Someone school me on Big trout

[marcq]

im putting this here because i dont know where else it should go. my goal of this year is to catch a wild trout that is larger then 20 inches this year. i know there are streams that hold large fish like the del and penns but what about the streams that are not know for having large fish, but have a wild population? there should be a few big fish in there right.

in the upper del there is a good population of big brown trout. do the fish spawn in the main river or do they spawn in the tributaries?

we are now in the winter months, do the fish go into the smaller streams for some reason or do they stay in the river.

what are some holding area that big fish stay?

thanks marc

 

[jayL]

There are most likely 20+ inch trout in almost all of the decent wild brown trout streams in PA. There are a bunch of them in the less than decent wild brown trout streams too. Finally, there are way more than you would think in places that we don't consider to be trout waters.

You don't have to go to the big trouty rivers to find them, but that is a decent way to do it.

 

[Fishidiot]

Marcq,
If you've got your goal a 20" wild trout the most important thing is to fish waters where they exist in good numbers. As Jay said, they can be anywhere where wild trout are found but, to narrow your search, I'd skip the small to medium freestoners. You want to focus on big rivers and limestone spring creeks. The upper Delaware is probably your best shot for a 20" brown - don't know about the spawning but big fish like deeper water with woody cover. I'd also emphasize using polarized glasses (I like yellow as it's good on cloudy days). On the limestoners, half the battle is seeing and finding these giants. Fish with nymphs and streamers and, if you find a big fish (and it's legal to do so), don't hesitate to hunt that fish at night during the summer months.
Finally, when you're fishing and you see fish rising....watch them for a few minutes. If they're splashy little rises and you don't see a big snout poking up....suck it up and look elsewhere. Don't wast time on little fish however, tempting.

 

[MKern]

My advice is to just fish and the larger fish will just happen with good fishing practices.

My 20" wild brown was catch just after the spawn in a small stream.

If you are dead set on catching a large fish, go to the big waters.

 

[marcq]

when streamer fishing ive heard the best time to fish is after a storm when the water is a little off color is this true.

thanks marc

 

[djs12354]

Trophy Trout section of the Lackawanna, and other sections.

My brother-in-law told me of taking a couple of large trout out of water in Carbondale, but that would be close now, I believe.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

marcq wrote:
when streamer fishing ive heard the best time to fish is after a storm when the water is a little off color is this true.

thanks marc

Off color is good and it can be after a rain when the water is rising and when the creek starts to clear after being muddy.
Big dark wooly buggers or streamers both fished on the bottom.Put in your time and you'll get one. GG

 

[silvertone]

The biggest browns feed at night, there eyes are actually set up for this. They feed on little fish. Find a spot you can cast and fish comfortably in the dark that looks like there should be a huge brown there.Use the biggest streamers you have w/ a nice heavy tppet and youll be into one in no time


Good Luck

 

[marcq]

Does season matter when fishing at night I'm guessing it m summer month thing.

 

[silvertone]

It is more comfortable for you in the summer but spring and fall are optimal times. Anytime the water temp is over 50* would be a great time to swing some big flies at night .

 

[Swattie87]

Agree with a lot of the above...biggest point being, just put in the time, and enjoy it. If you're catching lots of smaller Browns, you'll eventually hook into a big one. They eat the same stuff (for the most part). Big ones just eat more of it, and in the case of fish, can eat bigger individuals.

I'd agree to try to focus on when the water's a little higher with big streamers...that's a good start. Another thing to consider, which I think Jay alluded to, is that big Browns are often found in more marginal trout areas. This often means further downstream than you might think on wild trout waters. The water's warmer, but that generally means more food, and bigger (but fewer) trout, provided they have some place of refuge from the heat and low DO during hot spells.

 

[fritz]

{when streamer fishing ive heard the best time to fish is after a storm when the water is a little off color is this true.}

I was on a stream yesterday with the water heavily stained from Wednesday's rain. The water was actually a lot off color. A few browns did find my flies however I did not land any. One charged out from his lair, ate my fly and went charging back. Failed to turn him. That was the heaviest brown I've hooked in that stream in quite a while. This is not the first time I've had that happen in dingy water on that particular stream. I don't know if off color water is the best time but for me it has always been a good time.

