Where the browns at?

BigRothDog · Newbie

Where the browns at?

ChucktheDuck · Senior Member

Hey Man,
You will have a tough time trying to catch a brown at Putah. They seem to be few and far between. So far I have seen two this season but caught zero. The ones I saw were both monsters but they were completely uninterested in anything I had to offer. Try booking a trip with Bono and tell him you are looking for browns. He is probably the only one that knows this place well enough to target browns specifically, if that can be done. Good luck.
chuck

shon42073 · Senior Member

I once saw a huge brown rising around #5, But as chuck stated it didn't want anything to do with what I had to offer. There hard to catch at putah but I'd target the lower sections of the creek.� And I hope you release one if your lucky enough to get one.

JT · Senior Member

I've seen a few browns on Putah over the years, most being bruisers.� It's insane to see a trout as long as your leg sipping midges along the bank.� They're pretty hard to catch, because they've pretty much seen it all.

brian clemens · Senior Member

i was watchin a fishing show on oln or something like that the other night, they was using husky jerks and killing native browns. i think it was in oregan or montana. dont remember. but hey it was killin um there. you never know here. you should try klouser minnows i have seen those things in action and they catch everything. allen at american fly fishing has caught everything from bonefish to steelies strippers florida pea**** bass, red fish, trout, browns, a many many more fish on them. i think its worth a try. if they have seen almost everything that still leaves a few things that they havent seen. you never know.

windknots · Senior Member

Came across this article on Browns in Solano, wonder if these were just planters?

http://www.fishsniffer.com/dbacher/103103solano.html

An article by Peter Moyle mentioned that browns don't successfully reproduce in Putah.� Is this true?� Anyone ever see any brown trout juveniles?

http://bioregion.ucdavis.edu/book/06_Monticello_Dam/06_04_moyle_fish_lberry.html

shon42073 · Senior Member

I've read that fishsniffer article and I'm pretty sure those were planted browns. DFG no longer plants browns in putah because they compete with the native rainbows for food. I disagree with the other article that says browns don't reproduce in putah, thats totally false. An interesting fact about brown trout is that they are very very closely related to atlantic salmon, Hence there latin name salmo trutta wich means salmon trout. Many people say a sea run brown trout is the ultimate game fish, I'd sure like to be able to decide for my self some day biggrin

-- Edited by thecaptain at 15:05, 2007-10-31

windknots · Senior Member

Yeah Captain, I've seen pictures of Atlantic salmon that looked exactly like a brown trout.� The males in particular can have much the same coloring with very similar red dots.

I think the Trinity has some of those sea run browns you've been looking for.�

Xnjb707X · Senior Member

The Trinity river does indeed have a run of sea run browns, The run isn't massive but it is there every year. My grandfather who lives on the lower trinity, and my dad spending his youth and atleast 6 weekends of the year up there. They both have had a handfull of these sea run browns, I just havent been lucky enough to catch one yet, thats ok tho, I'm perfectly happy with catching steelies up there, to catch a sea run brown would just be a bonus.

- Nic -

shon42073 · Senior Member

Nice XnJb I didnt know there were sea run browns in california. Yes, windknots its al most imposiible to tell the difference between a juvenile atlantic salmon and a juvenile brown trout. I just love studying trout. Theres so much to learn about these amazing animals ! Most all trout will go to the ocean if givin the chance, Even cutthroats, I'm not sure about a brookie, technically they are not trout, they are char. Anyone ever heard of a sea run brookie ?

windknots · Senior Member

Yes, the brookies that make the round trip are known as salters and rumour has it that just about any stream with brook trout that empties into the ocean in Maine has a population of salters.� The specifics are very closely guarded secrets for those in the know, its such a limited fishery that you don't hear much about it.� The brookies grow bigger, but from what I've read this means that instead of an 8" brookie you might be talking about a 10 or 12" salter.� Also they tend to stay fairly close to the mouth of the stream.� I would think that things might get a bit bigger up in Canada.� There are still a couple of places on Cape Cod that have sustained runs of salters.

JT · Senior Member

Did you notice the mention of CRAIG Bonovich's Fly Fishing Guide Service in that Fish Sniffer article?� I'm pretty sure those browns in the article were planters.� Up until a couple of years ago they stocked them in the lake.� I know browns spawn in the creek, but I don't know how successfully they do so.� I'm sure Bono�knows more on the subject.

cole · Senior Member

One of the guys at the shop in town was hammering sea run browns on the Klamath last year. The water was so high they could not flyfish however and were using hardware. Brings up an interesting point about salmonids being salt deficient. That's all the fish we're talking about here in case you're weirdface

. My wife was telling me awhile back that all landlocked trout need more salt than they get and actually recycle salt from their waste and reuse it. I don't know where she saw that but it explains the sea run phenomenon.

