The Brook trout, classified as Salvelinus fontinalis, is a fish commonly found in lakes, ponds and small creeks. Native to the eastern part of North America, the brook trout can also be found as far west as the Sierras in California and as far North as the Kamloops in Canada. Like Dolly Vardens and Lake Trout, the brook trout is commonly referred to as a trout, but is actually a char - of the salvelinus genus. (Salmon, trout and chars are all genuses that belong to the Salmonidae family).

Fly fishermen familiar with the Brook trout know that this type of fish has a wide variety in its diet. They eat flies, ants, worms, eggs, insects and small fish - all common trout food which you likely have imitation patterns of in your fly box. Baetis and other common insect patterns that you fly fish with for other trout work well on brookies. Brook trout also eat frogs and crustaceans. In spring ponds, having a tadpole popper or two that you jig on the surface can sometimes land a brook trout, even though you were going for a bass! Sculpins and molting crawdad patterns work well with brook trout (when crustaceans are present in the native environment, of course). Though they can get up to 12 lbs, if fishing for brookies in creeks and streams, they tend to stay on the smaller size - so using a light-weight tippet is usually a safe bet and it can mean better fly presentation and a more challenging landing process (use barbless hooks!).

Brook trout have been stocked in many inland waters across the United States. Whether you are fly fishing in lakes, or in the pocket waters of a winding stream, brook trout can be caught on the 'usual suspects' of flies: prince nymphs, Elk Hair Caddis, Woolly buggers, Royal Wulff, etc. As is the case when fishing for any species of trout or char, the more wild the population, the more selective the fish is on what sort of fly they will go for. It's always a good idea to check in with a local guide or fly shop to see what yields the best success when fishing a new region.

The larger Brook trout tend to be the "Coaster" Brook Trout. They are much larger than their land-locked brethren. Coasters are the native trout that live in the Great Lakes or are sea run along the North American Atlantic coast. Like Salmon and Steelhead trout, Coasters come inland to spawn along the tributaries. The fry grow in the protection of small streams until they become big enough to head out to the open waters. They return to spawn in 3-5 years. Coaster Trout grow much larger than the Brook trout in streams. They also tend to have a more chrome coloration. Stripping in a sculpin or woolly bugger pattern in lakes are good general approaches for Coasters, and you may want to strip a fast retrieve of a shrimp or leech pattern on the sea-run Coasters (on a sink tip line) though there are far more successful patterns to use, depending on the regional variants (i.e. stop by the local fly shop, and check out their patterns).

If you are used to catching rainbows or browns, you will immediately notice the difference when you land a brook trout. The first things that you will notice is that the mouth extends much further back than a brown or rainbow trout's. It also has a mottled, "marble" pattern, called vermiculations, on its back (I tend to think of it as a worm-trail pattern) that can be striking and quite beautiful when the brook trout is sporting its spawning colors. Like the other members of the char genus, Brook Trout spawn in the fall. Because they do not require clean gravel beds with good water flow to spawn, Brook trout are popular fish to stock in high mountain lakes. Though sometimes this results in stunting of their growth (large head and fins, but skinny and shortened bodies) as high mountain lakes often are nutrient-poor waters for brook trout to live in (versus the golden trout, which are native to high-altitude lake environments).

Brook trout colors range from green to brown (sometimes a grey-chrome color like 'coasters') with the lighter-colored vermilcations across the backs and flanks extending from tail to dorsal fin. The sides are spotted with red dots centered within blue circles. Some Brook trout have yellow spots on the flanks as well (particularly towards the tail). The fins and belly are red-orange with the fins edged in white. The Brook Trout's spawning colors are quite beautiful as the bellies and fins become a darker hue of red.