Post-spawn Brown Trout behavior.

[Cornholio]

A lot of the posts on this thread mirror what i have encountered on freestone wild brown steams. Even in the dead of winter i catch them in the exact same spots as i would in the summer. I have never witnessed this "holed up" behavior.

 

[Chaz]

I for one don't believe the holed up idea of trout during the winter, I catch way more trout in runs then in deep holes, and I think it has to do more with active food sources then temperature. Trout may be resting in pools, and you will catch them there, but it's always tough to catch them there. Whereas if they are in a run they are there for one thing only, feeding.

 

[pete41]

I think we were talking more about underwater springs or places where hillside springs put warmer water into the stream, as being where you can find them concentrated.
Agree barring that they will usually feed more in relatively shallow places over hard bottoms.So you will likely do better at the tailouts of pools then the heads.

 

[JackM]

I am going to have to contradict pete somewhat. I do think in winter there is a gravitation toward lies that are current-neutral because the periods of time spent hunkering versus feeding is much greater during winter, when food is not so abundant and water/body temperatures are "down."

Most myths have a grain of truth in them.

 

[pete41]

Think we are talking the same thing-they of course will use under water deflections to break current flow. but gravel bottoms will cause a degree or to temp change.I have had some awesome fishing in those conditions.

 

[Cornholio]

Another popular theory is to use tiny flies during winter and i have done better on big size 8-10 stone flies. So much contradiction out there it can cause a man to lose his mind trying to understand it all!

 

[geebee]

Cornholio wrote:
Another popular theory is to use tiny flies during winter and i have done better on big size 8-10 stone flies.

i believe that stone flies are one of the few insects to be active on the stream bottom all year, and hence the success of the stonefly / midge combo by many fishers.

I know a guy up in maine that catches big brook trout early winter on a black bunny clouser fished very slow on the bottom of deep pools.

trout need a big meal in the winter as much as any other time of the year..