trout because that's my favorite fish to fish for, but it's not because they're the best fighting fish. It's because of the places they live and the incredible beauty of the species. The whole experience, solitude, and to hold such a stunning fish for a brief second.

I was wondering where that came from as well. Fishing for natives is a type of niche fishing, it's not for everyone. It's their beauty and where you have to go to catch them that attracts me. Obviously, you don't pursue natives for their fighting ability.

 

[silverfox]

Once I’m fishing, I’m not that picky. Whichever species wants to momentarily attach itself to the end of my line via a fly is fine by me.

That said, and while I’m 100% for keeping Brown Trout out of places they aren’t currently established (another thread for another time), my favorite places to fish (for Trout) are small forested freestones that have both wild Browns and native Brookies. Generally, in most conditions, the Brookies are more consistent and easier to catch, but the Browns are bigger. I like a little bit of both. Wild Rainbows in small freestoners are a fun novelty. They grow on a size curve in a small freestone environment somewhere between Brookies and Browns, but closer to Brookies probably, and they don’t have the room on small streams to fight and run like they are capable of on big water. That said a high teens wild Bow on a small trifecta capable stream ran into a rootball and made a mess of me a few weeks ago.

For shear pulling power per square inch though, nothing beats a SMB. I warm water fished for the first time this season with my wife last weekend. First SMB I hooked, I yelled to her “Honey, I got a whale.” Thing was about 10” when I was done pulling it in. Happens every year the first time I switch to Smallies in the Summer.

I was talking with someone recently about this notion that browns are harder to catch than brookies because they're more selective. As with everything, I'm sure this varies widely from place to place, but in the smaller freestoners that are dominated by browns, I've found the opposite to be true.

In my experience, browns in mountain streams act almost exactly like brook trout. They become opportunistic and eat just about anything that looks "buggy". Generally. Obviously, in highly pressured streams this changes, but it changes for brook trout too. The brook trout in Big Spring are certainly no push-overs when it comes to being selective and hard to catch. I think it has less to do with species and more to do with location and pressure.

 

[Swattie87]

I was talking with someone recently about this notion that browns are harder to catch than brookies because they're more selective. As with everything, I'm sure this varies widely from place to place, but in the smaller freestoners that are dominated by browns, I've found the opposite to be true.

In my experience, browns in mountain streams act almost exactly like brook trout. They become opportunistic and eat just about anything that looks "buggy". Generally. Obviously, in highly pressured streams this changes, but it changes for brook trout too. The brook trout in Big Spring are certainly no push-overs when it comes to being selective and hard to catch. I think it has less to do with species and more to do with location and pressure.

Agree in part, disagree in part. In “good” conditions, which for small freestoners means good, relatively high flows, and relatively warm water, say 55-65 deg window, I agree. They’ll eat anything, anytime, just like a Brookie.

But in less than ideal conditions, cold water and/or low, clear water, I find Brookies are MUCH easier to catch in mixed population streams. Even in streams I know for a fact are 75% or more Browns, I catch a disproportionate number of Brookies in “off” conditions. In low, clear water Brookies can still be observed out in feeding lies. They spook easy, but if you don’t spook them, they are still easily caught. Browns are ghosts. It’s not that they’re selective about what they eat, they’re selective about when they eat. And in low/clear water, they’re just not eating at all. During the daytime anyway. They’re under rocks, in rootballs or undercuts, or jammed into bedrock faults. I think this largely has to do with how they evolved. Brookies in infertile Appalachian mountain environments…”I need to eat everything that even remotely might be food, all the time.” Browns in more fertile environments in Europe (depends on the strain to some degree, but figuring ours are mutts at this point, at least true to some degree)…”I can gorge when I want (aka, when it’s safe) to eat, and fast when I don’t want to.” Ever notice how fat small stream Browns are after a mid-Summer bump in flows?

 

[silverfox]

Agree in part, disagree in part. In “good” conditions, which for small freestoners means good, relatively high flows, and relatively warm water, say 55-65 deg window, I agree. They’ll eat anything, anytime, just like a Brookie.

