In Pursuit of Trophy Brook Trout

Book excerpt: The brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) has captured the fascination of anglers for centuries, and some flyfishers devote lifetimes in pursuit of wild or native trophies. Yet 90 percent never catch a brook trout over 14 inches. Why? Simple: the average angler doesn’t know how to find them and rarely employs the specialized tactics required for hooking a large brook trout. Which is why well-known author of New England flyfishing, Lou Zambello, has written this new book, In Pursuit of Trophy Brook Trout: Techniques, Timing, and Territories. Zambello has fished for and guided anglers after wild trophy brook trout for decades. He has spent years deciphering seasonal migration patterns, aquatic life cycles, and weather events impacting brookie behavior. He’s tested different flies and tactics, both on the surface and down deep. This book explains where big brookies can be found, when they are catchable, how to fool them, and how to land them, all while recounting illuminating trophy trout experiences. The beauty of a male trophy brook trout in spawning colors rivals any of nature’s canvases – broad greenish flanks decorated with blue halos and the deep orange or burgundy of its underside highlighted by white-tipped fins that looked like an underwater baker had dipped them in vanilla frosting. Landing a wild or native brook trout that measure in pounds instead of inches should be at the top of everyone’s bucket list. Read and reread this insightful new book and become one of the lucky few who can boast of landing a trophy wild brook trout.