November is a busy time of the year for me with deer season and the rut in full swing. Months of preparation have led up to the best deer hunting of the entire year. It’s also the perfect time to fish for big lake run salmon, steelhead, and brown trout so when my good buddy Jason Butcher called and invited me on a trip north to the Great Lakes region, I had a tough decision to make.
Jason is an excellent fly-fisherman and I’ve learned a lot from him over the years. I actually met Jason while fly-fishing when I was first starting out. He was quick to point out all of the things I was doing wrong and it really helped in shortening the learning curve. I had all intentions on hunting during the month of November but after a slight twist of the arm I was ready to go battle with some big fish.
I love fishing for big brown trout and when Jason told me how huge they get by living in the Great Lakes, I was ready to put the bow aside for the week and break out the 7 weight. I knocked the dust off of the fly-tying vise and whipped out as many flies as I could in the two weeks leading up to our trip. I had made the trip north before but it was over 10 years ago.
The big fish draw fisherman from all around so you have to keep that in mind when making the trip as you won’t be fishing alone.
The area experienced a good bit of rain 3 days prior to our departure which worked well for us as it brought fresh fish in from the lake. The salmon will run up the tributaries to spawn and the brown trout and steelhead will follow them. The brown trout spawn as well and the females are full of eggs. They make their journey out of Lake Ontario and up the tributaries when the water temperature starts to cool and the water levels rise.
On our first day of fishing we struggled as the water was still up and the fish were still running. You had to look close under the water to see them but they were there, then gone in a flash. Their instincts tell them to run when the water is up and that’s exactly what they were doing. I looked at Jason and said “how are we going to catch these things?” as they were moving at a high rate of speed and weren’t stopping.
The next day the water had dropped some but it was still up and a tad off color. Once again, we struggled during the morning but things starting clearing up in the afternoon. I noticed another fisherman below us catching fish which added to the frustration. A local walked by and asked Jason if the fish were still running. “Yea a hundred miles an hour” he replied. “When will they stop?” he asked the local.
The nice fellow informed us that things would be better that afternoon. He asked Jason if we were going to be fishing the next day and when he told him yes, he smiled and said you’ll do much better tomorrow. Finally, Jason managed to pull a nice brown trout out of a small slot he found. The fish will run through the deeper areas and along the edge of the seams. If you look closely you can find pinch points which is exactly what he found.
There were a couple more browns in there but they were tucked up tight under an overhanging treetop that was in the water which made it almost impossible to cast to. The water had finally dropped to a level where the fish were stopping to rest. We worked our way up the creek and came to a popular hole. I knew it was popular by the well-worn path beat down to the mud running beside it. I noticed a foam line and a back eddy which was the perfect resting place on the far side of the creek. I waded across and found a pair of brown trout hanging out under the foam line. After a few casts I was finally on the board with a decent hook jawed male.
As daylight faded Jason hooked into a big female that taped out at 32” once we brought it to the net. With day two in the books we were looking forward to day three. That night we discussed our plan of attack and talked about going back to that popular hole where we caught fish. That all changed upon our arrival the next morning when there were already 8 vehicles parked.
We debated where to go when I remembered watching that fellow below us catching fish when we weren’t. “I think we should go downstream to where I watched that guy catch at least 3 fish” I said to Jason. Jason agreed and off we went. After a brief walk, we popped out and there was no one in sight. I made a bee-line to a nice run in the bend and it didn’t take long to see why that fellow spent all day fishing there.
The sun was just coming up over the treetops and I could see into the water as it had cleared up and dropped to the perfect level. I noticed a brown trout turn in the water followed by another. Upon closer inspection I saw numerous brown trout in front of me. I wasted no time and after a few casts I found the first fish of the day. Jason was fishing a hole above me so I slid the net under the brown and admired it before quickly returning it to the water. I moved up to the next fish I saw which was a big one. On my first cast it took, shook its head twice, and shot towards a down tree on the other side of the creek. It broke me off as quick as I hooked it and I stood there dazed and confused. It was easily over 30 inches long.
I tied on and hooked into another brown as Jason made his way down to me. He netted the fish for me and snapped a couple of quick pictures before sending it on its way. In a matter of 15-20 minutes I was already into 3 fish and things were looking up. I looked at Jason and said “we’re staying here all day!” I’m glad those vehicles were parked there and we had to adapt and switch our plans as we both ended up with double digits.
The next morning, and our last day, we walked back down to the honey hole and once again it didn’t disappoint. The action slowed around noon and we ventured downstream to look at a new section of creek and eat lunch. On our way back up fisherman had moved into what ended up being our favorite hole so we had one more trick up our sleeve in that popular hole.
Once again, we slid in before dark and literally on my last cast, last day I hooked into the biggest brown of my life. After a 5-minute battle Jason slid the net under the fish and I’m glad he did as it still had some fight left. The big female taped just over 30 inches long and topped off a great fish, to the Great Lakes. I’m glad Jason invited me to tag along and I can’t wait for next year as we’ve already planned another trip.