 

[mushumatt]

Go to Kamchatka

 

[Cornholio]

The top 3 rules for big wild trout: Location, location and location, sure you can find a big trout in alot of places, but to increase your odds it's all about the location. Hit water that is known for producing monsters.

 

[midnightangler]

If you primarily fish nymphs and dry flies, you will catch a disproportionate number of smaller trout. In most streams big browns eat insects infrequently. When they do eat them they won't move very far to get them. You'll basically have to hit them on the nose with your fly. If you can't see the fish, your chances of hitting a really big trout on the nose are pretty bad.

As far as sight-fishing goes, there is a bit of a trend toward sight fishing for large browns during spawning. Don't become one of the dirtbags who does this. It's reprehensible.

If you really want to catch big trout, you should target them specifically. You want to throw something that will get a big fish's attention, something it will actually move several feet to eat. Cover as much water as you can with flies 3"-6" long.

Fishing at night is most effective when the water is low and clear and water temperatures are favorable. By the process of elimination, you can effectively identify where big fish are holding during low water conditions. Even for night fishing, you don't really want to be fishing when water temperatures are elevated above 70 degrees during the day. Trout aren't able to metabolize the food that they eat at these temperatures, so they tend to conserve energy and won't feed as frequently. You'll have better luck when temps are in the low to mid 60s.

Although there are some notable exceptions, most wild trout streams in PA hold relatively few trout over 20". If you go to the streams that produce the odd 30-inch fish, your chances to catch a 20-inch fish go up dramatically.

 

[Chaz]

Before going fishing at night go to the stream during the day and learn the section you are going to fish. Things are very different after dark on streams. Fishing big streamers after rain is one way to catch big trout. Going to places where there are plenty of big trout and fishing big streamers works too, but you won't find many folks here that will answer your question directly about where to catch big trout.

 

[midnightangler]

you won't find many folks here that will answer your question directly about where to catch big trout.

They're already sending him the the Lack and the D. If he goes to those places, I have no doubt he'll get a 20-inch fish.

 

[wbranch]

Marc asked;

"in the upper del there is a good population of big brown trout. do the fish spawn in the main river or do they spawn in the tributaries? Yes, the browns spawn both in the river, where they can find good gravel, and also in the tributaries that have water even in the driest times.
we are now in the winter months, do the fish go into the smaller streams for some reason or do they stay in the river. Typically, in my experience, the large fish are not going to stay in the smaller creeks that they spawned in. Even though their metabolism slows down in the winter they still need to eat. Forage fish are plentiful in the bigger waters.

what are some holding area that big fish stay? Most of the really big fish I've caught on streamers (22" - 24") have holed up near the shore. I think they like the protection they can get from being so close to the bank and often the current there is less swift. They also like structure, just like bass, if you can locate a big submerged boulder there might be a big fish in the downstream side. Also sunken tree trunks and troughs in the flow harbor big trout.

I never, ever, fish tippets lighter than 1X when streamer fishing and most often use 0X or heavier. That being said I never fish streamers smaller than #6 and most are in the #4 - #1/0 range.

All the edits are the result of trying to get the right sized picture.

 

[marcq]

at night i would most likely bring my head lamp. does the same rule go for trout as for stripers "try to use as little light as possible?

 

[wbranch]

"you won't find many folks here that will answer your question directly about where to catch big trout."

Why wouldn't someone tell him how, or where, to catch big trout? The rivers mentioned are by no means secrets so any thought of "spot burning" is personal selfishness.

I may have provided answers to his questions but didn't tell him what colors, sizes, or shapes of the flies that I use to consistently catch 20" and larger brown trout. Nor did I provide the GPS coordinates as to where he could find at least half a dozen 20" + browns.

It's not likely he is going to go out and immediately start cranking in those big trout. There is a pretty lengthy learning curve to get through and he is still going to have to figure out how to fish those flies in various water conditions, clarity, turbidity, water and air temperature, and a myriad of other factors.

I'm hoping he does figure it all out as that is half the fun of catchng big fish.