Hello all,

I've decided I need to catch a brook trout before I die. I do NOT want any info re: your spots, as I'm sure no one will tell and it'd ruin the sport if they did. :)

Frankly, I have no idea how to go about actually catching these fish. What lure styles and presentations are the best? Is live bait a good idea? Is there a time of year that's best? I don't need any specific secret lures or anything, just some idea of how to get started.

Thanks!

I target Brook Trout in the spring and fall when the water temps near the surface are 55 degrees. I troll with Kastmasters and small jointed Rapalas. I did great this past May and will target Brookies in October. Focus on the top 10 ft and you will find
them.

I've trolled with white panther Martin's, small raps trolling, brown twister tails jigging. Even a plain old worm just depends.

How do you use worms....just with a sinker sitting on the bottom? Under a bobber?

1st of all , Egknuti those are a couple of Dandy's and Mcsweem thats as pretty as they get , and never thought of trolling with a panther martin type spinner Hmm.
i'm with Egknuti , it's either May or October for brookies ,
here's a pic of my brook trout box , i'm a big fan of the shyster spinner (front middle)
Carmike what i do with a whole crawler is on a phelps floater a little bit of air slip sinker on the bottom , as i've got older i do more shore fishing and hard to beat this set up from camp. on one brook trout trip was doing good on it until the buggers started eating right up to the phelps hook and leaving me a tiny piece of worm LOL.
never tried it but people use marshmallow w/corn under a float. 1 thing i dont like about bobber fishing in the BW is unless it's very calm you will do a lot of recasting unlike a slip sinker set up.
i am doing a mid october trip this fall and going to throw in some mid-size crankbaits(bombers ;)
i'm also going to try some chicken skin on a phelps floater off bottom too , try a little experimenting ;)

Try a #3 Mepps spinner or a little Cleo.

We've done pretty well the last three times we've tried (once a year, Aug., June, Aug.) Like you, I didn't know where to start, so I started shallow with cleos and tiny rapalas. No luck. So we jigged deep with no success. I was ready to throw in the towel when my wife says "let's try it medium." So we put half crawlers on 1/16th orange jigs and worked that 12 to 18' range. Bingo. Been back to the same lake and a second lake and repeated success, so it it could be real. They like it very slow, even try to hold it motionless. Electronics help.
Here's a vanity shot from last week.

Go in the Fall for their colors.

For stream fishing I will use a # 1 Mepps Black Fury,various Panther martins, very small Little Cleo’s. In Lakes or wide streams or rivers, a piece of crawler under a slip bobber rig will do the trick.

Lots of good advice here. It seems the trick is just finding them, and doing so at the right time. They can be fairly aggressive and once you find 'em sometimes seems like they'll eat anything.

We used to catch them on Snoopy poles with corn and worms in the "crik" behind grandma's farm in WI when I was a kid.

Thanks for all the tips, everyone. I'll be going in the fall -- sometime in Sept or Oct -- so I'm hoping that makes it easier to catch them.

I usually struggle to catch anything that isn't a lake trout that time of year, so I'm hoping this adds a little variety and/or another option.

Plus, they've gotta be the most beautiful fish swimming in MN waters.

lundojam: "We've done pretty well the last three times we've tried (once a year, Aug., June, Aug.) Like you, I didn't know where to start, so I started shallow with cleos and tiny rapalas. No luck. So we jigged deep with no success. I was ready to throw in the towel when my wife says "let's try it medium." So we put half crawlers on 1/16th orange jigs and worked that 12 to 18' range. Bingo. Been back to the same lake and a second lake and repeated success, so it it could be real. They like it very slow, even try to hold it motionless. Electronics help.
Here's a vanity shot from last week. "

DAMN Lundo , nice stringer !

I like this thread. I have a couple brook trout ponds close to my house and I suspect nearly no one fishes them as you have to paddle to one up a tight stream and the other requires a serious off-roader to reach. So, c'mon, October!

egknuti: "I target Brook Trout in the spring and fall when the water temps near the surface are 55 degrees. I troll with Kastmasters and small jointed Rapalas. I did great this past May and will target Brookies in October. Focus on the top 10 ft and you will find
them. "

Awesome

mcsweem: "I've trolled with white panther Martin's, small raps trolling, brown twister tails jigging. Even a plain old worm just depends. "

Gorgeous

shock: "1st of all , Egknuti those are a couple of Dandy's and Mcsweem thats as pretty as they get , and never thought of trolling with a panther martin type spinner Hmm.
i'm with Egknuti , it's either May or October for brookies ,
here's a pic of my brook trout box , i'm a big fan of the shyster spinner (front middle)
Carmike what i do with a whole crawler is on a phelps floater a little bit of air slip sinker on the bottom , as i've got older i do more shore fishing and hard to beat this set up from camp. on one brook trout trip was doing good on it until the buggers started eating right up to the phelps hook and leaving me a tiny piece of worm LOL.
never tried it but people use marshmallow w/corn under a float. 1 thing i dont like about bobber fishing in the BW is unless it's very calm you will do a lot of recasting unlike a slip sinker set up.
i am doing a mid october trip this fall and going to throw in some mid-size crankbaits(bombers ;)
i'm also going to try some chicken skin on a phelps floater off bottom too , try a little experimenting ;)
"

Very nice

lundojam: "We've done pretty well the last three times we've tried (once a year, Aug., June, Aug.) Like you, I didn't know where to start, so I started shallow with cleos and tiny rapalas. No luck. So we jigged deep with no success. I was ready to throw in the towel when my wife says "let's try it medium." So we put half crawlers on 1/16th orange jigs and worked that 12 to 18' range. Bingo. Been back to the same lake and a second lake and repeated success, so it it could be real. They like it very slow, even try to hold it motionless. Electronics help.
Here's a vanity shot from last week. "

Wow !

