The Joy of Fly Fishing in New Brunswick

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Barry, an old friend I haven’t heard from in years, since he moved away. Well he’s moved back and gave me a call to see what’s happening in my neck of the woods.

He didn’t even fish the last time I saw him but now he’s into a little less stress in his life, for health reasons and thought fishing would be a good way to get away from things that stress him.

He told me he has always loved a good feed of brook trout and thought that might be exactly what he wants to fish for.

We met before I was married and he knows I was out every day during fishing season, even had a part time job to support my habit yet still have loads of time off. That changed once I got married of course as it wouldn’t be fair to a non-fisher lady, would it.

Barry doesn’t know how to fly fish, yet, so I thought I would just share a few tips to help him produce better results.

Trout fishing was the first thing I did when I moved to New Brunswick, where I learned to fly fish, but most of the places I was fishing back then were tough to fly fish so I did a lot of spinner and worm fishing.

It’s sure great having a huge lawn as I can get enough worms for an entire day of fishing in about 15 minutes. I water the lawn just before dark and then come back after an hour or two, with a flash light, and start grabbing them.

Where To Locate Brook Trout

It’s not hard to locate trout here in New Brunswick but to find those bigger brookies one needs a little stealth or they will spook and be gone in a flash.

Obstacles That Hold Brookies

When I am fishing brooks and streams I look for under-cut banks, log jams, turns in the brook that create deeper holes and just about anything else that will give trout protection from above and predators around them in the water.

Areas With Different Water Speeds

I also watch how the water moves because the seems between water at different speeds is a real hot spot for feeding trout. They will sit right where they keep in the slower moving water but dart out into the faster water to pick up food.

How can you tell good spots? Well I personally like to sit for a few minutes before starting and watch what floats down stream. Watch how foam, bugs, leaves and other debris moves down stream because that’s the same path the trout’s food will come.

Brook Trout Fishing Gear

When I go brook trout fishing I take both a spinning rod and a fly rod, both light action of course as most of the brookies are small and even the larger ones don’t get much past 5 lbs in the places I fish.

I really prefer that fly rod but it’s good to cover yourself in case there is no room to use the fly rod. That’s when I get the spinning rod out.

I love using dry flies for brook trout but also have great fun fly fishing using leech patterns. The brookies will hit them hard. I fish flies anywhere from size 8 woolly buggers to size 16-18 for midges.

I carry a few small lures like Mepps and Red Devils when spinner fishing. Usually I will put an attractant on the hooks, maybe even a small worm if the fishing’s tough.

Wading The Stream

When I am wading the stream I try to move up stream to prevent spooking fish, however that’s not always an option so my suggestion is to try and be as stealthy as you can because brook trout are always nervous and will scatter easily.

Enjoy the sport, ease that stress and preserve our waters, never leave trash behind and always release the fish you don’t want unharmed.

How long should you hold a fish out of water? Trying holding your breath while you’re looking at and taking pictures, when you can’t hold it any longer that’s too long for the fish.

Related articles

• Secrets of Fishing For Brook Trout (thejoyofflyfishing.com)
• Can’t Hardly Wait For Fishing Season To Open (stepbysteptips.com)