Big Brown Comin' Down...

I've been itching to fish the Lake Ontario tributaries in New York for a while.  These tribs get great runs of salmon, brown trout, and steelhead each Fall and Winter.  The lake run brown trout fishery is legendary.  It's difficult to pass up the chance to get into 30" brown trout.

Dead drifting egg patterns is the mainstay of fly fishing for these big browns.  But as the evening cooled water begins to warm in the late morning sun and the browns start to get a little more active, don't underestimate just how willing these fish are to hit streamers on the swing.  Between slab browns and fresh steelhead in the systems, you will have tired arms by the end of the day.

Started the trip off right with a 27" hen right out of the gate.

I love the variety in brown trout color patterns.

TOUCHDOWN!

One stream we fished had beautiful resident wild bows as well.  Look at that rose stripe and those rose fins.

Even in slower small runs, don't hesitate to swing a bugger or smaller wet fly from the top of a run.  WHAM!

I knew that switch rod was going to pay off! 

This little hen hammered a swung egg sucking leach.

Just be aware...there are some places in NY that DON'T allow chairs in the stream :-D

And just when you think all you are going to swing up is brown trout...a steelhead crushes your streamer!