While there are a multitude of game fish species to pursue in North America and around the world, very few offer the challenges that brown trout do. Brown trout sit atop the food chain as the apex predator in streams and rivers across the country. With their finicky nature and preference to feed in low-light windows, they can be tough to catch. But that is also where the thrill comes for anglers like me. And it’s why I consider brown trout the coolest fish I’ve ever caught.
Don’t get me wrong. I love to fish for fish that are plentiful and dumb too. I spent most of four decades catching bass all over the country, as well as just about every other freshwater species and a good many saltwater fish. I love a good day of fishing action, regardless of the species. But the thrill of fishing for me has always been the exploration and the new adventures around a good stalk, methodical approach and success catching limited fish in remote places.
Much like any good hunter will tell you, many of the most memorable hunts aren’t about the biggest deer. It’s about a difficult stalk, playing the conditions perfectly, executing a plan and having it all come together for a trophy deer. This is one of the reasons I’m so fond of turkey hunting. The stalk, the calling and repositioning. The cat and mouse game has always been infinitely more interesting to me than killing a bigger animal around a feeder.
I am sure several anglers will debate me on this, but hear me out.
BROWN TROUT THE PREDATOR
I think brown trout are a really cool fish to begin with. There aren’t but a handful of places you can catch them and some states don’t have any. They are very predatory in nature and a lot smarter than most give them credit for. I have heard guys say they catch them easily anytime they want. Yes there are some places where they are very prevalent and not difficult to catch. Generally those fish are not very big. They get much larger and smarter in the fisheries that just have a handful of them. Even smarter still if a lot of anglers are fishing for them.
Brown trout often feed during low-light periods and after dark, which severely limits your options for even chasing them. Yeah, you can catch them in broad daylight, but the really big ones bite better when the sun dips. They are ambush predators. They are aggressive and eat bigger baits. All of those things make them more appealing.
Fishing has always been about figuring out how to catch the biggest fish of any species on a certain body of water. On one body, a big one might be 18 inches. On another fishery, 25 inches is a trophy. I think any “half-way decent” angler can catch fish. People scoff when I say I fish for crappie, bluegill or trout or any other species where they have mostly caught little fish. But the allure is figuring out the big ones. And catching a big brown trout can be a test.
STALKING BROWN TROUT
Fishing for brown trout is often about targeting small ambush areas, playing the light, shadows, water levels and using just the right speed and cadence with bigger baits. All of these things create an interesting endeavor with brown trout. I find myself researching trout rivers in every state and trying to figure out the best places I need to explore for the potential to find a big brown trout.
I’ve spent a lot of time chasing big bass. Experimenting with timing, location, lures like big swimbaits and more in efforts to more consistently find the biggest bass I can on the fisheries I fish. On Kentucky Lake, there are just so few 8 to 10-pound bass that it’s hard to chase fish that don’t exist in most of the lake. But in doing just that, I’ve managed to catch hundreds of bass over 6 pounds. That’s the nature of exploring, researching and putting in the time to stalk big fish. It eventually pays off. And the more you learn and adapt, the more big ones you will catch.
Of course the quicker way to that end, is to surround yourself with really great anglers who will share their insight. I’ve gotten to be friends with Jeff Smith who owns Trout Magnet and Leland’s Lures and one of their main trout guides, David Taylor. Smith and Taylor are expert trout anglers and guides and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to trout behavior both rainbow and brown trout and both stocked and wild trout. They have put a fire in me this year to chase brown trout in a bad way.
I have always known that if I play dumb, great anglers will share a lot more with me. I don’t pretend I don’t know anything, but I’ve learned to shut up and humble myself around anglers I want to learn from and ask a lot of questions. Most good anglers will share with you if you show a genuine interest in learning and sharing ideas. That camaraderie has also been attractive to me around stalking brown trout.
