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Looking for Trophies?   We have had numerous inquries regarding how to find and catch trophy trout. There are many things to consider. First, trout need three basic things, oxygen, food and protection. Larger more dominant trout in a fishery only need two, oxygen and food. Once a trout becomes 20" or larger it begins to take a dominant place in a water system. As it grows larger and larger its becomes less worried about being a source of food for birds of prey. Basically, a dominant trout goes where it wants to go and when it wants to go. Throughout our days spent on the water, we have observed trophy trout anywhere from 6" of water to 25' of water and fast water and slow. When you are fishing for these fish you need to be observant and fish every bit of water you can. Unless a hatch is coming off, streamers are your best and most efficient way to catch and land trophy sized trout. When you are using streamers fish them fast and aggressive. Often, we fish our streamers up stream to achieve a more natural retrieve and also improve hook setting percentages. Below are some tips and thoughts we have about fishing for trophies. Fish as much water as possible. (When I fish alone I am covering about 3-5 miles of water. Fish it fast and efficiently.) Use 1x or 2x tippet. You're fishing your flies fast. A trout is not going to look at your tippet. They'll be looking at your fly. After you catch a fish over 16" retie your fly. Strikes and playing a fish can put wear on your tippet. Take 30 seconds to retie and you won't dissapoint yourself by breaking off your bext fish. White and Yellow are our favorite colors. Add some red to your patterns. 80% of the flies we use for trophies have a sculpin shaped head. When you catch your trophy, revive it for at least the amount of time you fought the fish. When handling a trout, make sure your hands are wet and keep the fish in the water as much as possible. Make sure the trout swims out of your hands. Use barbless hooks or crimp the barbs down on your flies. You have cleaner hook sets, you protect the fish and yourself and you won't lose more fish. If you fight a fish properly, a barbless hook works as well as a barbed hook. Don't be afraid to go big. A 12" trout will take a 4" pattern. With that ratio a 24" trout will take an 8" pattern easily. Often salt water flies work well for attracting larger brown trout. Use a full sinking line to throw streamers. A sinking line lets you do one back cast and one forward cast to present the fly. A sinking line most importantly gets your fly down to where larger trout usually hold. Trophy citations can be obtained with a witness and a length measurement. On average most states required length for a trophy trout is 18". Contact Information Phone (571) 213-2570 Mailing Address Eastern Trophies Fly Fishing 2755 Savage River Road Swanton, MD 21561 USA E-Mail william@easterntrophies.com Fully licensed and insured.   Home | Guide Services | Locations | Flies | Contact Us | About   Copyright © 2008 Eastern Trophies Fly Fishing. All rights reserved. 2755 Savage River Road • Swanton • MD  • 21561 (571) 213-2570