Some of my favorites are kastmaster Spoons , Small little Cleo spoons, Small husky jerks, Powerbait Tubes, and when nothing else is working a small flu flu with a wax worm or Eurolarvae . They can be caught all through the summer but May and October are the best 2 months to target them .

Just out of curiosity, what is the reason why very early and very late are the best months? Why do they become more active in those times?

carmike: "Just out of curiosity, what is the reason why very early and very late are the best months? Why do they become more active in those times? "

Water temperature is the biggest factor. Brook trout favor cooler to cold water temps and those times of year open up the entire water column for them to actively feed .

Brook trout go deep during the summer making them more difficult to find, especially on a big lake. During the spring and fall they are able to swim in shallower water.

Basspro69: "

carmike: "Just out of curiosity, what is the reason why very early and very late are the best months? Why do they become more active in those times? "

Water temperature is the biggest factor. Brook trout favor cooler to cold water temps and those times of year open up the entire water column for them to actively feed ."

Specifically their ideal temp range is 53-68F, the colder the better. They also require fairly high oxygen concentration levels. Water temp and oxygen levels are inversely related.

That last bit is important, I think. Wind-blown structure will be warmer and oxygen poor. If the wind is from the West, fish the west side. In other words, if you're a walleye angler, reverse what you know about fishing wind.

They also spawn in the fall, so that makes them hungry and more active. They’ll be prettier (or handsome) in the fall for that same reason.

Where do you live? I am in Western WI. The dnr has a map of the trout streams in the area. Just use worms on a small hook with a small split shot. Walk down the stream and float the worm into every hole. In the fall, if you can find a stream that runs through tall grass with grass hoppers, just walk down stream. Some of the grass hoppers will hop and land in the stream and you will hear the trout hit them. Catch a grass hopper and toss it in where you heard the trout hit. Trout fishing streams was a huge part of my early fishing experience.

Never caught a brookie in the BWCA. May have to try looking at some of the pics.

Most of the Brook Trout in The BWCA are in a designated trout lake. That means you cannot possess or use live Minnows. Worms or Leeches are ok to use. Also try a #3 Mepps spinner. Use the Minnesota DNR website to see what lakes hold Brookies. There are a lot of them in primitive management areas.

Savage Voyageur: "Most of the Brook Trout in The BWCA are in a designated trout lake. That means you cannot possess or use live Minnows. Worms or Leeches are ok to use. Also try a #3 Mepps spinner. Use the Minnesota DNR website to see what lakes hold Brookies. There are a lot of them in primitive management areas. "

Interesting, I didn't know the rule about no minnows.

Hey Carmike I see the emphasis on NOT wanting any locations. However I have a really accessible spot if you wish that I will tell you that will damn near guarantee you catching them. My email should be under my name should you want it. Keep in mind you will catch them but they will not be as big as these pictures being posted lol. But it is super fun.

Otherwise my luck has always been a worm on a hook.

I love stream Brookies... An ultralight rod with the smallest reel (2 lb test) and the smallest Mepps Black Fury will tear them up. No point in bringing bait for that type of fishing. If you haven't spooked them, they will hit it. It is also the best eating fish, IMHO.

Caught a few brookies yesterday. Surface temps were 60 degrees. Most brookies were still in 30-40 ft. I caught them using a Blue Fox Spoon with silver and blue colors with a 1oz weight.

I caught a 6” long Brookie on a lake in the BWCA. It was caught on a Rapala that was 3” long. It was a Brook trout pattern Rapala. Kind of funny reeling it in but man was it beautiful.

egknuti: "Caught a few brookies yesterday. Surface temps were 60 degrees. Most brookies were still in 30-40 ft. I caught them using a Blue Fox Spoon with silver and blue colors with a 1oz weight. "

Beautiful !!!!

A few more October Brookies

egknuti: "A few more October Brookies "

Awesome I can look at Brookie pictures all day long !

Basspro69: "

mcsweem: "I've trolled with white panther Martin's, small raps trolling, brown twister tails jigging. Even a plain old worm just depends. "

Gorgeous"

He's OK I guess, doesn't do much for me.
Awesome fish though!

HowardSprague: "

Basspro69: "

mcsweem: "I've trolled with white panther Martin's, small raps trolling, brown twister tails jigging. Even a plain old worm just depends. "

Gorgeous"

He's OK I guess, doesn't do much for me.
Awesome fish though!
"

Lololololol