Quest for a Mega-Brown

So last year I set a goal of catching a 20 inch trout because I’d never done it and have been fishing for a long time. I knew they were in the streams around me but I just always would lean toward catching more smaller fish as opposed to really trying for a big one. I changed techniques, tackle, strategy, locations… essentially everything and it really paid off. I catch less fish, but I met my goal with several fish over 20 and the biggest was 22. I caught lots of fish between 15-20 inches too which for this area is pretty good.

So this year I have a new goal. A MEGA-BROWN. My definition of a mega brown would be anything over 25″. They exist but are not common. I think that I’ll really have to fine-tune what I figured out last year to achieve this goal and it will probably take more than one season. I have some ideas on how to catch them but I think the single most important thing that I learned from last year is that you can’t catch them if they aren’t there. This typically meant fishing places others don’t fish much or ever. I did a lot of exploring and found some nice out of the way places that I believe hold the big boys.

I would certainly welcome any advice that you all might have but mainly just wanted to start a post to update along the journey. Who knows how long it will take but I’m sure there will be a number of adventures along the way… and thats the whole point.

I don’t trout fish much these days. Back when I use to I was like you and wanted to target larger fish over #’s of fish. I found out that the larger fish tend to feed more on Minnow’s than insects. Once I started to fish more minnow lures ( Rapala’s ) my # of fish went way down but the size went way up. The other common thing I found on the bigger fish was they almost always came out of the deepest Pools. Those bigger fish get that way from being way smart. You have to take the most care possible when approaching big pools where you know there are large fish. Keep noise and shadows to a minimum. Good luck in your quest. Keep us posted.

here in MN you can only fish trout till 11pm, theres a reason for that.
big browns are most active at night. its a little tough fishing in the dark but it can be done. one of my go to lures at dark is a small gitter bug fished on a nice deep pool.

I didn’t know MN had that rule!!! Thats interesting. Yes night fishing is one of my strategies. I haven’t really done it much for trout… lots of other fish though. I think that is where the scouting thing will come in handy. I want to nigh fish when I find a giant that won’t come out of cover during the day. Its pretty tough around here to navigate the small streams through thick cover at night.

Thumper you are spot on from what I found last year. I did much better on average size on areas where the density was lower for fish and fisherman alike. Holes with big fish have a look about them it seems… although I was surprised a few times too. I caught some really nice fish out of some pretty skinny water… especially if there was overhead cover.

I probably should have mentioned that I primarily fly fish. No I’m not a snob because I grew up spinner fishing and still do occasionally. However I like the challenge of fly fishing. That being said… the concept is the same. You say jitter bug and I think deer hair mouse. Same concept right? I can’t imagine the adrenaline rush of getting a giant fish like that to eat on top. Gosh I’m excited.

Fish at low light periods OR when the stream is cloudy. Not blown out, but cloudy. Also, I find my best time for big browns is April 10-May 25th or so (NE Iowa). Larger fish just seem harder to find in the summer and fall for me. Also, spring is when the flow is higher and water is a bit more strained. Fish #7 or #9 countdown raps and fish downstream sections of popular streams in the area.

My biggest from NE iowa was a 27” brown and i’ve caught over a dozen in the 22-24” range. I’ve caught plenty of big great lakes browns but you cannot compare the thrill of hooking a big brown in a small stream.

Update…

I broke the longest fishing drought of my life yesterday. I hadn’t fished since March for anything. Dusted off the flyrod and went to work on a small stream that is very remote. Used a large streamer and did ok. Had lots of swings and misses from really nice fish but no mega fish. I moved really fast looking for a good candidate which resulted in much lower numbers landed. Good average though for NE IA. I landed 6: 12, 14, 14, 18, 20, 22. The bigger two were both females interestingly. 22 is pictured… bad picture but as Len can attest, trout selfies are tough

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Very nice!

That’s a great way to break out of a fishing funk.

