UPSmallie Posted June 21, 2018 Posted June 21, 2018 *Little lengthy but I'd say worth the read if you have the time I'd always wanted to fish for brook trout, but I'd always been busy or made some kind of excuse to try and avoid the ticks. Tuesday that all changed. I'd woken up early and gone fishing for whitefish from my canoe. For about three straight hours I got tons of bites but for the life of me couldn't get any hooked. I packed up and went home. Sometimes you really just want to catch a fish and that is how I was feeling. I decided that today would be the day that I went and tried brook trout fishing. A buddy had recommended a stream a short drive from town for me to check out so I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I threw my waders, bug-spray, fishing rod with a a #6 black panther martin, and some pliers in my car and took off. It was mid-day, but I knew there'd be some wild trout that'd be hungry. I get to the stream and right away am greeted by the tall grass. I barrel through it and jump into the stream. The easiest going seems to be through the water and not around it. Almost instantly I'm greeted by a shedded dragonfly larvae case stuck to a wooden post next to the water's edge. Pretty cool. I start throwing the panther martin beneath riffles and pretty soon I hook into a couple of the little native rainbow parr. Nothing I can keep, but some excitement at least. I keep pushing further down the creek and find another big set of riffles. I tell myself that this spot guaranteed will have two fish under it. I flip my panther martin in and in and almost instantly something jerks my rod hard! Fish! I flip the first brook trout of the day - a 9 incher - onto the bank! Yes, my first ever brook trout! I fire off a second cast and get another fish to commit - another juvenile rainbow. I knew there'd be at least 2 fish here I chuckle to myself. I throw the brook trout on my stringer and keep pushing into the woods. I find another good looking spot with some riffles and an opening for casting directly beneath them. I throw a couple casts in with my spinner and I'm getting nothing. I decide that I'll just double back in a second and drive to a different portion of the stream and fish that section of it. Just as I say that thought to myself, a 10 inch brook trout grabs my spinner and starts thrashing on the surface! No Way! I land the little guy and throw him on my stringer. Two down, three to go. That brook trout convinved me...to go further down the rabbit hole. Quoting from the movie *** "The only way to get out is to keep going down." I climb, weave, and wade my way to another prime looking spot about a hundred feet further down the stream. This has a fish, 100% I tell myself. I wait till the mud clouds settle and pitch out my spinner. A couple more repeated casts in and I just know there has to be a fish. Where is it? SLAP OH MY GOODNESS A MASSIVE Brook Trout just charged my spinner and slapped it right in front of me! And by massive I mean pushing 11 inches. It didn't get hooked somehow. I consider changing to a different spinner, but decide that I'll just keep casting my current one and see what happens. One more pitch out and I realize that that was a great decision. Whack! Fish On! I crank up the 10.5 inch brook trout and flip him on the bank! Alright! I just need 2 more brook trout and I'll have my limit I got my first 3 within probably about 300 feet of stream from the first set of riffles I had stumbled upon. I should be able to get my limit pretty quickly then. Or so I thought. For literally the NEXT MILE of stream it is a deadzone with absolutely ZERO Riffles. Like none at all. It was brutal. There's a constant 2-3 blackflies that are hovering over my head and buzzing in my ears and an occasional assault from a handful of mosquitoes. Everytime this happens I just spray more bug spray on my hat, arms, and hands. This actually does wonders as all the flies leave me after the mile of empty water. I push through some trees and round a bend. No Way! Do my eyes deceive me? Up ahead is the 100% perfect riffle structure with a beautiful wide-open lane for casting a spinner. It's like a 7 foot wide log creating a cascading waterfall almost. I thank the Lord and wade out just above the riffle. This spot guaranteed has at least 2 big brook trout beneath it. Guaranteed. My first cast with my spinner agrees with me. My rod gets ripped down hard and my line is bolting and zig-zagging all over the stream! It's a biggin! I fight the brook trout over the lumber fall and get it on the bank. Yes! God is Good! I'm at 4 brook trout and just need one more to complete my limit. I wade back on top of the log breaking the water and fire off my second cast from this spot. AN EVEN BIGGER BROOK TROUT SLAMS IT!!!!!!! This one looks all of 11-12 inches!!!! I battle it hard but it pops off. Eh no biggie, just means I'll have to dive further into the jungle to finish my limit. Most of the brook trout are so aggressive that you really don't even have to