Brook Trout fishing, winter tips...?

[1hook]

I would like to do some brook trout fishing this winter. I live back and forth between the williamsport and lock haven areas. Just looking for any tips on where to go and what to use. I don't know a lot about brookies so any general info would be appreciated. I went up to grays run the other day in the middle of some nasty weather and had no luck but did manage to spook a few fish.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

btw, merry Christmas

 

[Fishidiot]

1hook,
Welcome. Small stream, wild brook trout are certainly fishable in winter. My experience is that wild brookies seem to be more active in very cold water than stocked brookies, browns and rainbows. I have had some decent fishing even when slack pools are iced over. Having said that, you are likely to have more success during warming trends. Ideally, if you can get out on one of those nice winter days when air temps get up in the 50s and the sun is shining - during the afternoon is best. Keep in mind that warm weather will melt snow and sometimes drive down water temps. Fish the deeper holes slowly. Brookies can be surpisingly aggressive even in cold water but you will still get more hits on slower flies. I like a flashly nymph or wet fly a bit less than an inch in length. Use enough weight so it goes down fast and drift it back under root balls and plunge pools. I do think an occasional twitch helps as brookies are attracked to movement.
Good luck. And don't forget your hand-warmer!

 

[MKern]

Fishidiot is right on. Fish the deep pockets and skip the marginal water. Use enough weight to get down deep because brookies will move to the fly, but not a ton in the Winter. I use a general all purpose nymph that is tied with lead.
The only other thing I can add is, if to feel a fish on the line, bring it to the back of the pool before landing or unhooking it. Then fish the pool again -- there may be 1 or 2 more fish in the same water. All of my luck during winter comes from pools that are over 18" deep and have good water flow.
You mentioned living in Williamsport, check out the James V. Brown Library onteh 3rd floor. There is a section called the Angler's Outcove. it has a ton of videos and books. there is a great small stream DVD that I have checked out twice. Also try www.wildtroutstreams.com for info.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

right on. i agree with both of these guys.

also, try extremely flashy buggers. mainly in olive. the more natural the better. i do find that brookies love flash. they will eat almost anything but getting there attention is good.

deep water is prime in the winter. but on a 50 degree day look for fish basking in the sun in the shallows. they are hard to catch and spook easily. they know they are exposed and are looking for any danger. also fish waterfalls or anywhere alot of air bubbles are in the water. brookies like the extra oxygen.

Mkern is right about how to land them. brookies will hold together in one hole. to catch multiple fish you cant spook rest of the hole.

good luck! youll love it!

 

[MKern]

I also want to add: don't spend too much time fishing a hole or pocket. There are either there or they aren't. No more than 5 cast (give or take 1). Also, when you find the first few fish; usually by spooking them, a majority of the fish in the stream are going to be in places that look just like the ones where you spooked the fish.
You will do more walking, but catch more and bigger fish. I have heard tails of guys fishing a 5 mile stream in 2 hours and hooking 30 brookies, and they talk to someone else who covered 1 mile in the same time hooking only 2 fish.
My point is, don't waste time, especially in the Winter. It gets dark in the woods at 4 o'clock.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Mkern is giving good advice. i myself am a fast fisherman. unless there is a large trout that i can see i spend probably less than 5 mintues per hole.

this has its advantages and disadvantages.
advantage - trout usually strike on the first 3 casts. the first being the most important. covering more water means more first casts and that usually equals more fish.

disadvantage - longer walk back to the car :-D or if fishing with a partner i usually have to backtrack a good ways to meet back up. but i try to be respectful then and dont fish everyhole. just wouldnt be fair to them.

welcome to small stream fishing, just remember to be sneaky that is key!

 

[Chaz]

I find brookie fishing in the winter a bit problematic; the usual places I go are usually shrouded in ice. Winter is 1 of the few times I fish our limestone streams and I fish some where there are only brookies, I use a Don Douple Sculpin or my Pearl Jam. On days when there is a hatch and the brookies are on top I fish what's hatching. 2 years ago on a warm February day I caught the fish below along an undercut bank, where other brookies were rising and this one wasn't. She was rose to my fly from behind a log that had fallen next to the bank. The brookies in this stream love the undercut banks and seldom fish well in high sun, a cloudy day is best. I caught it on my Big Spring Baetis #20.

 

[beeber2]

Brookie fishing is great in winter. I second the advice already given, use a flashy bugger or clouser foxee minnow and cover a lot of ground.

beeber