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Ron1697

Favorite Brookie Patterns

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Just wondering what everyone's favorite brook trout pattern/rig is.

 

The river I fish is the north branch of the Embarrass river in Wisconsin (Flow is about 200 CFS, and about 3 feet deep on average)

 

Only been out once so far but my trip got cut off in the first 20 min due to a broken rod.

 

I had a elk hair caddis with a zebra midge dropper tied on at the time. I am pretty new to trout fishing and fly tying so any tips would be very helpful, thanks in advance!

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About the only time I fish for brookies is when I head up to central Vermont, one or two times a year. SE PA isn't what you would call a hot bed for brook trout. Mostly I take rides on the dirt roads that parallel small creeks or cross them. Probably a lot smaller than the river you fish. Mostly 5 to 10 feet wide where a deep pool is 3 feet. I use 7'6" 5 wgt built on Fenwick glass blank. Lot easier to maneuver through the brush, most casts are under 20 feet. My go to fly is a CDC and Elk(deer hair). I like it better than a elk hair caddis. Easier to tie, only two materials. Floats as good or better than the EHC and can also be fished sub surface as an emerger. I have caught them up there in the lakes that they stock or in beaver ponds using small white woolly buggers and in the past year white mop flies along with the CDC and Elk if they're rising.

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Thanks Philly! I was thinking about tying up some white marabou streamers for when I make my way back down the river if a dry/dropper rig is not working.

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This is one of my favorites. I tie it with an orange band of thread and some orange in the wing so I can see it well in rough water.

 

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My 2 favorite Brookie flies in Wisconsin Driftless has been BWO Parachute and Partridge and Orange.

 

But can't dismiss an Elk Hare Caddis or a Soft Hackle Peacock.

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No idea how these would work in your area. For small stream brookies in Maine I like soft hackles and small muddlers first ( those are my first two picks and one or the other will usually do it). A favorite soft hackle for the trout is peackock and natural hen. Another is jade green floss body and hen or grouse.

 

You can always grease up a small muddler to represent a hopper later in august. If someone told me you can go to Maine live in the woods on your catch and fish brookies for a whole season in small and medium streams but can only take materials for one fly pattern, it would be the muddler without question, no hesitation. But tied my way for that area, it might be slightly different for your area.

 

Other options are small marabou streamers, grey or white are good bets. Mickey Finns or other color bucktail streamers. I tie a wet turkey wing caddis that has caught surprisingly large fish for the waters it was in. Never go to Maine without a selection of Royal Coachman dries. I have no idea what this means for your area but Good Luck fishing there !

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Here in the Smoky Mountains, the problem with brookies is to find a fly that DOES NOT work. The pink weenie and the green weenie are go to flies. A big bushy royal coachman works great and just about any nymph. There is a fairly famous fly tier and fly fisherman, Brandon Bales, who fishes this area for brook trout with a fairly large green rabbit zonker sculpin that works great for him. He has even caught brookies on floating deer hair mouse imitations.

Joe

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I live here in Colorado,near 11mile res.love brookies ALOT!!!! Mini ants,deer hair Caddis,Tom thumb,mini wooly buggers,

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Aside from matching the local hatch, brook trout like anything that contains peacock and red or orange. Also, I like to fish a Black Gnat dry fly for brookies.

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I agree with the idea that brookies arent particular. At least they arent picky here on the small streams in northern New Mexico. My favorite fly, I guess, for them is Jack Dennis Western Blue Dun. It seems to work any time and anywhere.

 

http://www.fishingwithflies.com/images/Img268.jpg

 

Joe

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In NW Jersey (yes, we have good numbers of wild brookies!) my favorite dry is a Len Wright fluttering caddis, wet is partridge/orange, and nymph is a copperhead (copper bead head hares ear with copper wire ribbing. Brookie numbers are down a bit after 2 drought years.

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