A favorite of Maine fishermen, the Brook Trout is as much fun to catch as it is good to eat. Around 400 of the states waters are stocked with brookies, and they inhabit over 1400 total bodies of water. In close to 1,000 of the, brookies are considered to be reproducing naturally. Due to the low levels of nutrients in the waters where brookies live, they are short-lived and often the stream ones rarely exceed 6 inches in length. Squaretails, as they are often called due to the small fork in their tail compared to other salmonids, are the wariest of the gamefish in my opinion. Though the small ones are easy to catch many people may never catch a big one. Brookies thrive in the clear cold waters and for one of any real size you may have to go north where 4 and 5 pounders are caught more often. Though it is a powerful fighter for its size, Brookies are not spectacular, not the leaping kind, but I often land them thinking it is a much bigger fish than what I end up with. An 8" Brookie fights like a much bigger fish. Personally though I love Brookies, I don't think they are the best choice in a put and take fishery.

THROUGH The ICE

I like to fish for them at a few different levels from say from about 5 feet under the ice and then dropping down to a few feet off the bottom. I like to fish them closer to shore, like salmon, and hook the bait through the lips. They don't seem to be as finicky in the winter as they are in summer. They will feed on most any live bait available. I like to fish them with Smelts, but Shiners and Tommycods will work equally well. Worms can get you a fair share of Brookies fished through the ice. I find that you should match the bait to the fish. Smaller Brookies will have a very hard time swallowing a 6" smelt and you will lose the bait and the fish. We had one last year all the way to the top of the hole and it was only because he was holding on to the bait. Never got near the hook. He is still swimming. You can learn from this.

Jigging

When jigging use small silver or gold lures set with a single hook. Jig around rocks and over structures. Get a depth map and you can get an idea of the layout on the bottom. Fish around dropoff edges and over a gravel base when you can. The edges of a deep hole can be productive too. Jig the mouth of streams and brooks that run in and out of the lake or pond. Short, slow, jigging strokes with some longer pauses seems to be the accepted method of working a lure when ice fishing. Try letting the spoon hit bottom, and bounce it around down there,sometimes this will draw attention to the lure or your cut bait. This helps attract fish, even from a distance. Winter fish usually strike the lure when it is stopped or at rest and the bite is often extremely subtle, so be ready to set the hook. Remember jigging counts as a trap, if you jig with 5 traps and they catch you, it will cost you.

OPEN WATER

I like to fish Brookies on light tackle and small spinners. The brookie has a very small mouth for the fierce predator he is. Earthworms are the most effective live bait especially for the smaller ones. Now one thing I have noticed with many Trout is their seasonal changes. They go after the spinners with a vengance early on and then they switch to almost exclusively bugs. Fishing a spoon or spinner when they are after bugs can be nerve wracking. Recognize this change and make use of it. When the water is high in the spring get out your small gold spinners and spoons and get ready to catch fish. Swedish pimples, Kastmasters and other small gold spoons fished in a dying minnow pattern will get you more strikes. Remember to try using gold lures in darker root beer water and silver in the clearer water. Hot weather comes and then make the switch to flies and small streamers. A favorite of fly fisherman, the Brookie will almost always respond to flies when nothing else works. There are many patterns and that would be a whole other page. I will leave it to the fly fishing pages.