But in less than ideal conditions, cold water and/or low, clear water, I find Brookies are MUCH easier to catch in mixed population streams. Even in streams I know for a fact are 75% or more Browns, I catch a disproportionate number of Brookies in “off” conditions. In low, clear water Brookies can still be observed out in feeding lies. They spook easy, but if you don’t spook them, they are still easily caught. Browns are ghosts. It’s not that they’re selective about what they eat, they’re selective about when they eat. And in low/clear water, they’re just not eating at all. During the daytime anyway. They’re under rocks, in rootballs or undercuts, or jammed into bedrock faults. I think this largely has to do with how they evolved. Brookies in infertile Appalachian mountain environments…”I need to eat everything that even remotely might be food, all the time.” Browns in more fertile environments in Europe (depends on the strain to some degree, but figuring ours are mutts at this point, at least true to some degree)…”I can gorge when I want (aka, when it’s safe) to eat, and fast when I don’t want to.” Ever notice how fat small stream Browns are after a mid-Summer bump in flows?

Good points. As I said, this all likely varies a great deal. I do think BT tend to orient more toward cover than open lies, though all my biggest brookies came from those same habitat niches too. As a side note, a buddy in VA has put up numerous 16-18 inch brook trout in streams that get pretty heavy fishing pressure has said that most people don't catch those fish because they're fishing the open water with small dry flies and that's not what huge stream-dwelling brook trout eat. The little guys have to commit to exposed positions to try to pack on weight vs larger fish tend to convert to more selective ambush roles. Kind of the same w/ smaller BT in some cases where they're just stacked in riffles eating as much as possible vs the logjam-dwelling sculpin specialists when they hit that piscivorous stage. Not going to go too far down this road, but I think you can probably see where I'm going with this.

 

[Swattie87]

Good points. As I said, this all likely varies a great deal. I do think BT tend to orient more toward cover than open lies, though all my biggest brookies came from those same habitat niches too. As a side note, a buddy in VA has put up numerous 16-18 inch brook trout in streams that get pretty heavy fishing pressure has said that most people don't catch those fish because they're fishing the open water with small dry flies and that's not what huge stream-dwelling brook trout eat. The little guys have to commit to exposed positions to try to pack on weight vs larger fish tend to convert to more selective ambush roles. Kind of the same w/ smaller BT in some cases where they're just stacked in riffles eating as much as possible vs the logjam-dwelling sculpin specialists when they hit that piscivorous stage. Not going to go too far down this road, but I think you can probably see where I'm going with this.

Yep, agree. On smaller, all or mostly Brookie streams I try to have the discipline to swap out the dry for a small weighted streamer when I get to the primo holes, but I get lazy and just fish it with the dry most of the time. I should do that more though, whether it be a Brookie or a Brown that occupies that lie, those kind of fish are more likely to eat subsurface and more substantial meals.

My biggest Brookie (13”) and the biggest I’ve personally seen caught in PA (14.5”) both ate small streamers, in Winter. FWIW.

 

[silverfox]

My biggest Brookie (13”) and the biggest I’ve personally seen caught in PA (14.5”) both ate small streamers, in Winter. FWIW.

Same here w/ max brookie size in PA. Frank Nale has put up a few much bigger brookies in PA. I'm sure his preferred lure choice has something to do with that.

I've seen some shocking brook trout from the Virginias. In larger 3rd/4th order allopatric streams which we're lacking in PA. I'm sure elevation has something to do with this too. +/- 6,000 ft vs +/- 3,000 ft in PA.

Case in point. Virginia. This guy has caught dozens of this class of fish and bigger.

 

[pcray1231]

The "fight" of a fish doesn't come into the equation at all, any species in any place. Including SMB. I don't fish to feel em fight. In fact I get a little annoyed by fish that fight too hard sometimes! Stop spooking the hole and let me pull you in!!!

I have a soft spot for brookies due to the gorgeous places they often take me. I have a soft spot for rising brown trout/evening hatch situations as well. I don't tend to get real serious about smallmouths, I just find myself playing in rivers in the summer, on kayaks, or taking the boys to wade around and such. Taking a rod and casting around is something to do. Kind of like surf fishing when you're at the beach with family, it's not the main point, but you're there anyway, the fish are there, and I'm a fisherman.

I am not big on still waters. The scenery doesn't change. Bluegills provide steady action for my fishing obsessed 7 year old, and the chance at the occasional largemouth for his pride is a bonus. But that's about being with my son, not the fish.

 

[wildtrout2]

I have found that the mountain freestone wild browns I fish for are very fussy about stream temps. Where the natives can easily be caught in colder temps. Ideal temps for both IMO are in the 56F-60F range. I've had it where just a few degrees in stream temp goes from slow fishing to lights out fishing. Also, when stream temps are optimal I find that the wild browns are not fussy regarding what you toss at them. They'll hit dries as quickly as sub-surface flies.

In 40 years of fishing my best native is 13.5". I haven't come close to that in a long time. Unlike wild browns, big wild brookies are a rarity.

 

[Zipper]

The next one!