The best time to catch big brown trout is under the cloak of darkness. Here Andy McGovern outlines all you need to know on where to find these big impoundment trout and how to land that true trophy fish on lure and fly.
Targeting big trout has been something of an obsession for me for nearly four decades. I never tire of the thrill and the challenge in pursuing big, buck browns with lure and fly. These world renown sport fish can be caught at all times of the day and night but there is no doubt that fishing under the cover of darkness is the most productive time to land that true giant Salmo Trutta.
I have been experimenting with a number of techniques at different times of year, and varying periods during a 24-hour window. I have spent some lonely evenings with varying results and other sessions, shared with fishing mates, that will stay with me until I am dropped into a box. The formula for success, on paper, actually doesn’t sound to challenging, however it will require time on the water, preparation, and like most facets of life, you need to be prepared to accept failure but mostly importantly learn from these short comings.
The cover of darkness will see the bigger range of browns move into the shallow margins of lakes and the edge of rivers searching for food. With the fear of being exposed to overhead prey completely mitigated, trout will boldly feed in water no more than shin or even ankle deep. Yabbies, beetles, skinks, galaxias, goldfish, shrimps, mice, redfin, small perch, bush rats, and even baby birds are all viable, protein packed food sources from buck brown trout.
Large sweeping bays, interspersed with shallow rocky features are prime big fish haunts at night.
Preparation
One of the keys to success when targeting big browns at night is to undertake a significant amount of preparation during day light hours. Specifically I am referring to finding locations that you can fish confidently at night, as you have a reasonably clear picture in your head of the topography of the area (See: Tech Tip – Identifying and Selecting Prime Areas).
It is important to have anywhere up to ten or a dozen areas that you can fish at night. We have often fished five or six spots without a touch, and then hit the jackpot at location seven or eight on our list. Unfortunately this normally occurs around 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning when your concentration begins to wane and fatigue has begun setting in. For these reasons it always pays to be well rested through the day before a big session at night. We undertake most of our location hunting in the morning, rest in the afternoon, and hit the water an hour before sunset. Identifying a number of likely locations around a lake applies to both land based and boat fishers. For boat fishers safety is paramount and night fishing introduces a rafted of dangers, particular when travelling at speed in the dark. As good as your GPS in your sounder maybe, fluctuating water levels can introduce dangers that may not have been present earlier in the night. Dropping water levels may expose rocks and timber that your boat was able to clear previously. Rising water may result in suspending debris being pushed out into the lake causing numerous floating obstacles to contend with when moving around. The best advice is to take it slow when moving around the lake and always err on the side of slower rather than faster speeds.
Presentations
It goes withou t saying that lure and fly techniques will be equally effective on big browns at night. To be consistently successful on the larger bracket of fish, anglers need to ignore some of the age-old folklores around the subtleties and finesse methods normally associated with trout fishing. I should clarify this point by stating that I am specifically referring to lure and fly selection as well as retrieval styles. Approaching the water and minimising artificial noise should be no different than any other trout fishing situation (See Tech Tip: Tips for Night Time Success).
The key is to use large presentations that displace plenty of water and convey a substantial profile. When considering a large presentation (in trout terms) it is important to not only think about length, but also the depth and width of the lure or fly. These factors should be considered when selecting a presentation, not just on it’s visual appearance out of your tackle box, but how it will swim and preform when “retrieved”. Overall the total mass and profile of the chosen artificial will have a big bearing on the quality of the fish caught.
Adam Chapman with the biggest brown trout the author has seen captured in Australian waters. At 84cm long and a girth of a staggering 54cm, this fish was estimated at between 10.8kg and 11.9kg. It was taken on a large black leech fly slowly retrieved just under the surface.
You will have noticed in the previous paragraph, I mentioned how the presentation swims and preforms in the water when retrieved. This is yet another contributing factor to success and where flies, or large feathered jigs, are often a better choice than a hard body or soft plastic. A large bodied fly or feather jig will appear streamline out of the water. However, once in the water, sudden pauses during the retrieve will cause the feathers to spread and flick outwards off the hook shank. Not only does this mimic an injured baitfish, large insect, or small animal, the substantial profile makes it a highly attractive offering to a large predatory brown trout. The movement of feathers on the fly will also subtly displace water that can be just the trick to convince a cautious fish to eat your offering.
Soft plastics are my mainstay for the bulk of my trout fishing these days. As successful as softies are on trout, the number of large trout, in excess of 60cm, we have taken has meant a change was needed. Although we land several fish per season in this size bracket, the regularity of catches determined that some alterations to our end-to-end approach with softies would be necessary to experience some consistency. Concentrating our efforts through the night has seen a marked improvement in big fish captures. What is of interest is that we have only really needed to tinker with our approach in regards to presentations and retrieval styles. Minnow type body styles with a prominent tail action are without doubt the most success softie. Bulbous paddles and super soft, extended wriggler tails are the dominant feature of the successful plastics. Jig head weight is also critical as most fish are taken from a metre of water or less. One or half gram heads are a nice balance providing enough weight to make a decent cast, yet light enough to allow retrieves to be just under the surface. These weights also reduce snags or that dreaded slim which is often par of the course in trout frequented waters. Unweighted softies are also super effective and when used on finesse tackle can deliver some amazing results.
Regardless of if you opt for a soft plastic or fly, sub-surface and even surface strikes are both common occurrences on big fish. Even an ultra shallow running hard bodied can be effective when worked just under the surface. Floating minnows are the best option, however a shallow running suspender can convert “followers” and only partially interested fish into striking, during a tentative bite period. A large presentation moving high in the water column combine with a substantial profile clear to a trout underneath is what produces our big trout. When lure fishing use a high rod tip position to ensure your presentation tracks high in the water column. Keep an ear out for disturbances around the edges as tailing fish will often cause a ruckus either in pursuit of a small foraging fish or a yabbie frantically trying to make it back to its hole.
The author with a better than average brown taken while working a shallow running beetle imitation through shallow, sub-merged rocks.
Sub-merged yabbie beds are a less obvious feature that will attract big browns at night. These areas need to be identified during daylight hours and to be fished after dark.
If you are prepared to fish through the night and deal with the issues associated with fishing in the dark, then why not give it a red hot crack. Be prepared for a few lean sessions but when it all comes together the quality of the fish will almost always out strip those taken during the day. Remember at night, with significantly reduced vision and often calm conditions, will mean all your other senses will be amplified and provide experiences the daytime “warriors” will miss out on. Big trout are on the cards at night, it is simply up to you to use the hand you have been dealt to your advantage.
Andrew has been fishing the Canberra, Monaro, Snowy Mountains and NSW south coast region for over 40 years and is considered one of the country’s most innovative and competent anglers. He is AFNs most published writer. Along with two extensive books, Andrew has featured in numerous AFN Tactics DVDs. Andrew is currently a Pro Angler with Jarvis Walker Australia and endorses their range of products.
Mud contours that run parallel to the shore can look almost non-descript and unattractive to the uneducated trout fisher. Do not dismiss these types of characteristics of an impoundment as they are offer big trout “highways”.
