Winter Brookies

[1manwolfpack]

On top or underneigth?
Thanks

 

[csoult]

Under, metabolism is slow and it's more natural for them. Not many bugs flying around.

 

[tomgamber]

I still can't help but start on top. I find them to be that dumb or that hungry.

 

[jifigz]

Definitely the majority of your fish will be caught subsurface. With that said the last time that I went out to one of my favorite brookie streams I had a nice sized native try to eat my strike indicator so anything is possible..

 

[Tiogadog]

Here in Virginia...When fishing for brook trout in the winter, I always go with a dry dropper. Typically, a Garcia's Mini Hot on top and some kind of beaded nymph on the dropper.

 

[Millsertime]

With the mild winter thus far, I'd first try a dry, then a dry dropper, then a micro bugger, and then nymphs.

Brookies take dries every month of the year.

 

[troutbert]

Tiogadog wrote:
Here in Virginia...When fishing for brook trout in the winter, I always go with a dry dropper. Typically, a Garcia's Mini Hot on top and some kind of beaded nymph on the dropper.

I never heard of that dry fly before but I Googled it, and from the photos it doesn't look like it would have enough flotation to stay on the surface with a beadhead nymph dragging on it.

 

[tomgamber]

troutbert wrote:

Tiogadog wrote:
Here in Virginia...When fishing for brook trout in the winter, I always go with a dry dropper. Typically, a Garcia's Mini Hot on top and some kind of beaded nymph on the dropper.

I never heard of that dry fly before but I Googled it, and from the photos it doesn't look like it would have enough flotation to stay on the surface with a beadhead nymph dragging on it.

If it's a smallish nymph, why not?

 

[Swattie87]

It’s essentially a stonefly dry fly variant. A stimulator with the hackle stopping short and not continuing down the body. Assuming you’re using a size 12ish for the dry, I think it would hold up a size 14 or 16 BH that’s not heavily weighted beyond the bead. Good bit of hackle on the front half. That’s all the bigger you’d be looking to drop off for sluggish Brookies anyway. Unless it’s really cold, they’re gonna try to eat the dry first most of the time anyway.

 

[afishinado]

It's more or less a shiny lime trude.

I read about the fly in Charlies fly box, the body hangs in the film a bit, which I like. A lot of time the stiff hackle on a palmered body fly like a stimmie or Elk Hair Caddis causes a lot of missed hookups.

Good fly pattern, I may tie up a few to use as a dry dropper.

 

[tomgamber]

Interestingly, images via searches show the fly tied in blue,pink, purple and green, much like those cheap sparsely tied flies that used to come with inexpensive fly outfits decades ago. They were actually effective in brookies.

 

[Swattie87]

tomgamber wrote:
They were actually effective in brookies.

A highbrow Brown would never dare be seen eating that.

 

[tomgamber]

no, but brookies are like women. shiney things.

 

[FarmerDave]

LOL!

Tom, I was going to joke about your number 12, but I can't top 14.

Occasionally I call my wife an "old crow" because she likes shiny things.

 

[jeremymcon]

Dry and dropper for me unless the water is really deep. Most fish will take the dropper, but it's always exciting when you have one hit the dry fly. If I'm pretty certain that they'll be looking up I'll skip the dropper, but most of the time I keep it on. Just don't make the dropper too long - for small brookie streams 6-8" is usually long enough.

 

[salmo]

I fished a brook trout stream in Centre County in mid November. I was fishing a dry dropper. Top fly was a 16 BWO parachute and dropper was 16 Frenchie. Air temp was about 36 degrees with mixed rain and snow. Water temp 48 degrees. I had about equal hits top or bottom, but most fish succumbed to the nymph

 

[Chaz]

I don't pre-judge, I find out what they are taking first and then decide. If I see bugs in the air it never surprises me that brookies will rise to them. Some spring creeks they will rise even if not much is happening on top. But I know a couple of streams where they only take streamer, the brook in my avatar was caught on a streamer, but on the same day I was catching big brookies on BWO's on top. I post a pic of one.

 

[Chaz]

Here it is.

 

[just_jon]

Cool pattern. May add it to my box if I have room after adding the 5 dozen #14 Royal Wulffs I fishinged this morning, I do well winter for brookies fishing small streamers downstream swinging them in an around large rocks on a short line. Current fav is a #12 white golden retriever.

 

[turkey]

just_jon wrote:
Cool pattern. May add it to my box if I have room after adding the 5 dozen #14 Royal Wulffs I fishinged this morning, I do well winter for brookies fishing small streamers downstream swinging them in an around large rocks on a short line. Current fav is a #12 white golden retriever.

I always keep a few golden retrievers in with my buggers. Good pattern.