Search  this site   Yellow Pages  
Log in or sign up to contribute
COLUMN

Native brookies seek out cool brooks

Comments on this story Printer-friendly version Bookmark and Share
KEN ALLEN / ALLEN AFIELD
September 20, 2009

The small spring brook required an accurate, ever so short fly cast – 15 feet tops – to present the fly beneath an undercut bank where brookies lay in shade out of sight of predators.

So many fly rods cannot make 10- to 20-foot, precise casts because manufacturers design most of them to have 30 feet of fly line in the air before the rod action works perfectly. It's just the nature of the beast.

However, I had bought a fly rod especially for making ultra-short casts on tiny brooks such as this one, brooks a long-legged guy like me could jump across with a good running start. This purchase illustrated my serious commitment to Maine brook fishing.

The rod, an Orvis 6-foot, 4-weight, 4.0 full flex in the Superfine series, sent a size 12 Hare's Ear through a narrow tunnel of alders before the nymph landed gently just upstream of the target.

"Bull's-eye," I whispered, and two seconds later, an 11-inch brookie put a serious bend in the wispy rod.

After I had the trout in hand, an obvious question popped to mind. How could this fish grow so big in such limited habitat?

The answer – it couldn't. The trout reached this size in a marginal pond downstream before running upstream in the heat of summer, even in a cool summer such as this one. Perhaps instinct more than water temperature had brought it into flowing water.

The brook originated from springs on the side of a mountain and flowed under a canopy of shrubs and trees. The dense upper story helped keep the spring water in the 60-degree range, even in hot summer.

That's the ultimate secret to finding a secret brookie brook – key on one with water that stays below 68 degrees in droughts. This makes a stream thermometer a crucial investment for folks interested in brook fishing.

The brook has no official name on a topo map and eventually flows into another brook and then a small pond without crossing or coming near a single road, surprisingly remote by central-Maine standards. Naturally, it has provided me with super brookie fishing – well – for much of my life.

I seldom catch an 11-inch brook trout in this brook, but 6- to 10-inch specimens come often enough, and once two decades ago, a 12-incher there hit my large Picket Pin in early season. What a brute from thigh-deep water.

If you read this column often, you know that in April and very early May, small brooks draw me almost exclusively for native brookies. Then, when rivers and larger streams with much bigger trout start producing dynamite action around May 7 to 10, I quit these tiny rivulets.

Each August and September, I promise myself to hit brooks again but seldom do. This past Sept. 8, though, the day after most non-residents head home and give us the state back until leaf-peeping season, I celebrated by going brook fishing – a grand choice.

The brook flowed neither too high nor too low, but rather, just perfectly. Every pool with shadows or enough depth to hide the bottom from probing predator eyes held hungry brookies.

As always, I could depend on brookies filling this lovely, woodland brook – life in the fast lane Maine style.

After admiring the colorful, 11-inch brookie with its fluorescent-orange flanks, three-dimensional red spots, vivid cerulean aureoles and ultra-distinct vermiculations, I released it. The trout shot away toward the undercut bank, where it would lie – hopefully – until my next visit.

The day continued with smaller brookies whacking the nymph. What late-season fun on a cool day completely free of pesky insects.

Maine's storied fall rivers and streams – say the Kennebago, Rapid, Magalloway, Moose, East Outlet of Kennebec, Roach and West Branch of the Penobscot rivers or Grand Lake and Caucomgomoc streams – have mobs this month, but small September brooks seldom attract a single angler. When brook waters are flowing well, anglers can expect fast action, and it would be shocking to run into another angler.

The best way for newcomers to find brookie-rich honey holes begins with fisheries biologists from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Contact the regional fisheries office in your area and ask about potential brooks. These guys have electro-fished dozens, many of them more than once, and know the size and population densities of brook trout that inhabit most brooks.

Your quest for info can begin with a call to 207-287-8000 and asking the IF&W public-relations representative for regional phone numbers to the area interesting you.

