Fly Fishing For Brook Trout in Freestone Streams

by

Eugene P. Macri Jr.

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© 2007 E. P. Macri Jr.

In many Brook Trout streams the fish are a lot tougher to catch than many anglers believe.  On one private water I fish (I'm the Riverkeeper there) the stream gets so clear that you can't approach the fish without spooking them.  It's a tough stream to fish and the Brookies can get selective.  These are not the little mountain streams where the fish are so voracious they jump at most food coming near them.  Many anglers get sloppy on their approach on these streams and think the fish are easy and end up catching less than they should if they would have only taken their time.

Streams like the Savage River in Maryland come to mind for larger streams with good wild Brook Trout populations in them.  The Conewago Creek where I am the riverkeeper has Brookies which we stock; we also have holdover fish and are trying to develop a Brook Trout population of their own by stocking fingerlings.  The stream has wild browns and wild rainbows.  The Brookies seem to be doing rather well in the stream and they are quite beautiful in their own right.  The photo on the left is the private stretch on (2.4 miles) the Conewago.  One of the thing I have learned is that Brookies are lot tougher fish than most anglers believe.  Given the proper water temperature and oxygen the fish can withstand the ravages of floods and stream channel destruction.  In the Western part of the U.S. Brook Trout have been so successful that they are actually driving out native Cutthroat populations. 

There are of course many smaller streams, creeks, and springs that contain wild Brook Trout. Many of the fly patterns that I have recommended work very well for these fish.  I have fished many of these streams with the exception of the smallest ones because I regard the fish in these streams as "Children of God" and I believe they should be left alone to live out there lives in harmony with nature.  I will be making a list of the best Brook Trout streams in the world.  However, it will not contains these smaller streams which cannot take the pressure.  I ask that you to tread lightly on these streams and practice catch and release if possible.  I have no problem with someone eating a few of these tasty fish but the smallest streams cannot take the removal of these fish without destroying the gene pool.