Alright you SE guys, I am pretty familiar with the Cub River, at leas sections of it. I know where to catch the bigger rainbows and where the best places are to catch Cuts but I've only occasionally hooked into a brookie. I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on where to get into the brookies. Have no fear, I fly-fish and I practice safe catch and release. I'm not asking that you give up your secrete favorite Brookie fishing spots, just that you point me in the right direction. Also I have been looking on the maps at some of the tributaries to the cub river. Maple creek, Spring creek, and deep creek have caught my eye. I haven't fished any of those before. Are they fishable, accessible, have brookies, cuts, are they worth my time? Also I've heard rumors of Foster Creek having brookie too, but I also have not fished that cause I was so obsessed with the cuts on the cub but now I have a craving for brookies. Any input/shedding of light/ insight is much appreciated. If you want to go with me and try some dry fly fishing I'm game. Just any advice would be sweet. Also any questions on the Cub river I'd be much obliged to share what I know. Thanks guys.
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The brookies are up high on the river. Try the area near the upper campground and above.
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Let me know when you find some decent brookies here in S/E Idaho, only spot ive been able to find them they are all very small.
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I think that is the only size that they come in. In some of our streams, it is beyond extra small!
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Up by Leadore there are some lakes that are accessible by four wheeler that have brookies. One circuit has three lakes on the four wheeler trail with good brookies. I use the term good brookies kind of haphazardly though. I fish a couple creeks up in copper basin with fly rod that when you backcast the little brookies will fly over your head they are so little, four to six inchers. So the ones in the lakes I would say were in the ten inch range, still good looking fish though.
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I have to respectfully disagree about brookies only being small. My family and I used to go to a place called lost lake. we would fish the pools beneath the waterfalls and catch 12-16 inchers all day long with an occasional 20 thrown in. Grant it they are not monsters or anything but they do get pretty big for trout and im sure lost lake is not the only place with big brookies also when my family and I went to trapper creek this last mem. day the kids caught and released close to 100 brookies in the weekend we kept a few of the bigger ones for camp fire cooking but they were all 10-12 in. and beautiful fish brookies deff. have to be my favorite looking trout. Best of luck to you on your adventure.
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Please do disagree! Those are some great brookies. I was just joking around and generalizing, because in many of the streams in SE Idaho that have brookies the fish are overpopulated and stunted.
There are some great brookies in the state. Just look at what they pull out of Henry's. But unfortunately I have fished many streams and mt lakes that are over run with mini-brookies. The problem is that brookies are too good at reproducing and surviving.
If you can find the rare lake or stream where their population is kept somewhat in check either through predators or lack of good spawning, then you have found a little piece of heaven. Treasure it!
They are a beautiful fish, and sometimes they are about the only fish that will survive in some places. When I catch one over 10 inches, I have to take a minute and just admire it. I love brookies that aren't stunted, and they are tasty too!
I mostly catch and release trout and bass, but I adore a high mountain streamside lunch of fresh brookies. Yum! Eating some will not put much of a dent in the population, so I do recommend it. They usually can use some thinning. If the ave size is 10 to 12 inches, they probably don't need a lot of thinning, but if they are less that that .... eat up!
Streams like Eightmile Creek south of Soda Springs are a shame though. It is infested with 4 to 6in brookies. If they were kept in check, or everyone kept a hundred a day, it could be a good stream.
A great place for little kids to play with the sardines, but I can't tell you how many I launched into the bushes on my backcast. I didn't even know I had one on my rod, and it's an ultralight 3 weight rod. The last time I was there, there were so many small ones rushing my fly, it was hard to say if there was anything in there that was bigger. Anything else just didn't have a chance to get caught.
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Great minds think alike-
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...39;#826639
Launching those little buggers is the worst. It happens to me with a 2 wt either because I don't know there on or I actually think I have a reasonable fish on and the hookset sends them into orbit. My interpretation of the laws is not to waste gamefish. I then I have to track them down and return them to the water as much as I'd rather not. I find if you tie on a really big fly like a size 8 hopper you only have to sort through about 50 small ones/ 30 minutes of fishing and you'll find an occasional nice one in the mix. Remember stealth is still needed with the bigger ones even if the small ones it just doesn't matter.
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I caught quite a few around the beaver dams down from the campsite, but they were all very small. Definitely many of the launchable variety up there.
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Thankfully Idaho has a pretty generous brookie limit of 25. Although, I am not sure what I would do with 25 brookies in the 5-6 in range???? [laugh][laugh]
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Use the 25 brookies for Sturgeon bait?[:p]
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