Top 10 Brook Trout Flies. Photo: Bent Water Anglers
Many anglers will travel hours—even days—to have a shot at a wild brook trout. While native to the Eastern United States and Canada, they’ve also been introduced to the Western United States, parts of Europe, and parts of Asia. They can be found in lakes, small alpine blue lines, and a select few rivers. Known for their jaw-dropping colors, they are truly spectacular fish. Maybe you’re interested in chasing them yourself, but don’t know what the best brook trout flies are? We’ve got you covered. Below, you’ll find a selection of our top 10 brook trout flies that you should have in your box at all times.
1. High Vis Black Foam Beetle
This fly is small and simple, but is one of the most productive brook trout flies out there. A perfect imitation for a summer beetle that’s easily floated for hours on end, we’d never be caught without it. Plus, the high vis tag makes it much easier on the eyes for a day of fishing!
2. Stoneflopper
Fishable in either brown or tan, the Stoneflopper is a multipurpose hopper and stonefly imitation. You can fish it straight, or easily tie a dropper below. This fly’s versatility makes it a great option when you’re searching new water and aren’t yet sure what the brook trout are keyed in on.
3. Indicator Para Adams
The Parachute Adams is a classic mayfly immitation that performs in a multitude of situations. It’s another great searching pattern when you’re trying to find what the brook trout are interested in eating. To make it easier to fish, we added high vis bicolor polypro. This is especially useful in the smaller sizes as the fast, oxygenated water that brook trout love can be difficult to see flies in.
4. Klinkhammer Olive
The Klinkhammer Olive is another time-tested pattern. Fishable as either a mayfly or caddis, it’s an excellent all-purpose fly for brook trout. Additionally, the klinkhammer hook is ideal for suspending a dropper when you’re fishing it in the larger sizes. The dry dropper technique with this fly can be deadly when prospecting water.
5. Chubby Duo Purple
This is another excellent dry dropper fly. We’ve taken a tippet ring and incorporated it into the bend of hook to make our Chubby the ultimate Chubby. No more fiddling around with tying that dropper to the bend of the hook and having it slip off. This is a huge help when cycling through dropper flies.
6. Croston’s Mass Attack
This fly is a new addition to our range from World Fly Fishing Champion Howard Croston. Howard says, “I use it a lot on the end of a long “Euro” style nymphing leader for the added control and tend to bounce it around quite a lot. The big profile also has a tendency to pull jaded or disinterested fish up particularly in faster water.”
If you want to read more about this pattern, as well as Howard’s other additions, check out our recent blog article!
7. TBH Hare’s Ear Copper
When targeting brook trout—or any trout for that matter—Hare’s Ear nymphs never go wrong. This one is a modern twist on the classic pattern, making it even more natural. Thanks to the bead head this nymph is easy to deliver quickly into the feeding zone no matter the conditions.
8. TBH Pheasant Tail flashback
The Pheasant Tail is another killer trout nymph. With this pattern, the tungsten bead and flash on the thorax give it some extra flare. It gets down deep, fast, and when more subtle patterns aren’t working it will often trigger strikes.
9. Tungsten Jig Bugger
The Woolly Bugger is one of the most effective flies ever tied, and the jig version takes it to the next level. Fish it under a hopper, under an indicator, with a euro rig, on the swing—the sky’s the limit! Depending on cloud cover and water conditions, we usually carry a selection of black, olive and tan for brook trout. When all else fails, the Tungsten Jig Bugger is a brook trout fly you can count on.
9. Conehead Marabou Muddler
The muddler minnow is a tried and tested classic. When the water’s high or the dry flies aren’t happening, this fly can save the day. We always carry a few colors in a range of sizes to accommodate the time of year and conditions.
Photo: Bent water Anglers
If you want to read more about fishing for wild brook trout, you’ll enjoy this piece by Nick Yardley!
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