Opener Brookies

Most people go steelhead crazy come opener, but I go for specks. Its a tradition, and we usually get 'em good! But it's been a long time since I have caught Brook Trout in the numbers like I did this past weekend.

We got most of our fish on minnow patterns. Jigging, drop shot, fly, and tubes all worked! It was a couldn't miss kinda weekend.

We got a lot of bigger stocked fish which leads me to believe the stocking program is working!

Here are a few pretty fish!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04...9045f93d0f.jpg
They even hit swimbaits!!
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04...f1d88b18fe.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04...6b5f8c0db6.jpg

Ahhhhh Brookies...
Going to hit some creeks soon myself... Maybe sooner after
seeing this post.
Very nice!!

FSHN 247
Jay

Dam i'm jealous nice catch i need my brookie fix you are lucky to be fishing early i'm still dealing with ice where i fish for them...

Beauty squares. That last one is a very nice product of the stocking program

Some nice sized specks,


creek I fish was to cold, not even a nibble, and only caught 3 chub and they where the only 3 bites I had, with these warmer temps this week they should be a little hungier,

Nice fish.

Nice fish , sounds like a great weekend .

A Ray

My favorite target species on light gear. Right on for your efforts.

outback

Nice fish. I enjoy fishing lake specs with spinning gear and smaller bass/walleye type baits... As you proved they eat a lot more than just spinners or worms...

The funny part, I landed 3 natural Brookies, and they all came on the Berkley Ripple Shad...they where the only 3 fish that hit the swimbait...

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Originally Posted by intothedeep

Nice fish. I enjoy fishing lake specs with spinning gear and smaller bass/walleye type baits... As you proved they eat a lot more than just spinners or worms...

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Ya!! We threw some nymph patterns and it was the slowest part of the day! Switched back to minnow and bang bang!

We opened the belly of one we kept for the table, and there was a piece of grass, a twig and a piece of tree bark in there...talk about aggressive!!

:rolleyes:Icreek I fish was to cold, not even a nibble, and only caught 3 chub and they where the only 3 bites I had, with these warmer temps this week they should be a little hungier,[/QUOTE]

Thats the excuse I use too..... No one has ever mentioned to me that these fish have been eating all winter but when they do I will explain that hard water rookies are a different species....:rolleyes:

Nice fish, congrats. Never seen Specks caught on those rubbers before.. How do you tell the Naturals from the Stockers? Are they all clipped down there? They aren't clipped up here anymore.

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Originally Posted by Live2Fish.ca

The funny part, I landed 3 natural Brookies, and they all came on the Berkley Ripple Shad...they where the only 3 fish that hit the swimbait...

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Specs are my favorite too. I wouldn't have gone to a ripple shad first, but now I might give it a shot (just thinking they might be a bit big - obviously they aren't). Right on!

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Originally Posted by woody1948

Nice fish, congrats. Never seen Specks caught on those rubbers before.. How do you tell the Naturals from the Stockers? Are they all clipped down there? They aren't clipped up here anymore.

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Not sure where up here is, but where I was they do still clip them. The pectoral fins are gone, and they do look a little different

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Originally Posted by Live2Fish.ca

Not sure where up here is, but where I was they do still clip them. The pectoral fins are gone, and they do look a little different

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Brookies are meat eaters, look at the tongue next time you land one, it looks like they have back pointing teeth on it! They definitely are opportunistic and aggressive! Thank god they get weary with age or else they would try to eat anything that hit the water!

The Ripple Shad is just a minnow imitation, we get them on jerk-baits, leaches, mice, spinners and all sorts of drop shot patterns, why not swimbaits?

Next week I'm gonna throw the kitchen sink, just to see what happens, lol

I fish creek specks and fish right below the fast water as the specks are so aggressive they hit the bait right away, ( before the 50 chub in the hole have a chance ) fishing the slower water you have to fight the chub off. The stretch I fish has about 30 such spots and it's run and gun throw a bait in maybe 5 times, you don't have a strike by then it's onto the next spot. As for aggressive I've found them with colored pebbles in their stomachs that must have been washing downstream with the current.

Panther Martin with a bit of worm on the hook is deadly.

Up here is where the ice is still on the lakes and the Specks are a lot bigger than those. Yep, I have seen the mouths of a few Specks.

Love those brookies

Sweet, sweet spring speckles!

I also have moved to less "traditional" brookie baits for the lake fish, when they are aggressive they want it moving! I experimented with topwater a couple of years ago, in the fall, they would come up and look at baits that you had to pause like poppers or prop baits but as soon as they stopped the fish would turn tail and disappear. I found walking baits to be the best, lots of action but they don't travel very far.

Haven't been able to get out yet but I'm hoping to this weekend.

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Originally Posted by Rugger

Sweet, sweet spring speckles!

I also have moved to less "traditional" brookie baits for the lake fish, when they are aggressive they want it moving! I experimented with topwater a couple of years ago, in the fall, they would come up and look at baits that you had to pause like poppers or prop baits but as soon as they stopped the fish would turn tail and disappear. I found walking baits to be the best, lots of action but they don't travel very far.

Haven't been able to get out yet but I'm hoping to this weekend.

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If I had any topwater baits I would heave thrown em!! They where hitting my Raven SM 2.8 float!

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Originally Posted by woody1948

Up here is where the ice is still on the lakes and the Specks are a lot bigger than those. Yep, I have seen the mouths of a few Specks.

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Attachment 29609

Up here in speck country

So jealous right now!!! Beautiful fish!! Gotta figure out where "Speck Country" is, lol