JOSEPH TOMELLERI GRAPHIC
TEXT BY DENNIS BITTON
Brown trout are Europe's native trout, but were introduced to the US in the early 1880s. Some say brown trout were introduced everywhere the British army went, because the officers insisted on fishing for brown trout for sport. That claim can't be far off, because brown trout seem to be everywhere. Today, lodges make a living off their reputations for big brown trout in New Zealand, Argentina, Arkansas, Utah, Montana, and New York. This fish gets around.
Too many people talk about how smart a brown trout is. These fish have a brain smaller than a pea, like any other trout. They've been hunted with hook and line longer than any North American trout, and the instincts they've developed may make them harder to catch (sometimes) than other trout, but please don't call them "smart." Don't let them become aware of your presence, match what they are eating, when they are eating, and you'll discover the mythical "wary old brown trout" can be caught by mortal man. Brown trout--especially big brown trout--also have a reputation for being nocturnal and piscavorous. They fight well, but don't jump as frequently or as vigously as rainbow trout. With browns, it's often a bull-dog run toward the bottom, followed by a close-range slugfest. Browns are also known to survive in water other trout can't tolerate. This has nothing to do with the fish's character either, only his European genes. Brown trout survived England's Industrial Revolution, and populated American waters where overfishing, pollution, and habitat loss wiped out native species like brook and cutthroat trout. Brown trout are now found in 38 of the lower 48 states.
The only fish I've ever had mounted is a 10-pound brown trout. It was not a hard decision to kill the fish. He was ugly, had a big-kyped lower jaw, and was 28 inches long. His fins were frayed, his coloration a mix of browns, black and yellow. In "my" river this fish was probably more than seven years old and his spawning days were over.
A typical brown trout has a brown or yellow-brown body, with black spots on the back, sides, dorsal fin and tail, especially the upper portion. There are also some red or bright orange spots scattered down the sides of most brown trout, sometimes with light blue halos. The tail is square-ended on most mature fish. And speaking as a layman, don't stick you fingers or thumb in the mouth of a brown trout like you would a bass. They've got teeth down there.
Brown trout are closely related to the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar), and share many of the same river systems in Northern Europe. Like the salmon, brown trout sometimes swim out to sea and return to the rivers as sea trout. Sea trout can be found in many European waters, but the most famous place in the world to catch large sea-run brown trout is undoubtably Tierra del Fuego's Rio Grande River (Argentina), where fish weighing 10-25 pounds are common occurances.
Browns have also taken hold in the Great Lakes and often follow spawning salmon up the tributaries to eat salmon eggs, and spawn themselves. If you can't afford $6,000 a week a a lodge in Chile, you can explore Lake Ontario tributaries in New York State and see similarly-sized trout. Great Lakes fish aren't known to take dry flies, so if you are the purist type, and you want to catch brown trout, the best places for you are probably Montana or New Zealand.
From Virtual Fly Shop.
Back to Home