Northwest Fishing Reports

I'd like to catch some browns. I can catch rainbows no problem. But what type of bait/lure does a brown generally go after? And where in the lake are they generally found? I have seen them only caught on docks by "accident" with night crawlers or bass lures. But how would one specifically go about targeting them? Thanks.

My favorite lake for browns around here is Pine Lake. In the spring the best way to get them is to fish Rapalas, spoons or night crawlers around the docks, the summer fish all of these deeper towards the middle of the lake unless you are fishing at night fish top water lures and in the fall fish pretty much the same as spring. Good luck.

Pine lake can put out browns...It's tough to get em though no doubt. Anything big that a rainbow won't hit is what you need to throw one. Flatfish/Rapalas/big spoons/Big night crawlers..

The two that I've caught have been off flatfish, one frog colored and one silver...

They also say that the nasty weathered days are the best for fishing for browns, but I'm not sure if you need to be out there freezing and soaking wet to get em..

I like browns, they are my favorite trout. They are aggressive predators who think like a bass. I fish them in many of the same ways I fish bass. A BlueFox spinner cast into a stump field or root ball works well, floating minnow baits like Rapalas and Rebels cast to edge of lily pads. At sunset when the fish are actively feeding on the surface, I will throw a 1/4oz Rat-L-Trap and rip it just below the surface. These all sound unorthodox to trout purists, but they work well for me. Use their predatory instincts against them.

thanks for all the tips. i went out to Green Lake and came close to catching one. tried just about most of the lures you guys suggested. hopefully, i will get one to latch on, instead of just to follow.

For browns, my best luck has been Mineral. There are two dead trees on the far west side of the lake (kinda look like goal posts). I troll back and forth about 40 - 50 yards off them, and get a brown or 2 every time. Not huge, but fun. Oh, and brass finish seemed to work best for some reason.

Have any good luck out there for the browns hookemdanno?

Sam Kafelafish wrote:Have any good luck out there for the browns hookemdanno?

Not yet. Thanks for asking. I came close to catching one at Green Lake a couple weeks ago. It was a nice sized one that followed up a Thomas Buoyant lure. It took me a second to realize what it was. The first thing that came to me was "Walleye?" And I don't know where that came from because I've never even seen one. lol. But then it hit me. It was a brown. Those are very surreal moments. You just kind of look around and go "Did anybody else see that?" Anyway, I was targeting them, and to see one actually follow up my lure was encouraging. Even if he did laugh at me as he nonchalantly swam away.

Unfortunately, I've been too busy to get out again. Maybe I can hit Pine before it closes.

I hit my first brown several years ago on the last open day of the season (Halloween) at Pine...Boy that was fun...

20 incher I believe, we'd been out all morning expecting good fishing, from about 9 am through noon, nothing to show, not even a bite, finally just after 12:30 we had the hit that absolutely buried that rod...

Hit on a size 1 red dick nite oddly enough.

We ended up chasing it since we were thinking it was a huge bow, but unfortunately that shortened the fight

Good luck to you though, those are a pretty looking trout and are very fun fighters too...

I got my first brown on a "Summer Nights at the Park" day on Pine last summer. I was stillfishing with plain powereggs soaked in fish blood. It helps my bait for some reason. Well, I got a huge hit, it held on, and my rod almost snapped because I was trying to play it like a stocker rainbow. Well, I horse it onto the dock somehow, and it is at least 16" fat fishy. He squirms, snaps my leader, fishy go bye bye. I was so mad. I wanted to at least admire it for a second before putting it back.

Interesting that it hit on powerbait. Usually they prefer worms when still fished...

I wonder how many browns still cruise around in Pine Lake. I've released 2 of the 3 fish I've either caught or been in the same boat someone else caught. They haven't stocked Pine with browns for a good 5 years now, hopefully they are naturally reproducing or will restock it soon!

I didn't know the browns were stocked! Never really thought about it. Well, I'm going to try and drag the WDFW in by the ears and make them drink Pine Lake water until they restock it. A regular I know always uses a combonation of organic baits to try and get a brown. He'd have two rods, one for bows and one for browns. Not sure if that was legal though.

There are also a few cutts in Pine Lake that hang around the inlet streams. Are those stocked too?

Nah you can only use one rod. Illegal. Browns I believe were put in around 1999 and haven't been replenished since. So thats why they've managed to grow up to some good sizes. I think the cutts are probably native or someone dumped them in a long time ago. Or the WDFW put in fry or something. Maybe they did stock it I'm not sure. But those cutt's can survive in some nasty water.

Not sure if you know it but some of those little ponds in the front of those communities/neighborhoods in Sammamish carry them (cutts) and bass too.

Check out my post from 8-12-07, My daughter and I caught this brown out of Pine trolling a rapala. link below
http://www.washingtonlakes.com/ReportList.aspx?id=462

flying_soldier wrote:Check out my post from 8-12-07, My daughter and I caught this brown out of Pine trolling a rapala. link below
http://www.washingtonlakes.com/ReportList.aspx?id=462

Geez, that thing's a monster. Some day

that is a huge brown the fattest 1 ive seen for sure all the fish at that like seem to be real fat

I've never tried a brown trout. What do they taste like? Better or worse than a 12" rainbow?

iPodrodder wrote:I've never tried a brown trout. What do they taste like? Better or worse than a 12" rainbow?

Browns usually arnt as good as rainbows. But its personal preference.

I liked mine. But then again I like everything seafood. I'd put them back if I were to catch one. I'd rather get my meal off two nice bows and CnR a really cool fish like a brown, then keep the brown...

Oh. I was just wondering. If I had gotten a response like "They are the best thing since sliced bread!", maybe I would keep a small one. But I will release all browns in the future, knowing their population is low and they aren't as good as salmon.