Stalking Trophy Brown Trout A Fly-Fisher's Guide to Catching the Biggest Trout of Your Life

The most secretive of the trout family but also the most aggressive, brown trout are a paradox. Among freshwater fish, their predatory nature is rivaled only by the pike family. Among fishermen, they are an object of endless fascination and speculation. After a lifetime of fishing the West, the author has reached a point where he can annually catch more than a half dozen monster browns, each weighing more than five pounds. Most fishermen who would give their eye teeth to reproduce hisy success. With detailed descriptions of his unusual techniques, and with some surprising, often counterintuitive revelations about what works and what doesn't, this book passes along all the author's secrets.

John Holt is the author of thirteen published works of nonfiction, two short story collections, and a novel. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers including Fly Fisherman, The Denver Post, Sports Afield, Men’s Journal, Gray’s Sporting Journal, American Cowboy, Big Sky Journal, Fly Rod & Reel, Audubon, E, and Travel and Leisure.

Table of Contents Chapter 1 – The Illusive, Predatory Nature of Browns – Why are browns so difficult to catch, and why is hunting this voracious predator so rewarding and exciting? Why are browns different from other trout? The classic, crouching, quiet approach with lengthy leaders, tiny tippets, and long casts is only rarely needed for browns. Big patterns, short stout leaders, and loud, splashy casts tight to a bank or even onto the bank work better. An angler needs to attract the attention of big fish that prefer undercut, brushy banks, and shadowy lies. Chapter 2 – The Surface Game – While only ten percent of a large trout’s feeding is on the surface, fishing dry flies or poppers can provide for a disproportionate level of success. Even mouse and small frog imitations will provoke heart-stopping attacks from very large fish. From the largest patterns down to the smallest, the various flies and techniques will be dissected and explained. Chapter 3 – Lurking Just Below the Surface – For something completely different, a large, chartreuse, saltwater barracuda streamer can drive big browns into a lunatic frenzy. This is shark hunting on the high plains. But a more traditional, sedate approach is needed when the browns are feeding on nymphs and emerging pupae just below the surface. Soft hackle patterns like the Partridge-and-Orange cover lots of water easily and efficiently. I explain my version of a technique first detailed by Jock Scott in Greased Line Fishing For Salmon and refined by Sylvester Nemes. Chapter 4 – Subterranean Excursions – Nymphing the classic Hare’s Ear Nymph along the bottom will take large browns even when little else works. I’ve found that a pattern designed for lakes often is a killer on deep, smooth, or even rapid stretches of rivers. The Bigg’s Special imitates damsel and dragon flies. Chapter 5 – That Old Ace in the Hole – I’ve taken brown trout of five pounds or more on a Cree Woolly Bugger that I designed years ago. I describe in direct terms how to fish the bugger, either retrieved as fast as possible, fished like a forage fish with a serious malfunction, or dead drifted. Knowing when to use each a approach is the key. As an Alabama tournament bass fisherman told me on the Missouri above Randall Dam, “That’s a real fine bugger you’ve got there. Make darn sure you fish it like a minnow afeared for its life.” Chapter 6 – Reading the Water – Most fly fishers believe that they are good at determining where big browns hold. But prime locations are often not what they seem, and not always evident at first glance. Pools, riffles, and runs are all good, but how about shallow, still water among grass and reeds, a la northern pike? Or how about working patterns along narrow, lowering side channels that resemble the creeks of our childhoods? I call this “Toy Creek Fishing.” Chapter 7 – Final Thoughts – A summation with a few last tips, I’ll discuss seasonal and daily timing, fishing rivers as they compress after spring runoff, and how to take the information in this book and use it for other trout species, along with bass and northern pike. Further Reading – This will be a thorough and at times esoteric list and description of the titles referenced in this book. Notes – Required tackle, terminal gear and fly tying instructions will be included at the end of each chapter. In addition to what to do, each chapter will also describe what not to do when fishing for big browns.