I finally got out on Wednesday for the first time this year to do some brookie fishing in the Laurel Highlands in SWPA. I was deep into the headwaters of a Class A brookie stream when I came across a deeper hole and caught this guy - a beautiful brown with great colors, but I have no clue how it got this far up the stream. I believe the stream does connect with a stocked stream several miles down from where I caught him. Landed 20+ brookies throughout the stream and no other browns. Very curious.
Surprising Catch
- Thread starter sam
- Start date
bigjohn358
Well-known member
Looks like a wild brown to me as well...
albatross
Well-known member
I know PFBC classifies some streams as Class A Brook Trout (ST), some as Class A Brown Trout (BT), and some as Class A mixed Brook and Brown. You can look up the criteria for each classification online, but if the browns are there only in low density as reflected in your 20:1 catch rate it likely would not be listed as mixed.
Tabasco-Joe
Active member
wildtrout2
Well-known member
I have little doubt that's a wild brown.
HopBack is right on with his comment. Catching a brown trout out of any trout stream shouldn't be surprising. They are highly adaptable fish capable of tolerating a lot of varying conditions. Return to that stream when it is higher and muddy and you will most likely catch many more of them.
wildtrout2
Well-known member
I agree, but sometimes it takes a while for their presence to be known. I fished a particular native brookie stream for two years and only ever caught natives, then one year later I actually caught a wild tiger trout, my only one to date. That told me there HAD to be wild browns somewhere in that stream for that to happen, as rare as it was. That was back in 2009.
I went another two years before I actually caught my first wild brown on that stream, and have only caught two others since then. They are definately in places you wouldn't expect them.
