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Brown Trout are true trout. This means that the word "trout" is
not just in their name as it is for a Bull Trout, but actually
classifies them in their proper family - trout. All trout have black
spots. The distinguishing markings on Brown Trout are pale halos around their black spots.
Quite often they display small numbers of red-orange spots that
are also surrounded by halos, but for identifying purposes, the black
spots classify them as trout, and the pale halos are the distinguishing
feature for pegging them as browns. They also usually display a rich golden
brown color which is their namesake. Brown Trout truly are a beautiful
fish.Brown Trout spawn in the fall which is perfect for two reasons.
The first is that water conditions are more stable in the fall than they are
in spring, enabling more consistent spawning. The second reason is
that when you pair them in a river with a spring spawner such as rainbow
trout, you have continuous fishing action all year round without a drop in
the action due to spawning fish.
While almost all of the Brown Trout in Alberta are wild fish, none of
them are native fish. They are all imported. Some originated from
the brown trout of Germany while the others have come from the Loch
Leven trout of Scotland. We are glad they are here.
Brown Trout are the brass ring of fishing for many people. They
feed on the surface more than any other trout, and because fly fishers
enjoy fishing dry flies, browns are vigorously pursued. They
have the mystique of being the hardest trout to catch. Everyone has a
story of a brown trout that was rising, but no matter what fly they
changed to, the brown wanted nothing to do with their offering, while
still continuing to rise and take the naturals. Brown trout have
a reputation for being very wary as well. Get too close to a brown,
make noise while wading,
or make less than a perfect cast and the fish is gone. Browns may
very well behave this way,
but our experience on the bow river is that even though we do catch more rainbow's
than browns, there are still a lot of browns that come to the
fly - especially the dry fly. This is definitely one fish where
fishing from a drift boat is a distinct advantage due to a browns spooky
nature.
Browns tend to not like the direct sunlight, so the best brown trout
fishing is on overcast dismal days, before sunset, and at night.
They can be selective, but generally match the size and colour to
whatever is hatching and you will catch browns.
On the upper bow river, almost all of the fish caught are brown trout
as there are no rainbows, a few brookies, some bulls and good numbers of
whitefish. On the lower bow river there is a split between rainbow's and brown's,
with the occasional rocky.
The Brown Trout is a less acrobatic fish compared to its silver
brother the rainbow trout, but still goes airborne when it wants to. It is often a stronger fish than the
rainbow, and they pull very hard during the fight. Many people
feel a sense of accomplishment landing a good brown compared to any
other fresh water fish - and so they should. A strong, beautiful,
selective, wary fish that likes to feed on the surface - a true test and
prize for the fly fisherman. We've seen a couple 31" browns cruising in
the river - and for any fly fisher, that would be the fish of a
lifetime. Catching a big Brown at night when he hammers your dry
fly 15 feet away from you as you set the hook by sound, is some of the
most exciting fishing you will ever have, period.
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