18 replies to this topic

[Tim Smith]

This year i've gotten into flyfishing pretty seriously and have caught quite a few brook trout. I want to try to hook into some bigger fish and there is a river here with brown trout in it. Does anyone have any tips on fishing browns after dark? what kind of water should I be looking for, type of flies to use? etc,
thanks
-T

[Pujic]

Hi Tim,

I do quite a bit of night fly fishing for browns here in Eastern Ontario.
Your best bet is to use dark (black or dark purple) streamers or leaches, and strip them in through the deeper pools or tail outs towards shore. There is a theory that using darker flies at night is more productive as the fish actually see the silhouette of the fly better than say a white fly. It's worked pretty well for me.

Also, if the brown trout are of any size (16" and up) don't hesitate to walk a smaller deer hair mouse pattern on the surface, making sure to leave a noticable wake on the water. Browns are very aggressive, especially the larger ones and will take a mouse at night when they are less weary.

As far as types of water go, I'd suggest going out at dusk with your rod and just observing a deeper pool for 20 or 30 minutes. Usually the pools that look very promising during the day but you've never gotten anything from them during the day. If you see any activity at all (minnows jumping, the infamous "V" wake browns create when chasing baitfish towards shore, etc...) then it's usually a good sign that there are some larger browns present. If not, try it anyways. Sometimes you just have to entice the fish by passing a big T-bone over their heads. They can only ignore it for so long.

Remember be stealthy if you have to wade and don't walk over any undercut banks. Best of luck!

P.S. Oh yeah, cray fish patterns are deadly at night too. If you can find some that create any sort of acoustic footprint - all the better! Cheers,

[brianpower1977]

Hi,

Do sedges (caddis) hatch on the river? if so you could cast one straight across and let it swing around dragging on the suface.

Its a popular method in the UK according to some mags. I cant say I've tried here in Ireland on the rivers, but the idea seems sound.


Hey Pujic,

"There is a theory that using darker flies at night is more productive as the fish actually see the silhouette of the fly better than say a white fly. It's worked pretty well for me." Yeah, I've heard the same said about deep or coloured water, makes sense.


I cant imagine any of the browns in my river falling for a mouse, but I'll have to give it a go . I'll make sure noone sees me though .


Brian.

[MSUICEMAN]

mousing is a little done, but highly effective way to target LARGE pig browns here in michigan.... shhhhhh.... the thing is you better know the river quite well. I like to swing the flies near undercut banks and across deadfalls or current breaks in front of them at night. The nocturnal browns come out to eat at night, and well.... did you hear that toilet flush?

steve

[steeldrifter]

Good advice so far but just thought i'd add one other thing. If you have a hole/area that you plan to fish after dark then try to fish it at least once or twice during the daylight hours so that you can note anything you might trip over,tear your waders on or hang your fly on. Getting to know the hole during the day will make it easier on you once it gets dark.

You will also be fishing by "feel" so if you hit it during the day you will know how much line to strip out for your cast at night,and keep any flash light beams off the water as a bright light in the middle of the night will put a big brown down in no time.

good luck

SD

[Tim Smith]

I was out tonite and throwing a big muddler across the end of a log filled pool, i could hear small fish all around and then a big spash! I cast in there and soon as the muddler touched down I had the fish on. Its my first brown trout. (im a convert from smallmouth bass on spinning gear to pretty well all fly rod this year) what a blast.

[steeldrifter]

Very cool!

put in enough time at night and a 20"+ brown is just a matter of time.

SD

[riverboy]

This weekend is perfect for mousin! New moon is IMO always the best! Fish the wood, and holes. SD had a very good point, make sure you wade the water during the day so know where the hazzards are.
Some of my favorite flies
HLS Blaster

HLS

This is one is still in test phase
Glow night fly

One of my favorite night flies though is a mouse!
Nothing like a brick hit!! hehe!!!

[kingfisher2]

Would a floating Rapala twitched across the surface work? Also, can you use spinning gear with a mouse on it?

I have never tried surface night fishing for the pigs.

Thanks,

Marc

[Tim Smith]

The guys that spin fish for browns south of here (the stewiacke river where i got this fish is fly fishing only) use heddon tiny torpedos at night and they do really well with them. but i cant see why a rappala twiched along the surface wouldnt work.
-T

[riverboy]

Marc

I bet the Rap would work, never have tried it though.

I think it would be kind of tough casting a mouse with a spinning rod. You really need the weight of the fly line to cast the fly out there.

[Pujic]

What a beauty! Great job Tim.

[mahaney]

I going to have to give night fishing a try too. I fished a section of the Davidson River last week which had a large pool, aptly named "frustration pool". Apparently that section of the river had been dynamited long ago to make a fairly large pool. Needless to say, it is filled with trout (some looking 20+ inches) that won't bite on anything during the day.

How do you fish a mouse fly? Do you pop it across the top like a bass fly?

-Jim

[Pujic]

Hi Jim,

A mouse fly is usually cast down and across, and is "walked" back as it struggles with the current. This walking action can be achieved with a short 1" or 2" strip retrieve and with a little side to side motion of the rod every now and again. Nothing too fast or too dramatic. Just imagine a mouse trying to swim upstream.

[riverboy]

I agree with Pujic, but I have had some bricks hits just dead drifting the mouse too.