MAXIMIZE ON SMALL WINDOWS OF TROUT OPPORTUNITY
I spent a few hours recently with David Taylor stalking brown trout in Arkansas. Taylor understands the blue ribbon trout streams in Arkansas better than most, and he and Jeff have perfected their Trout Magnet and D2 Jigs trout fishing systems on the fisheries. It’s been super fun learning from him and applying what I know about big fish behavior to these new surroundings and systems.
I will admit, it took me a few trips to get comfortable fishing for trout in their environments. Some of it was a bit foreign to me bouncing back and forth between aggressive tactics, sight fishing tactics and very finesse tactics in ultra clear waters. I am an avid ultralight fisherman but 2-pound line and big trout takes a bit to get used to. And floating and hitting small targets takes some getting used to as well. I’ve done a lot of my trout fishing on foot. Floating in current and down runs while picking apart cover and targets takes time to adapt to and feel comfortable.
The result of the efforts though was an epic morning of stalking browns. I think we turned 9 or 10 browns and landed 6 or 7. It required fast and accurate casting, aggressively working the jigs in fast-moving water that made it hectic and exhilarating at the same time. You would hit a perfect dark spot of water tucked in a corner and just get a sixth sense that one should be laying in there. Then you would start working the lure aggressively and BAM—a fight was on.
It was literally one of my most memorable mornings of fishing … maybe ever. We didn’t catch the biggest brown trout on the river, but the stalk, the fast action, the required casting accuracy and their aggressive fast advances meant nothing was guaranteed.
I really love to jig fish for trout probably because it is so similar to streamer fishing with a fly rod which I love. I basically keep a small kit of D2 jigs and Trout Magnets and heads handy at all times. I have a couple of spinning rods with braid and 2-pound monofilament with 2-pound fluorocarbon leader. The D2 Jig feels just like fishing a streamer on my fly rods to me. It’s a bigger profile, fished aggressively and quickly to catch bigger predator fish. At times the Trout Magnet is more effective, but day in and day out I want that D2 Jig with conventional tackle or an articulated streamer on my fly rod to chase browns. The D2 Jig and Trout Magnets have been absolutely perfected for catching big trout depending on their moods.
RELISH THE UNIQUENESS OF BROWN TROUT
I have landed only a handful of brown trout over 18 inches, and it’s literally consuming my thoughts at night in bed. That is the sign of a unique fish worthy of pursuing in my mind. I’m not trying to convince you to go chase brown trout. Honestly I hope you leave ’em all for me. But, I hope as a fellow angler, you can appreciate the uniqueness of certain fish and the pursuit of those fish for what they do to us as anglers. The fact that a wild creature can consume your thoughts day and night is something to be revered and regarded.
At times, I’ve wondered if I should have just moved to a place where brown trout are more frequent and lived my days as a guide on the river around them every waking moment. But then I fear some of the allure would wane for me. I don’t want to lose the uniqueness that brown trout provide to me. They captivate my attention these days. Like I said before, I just love to fool fish. I love to chase the big ones of any fish species. But honestly it’s never been about the biggest fish. It’s been about the puzzle to figure out the big fish of any species for me.
I’ve caught 50-pound catfish. I’ve caught 150-pound tarpon. I’ve caught giant grouper, I’ve caught huge alligator gar. I’ve caught numerous 40 to 50-pound stripers. I’ve caught a few nice muskies and a few big pike. But the biggest size of fish has never driven me. Often the places where I’ve caught big fish, thousands of other anglers have too in those same places. I’ve caught thousands of bass over 20 inches. Both smallmouth and largemouth. In some places, 20-inch smallmouth are so common, no one even notices when you catch a 25-pound limit anymore because so many people do it all the time.
That’s not special to me. Catching big fish where everyone catches big fish is not unique. There’s very little exploration or discovery in that type of fishing. So for me, the brown trout represents that which is elusive that keeps the explorative side of me hunting that feeling of uniqueness more and more.
