Brookies

[muskyhunter]

What is the best way to target brookies? I will be spending a week up in the WindRivers and will be fishing the Green River Lakes and just want to know what kind of hardware them bad boys like!!"BIG FISH RULE"M.H.[]
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[Theekillerbee]

I've had good luck in the Uintahs using a gold bladed rooster tail. Does the area you are going to have any of the golden trout? I've always wanted to catch one of those pretty fish. Good luck when you head out.
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[road]

I've had good luck with worms and drifting flies with my spinning outfit. My old fishing partner had his best luck and always seemed to catch the biggest fish on salmon eggs. I have yet to have any success with them, but keep trying.
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[road]

Hey there theekillerbee, there are a couple of ponds and little lakes in the uintahs that are stocked with those golden. Try Mill Hollow, it is good for both brookies and goldens. The goldens are a bit finicky but they are more than catchable. If you need directions let me know as it is a ways from SLC.
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[muskyhunter]

Hey killerbee,there are not any goldens up in them 2 lakes but the state record brookie came out of there and it was just under 10#.I will mainly be after the macs because there is supposed to be some 20-30# in there but the kids cant sit in the boat and jig all day like dad so I figured i will tie on some rooster tails and panther martins and let them try for some of those brookies!!Thanks for the tips,M.H.
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[Mueske]

MH,
You can't go wrong with the Panther Martins and Rooster Tails. I've backpacked into many lakes and streams in the Winds and they go nuts for them, as 'bows do in any lake I've been on. I've even bragged that I could make certain fish leap onto dry gravel bars to get the small bucktail. Many times I've gotten others to clean up after the meal because they doubted my claim. I think brookies would hit on an empty hook given the chance, at least in the remote areas. I'm jealous of your trip. Maybe I'll have to go there at the end of the month myself. Good luck and send me a PM with your photos (don't broadcast to the whole world how great the fishing is in Wyoming or we'll be overrun).

Kevin
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[hedgesd]

What!!! The state record brookies all come from Boulder mtn.

TROUT, Brook 1971 7 lb 8 oz Milton Taft Boulder Mountain Goverment lake

TROUT, Brook 12/06/97 23" Travis L. Clark

Boulder Mountain McGath?
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[PBH]

hedgesd, I believe they are talking Wyoming, not Utah.

9lbs 11oz, 24 1/2", Green River Lake, Sublett County, WY. 1976, Max Long.



I don't know where Travis's catch and release came from (it may have been McGath), but I know that Milton's did NOT come from McGath.
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[polokid]

A simple colorado spinner always does the trick for me, definitely with a worm tipping it. I have mainly fished the wind rivers up by the Big Sandy areas!!!
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[Kayote]

I used to live in Torrey. Down there, they all claim Taft's brookie came out of Beaver Dam. They also state explosives were involved. No kidding.

MuskyHunter,

The deadliest brookie lure I've ever used is a black Foxy Jig in 1/8 oz. Swim and twitch it near the bottom, don't hop it like a bass lure. I've caught literally thousands of brookies on this lure, a couple pushing 5 lbs. off the Boulders. Jakes Spin-A-Lure is also very effective for smaller brookies.

Good Brookie Fishing, Kayote
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[PBH]

Kayote, I believe you are correct on Milton's fish coming from Beaver Dam. Too bad it fills up with stunted fish now....although, I believe that both it and Fish Creek are up for a good poisoning in the near future.
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[Kayote]

I remember fishing Fish Creek and Beaver Dam in '88 and '89, when it was recovering after a treatment. I had a 100 brookie day on Fish Creek, with fish averaging two pounds and a few over four. I was with a buddy and witnessed him land a seven pound rainbow and a five and a half pound male brook at Beaver Dam within an hour. Rainbows were not supposed to be there, so it must have been a wall jumper at the hatchery. Weird.

Good Fishing, Kayote
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[Matador]

Hi muskyhunter,

Personally, my favorite place to fish is in the Uintas and consequently I've reeled in more than a few brookies. I use two main techniques.

First, if you are not proud, nightcrawlers work well early in the year. There is one characteristic that brook trout have that, once you are aware of it, makes them much easier to catch. Brookies like a moving bait. I get most of my bites while I am slowly moving the bait or immediatley after it stops. This is most effective with worms. The retrieve is typically on the bottom and very slow.(I never use powerbait or those types of baits in the Uintas except at the road-side lakes) Usually it is okay to do pull the bait arcoss the bottom but at some lakes you will end up with a lot of snags or your bait gets covered with weeds and junk.

Second, from mid-summer on, fishing with a fly and a bubble is very effective. You can cover a lot of water and the fish pretty much hook themselves. I like a pretty slow retrieve. Watch just behind your bubble for strikes but don't be too quick on the set. And don't set too hard. Wait for the pull from the fish. The store-bought flies that I like best are renegades and mosquitos, size 16. I have a few patterns of my own that work really well. If the fish are not jumping on the surface, fill the bubble completely full. Then fish your fly as close to the bottom as possible. And again, a very slow retrieve seems to be best. Also, for fishing near the bottom with a fly I like to switch to one that is more like a nymph. There are no visual clues with the sunken technique so you'll have to feel the hits.

I think another important aspect of fishing this way(particularly with flies) is the line you use. In the Uintas I use only 4lb line on the reel with a 2lb leader between the swivel and the hook. I like Berkley Trilene XL the best. In the Uintas it is very rare that the fish break the line because of their size. A properly set drag makes up for the thin line and allows the best presention of the bait.

I don't use lures much because the two techniques above produce so good. By way, when fishing with worms, I use the same tackle and set up as I do when fishing with flies. With worms I fill the bubble compleley full to get it to the bottom. For flies, the bubble is half full(or 3/4) for fishing on the surface. I avoid lead weights because it just leads to snags.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

m
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[maraboujigs]

I have also heard that Tafts came out of Beaver Dam but his relatives told me that it was out of a small beaver pond located just below beaver dam and he caught two others the same day that would have broken the previous state record.

Muskyhunter

I have always used marabou jigs to catch my brookies. I tie them in various colors from olive green to black but olive green is by far my favorite color. I fish 1/32 -1/8 oz jigs slow near cover: large boulders, fallen trees, or vegetation the largest brookies I have caught were all within 50 feet of shore. Other fish also take these jigs. If they are a little picky tip the jig with a little piece of worm. Good luck.

Maraboujigs
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[hedgesd]

Anybody here ever seen the size of Government lake. It's basically a beaver pond. That wouldn't surprise me if he used explosives I know a couple old rednecks that did that in the 50's and 60's.
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[muskyhunter]

Thanks to all, for the tips and suggestions!! I cant wait for the 28th so I can get out of this heat and drink some of that Wyoming beer!!![][][]"BIG FISH RULE"M.H.
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[Xman]

what lake is this again with macks? never mind didnt read the whole thread. the green river lakes.
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