There are times when Brook Trout have such a voracious appetite that they’ll chomp on anything you throw at them – hair jigs, spinners, spoons, crankbaits, plastics, streamers or dry flies.
And then there are other times that they seem to have lockjaw, or are so dialed-in on one specific food item that they can be one of the most frustrating fish to try to catch!
We’ve done our job as Guides… we’ve put our clients on fish. But as the fish rise and roll on the surface, we watch our clients toss everything in their fly & tackle boxes… and ours too… to try to find a lure or fly that will trigger a strike.
And sometimes – after a lot of trial and failure – you find the “lucky charm”… you know, the one that’s “magically delicious”… to Brook Trout anyways.
But then there are days when it seems that nothing is going to work… and those are the days when we, as Guides, need to get really creative to help our clients be successful.
On a few recent bookings with some skilled & experienced anglers from Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, we watched as fish after fish boiled and broke surface… but nothing was taking.
On one of those days, we noticed a large number of small Caddis were hovering and popping on the surface… could it be that these large Brookies were completely focussed on what seemed like the smallest of food items available in the Nipigon River?
Well, in fact, they were. So, I suggested my client Craig should change up from his sink tip & large streamers to a floating line and a small Elk Hair Caddis… it yielded instant success, with him landing three 20 inch fish in quick succession.
On another occasion, some spin-casting clients had a pretty successful first day with me – 17 aggressive hookups throwing mostly spinners, spoons and crankbaits.
The very next day, the Brookies appeared to be in lockjaw mode, despite being equally as active at the surface as the previous day… and that day we only managed to fool 3 fish into a bite. So I had a plan for Day 3 of their trip.
These guys are pretty die-hard spin-cast & gear guys, but after a slow start to the morning of their final day, I convinced them to step out of their comfort zone and try – just try – floating a fly past these active fish. And guess what happened?
Yep, both guys landed a matched set of 21.5 inch Specks earning them both new, fly-fish caught Personal Bests.
I was feeling pretty darn proud of myself for solving the lockjaw issue and getting these guys on some fish, and then something changed – it was like the fish went on strike and effected a total lockdown!
Not to worry… we could always try to find a few Lake Trout during the midday, and then circle back to the Brookies for the afternoon & evening bite.
Nick boated a beautiful 34.5 inch / 16 pound Lake Nipigon Lake Trout… but even they were being kinda finicky.
So back to the River we went to try and figure out what it was the Brook Trout wanted. This time around I noticed a large group of Mergansers were actively feeding in the 2 pools where the fish had been most active. Sure enough, we saw Brookies rolling and chasing after Stickleback minnows, so we downsized some plastic jig presentations and bang – we were back to catching fish!
Then it happened – all good things came to an end, and it was back to washing lures… yet again.
When it was just about time to pack up for the day, I asked if either of the guys had thrown a Mepps Syclops spoon yet… neither had, so Nick quickly rigged up and started casting it… and kapow!!
The hit was sudden and solid, and the battle was epic. Brook Trout are masters at using the fast currents to their advantage, and this fish was no different… weaving from one side of the boat to the other, and plunging deep trying to shake the hook.
Nick was holding his own, but we realized that this was an especially large fish and it was mostly in control. We soon realized we were gonna have to back down towards the fish as Nick was not making any progress moving it up-current towards the boat.
After about 10 minutes and 5 controlled down-current drop backs (thanks to spot lock on my electric trolling motor), Nick was finally able to gain some line and bring the fish to net…and oh, what a fish it was… it measured 25 inches long by 15.5 inches girth and weighed a whopping 7.32 pounds!
Fast forward a couple weeks to September 15th – closing day of the 2025 Brook Trout season – I had reserved the day for some personal fishing with my partner Janet.
Although we got off to a later than normal start, one of my favourite runs in the River was (unbelievably) completely vacant. We settled in, spot-locked the boat, and the lure washing began… lol.
Based on previous experience, I quickly noticed the actively feeding Mergansers, and small Sticklebacks getting chased by big Brookies so I knew precisely what to try – downsize!!
I rigged up a couple 1/8 oz jigheads with some 2-1/2 inch white Power Bait fluke tails and we were almost instantly in business.
Casting a well-known current seam… I felt a couple taps on the first drift. So I repeated the process, this time with a heavy, no-doubt thump and the battle was on!!
Janet watched with amazement at how well the fish used the current to maintain control… still, she readied the net for me.
About 5 minutes later, I slid the fish into the net and realized this was one of my biggest and best fish of the season… a fitting end on the last day for me after putting so many clients on some truly great fish this year.
We quickly measured, weighed and photographed the fish and then sent it back to the depths… 23.25 inches long by 15 inches girth and it weighed 6.0 pounds on the dot!
But my work wasn’t done… now I wanted to help Janet latch on to something bigger than the 18” Brookie she had caught to start our day.
Once again, using the smaller Stickleback presentation paid off… two more fish – 21 inches and 19 inches – got introduced to the net, with Janet enjoying the fight from the bigger of the two fish.
Once again the midday bite slowed considerably and after a nice break on shore for lunch, we decided to try a couple other spots… all without success.
So we circled back to that favoured run, and I started off trying the larger-sized jig & plastic and felt an immediate tug. I leaned back, set the hook and handed the rod to Janet to finish the task while I managed the boat.
She handled the fish expertly in the strong current, and soon another 21.5 inch / 4.5 pound was in her hands for a photo.
I guess if there is a moral to the story, it’s about watching what’s happening around you on the water, and adapting as best you can when the bite is slow.
Whether it’s watching small Caddis hovering over feeding fish… or watching feeding Mergansers chasing Sticklebacks… try, as best you can, to emulate what it is that’s triggering fish to splash and roll when they seem a bit reluctant to bite.
Enjoy every day ‘on the water’ regardless of how the fish are biting… it’s gonna be a long 7 months before I get to chase these beauties again!!
