he eastern brook trout is a fascinating enigma to sport fishermen. Anglers cannot decide whether they love the fish for its beauty or ease of capture. This would explain why they hold a soft spot in their hearts for the species despite the influx of rainbow and brown trout into trout streams. Even now, when the speckled beauty has retreated to the headwaters of its original range, anglers speak of their secret place for "brookies. "

It is certainly not its size which draws the angler to make bushwhacking treks into remote beaver ponds for a foot-long fish, nor the fact that it makes a choice meal, but the knowledge that the fish are there and can be caught. Brook trout fight deep, slugging against the line, not as flashy as the rainbow nor as selective as the brown.

The initial development of sport fishing, particularly fly fishing, centered around the eastern brook trout because it is considered by most anglers to be quite gullible and therefore easily caught. In one controlled experiment, a mile of river containing stocked trout was weired off at both ends and then fished. Forty percent of the fish were hooked in 48 hours.

Because of its popularity, it is difficult to maintain satisfactory populations of the species. Brook trout do not have a high enough reproductive capacity to keep up with heavy catch-and-keep angling demands. As a consequence, restocking with hatchery-reared fish has become a regular practice in many areas within its range. These efforts have been going on for close to a century and as such have become quite scientific. In all likelihood the majority of brook trout that you have caught or will catch were provided with compliments of your local fisheries management people.

THE FISH

Eastern brook trout are easier to identify than brown trout or rainbow trout. An angler may have trouble differentiating a brookie from a splake (the brook trout-lake trout hybrid which has been planted in some lakes) or from an Arctic char, but both these fish have very limited range.

Local names given to this member of the char family of Salmonids reinforces identification problems. The fish is the square tail in Maine, the speckled trout in the Maritimes, the brookie in Ontario, the native trout where browns have been introduced, and silver trout where they are anadromous and run to the sea as "coasters."

Shape, Size, and Color

Scientists can make an exact identification of the species based on the number of gill-rakers and teeth on the tongue and jaw, but the square tail (there is no V cut in the tail) and the white-edged pectoral fin should be adequate identification for most anglers. The scales are so small they're practically unnoticeable. If you do catch a world record, an expert can assist in the identification, especially by counting the ten rays of the dorsal fin and the nine of the anal fin. But since most brook trout are immediately released or end up in the frying pan, this exactness is redundant.

Brook trout may vary considerably in size and shape, depending on habitat. One of the largest individuals was taken from the Nipigon River in Ontario. It was almost three feet long and weighed over 14 pounds. However, the average fish seldom exceeds ten inches and a few pounds. Heavy fishing pressure prevents most trout from reaching old age and therefore the increased size that comes with it.

The brookie has red spots over the sides of its body. The background color can vary greatly even in the same river. If the fish is taken from a black bottom beaver pond, it takes on a dark green body sheen. This might change to a much lighter color if the fish is caught over a shallow gravel bar with rocks of a lighter hue. The lower sides of the body are usually pinkish and the belly whitish. The dorsal fin is set off with a black streak and a white leading edge. Especially characteristic are the wavy or worm-like markings on the back of the body.

Senses

An angler arriving at the stream may spot the telltale rise of the fish feeding at the surface and cast with expectation. Why then do some fish refuse to take the fly, plug, or bait? What survival skill warned it? Another angler may see fish moving freely in the water but as soon as he moves quickly, the fish are startled and disappear. Why?

A brook trout is able to feel, hear, see, and taste. The lateral line on a trout has some similarities with the sonar system of a submarine. The fish can detect sound vibrations from a good distance. The trout is able to monitor the sound and identify its intensity and source through 16 to 32 feet of water. Also, sound travels five times faster underwater. The sound of a foot crunching gravel, the movements of a wading angler, an oar hitting the side of a boat, or a can hitting the deck can be detected as unnatural. It is easier to catch fish in rapids or on windy days because the water sounds dampen the noise made by the angler.

Some noises can actually attract fish. The ears of a trout are sensitive enough to hear a struggling baitfish or a swimming nymph a few feet away. A trout hunting a baitfish may first sense its vibration, then smell it before it senses it visually. Fish detect odors and may be turned off by strong unnatural smells coming off artificial lures and flies. Some anglers go so far as to soak streamers and lures in sardine oil to overcome human smell. Fish even mouth potential food and spit it out if it is not to their liking. In fact, a trout has taste buds on its jaw, snout, mouth, and throat. It only needs to touch the food with its snout to decide whether or not to ingest it.

A combination of taste and tactile sense tells the fish whether or not to eat a particular food-like substance. The item may look like food and taste like it, but the feel of the item in the fish's mouth is not right. For example, anglers who have tried to use the hard-bodied plastic nymphs report little success. Probably the plastic does not feel right and the trout rejects it. Manufacturers, aware of this problem, have devised new plastic baits whose texture is more appealing to fish.

Brook trouts' visual acuity is also very good. Though they are able to feel the vibration of a swimming nymph and taste its path as it passes, the trout uses its eyes to close in for the kill. Trout use their limited binocular ability in their rise to take flies from the surface or in the final few inches of taking a minnow. Within this short range, they are very accurate.

Although it has a blind zone directly behind and below its tail and overlapping vision above and ahead of it, the trout is able to perceive an angler before the angler spots it. The light rays which bend 48 degrees upon entering the water also bend on the way out, enabling the fish to see widely beyond its cone of vision. Fish do see well in the dark, particularly silhouettes, and they are able to distinguish size. (Figure 8-1.)

The cone of vision is that window through which the fish is able to see out into our world. A fish lying one and a half feet below the surface can see into the atmosphere through the open cone. If the fish rises to the surface, the cone becomes smaller; if it sinks, the cone becomes larger. Beyond the cone, the under-surface of the water acts like a mirror reflecting items from below. Thus an angler who stands tall in water or onshore may be observed by the fish. To overcome this, the angler should keep low by crouching if onshore or by hunching over if wading. Trout lack eyelids to protect them From too much light. In bright sunlight, brook trout are driven to seek a shaded hiding place under a rock or tree along the shore, or in the depths of a pool. The angler fishing during the day must put his bait or fly alongside one of these areas. At dawn or dusk, the long shadows provide the shade needed. The fish then move out to midstream to take advantage of the food drift. These are favored fishing times for most anglers.

It would be difficult to predict which of the senses first alerts trout to bait or to an angler. On a bright clear day, line splash, light-colored clothing, and too much casting can all disturb the fish. Wearing felt-soled waders, darker clothing, and keeping the fly or lure in the water longer to reduce casting may help you maintain consistent success.

Predator and Prey

The angler who understands the feeding behavior of the trout will watch more fish. Food is the trout's Achilles' heel. Once you have identified what it eats, how it senses the food, and how it identifies it, you need only imitate or simulate its prey, present it in a lifelike manner, and the fish is yours. Or is it?

Scientific analysis of the eating habits of trout indicates that they take 90 percent of their food from beneath the surface. Although 34 percent of the food is terrestrial or land-based, this too is taken largely as drowned insects.

The brook trout is oriented towards aquatic insects and minnows, having a decided leaning toward caddis flies and winged insects. They hit their bait from a holding position, usually in the protection of some structure. A trout will choose a feeding lane which allows it to hold in the current or to the side of the current while waiting for the flow to bring it its food.

During a heavy hatch, when thousands of insects are on the water, the brook trout may only rise when the currents move in a manner to buoy it to the level of the food. The fish may ignore a food item which drifts by when the current is not right.

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