SE MN brook trout fishing Labor Day weekend

[Scudly]

Found a gem of a brook trout stream in southeast MN. Fished it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. Worms were the big ticket all three mornings. Trout wanted nothing to do with spinners. I figured that early on and stuck with chunks of crawlers.

Friday morning I only fished from 6-7 am then the sky went totally black and a torrential downpour started up. Roughly a dozen brookies landed in that hour, with over half being 9-11" range.

Saturday morning was also fantastic. I fished the same pools from Friday morning plus a few new ones just downstream. Stream side vegetation was not too overwhelming and I could follow the edge of the field for easier hiking. Turns out the best pools were just upstream and downstream of the bridge. Easily two dozen brookies landed in three hours.

Sunday morning was a little slower. I caught eight in three hours. The cold front came in and maybe that shut the bite down. Trout were more skittish. You had only one or two casts per area tops, then you had to move on. Other times you just had to be patient and wait for the trout to come back before they would hit your worm and you had to be ready!

Brookies were rather easy to catch however there was some skill involved. First off I was there 30 minutes before sunrise. Casts had to be precise and you could pull 2-4 fish out of one area but then that area was spooked and I would move up another 5-10 feet to cast into "untouched" water. I found four nice deep pools and I could fish all four and then come back to the first one and the brookies would be biting again as if they had no memory of me previously fishing for them. Using the smallest possible split to make the distance was the key. Big splits spooked the brookies. Other times you just had to be patient and wait for a strike. I used a #8 jay hook and very small pieces of crawler. Any larger pieces brookies would more easily strip the bait. Quick hook sets were a must. You had to feel and also watch the line the minute the bait hits the water and started to sink. A delayed hook set lead to a few gut hooks. That was OK because I was keeping some fish anyway.

Fishing focus was brook trout only and I don't regret not fishing for browns. The way I see it, I can catch browns any day. Brookies are rare especially many quality 10-12" wild and colorful fish I was catching.

[reinhard1]

those brookies have such beautiful markings and color this time of the year. glad you had a good outing. good luck.

[Nate McVey]

those brookies have such beautiful markings and color this time of the year. glad you had a good outing. good luck.

You mean they DID have beautiful markings and color

[certified jumbo]

awesome!!! Good work.

[Scudly]

Quote:

You mean they DID have beautiful markings and color

Yep I kept the above and smoked over cherry wood. Brine overnight in canning salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, two cups lemon juice. Charcoal with cherry chunks and soaked cherry chips. Sprinkle crushed red pepper on outside of fish.

Brookies are out of this world fantastic flavor. Here is 1/2 fillet, finished product.

No sign of anybody previously fishing. DNR says it is rarely fished. I should have taken a photo of the PODS of brookies. Hundreds in a pool all stacked together. So keeping a limit of my legal five, no big deal the stream can handle it.

[reinhard1]

i agree with you Scudly. i also brined some 12 to 14 inch rainbows and smoked them and they were great. although i left them whole. love your pictures. good luck.

[osok]

Great summary and Photos. Looks and sounds like it was a tasty time.

[Scudly]

Quote:

i agree with you Scudly. i also brined some 12 to 14 inch rainbows and smoked them and they were great. although i left them whole. love your pictures. good luck.

reinhard1 I do the same. I gut and scrape out the gills, leave the head on. The photo of the meat is just to illustrate the final product before you actually eat. This is butter knife down the middle, pull the comb out and peeled the skin off to show the beautiful orange red color.

Here is what they look like straight off the grill.

I throw the fins and the heads to the dogs when I eat, nothing wasted really. I also like the skin but if I put too much red pepper on I will peel some of it off. My dogs will eat anything.

[reinhard1]

those are some lucky dogs . i love that crispy skin as well. good luck.

[JIvers]

Have you found that Brookies generally prefer worms more than Browns? I know this to be the case with Rainbows. I can usually catch Brownies all day on spinning gear baited with metal and plastic. I haven't used live bait for trout in SE MN in probably fifteen years--I have caught very few Brookies in that time...

I ask because I fish some streams in SE MN that acc. to the DNR have Brookies, but I have yet to catch one in them. Those streams are artificial-only, so I can't try crawlers to see what happens. I know I caught a lot of Brookies with crawlers when I was a kid on a stream in Houston County behind my Grandpa's farm--no access to it now.

[Scudly]

Quote:

Have you found that Brookies generally prefer worms more than Browns? I know this to be the case with Rainbows. I can usually catch Brownies all day on spinning gear baited with metal and plastic. I haven't used live bait for trout in SE MN in probably fifteen years--I have caught very few Brookies in that time...

I ask because I fish some streams in SE MN that acc. to the DNR have Brookies, but I have yet to catch one in them. Those streams are artificial-only, so I can't try crawlers to see what happens. I know I caught a lot of Brookies with crawlers when I was a kid on a stream in Houston County behind my Grandpa's farm--no access to it now.

Good question Eye Hunter. The hardest part is finding a waterway that is primarily brook trout. Browns tend to take over. So many cricks around Winona that dump into the Mississippi that are not populated by browns are good candidates. I think the tribs of the Root River System often get taken over by browns.

But yes, once you find a prime brook trout spot, the #1 bait is worms. Brookies just cannot resist. The only time they will not bite is when a strong cold front comes in, or early in the season. Otherwise find the deepest blue green pools and the smallest split to get you the distance you need in your cast or to maintain position in the current (if you are doing faster water).

The beauty of brookies is their memory not so sharp. The other day I caught one just under 12." The next cast I had another one exactly the same size that got off. I tried for a minute but she would not bite. On my way out I tried the pool again and got her. Find the best habitat, you will find the best brookie. For brookie that generally means deep pools with some shade and protection.

Here is one from last night.

[reinhard1]

beautiful colors and markings. good luck.

[reinhard1]

Happy Birthday Scudly!!!!!hope you have a great year with those beautiful trout. Reinhard

[so haaad]

Indeed. Happy birthday my friend! A little too cold for fishing today, so may all your thoughts be filled of brookies and family travels!

[Scudly]

Thanks for the birthday wishes! Brookies IMO are the best. I just wish there were more streams like this one. It appears conditions more favorable for browns over recent years. Did you know that strong spring flooding although not good for trout in general is most favorable for brookies? For whatever reason brook trout fry are twice the size of brown trout fry.

Either of you two gents ever want to fish this pure brook trout stream above, send me a PM. You

have both been very good to me over the years.