We have 10 more days to fish brooks this season. For folks who have never done this sport, it might start a new passion.

Ken Allen of Belgrade Lakes is a writer, editor and photographer.

Bookmark and Share
Stories From the Maine Sunday Telegram, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel
DERBY DAYS
We have the line on upcoming contests – and advice from successful anglers. February 7, 2010
Kids, catch this
Two derbies for the younger set kick off Feb. 19. February 7, 2010
CATHY GENTHNER / SNOWMOBILINGRiders’ busy month revs up in Naples February 7, 2010
DEIRDRE FLEMINGThat vroom you hear will be the 'promobilers' February 7, 2010
HEATHER BURKE / SKIINGMainers, it’s root, root, root for the home team February 7, 2010
HERB WILSON / BIRDINGCount yields notable numbers and finds February 7, 2010
KEN ALLEN / ALLEN AFIELDFocus on unity is a real cause for optimism February 7, 2010
CARL NATALE / ASK AN OUTDOORSMANWinter camping can be a blast – if you have the right gear February 7, 2010
Dispatches February 7, 2010
Camden's Super Bowl
A year-round playground for the region, its many fans are working toward securing $6.5 million for a slew of improvements. January 31, 2010
DEIRDRE FLEMINGSportsmen looking over clover for deer herd January 31, 2010
KEN ALLEN / ALLEN AFIELDBagging a hare can be good sport – and the dining is fine January 31, 2010
Ski Maine director living the dream
Five questions for outdoorsman Greg SweetserJanuary 31, 2010
CARL NATALE / ASK AN OUTDOORSMANParents, teach kids about safe sledding January 31, 2010
CATHY GENTHNER / SNOWMOBILINGGood ride gets better when it's for a cause January 31, 2010
DEIRDRE FLEMINGTurns out, there's dollars in scents January 24, 2010
SHANNON BRYAN / TRAIL & ERRORLook out trail, here comes the queasy rider January 24, 2010
CATHY GENTHNER / SNOWMOBILING'Loggers' add a dose of reality to fantastical festival January 24, 2010
HEATHER BURKE / SKIINGLove of Loaf logo spans decades, continents January 24, 2010
You'll want to play it again
Saddleback's cool new Casablanca glade is as addictive as it is stunning. January 24, 2010
Winter break
No crowds. No lines. Acadia in the coldest season issues its warmest invitation to Nordic skiers, thanks in no small part to a dedicated group of volunteer groomers. January 17, 2010
HEATHER BURKESnowboarding has forced skiing to innovate January 17, 2010
WENDY ALMEIDA / KID TRACKSget into your skinny skis
Five Fields Farm offers great family-friendly trails for speedsters and slowpokes alike. January 17, 2010
CATHY GENTHNER / SNOWMOBILINGSnodeo: A tribute to snowmobiling in Maine January 17, 2010
Shout Out
Learn to snow-carveJanuary 17, 2010
It's a real wintry mix
Get Out: The latest installment of our outdoors series offers ideas for snowshoeing and finding animal tracks, as well as a listing of Maine winter festivals. January 10, 2010
DEIRDRE FLEMINGDowntown events bring out the best of winter January 10, 2010
HERB WILSON / BIRDINGUnusual finds in the Christmas Count January 10, 2010
CATHY GENTHNER / SNOWMOBILINGVintage sled ride will bring out good ol' toys January 10, 2010
KEN ALLEN / ALLEN AFIELDHares are dwindling in southern Maine January 10, 2010
Sebago derby's 'codfather' hoping for record turnout
5 questions for outdoorsman Tom NoonanJanuary 10, 2010
Dispatches January 10, 2010
winners circle
Six families from around the state will ski free for a day courtesy of Ski Maine and MaineToday Media. January 3, 2010
HERB WILSON / BIRDINGMaking a list; checking it's right January 3, 2010
© 2010 MaineToday Media, Inc.