set the hook. They hit the spinner so hard you basically just fling them onto the bank and you're set. Pliers are almost always needed since they are hooked so well. I push onwards another quarter mile through stream. Finally I start seeing some more riffles. I wade past rocks the size of volleyballs and tennis balls. Now I just need to find an opening for me to cast from. I fire off a couple casts in a couple stretches directly beneath the riffles. I know there's got to be a brook trout around here, but where is it? I keep going and come across another spot with a little bit of riffles that is open enough to cast into. Sometimes you can fire off a cast at a new spot before the mud clouds your waders caused, float downstream and cloud up the water. This is what I do. Gotta hit the water while it's mostly clear. RIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPP OH MY GOODNESS IT'S A MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The biggest brook trout of my life is tearing up the stream!!!! WOW!!!!! I flip it up onto the high bank and it is huge!!! It's an 11.5 incher that absolutey choked my spinner! What a way to finish my limit! I jump up onto the bank with my limit in tow and feel amazing as I trek back to my car. I'd never caught a brook trout till today and not only did I catch one, but I caught my limit. I get home and guess what? Not a single tick! I broil the brook trout with lemon pepper and uncle tony's creole seasoning and my goodness! EASILY the best meal I have had ALL MONTH!!!! No Joke! Brook Trout taste like HEAVEN!!!! All fish easily cleared the 7 inch minimum and were 9-11.5 inches long. The giant weighed a full pound! I found some caterpillars and snails in their stomachs so that was pretty neat. I only covered about half of the stream containing riffles so I'm itching to get back out and explore the rest of it! Fish On ? 9 Quote
Super User Jar11591 Posted June 21, 2018 Super User Posted June 21, 2018 Nice report, and beautiful wild brookies. Always great when a trek into the woods is rewarded with some fish, and wild ones at that. 1 Quote
UPSmallie Posted June 21, 2018 Author Posted June 21, 2018 Thanks man! Yeah it was a great time and the nature was amazing too Quote
B-Dozer Posted June 21, 2018 Posted June 21, 2018 next time try a fly rod, then YOU'LL be hooked! ? 1 Quote
mrmacwvu1 Posted June 22, 2018 Posted June 22, 2018 Fishing for brookies on a fly rod is my favorite fresh water fishing 2 Quote
UPSmallie Posted June 22, 2018 Author Posted June 22, 2018 7 hours ago, Arcs&sparks said: What state? Thanks man! This is in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 1 Quote
Arcs&sparks Posted June 23, 2018 Posted June 23, 2018 Sounds like a great stream! 12” natives in a smaller stream are respectable fish. The big one looks to be a female, that would indicate there’s even bigger males to be caught?. where I am near the coast, besides the stocker trout, decent sized natives are very few and far between, I gotta head to the highlands to get some good ones like that. One tip would be, if you can help it, wade upstream rather than down. 1 Quote
UPSmallie Posted June 23, 2018 Author Posted June 23, 2018 4 minutes ago, Arcs&sparks said: Sounds like a great stream! 12” natives in a smaller stream are respectable fish. The big one looks to be a female, that would indicate there’s even bigger males to be caught?. where I am near the coast, besides the stocker trout, decent sized natives are very few and far between, I gotta head to the highlands to get some good ones like that. One tip would be, if you can help it, wade upstream rather than down. Dude! Spot on advice! I went back out today and got even bigger ones all the way up to 13 inches casting mostly upstream. Gotta get the pictures and story together but limited out in under an hour pretty much all from a 4 by 4 foot hole. Was insane. Quote
Super User flyfisher Posted June 23, 2018 Super User Posted June 23, 2018 Sounds like a great day. Now i have to say that depending on the size of the stream and if those fish are native or not, let them go. Brookies lead a very tough short life and it doesn't take too many stringers full to seriously decimate the population in a smaller flow as I have seen it first hand. I will also echo in to get a fly rod.....i am gonna head out for some rookies either this weekend or next week sometime myself. 2 Quote
Arcs&sparks Posted June 23, 2018 Posted June 23, 2018 That’s a really solid stream you got there. I’m jealous lol. Typically where they are, they are abundant 1 Quote
Arcs&sparks Posted June 23, 2018 Posted June 23, 2018 Btw, How’d your brookie post get more views than mine? Haha 1 Quote
Dorado Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 Brookies are some of the most overlooked best tasting freshwater fish out there IMO. Cool report! 1 Quote
Super User soflabasser Posted July 4, 2018 Super User Posted July 4, 2018 Good report thank you for posting it. 1 Quote
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