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Brook Trout
Salvelinus
fontinalis |
JOSEPH TOMELLERI GRAPHIC
TEXT BY DENNIS BITTON
I can't remember the first brook
trout I caught, because I couldn't have been more than
four or five years old. Fortunate to be raised in Idaho
by an avid flyfisher, I visited relatives' ranches and
fished the streams running through their pastures – in
tow behind my father. Being an enterprising person, he
recognized that with a spinner and worm (on the end of
one of his old fly rods) he could keep Junior (that's
me) occupied for hours.
He'd set me up by a pool or behind a small beaver dam
that was no more than six foot across and three feet
deep and leave me there. The water was clear and almost
motionless.
I can still remember carefully and quietly lobbing just
the length of the line and leader (underhand from my
waist, in a slow arc) and then watching the shiny
spinner and squirmy worm settle to the bottom.
A male brook trout in its fall spawning colors (above)
is a magnificent creature. Females (below) have smaller
mouths, more rounded heads, and subdued colors.
The sight of a brook trout moving to the bait, and
picking it up, are some of my earliest memories. I can't
think of anything significant in my life before that.
In high, mountain streams, these fish can be easy to
catch. They'll hit wet or dry flies, and seem to like
the color red in a pattern. A black Woolly Worm with a
red tail will work. So will any number of the
1940's-and-before "wet fly" patterns. In heavily-fished
spring creeks, ponds, and tailwaters--where there is a
lot of food--these fish can overcome their reputation
and become as tough to catch as any brown trout.
Brook trout, or "brookies" as most fly fishers refer to
them, are not true trout at all, but members of the char
family like lake trout, Dolly Varden, and bull trout.
(True trout are light-colored with darker spots, char
are dark with light spots.)
Brook trout have dark green back, with dark gray or
black wavy lines (scientists call them vermiculation
patterns) continuing clear back over the top part of the
tail and down over the upper part of its sides. Many
light green oval spots decorate the fish's side, but the
most distinctive markings are red spots surrounded by
blue or purple halos. There aren't many of these, but
their presence helps distinguish brook trout from look
alike species like bull trout and Dolly Vardens.
In full fall spawning colors, a male brookie is even
more brightly colored. Its sides turn brilliant orange
and the normally orange fins of the lower body turn
slightly reddish, highlighted by the characteristic
white leading edge of all the fish's side and underbody
fins.
They are beautiful. No wonder so many fishing writers
refer to them as 'jewels'. They are that.
Brook trout were the native species between Michigan and
Maine, and from Northern Quebec down to Georgia. They're
still there, but in smaller numbers and sizes than what
was there 200 years ago. They have also been planted in
Central and South America, Africa, New Zealand, and
Eurasia, as well as throughout the Western part of North
America, where they have been successfully reproducing
for more than 100 years. Over most of their present
range, brook trout are small creatures, rarely exceeding
12 inches in length. There are some exceptions to this
rule though, and places where you can find big brook
trout are as sought-after as they are rare.
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