Ontario Brook Trout Tips For Catching More Trout

Methods to put more Brook trout in your hand

  • Trolling: Adjust the boat’s speed to match the lure’s action, preventing tangles. This method quickly covers large areas, especially in northern lakes like Ontario.
  • Experimentation: Vary speeds, depths, lures, and sizes while trolling. Trying different approaches may unexpectedly entice a strike, even from less active fish.
  • Spinning Casting: Cast your lure into the water and experience the thrill of potentially hooking a fish. Vary retrieval speeds to find what works best at different times of the day.
  • Dead Sticking: Cast a baited line with a weight to the bottom and patiently wait for a bite. While it requires patience, it offers the possibility of a catch.
  • Fly Fishing: An art form that involves selecting the right fly and equipment based on the insects or flies in the fishing area. Attention to detail and finesse are essential.
  • Flexibility: Adapt your approach based on conditions; different methods may be more effective. Being flexible increases your chances of catching more trout.
  • Understanding Habitats: Knowledge of brook trout’s natural habitats is crucial for successful fishing. Learn more about these fish to enhance your fishing experience and catch more!

What are the best areas and depths for Brook trout? Let’s have a look. 

 

  1. Strategic Spot Selection:
    • Prioritize locating these areas first to maximize your chances of success.
    • Instead of aimlessly wandering, spend your fishing day strategically at these spots.
  2. Structure and Minnows in Lakes:
    • To find brook trout in a lake, look for structures that serve as homes for small minnows.
    • Trout often chases down these minnows for a meal.
    • The presence of structures also provides protection for brook trout against larger fish, as they can hide within them.
  3. River Ambush Behind Rocks:
    • These rocks offer shelter from the current, allowing the trout to lay in ambush for passing fish or other bait.
    • In rivers, brook trout tend to hide behind large rocks.
  4. Shaded Areas Along Lake Shores:
    • Speckled trout (brook trout) favour hiding in shaded spots along the shore of a lake.
    • For instance, casting under a cedar tree that hangs over the lake provides shade and a perfect hiding place for trout.
  5. Slack Water in River Streams:
    • Look for slack water just below faster-moving sections of a river stream.
    • Brook trout often hide in these calm areas to conserve energy.
    • They patiently wait for bait to float down to them, making it an efficient feeding strategy.

Remember, understanding the natural habitats of brook trout significantly enhances your chances of landing one of these beautiful fish! Happy fishing!

Depths

Depth plays an important role. When trying to figure out. Where the Brook trout are located. The best depth for locating the trout will depend on the season and the water temperature. In the early spring, at ice out. You will find the trout along the shoreline in a few feet of water. This is a great time to be trolling. Allow your line out a long way behind your boat so as not to spook the fish. As the trout season proceeds into May and June, the fish can be found in various depths throughout the lake. 

As we venture into July. The Brook trout will seek deeper depths because the water remains cooler there. As you can see, this is all critical information if you want to know where to find the trout’s depth. Then, you can increase your percentage of catching brook trout. But this is called fishing, not catching, as trout can be unpredictable. And can be located at different lengths throughout the season. So start with high percentage areas, and if they’re not there, then move on and try all depths till you find them. Once you find them, enjoy yourself. In trout fishing, there will be a few days that the trout simply aren’t biting. 

Advanced Tools and Times for Brook Trout Fishing Success 

Imagine you’re on the water, overlooking the clear, cool water. Smelling the fresh air. You have with you your fishing gear and your latest fish Finder. Our next subject will be about innovative technology. With the sonar technology, you can see what’s happening below the boat in the lake’s depths. You can pinpoint precisely where the fish are feeding and their suspended level. 

Fish finders or sonars won’t make the fish bite. But they’ll certainly put you on to the spot where they are located. And you won’t be wasting your time in non-productive areas with no fish. Only some people want to use a fish Finder or a sonar. To some people, catching a fish is not that important. It’s more about just enjoying yourself on the water. But if your object is to catch a fish, then the Fish Finder will allow you to be fishing, where your odds of catching a fish are greatly improved. So, as you adjust your approaches throughout the day, trying to catch some brook trout. Starting with a fish-finder will give you a more significant percentage of a chance that you’ll catch a trout. 

Best time of day to catch Brook Trout

The time of day you choose to fish will increase your odds of catching a trout. We’ve often heard this expression, ‘the early bird catches the worm.’ This is very true when it comes to brook trout fishing. The best times are between 7:00 AM. and 11:00 AM. And then again, 4:00 PM to dusk. Although these trout can be seen swimming around throughout the day, the odds of catching them are slimmer than at dawn and dusk.   

Also, the weather can play an essential part in catching these trout. On an overcast day, you can extend the prime hours for catching brook trout. It’s all about understanding the trout’s comfort linked to light levels and water temperatures. If your goal is to have a productive day and catch some trout, it would definitely help if you aligned with these patterns. 

Also, utilizing your sonar and fish Finder will increase your odds of a successful outing.  

Handling your success responsibly, especially regarding catching and releasing. 

There’s nothing wrong with catching a few fish to take home and eat or over a campfire along the lake. But if you’re having a perfect day, it wouldn’t hurt to release a few. That way, you’ll be able to fish there in the future, as there will be trout there. Or if it’s a put-and-take fishery, you leave some fish for others to catch. The excitement is in catching the fish, so whether you release it or eat it, you still have that thrill. And by releasing it, you leave that thrill for somebody else. But like I said earlier, there’s nothing wrong with eating a few. 

A good practice, if you’re sport fishing and know you will release some, is to use barbless hooks or squeeze the barbs down before you start fishing. The fish can easily be removed from the hook without harming the trout. Also, if you plan to release the brook trout, consider keeping the fight as short as possible. Another good practice is to keep the fish in the water as much as possible when you release it. This helps to stress the fish less and not remove the protective slime on the trout. Also, to protect the protective slime on trout, ensure your hands are wet and your landing net is dipped into the water before you touch the fish. 

The Bite!

An important point also is when you get your first bite, what to do. It depends on whether the trout takes your bait in a vigorous hard jerk and runs with it or, on the other hand, nibbles at it. Tighten the line up firmly and immediately on a solid and robust bite. And if you’re trolling, it’s a good idea to put the motor into neutral and play the fish in not too harshly but not prolonging the fight if you plan on releasing it. 

Other equipment

These points will help you put more fish into the boat or your hand. The tackle that you use for the different types of fishing will vary. If you’re trolling or casting from shore, you’ll need different kinds of rods and line sizes. Still fishing along the shore of the lake or in some streams, a float is a handy piece of equipment. I usually carry many different sizes of floats. That matches the weight I’ll use to keep the bait near the bottom. 

Also, an overlooked place for trout is right around the boat launch. I remember stories of the people I used to fish with; their fellow fishermen would go out in the boats trolling, and they just wanted to sit around the shoreline and fish off the dock. Often, the people that sat on the dock caught more fish than the guys in the boats.   

One thing about Brook trout fishing is whether you spend it on the water in a boat or a stream wading or on the shore casting or still fishing; it will be gratifying to be one with nature. And an added advantage is that you get fresh air and some quiet time to enjoy yourself.