It was supposed to be good. The water was low and clear. We arrived at the river, and the gate keeper came down to us. “Hey you guys, they’re bringing the river up!” No explanation was needed; Jeremy and I were heart broken. But, Jeremy and I know that when the big fish are in the rivers and the fishing is going to be good, we need to capitalize on the opportunity, so we continued fishing. The water was rising and the suckers that we had seen earlier that were once in the water in the middle of the river, had began to hug the banks. Jeremy and I had played our cards right, because we had gotten the right flies. We did not have our tying stuff, and ran out of micro egg patterns. So, we went to the fly shop. The man in the fly shop said that fishing micro egg patters in rivers in Maine was a relatively new tactic in this region of Maine, but they worked very well. Jeremy and I had been fishing for a good amount of time, and we knew that big brook trout were behind the suckers eating their eggs. We had tried all of our usual tactics. The big egg flies we use for steelhead, wooly buggers, streamers and all sorts of nymphs. All the flies that were expected to catch fish and usually do, caught plenty of Salmon. But, we were not targeting salmon. We wanted big brook trout. Often times we would catch a female sucker, and big brook trout would take advantage of the opportunity and come behind the sucker and eat the eggs. We could see the eggs and they were so small that when they were all together they looked like liquid, almost like a yellow juice. Jeremy and I had to go down to stealth mode. We built tapered 5x leaders and then tied on tiny, size 20 yellow micro eggs. Immediately, I hooked the biggest brook trout I had ever seen. The bright red tail slapped the water several times, and then the trout took me for a ride through raging rapids that I will never forget. The fish took me through the heaviest rapids that the river could offer, and with Jeremy’s guidance, I chased him down. After the trout had gotten into the slow water, it zigged and zagged multiple times trying to get back into the rapids. After a long and incredible battle, Jeremy netted the fish. Jeremy and I both caught many beautiful brook trout, and for both of us they were the biggest of our lifetimes.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Fisherboy…either you are a really tiny person or that is one giant brook trout…I’m pretty sure it’s the 2nd. That is a fish of a life time…if I catch one that size, ever, I’d be super stoked. Nice work fellas.
fisherboy … WOW! i was up all morning thinking .. “i can’t believe he hooked that and LANDED it on size 20 hook in that kind of water.” Absolutely amazing … a Native Maine Brook trout of that size under those conditions …. to say, “well done” .. would be an understatement…. just incredible.
Congratulations and again I am humbled! Not only are the Brookies pictured above huge, albeit fisherboys is bigger, these fish are what catch and release is all about. These fish have not been genetically altered nor are they stocked fish, they are the true and pure ancestors of Char! in fact they are the original strain of Brookies still pure. Fisherboy, that fish your holding may not be around for your grand children, this is a memory to preserve.
Unreal!
Way to go fellas those are topshelf native brookies!
And some people say there is no quality angling left in Maine. I think you’ve proven them wrong today.
Austin, I thought that trout you got last year was big, you’ve truly outdone yourself here. Congrats bro.
Baby ducks are mere snacks to that thing!
Nice work guys.
WoW! The smiles say it all guys. Giant, wild, Square-tale. Playing that fish on 5x in high water conditions must have been nerve racking. Awesome
Holy Cow! Those are some monster brook trout! I hope that my son is adept as you fly fishing when he gets a little bigger! Great job guys.
A…W..S..O..M..E!!
I don’t know a lot about trouts, I know these ones are monsters and on size 20 it is an awsome reward to land those kind of FISH. Congrats for your catch.
Great read.
Who needs Labrador when there are Brookies like that right here in the USA. Awesome work guys. Austin I thought the one you landed last year was a monster. You outdid that one though with that fish.
those are some serious brookies, nice work boys….wow
WOW! any questions
I learned my lesson that day… a canoe is very valuable at that location if they are going to raise the water. Just as you guys were setting up shop, I had to cross back and fish elsewhere…
I’ll be ready next year…
Very nice fish – both of them. Seeing/reading that is making work very hard this week -I’ll be seeking the same in a few days. Hope the flows and the fish cooperate for me. Nice job!
SICK
Gents,
Nice fish! Only one river in Maine holding fish like that. Love that river!!
HOLY MACKERAL! that pretty much describes my reaction every time i sign in to F&F and look at that pig.. nice work bros…. almost at 1000 reads!
Awesome fish guys .. and another feat to be proud of. Thanks for sharing that.
Austin what a fish man,
Those fish could have eaten the fish we caught at trout camp!! what a thrill it must have been!!
Matt B.