Day 3: Woodstock, Vermont

Day Three: The Brookie Jackpot

Today was my one of my favorite days in Woodstock, Vermont because I caught more than 40 brook trout ranging from an inch all the way up 12 and a half inches. This was the day that I fished this creek from head to toe. I probably walked up and down the entire mile stretch of creek three times throughout the day finding and fishing all of the best spots.

Here is what I have concluded after finding the places that the brook trout like best. They like deeper water. They stay on the bottom, safe from predators, and they like water that is also fast flowing. Often times during the day, the larger brook trout will reside under rocks that have space under them or trees that have grown next to the creek where the soil eroded creating a small almost cave like area for the brook trout to hide in. Now let's talk about what they are eating. Brook trout love spinners because they imitate minnows or baby brook trout, but on the other hand, they also love natural baits such as salamanders and worms. Bait is is better for catching the larger brook trout that hide under rocks because you can drift it with the current of the creek under the large rocks and it is bound to get viciously attacked even by the smallest of brook trout. If there is a deep pool that has lots of shade the brook trout will often come out from under the rocks and face upstream swimming in the current waiting for something to come down stream that they can eat.  When fishing these pools it is best to throw a small spinner and reel it in so it imitates a small fish swimming downstream in the current. Using this technique I caught my two largest brook trout of the trip. When using live bait your hook up ratio is a lot less because there is only one small hook at the front of the bait and you have to wait for the trout to swallow the bait enough so you can actually hook it  If you are looking for quantity over size, I found the perfect technique. Use a hook sized 16-18 with a little piece of worm and a sinker.  You can catch super tiny brook trout and in the mix you will catch a few big ones.  If you are targeting larger brook trout use hooks around the 6 to 8 size.