Growing up I was always told to fish the small brooks and streams after the 4th of July and this has always worked for me. The main reason we always fished the small streams and brooks later in the summer is that the temperatures and flows have stabilized. The fish are in predictable areas of cover and structure and provide great fun during a time that many anglers have given up on fishing for brook trout. Now there is a little caveat to fishing during this time of the year. Temperature is very important to brook trout and other cold water fish. Branch Brook and other waters that are similar have perfect water temperatures from underground springs and the dense cover of trees, which keep sunlight from warming the water to unsafe levels. When I first “discovered” this brook back in 2007 I quickly knew that this brook was special as the water was very chilly during the month of August and has stayed consistent ever since.  The other amazing aspect of this brook is that it is not stocked and is full of native brook trout.  There are other streams in southern Maine that are similar to Branch Brook and only require an open mind and a sense of exploration to find them.  You have to be ready to strike out once in a while to truly know whether a body of water is worth your time.  For me it is part of the allure of fishing.  What is around the river bend and what is down this old woods road?  One will never know unless you take a chance and go looking.

Beautiful brook trout

Example of a cut bank

There are two different parts to this brook. At the access point by the road is a series of riffles and small runs that lead into wider, slower pools with undercut banks. This is the most important structure throughout this brook. Undercut banks are created when the current pushes against the bank and erodes the soil around roots and rocks, which the trout use to hide from predators.  You do not need to be precise with your flies or lures on this brook.  Just get it close and the trout will take it.  In this environment the trout cannot afford to pass up any food source and will strike quickly.  With a good pair of polarized sunglasses I always observe trout come out of nowhere to hit my lures or flies as they pass.  One really needs to be aware of where your offerings are at all times and be ready for a strike when you do not expect it.  One structure that is a sure bet is where the brook passes under fallen logs and have created small log jams.  This was where I caught my first brook trout on this brook.  I was using a Mepps Aglia, also one of my go to lures for bass, and let it sit right underneath the first major log jam and a healthy 10″ brook trout came to net.  In this brook a trout this size can be considered a trophy, but there are bigger ones.  The most impressive thing about this brook is the range of age classes that are present throughout this system.  We have caught trout as small as three inches and there are a plethora of 5 to 6 inch trout that will grow to take over as the older and larger trout get harvested or die of old age.  We have seen trout over 13″ in this brook so it is well worth the effort and time.

Dry fly action was really good

One of the many good trout Chi brought to net

This past month has been very good on this brook.  In the upper sections a small Muddler Minnow fished in the current has worked very well.  In the slower deeper sections a small bead head soft hackle Hare’s Ear pattern works wonders.  One of the best moments for me came on the 10th as I crawled into position to cast my fly along a cut bank.  I watched as my fly sank to the bottom and a nice 12″ brook trout came out of his hiding spot.  This trout did not look like it took the fly and just stayed where it was.  I slowly moved the fly and quickly realized he had taken the fly and just kept it in his mouth.  That was not normal behavior, but I will take it every time.  This trout made a mess of the pool running up and down spooking the rest of the trout.  This is tremendous fun on my L.L. Bean 3 weight StreamLight that is only 5’9″ and the best option for fly casting in this small brook.  I was not going to catch any more trout in this pool, but this provided me a glimpse of the size of the trout and where they were holding for later days on the water.  As I worked my way down the brook the surface activity increased dramatically and a simple White Wulff and Adams Parachute kept the action constant.

The trout that took the Hare’s Ear nymph on the 10th

Oxbow full of trout

Later in the week I brought a friend along to fish and explore new sections of the brook.  I had wanted to fish the upper section in the past, but the fishing in the lower section was so good it was hard to break away.  We still fished the lower section and did quite well.  I brought Chi to the same log jam that I caught my first brook trout on this water and sure enough a 10″ brook trout came to net.  This was his first true native brook trout.  One other very important thing to remember when fishing small brooks and streams is being aware of your profile over the water.  Your shadow can put a whole pool of trout down as they know shadows to be from predators in the wild.  We were conscious of this as we approached the same pool where I had observed numerous larger trout earlier in the week.  On Chi’s first cast he hooked and landed one of the nice trout.  Chi was using small mealworms that looked very similar to caddis larvae and all of his trout that he caught did not take the hook deep and we managed very easy releases.  No matter what form of fishing you do please bring the fish in quickly and if you cannot get the hook out, cut your line and the hook will work its way out.  It is also very important when handling fish to ensure that your hands are wet so that you do not rub off the protective slime of the fish.  If that happens the fish will become sick and eventually die from a bacterial infection.

The log jam where Chi and I both caught our first trout on this brook

The darker water is where you want to put your offering

Chi and I worked our way down the brook to a pool where I had seen the largest trout on the stream, but have never landed him.  Jeff had this trout slash at his lure twice last year and earlier in the month the same sized fish in the pool had come out of the cut bank to look at my lure, but did not strike.  This was truly a monster for this brook.  We were careful not to cast our shadows and on one of his early casts his line shot forward and he attempted to set the hook.  We knew it was a good quality fish as Chi’s drag was working overtime, but it came off the hook early.  Chi just looked at me with a long face and asked “was that the big one?”  All I could say was “yup.”  That trout did not make another appearance during that day, but will be there the next time we ply the waters.  Below this section the water becomes very placid and deeper.  Dry fly fishing through this section is a painful waiting game as there is very little current to move your fly.  Patience is in order until your fly drifts over waiting fish.  Do not get too impatient here.  If your fly slaps the water over the fish in the pool they will spook.

Pool on the upper section

We were still busy on the upper section

After lunch we fished the upper sections of the brook.  The structure of this section is much different.  It is wider, slower and there is less holding water to be had.  The pools that hold fish are much smaller and the distance is much greater between productive pools.  There has been more harvesting along the woods surrounding the brook so there is more sunlight that hits the water and makes the fish more spooky.  We worked much faster through this section.  One does not have to continuously cast into each pool if you have caught a few trout in there.  Each pool can only hold a few good fish.  If you have made a few casts with no results you can move on.  No use in beating the water to a froth if there are no fish in the area.  Even within this brook the variances between the trout are striking.  In the lower sections the trout are darker and the red in the spots are deeper.  In this upper section we caught a nice brook trout that had very pronounced yellow spots.  This has a lot to do with the sandy bottom that is more prevalent in this section.

This brook is truly a gem in southern Maine.  I am not worried about talking about this brook as it is not a secret to those in the fishing community.  As long as we treat this brook with respect and understand how our actions can affect the success of this brook this gem will be alright.  Practice catch and release so that others may enjoy this brook and bring along a small trash bag to pick up for others.  I know it does not seem fair, but the one major reason private property is closed to the public is because of littering.  If you see someone littering please report it.  We all need to pitch in to protect what we hold dear.

Very colorful brook trout

Even skinny water holds nice trout

You never know what you are going to find in the woods

Just a wonderful place to spend a day