Salmonidae

Brook trout

Salvelinus fontinalis · 15–30 cm in small streams; 40 cm and over in productive northern water.

By The Fly Desk

How it feeds

Brook trout are the most opportunistic of the salmonids and the least selective. They feed on whatever the current delivers, including terrestrial insects that fall in, and they will chase a small streamer in water no larger than a bathtub.

How to fish for it

Perfect for short rods in small water. A 2- to 4-weight and a #12 attractor dry will catch fish all day in a headwater stream, and the take is usually fearless — the problem is spooking them, not persuading them.

Flies that work: Mickey Finn · Parachute Adams · Royal Wulff · Small Stimulator

Brook trout in the ledger

Au Sable River
Northern Lower Michigan, United States
The spiritual home of American dry-fly fishing, with a night hatch worth losing sleep for.
brook · brown · rainbow
May · Jun · Jul · Sep
Beaverkill River
Catskill Mountains, New York, United States
The river that invented American dry-fly fishing, and still the best classroom for it.
brown · brook
May · Jun · Sep · Oct
Farmington River
Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States
New England's most reliable tailwater, with a catch-and-release TMA that fishes in January.
brown · brook · rainbow
May · Jun · Jul · Sep · Oct
Henry's Fork of the Snake
Eastern Idaho, United States
The most technical dry-fly water in the lower 48, with weed beds that punish a dragged fly.
rainbow · brown · brook
May · Jun · Jul · Sep · Oct
Penns Creek
Centre and Snyder Counties, Pennsylvania, United States
Where the Green Drake hatch is a public event and the whole valley closes for a week.
brown · brook · rainbow
Apr · May · Jun · Oct