I hear you about the selfie photo’s. I’ve caught a couple dozen trout this year and no pictures. I don’t like to lay them in the grass and take off their slime coat. I’m also not a fan of the outreached hand pic’s unless it’s a beauty like yours. My biggest is 18″ this year but still swinging for that 20″er. I’m headed to SE MN this weekend to resolve that issue!

Thanks for sharing.

Big fish eat meat. Or things that look like big pieces of meat.

Even the fly guys are really going for the big articulated lures that look like large minnows.

Also, mouse/vole patterns can be effective on big fish. Seems unlikely to a lot of Brown Trout guys, but the brook trout anglers of the north have been using mouse patterns for a century.

Grouse

Yeah I was using a pretty big streamer style fly. The stream is loaded with chubs and other small fish so I’m sure thats what they are primarily eating. Like I said I could have caught tons of fish if I used a smaller presentation but I was after the big boys. I think this water has the potential to kick out the type of fish I’m looking for. It takes a lot of time to fish because it is so remote… lots of time getting in and out. But thats why its good

No one said this would be easy. I fished yesterday for about 6 hrs on new water… we caught 5 fish 13-14″. No big ones raised. It was a little off color and hot and sunny… not ideal but can’t catch them on the couch. Hit a hatch in the evening. Caught about 20 between the two of us. All fish are fun on a dry fly!

With this hot weather it’s time to alter tactics to low light or rainy days.

Update…

Wish I was posting a picture of the type of fish I’m after but not the case. I haven’t gotten out near as much as I would have liked but all in all its been a good year. I’ve found some nice fish but no giants. Had one recently that would have pushed close to the 25″ mark but I wasn’t holding the rod…. my 9 year old was. Takes a lot of force to drive hooks into an old male brown’s jaw… Fun to see one like that though… fish are getting really pretty right now with the upcoming spawn. Big boy that we missed on was brilliant orange. Here’s a few fish that have come to hand. Nothing big but pretty fish.

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Stupid cell phone pictures… upside down.

If you want a mega brown head southeast to the Milwaukee WI area. I know it’s not the same as your creek browns but you have a very good shot at a 20+lber. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a message

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A little fuel for the fire. This one was a c hair over 30 and was about 11 pounds. Caught off of a whooly bugger on a 5wt.

Here is a 22.5″ Brown I caught last year in SE Minnesota…Not a Mega Brown but my PB. It bit a Helsinki shad husky jerk.

Ryan H., that is no doubt a huge brown. Can I ask if it was “lake run” or a resident fish. If it is a resident, it is really a trophy.

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That is a resident fish. I had no idea he was there I had been catching 16-20 inch rainbows and then this guy came out of nowhere. One of my favorite fish I have ever caught.

Way to stoke the fire Ryan… thats what I’m after. Something like that. What a beauty.

Those are awesome for streams. You can just cheat and go to the Milwaukee Harbor lol.

Hey now Allan, those big browns can be an absolute pain in the a$$ to catch ice fishing. I had a few days this winter where I dropped my aqua-vu and watched 20lbers swimming around but not feeding. Fall open water and in the rivers are a completely different story on the other hand lol

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lol that was a low blow i know. You have to make sure you are very quiet it is amazing how spooky trout are in shallow ice fishing. Also when fly fishing up your size of streamers and just size up. There is a revolution of massive streamers for browns and other trout. My favorite is The Honey Badger tied by cross tv.

I agree with as lot of the remarks here, my biggest trout in Iowa was on a crankbait. Not sure how big it was, but it was BIG and kinda a fluke.

The other part was being on the right piece of water. No lie, back in the late 90’s there was some guys talking on the interwebs about all of these 20″+ trout they were catching very casually and I was like, BS. There’s no way. Well, a buddy of mine and I went to that stream and first spot I catch my first trout over 20″. My buddy says it’s going to be a good day and yes it was. 15 over 20″ for the both of us.

Well, it had a lot more to do with the water than the fishermen. I think in NE Iowa, unless you are on some private water, your chances are limited. PM me and I’ll give you the name of that stream I was on. It was a while ago, actually visited it last year and it was unrecognisable, but I would be interested to know if it still produces…