The Other Brown Fish

[J Francho]

Hit the creeks today with an old friend, Eric. Eric owns a flyrod and reel company, so it was fly guy vs. pinner. Pinner wins - I caught a decent 'bow and two brownies.

An UGLY 28" fish, close to 9 lbs.

A beautifully colored buck with a full kype. Total spawning colors already:

The release:

Was back at the family's restaurant for cheeseburgers off the char at noon. Good day!

[roadwarrior]

WOW!

:D

[00 mod]

Out of every post I have EVER read of yours, this has got me the "ABSOLUTE most jealous fisherman" to date! I spend hours on the river every year, my wife actually estimated this year I have spent in upwards of $10,000 chasing those darn brown fish, and to date my biggest is dwarfed by BOTH of yours! Maybe I need to head north for some of those beauties!

Jeff

[J Francho]

You should come up here. My PB brown is 22 lbs. Alteady, I've lost two fish that might have challenged that. The state record is 34 lbs. and caught about an hour from my house.

[tomustang]

Very nice, can't fake a smile like that

[Hi Salenity]

Great fish !

Thats it, I no longer like Kansas!

[00 mod]

Ok. I will plan a trip up there. I have a couple big ones already planned for the beginning of next year but maybe late next year or early the next. Can you give me details.like best time etc. I know down here first weekend in February and close to the November close date.

Jeff

[Dwight Hottle]

Nice other brown fish J. PA is stocking brownies in our creeks starting last year so the lake fishing for them early & late should be a good deal for me.

[J Francho]

Jeff

November is the best for creek action for browns. April for steelhead.

Dwight,

Casting horizontal baits in shallow open water is my favorite way to catch them. I've had to chase a few on the trolling motor to keep from spooling. They will also take tubes that imitate gobies, especially in springtime when the gobies spawn shallow. The browns ate really keyed into gobies then.

[J Francho]

Two more today, fished from 11 to 2:30. Both 24" cookie cutters.

[tomustang]

Jeff

November is the best for creek action for browns. April for steelhead.

Dwight,

Casting horizontal baits in shallow open water is my favorite way to catch them. I've had to chase a few on the trolling motor to keep from spooling. They will also take tubes that imitate gobies, especially in springtime when the gobies spawn shallow. The browns ate really keyed into gobies then.

From many of the guys I met in Erie this summer talked about no fish eating gobies and they were to be killed since their invasive, do the trout really like them?

[mr.mallard]

thats a nice brown. the picture doesnt do it justice. i caught my pb that was 28 inches and didnt get a good picture. was so excited i covered half the fish with my arm and hand. :angry:

[clayton86]

Nice John I think I gotta hang the shotgun up for the fishing gear because I'm having the worst luck hunting and both the oak and johnsons were loaded last weekend

[J Francho]

From many of the guys I met in Erie this summer talked about no fish eating gobies and they were to be killed since their invasive, do the trout really like them?

The goby is what is making those smallies so massive, but hard to catch sometimes.

[J Francho]

thats a nice brown. the picture doesnt do it justice. i caught my pb that was 28 inches and didnt get a good picture. was so excited i covered half the fish with my arm and hand. :angry:

I don't have a pic of my pb, but I scratched my rod blank with the length and it was 37". In the pic of the hen above, the reel is a 5" centre pin for reference.

[J Francho]

Nice John I think I gotta hang the shotgun up for the fishing gear because I'm having the worst luck hunting and both the oak and johnsons were loaded last weekend

Any creek that has water is loaded. I went today from 11-2:30 and landed two, lost four.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

It sure aint like bass fishin' where hooking them is 90% of the battle. 2 for 6 seems like a normal day, yes? Were you using a float or bottom bouncing?

[J Francho]

Almost no flow, so float. No way to bottom bounce, though I pretty much never do that. I used a Raven SS3 3.0g float, and a Mad River Trout worm. I don't know why I lost the other four. My hookup rate is usually better than that.

[S Hovanec]

I didn't know you were a pinner too! BTW, those pink worms don't work

[J Francho]

I joined the dark side a few years ago.

[SirSnookalot]

Is float fishing using a bait under a bobber ?

[J Francho]

In it's simplest form, yes. Like everything else you can complicate things. I have different floats for different flows and there are as many shot patterns for different current.

[SirSnookalot]

If I were fishing up there for those species I'd certainly give it a try, looks like fun. Down here when I'm fishing off a jettie at the inlet I'm letting a bait float in the current ( a bobber type device is not practical), the object is pretty simple.......to get lucky. Fish have to be there and they have to be interested, getting lucky plays a much greater role in success than actual bait selection or technique, when the fish are on it's hot and when their off it's dead.

Ya gotta fish the species and techniques available in whatever geographic location you're at.

[S Hovanec]

I joined the dark side a few years ago.

Dark side is right. Pinners are the "bass boats" of the stream.....EVERYBODY hates us! That's why I bass fish out of a walleye boat! Haven't found a way to disguise my pin though!