Best shot at a trophy

[troutbert]

Yep. The big boys are on redds right now at least in central pa. I saw many redds pop up this week...

Yes, lots of brown trout are on the redds now in the mid-state limestone streams.

 

[rancid waders]

My 2 cents would be to head north to the tribes, but it's the weekend

 

[bingsbaits]

I would opt for a big Brown below the Kinzua Dam in the tailwaters.

 

[Solitariolupo]

I would opt for a big Brown below the Kinzua Dam in the tailwaters.

+1 for brown and for a Muskie. Find the island below.

 

[laurelhighlander]

Have to stay more local. Went with smallies in a lake. Caught a few decent ones yesterday, going again today, hoping a monster will show itself

 

[CRB]

My 2 cents would be to head north to the tribes, but it's the weekend

Still very low and clear with more leaves and fishermen than fish.

 

[rustbeltwilds]

Few nice November big boys from last few days and some smaller wanna be spawners. Swing for the fence boys it's trophy time

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Yep. The big boys are on redds right now at least in central pa. I saw many redds pop up this week and as expected I stopped catching big fish out of the deeper stuff. I know spots where they are done spawning and others where they won’t be spawning for a few weeks still, but for the majority of places they are on redds or just about to be right now

To your point I did have a dinkfest yesterday in Central PA, many hungry little fish. But 1 out of 12 was a daymaker 👍

 

[JimKennedy]

The tribs to any lake that stays cold enough to support trout through the summer are always worth a try in the winter months if you're after big trout. To the extent that they exist, they'll come out of the depths into even fairly small creeks because it's in their nature to do that. Most likely big catches are browns and rainbows in the 12 to 18 inch range.

But nine times out of ten, you'll catch nothing, or maybe a few little guys.

Personally, I can't speak to muskies or smallmouths at this time of year.

I'll echo the suggestion about traveling to fish the Great Lakes tribs. First week of November produced a lot of big rainbows (steelhead) for me and a cast of characters on the Salmon River at Pulaski, New York. That's the closest thing I know of that's a sure thing for big trout.