10 Tips For Fly Fishing For Brook Trout In Streams

Many anglers are looking for ten tips for fly fishing for brook trout in streams. A brook trout is not a trout at all but a member of the salmon family. It is also called a speckled trout or squaretail. Although they are a short-lived species, a brook trout can grow up to thirty inches long. They are found in clear, rivers and streams along the eastern part of the U.S. and Canada.

1. Know where to find them. Brook trout like cool water at around 53* F, They will migrate up and down a stream trying to find their favorite temperature. They will congregate around cool underwater springs, waterfalls or at the base of rapids.
2. Use bait that imitates their natural diet. Brook trout like adult insects, fish eggs, and smaller fish. Baits that successfully imitate these items while fly fishing for brook trout, include artificial lures and flies such as dry or wet flies, nymphs and streamers.
3. Know the right time to use dry flies. Dry and bushy flies, should be used early mornings and evenings, or on overcast days and floated around underwater snags or logs. Flies such as Light Cahill are popular for fly fishing for brook trout.
4. Know how to fish with a nymph. Nymph fishing requires a great deal of skill. Casts need to be more precise. The fisherman must know how to float them in a dead drift along the banks with fast current. Those who often go fly fishing for brook trout recommend a Muskrat Nymph sizes 10-18
5. Know your streamers. Streamers are used for catching larger trout. Use streamers with heavier weights and throw them deep on a full sinking line. Streamers in your tackle box should include Black Marabou, White Marabou, and Black Ghost Streamer sizes 10-14.
6. Use the right tackle. Many anglers like a light line, a small hook and small sinkers. These will do well in a stream that is full of small and medium-sized trout.
7. Place you floats and sinkers. Floats should be put on the line about six inches up from the hook. A series of small sinkers should go below it. The float will keep your hook off the bottom and the sinkers will make it hang down just below the float.
8. Sneak up on them. brook trout are easily spooked. If you spot an area where you think brook trout might be, one of the best tips for fly fishing for brook trout in streams is to walk down stream of where you think they are before approaching the brook. Then wade back to just below their spot and cast up past their area. Allow the bait to float down over them..
9. Learn the perfect cast. If you are going to catch a lot of trout, you will need to practice your casting. Fortunately, the best place to do this is on the banks of a mountain stream that is full of trout. They will provide you with feedback as to whether or not your cast meets their standards.
10. Catch and release. Overfishing as well as pollution has put a strain on the population of Brook Trout in many of their original streams. In order to preserve as many fish as possible, the thoughtful angler will only keep the fish he intends to eat and will release the rest. An important tip for fly fishing for Brook Trout in streams is to make sure your hands are wet before handing a fish you intend to release. The Brook Trout has sensitive skin that is easily abraded by dry hands.