-- Edited by cole at 21:19, 2007-11-02

JT · Senior Member

I've always heard of sea-run browns on the Trinity, but i just read that the browns of the Trinity are not anadramous.�

flygirl1 · Veteran Member

Saw one brown last week, I think. Was driving from the bridge down to #5 and on the side of the road was this 20 something guy in a tank top holding up this huge brown trout while his girlfriend took his picture. The fish was definitely not a rainbow and had to be at least a 24 inches...it was huge. I couldn't believe the idiot actually took that fish out of the creek. I almost swerved and took him out...it sort of made me sick to my stomach. Can't wait for trout season to close.

youngtalent29 · Member

I used to catch a ton of browns from the fork down. I used rapala's and rooster tails. I never caught those huge one but the biggest i think went 20".

brian clemens · Senior Member

husky jerks work well too

throwinmetal · Veteran Member

I got a small rainbow on a WD40. I had the fly without weight and it was swinging up. The fish slammed it.

From the bridge I moved down the island and tried some small rapids where I saw a guy last week catch some planters. There I saw a big brown shape in the water. It was a huge fish, at least 18". Perhaps this was a brown trout. I kept dropping my zebra midge over his head for 30 minutes but he didn't care. There was maybe two other smaller brown trout in his vicinity. Once the big fish rolled in the moss and stirred up some mud. His sides flashed a pinkish silver. I left him alone and tried for the smaller trout again.

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

Hello all this is Craig Bonovich...I've been called worse!I have too seen many spawning browns in Putah and have caught browns in Putah,but no juveniles that were non planters.Maybe Dr Pete Moyle is right.Personally the last brown I landed at Putah was the big one in the web site's photo album about 3 years ago.And as stated earlier the DFG will no longer plant browns in Putah or LK Solano. Greg aka Craig

chemdoc · Senior Member

I have never been lucky (or skilled) enough to catch a brown in Putah, but two years ago during the cleanup I saw two huge browns on a spawning bed (courtesy of my young mentor Ryan Williams).� My buddy Andan caught a nice 24 incher in Solano in the summer of 2005 while we were stripping woolly buggers, and in�the winter�of 2006 he landed a 29 incher in Putah during one of few days that winter that the creek wasn't blown out from the Glory Hole.

Phil

shon42073 · Senior Member

Summer of 2006 I witnessed a brown that was probably a good 28 inches rising on the back side of the island�at #5 Didn't want nothin to do with my efforts. I think they do alot of there feeding at night.

ConcordBob · Veteran Member

7+ years ago (not sure exactly when), I caught a couple of Browns in the 15-16inch range around access #3.�I did release them. That was the�only time�that I�had fished Putah until this year.

Back then I would use whatever (bait or flies) I had to in order to catch some fish.�I didn't have much luck with flies back then since I never would stick with them and I also hadn't put time into getting educated on fly fishing.

I must admit, Fly Fishing is alot more challenging and enjoyable. I'm glad I converted to Fly only.

youngtalent29 · Member

the biggest brown i caught there was as sun set. i caught it on the edge of the weed beds and its mouth was full of stickle backs.

SuperFlyGuy · Veteran Member

the only kinda brown I get from putah is whe I slip in the mud...... I have NEVER seen a brown trout at putah. Whole bunch of rainbows, but never a brown.. =( I've fished the creek on and off for about 4 years. Im starting to wonder if they are still in there. All the pictures I've seen were all old circa 2003. Anyone have a recent pic of a putah brown?

JT · Senior Member

I haven't seen any recent pictures of browns, but ChucktheDuck and I saw a massive brown within the past month.� It holding in a slow run, and we thought it was a light-colored rainbow until it jumped right in front of us.� The browns are�definitely still there.� There just aren't very many of them.�

chemdoc · Senior Member

I'm curious as to the general area�of the creek where you spotted the brown JT.� I have been told by some that browns never venture above access 3, while others swear they have caught them up by the dam.� Having only seen them at access 5, I am just wondering which view is accurate.

Phil

JT · Senior Member

Without being too specific, the brown was in the vicinity of the dam.� I saw one in the same general area last year in September.� Most of the browns I've seen on the creek have been closer to Lake Solano, though.

SK60 · Senior Member

I am another newbie to the board, but have fished Putah off and on since the late 90's. Back then small planted Browns were fairly common and I remember a polaroid at Pardhesa's of a 15 lb fish caught (supposedly) near the dam on bait. The large fish you have been seeing are getting "old" and will probably start disappearing in the next few years, as the longest recorded Brown life span is 13 years. It is well known that Big Browns are primarily nocturnal feeders and like big bites-at Little Grass Valley near the dam I once watched some 24+ monsters rise from the depths as the hatchery truck delivered its sedated 12 inch rainbows and they� swallowed the� stunned fish whole. The DFG guy said it happened every time he made a drop. Those of you that still have good eyes and a large hair mouse pattern might plop it down in the lair of the beast as the light fades.

dtp916 · Senior Member

brian clemens wrote:

�allen at american fly fishing has caught everything from bonefish to steelies strippers florida pea**** bass, red fish, trout, browns, a many many more fish on them.

Who's Allen? You mean Al?

The only fly Al fishes is a clouser. His version of it, some with circle hooks, most ties with white polar bear fur and chart kraft fur, and some holographic flashabou. This guy catches so many stripers year round its ridiculous. The other fly he fishes is a gurgler, which is usualy for topwater LMB on Clear Lake. He doesn't fish for salmonoids anymore.

�

chemdoc · Senior Member

Thanks JT.� I guess that they are throughout the creek.� By the way, I was fishing upstream from the bridge on the 26th of October and saw someone in the flat water below the dam in a float tube.� Was that by chance you?

Phil