Brown/brook trout

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Fishpdx
Hello everyone, I've been trying to find brook or brown trout around mt hood lakes , with no luck , I've catch and released bunch of rainbows but not yet seemed to find a brook or brown . Is there specific bait or lures to use for them ? I fished clear lake, timothy , frog lake, trillium lake and few other lakes. I fish from the bank with spinners and worms. How would someone locate some brook or browns to cross off my bucket list .
 
troutdude
troutdude
Browns are generally a very early morning—or very late evening—bite. They are largely nocturnal feeders. So angling one hour before sunrise, and an hour, after sunset usually delivers the best results.

Have you tried the Oak Grove Fork (of the Clackamas) where it flows into Lake Harriet? There are browns in there. I’m not sure about Brookies. And be sure to check the regulations…I’m pretty sure that it’s artificial flies and lures only (no bait).
 
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Fishpdx
troutdude said:
Browns are generally a very early morning—or very late evening—bite. They are largely nocturnal feeders. So angling one hour before sunrise, and an hour, after sunset usually delivers the best results.

Have you tried the Oak Grove Fork (of the Clackamas) where it flows into Lake Harriet? There are browns in there. I’m not sure about Brookies. And be sure to check the regulations…I’m pretty sure that it’s artificial flies and lures only (no bait).
That was my next spot to try . Maybe next weekend I'll have time to hit it .
 
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Fishpdx
troutdude said:
Browns are generally a very early morning—or very late evening—bite. They are largely nocturnal feeders. So angling one hour before sunrise, and an hour, after sunset usually delivers the best results.

Have you tried the Oak Grove Fork (of the Clackamas) where it flows into Lake Harriet? There are browns in there. I’m not sure about Brookies. And be sure to check the regulations…I’m pretty sure that it’s artificial flies and lures only (no
Seems like the road is closed there due to fires.
 
troutdude
troutdude
Fishpdx said:
Seems like the road is closed there due to fires.
Bummer. Good thing that you checked first. Although there are 2 roads into Harriet. One comes into the lake on the west side. The other road on the east side. Maybe both are closed though--as they aren't very far apart from one another.
 
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olshiftybiscuits
You can still get to Lake Harriet, you just have to go the long way around Lake Timothy. NF-57 is open from Timothy Dam to the Lake Harriet turnoff. Beyond that, there is a three mile section of road that was washed out by a landslide. The route via 224 will remain closed indefinitely until cleanup is funded. Weather dependent, the 26 to skyline road route stays open until December 1.

Part of the reason you’re not finding any browns on Mount Hood is because they only exist in Harriet and Lost Lake, which is closed for the season. The population in Lost Lake is very small. The population in Lake Harriet is robust, but they’re rarely caught by spin anglers and even more rarely caught from the bank. I fly fish from a small raft, and catch browns on every single outing.

Brook trout live in most of the lakes you mentioned above, but they’re best established in Clear Lake and Lake Timothy. At Timothy, target the north arm and don’t bother with the rest of the lake. The campground is closed, so you’ll have to hike down from the road with a float tube. It takes about 10 minutes. If you don’t have a float tube, you won’t be able to reach the fish. They congregate in the old river inlet channels.

Clear Lake experienced a partial fish kill last winter that severely damaged the Brook trout population, and it’s too low to ethically fish at the moment anyway. Brook trout also prefer flies to spinners or dough bait (all wild trout do), but they’ve got a reputation for hitting silver spinners on the drop while they’re stacking up to spawn. Which they’re currently doing.

The Oak Grove Fork of the clackamas does contain all four species, but in countless trips over the years I’ve only encountered two browns and one brook trout in the stretch between Timothy and Harriet. It’s also only open for six more days and is blown out from all this rain.

Given the forecast, your search for Brook and brown trout on the mountain might have to wait until next year. The roads already have snow on them, and the fish are going to be very difficult to catch as the weather changes. I fish these lakes religiously, and most summer days yield 50-100 fish. When the weather starts to shift, I’m happy to hook a half dozen.
 
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olshiftybiscuits
Also as a general note, please do not fish live bait for wild trout in our local lakes. Live bait has a sky high mortality rate, and you will severely damage the wild trout fisheries by fishing worms in a small lake like Harriet.

Ditch the worms, get yourself some flies. You can cast them with your spinner, under a bubble. They’re more effective for the species you seek, and infinitely more ethical.
 
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troutdude
troutdude
And some comments that made on another archived thread.

"
I've had great success, over the years, with a variation of the technique in this video. Except that my luck was best with Olive Green, Brown, or Black Woolly Buggers. Plus I add a tine BB sized split shot onto the leader. About 12" - 18" above the fly. So that they are creeping along "sub surface".


The real trick, for me, was to go VERY SLOW. Then slow it down even more. Remember NO fly "swims" fast. Not even close. I often let it sit for a few seconds sometimes too. Then retrieve again. Variation seems best, on the retrieve. (SLOWER IS MORE IMPORTANT IN COLDER WEATHER)


The other secret is that I use a Torpedo Bobber. For greater casting distance. You can google it, if you're unfamiliar. And for greater visibility."
 
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Snopro
olshiftybiscuits said:
Part of the reason you’re not finding any browns on Mount Hood is because they only exist in Harriet and Lost Lake, which is closed for the season.
Lost lake is open all year for fishing. The gate is closed so it's a 1/4 mile walk to the lake. Bring a tube, kayak or SUP. Sled and ice auger in a month or two.
 
F
Fishpdx
I think this winter I'll buy myself a fly fishing rod for trout and start learning to fly fish . Seems like everyone says brook love flies
 
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mattsavage
Fishpdx said:
I think this winter I'll buy myself a fly fishing rod for trout and start learning to fly fish . Seems like everyone says brook love flies
Best decision i've made... totally changes the fishing experience.
 
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normf
Fishpdx said:
I think this winter I'll buy myself a fly fishing rod for trout and start learning to fly fish . Seems like everyone says brook love flies
If you do decide to fly fish the Orvis store in Lake Oswego might have a free Fly Fishing 101 class probably closer to spring.
 
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troutdude
troutdude
normf said:
If you do decide to fly fish the Orvis store in Lake Oswego might have a free Fly Fishing 101 class probably closer to spring.
@normf Good looking out!
 
D
DonF
Been a long time since I fished Lost Lake but seem's we used to catch Brook trout in it. Don't go in very far and we used to get them across the lake where the stream comes in. Probably walking that stream and fishing it would work I'd think.
 
Casting Call
Casting Call
troutdude said:
The real trick, for me, was to go VERY SLOW. Then slow it down even more. Remember NO fly "swims" fast. Not even close. I often let it sit for a few seconds sometimes too. Then retrieve again. Variation seems best, on the retrieve. (SLOWER IS MORE IMPORTANT IN COLDER WEATHER)


The other secret is that I use a Torpedo Bobber. For greater casting distance. You can google it, if you're unfamiliar. And for greater visibility."
When you say VERY SLOW do mean the speed of the current? I have gone to the dark side and only fish center pin(ning). It's about as natural speed as you can get. Leech streamers work very well under a float BTW don't forget about the San Juan Worm, and the 16/ th oz white jig head worm very small for trout also imitates natural. use leech for the biggies. Tony
 
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D
DonF
Fishpdx said:
I think this winter I'll buy myself a fly fishing rod for trout and start learning to fly fish . Seems like everyone says brook love flies
I was fishing for them in Colorado years ago witth flys but all theyu would take was wet flys.
 
troutdude
troutdude
Back in the 80’s I fished the ‘chutes below Little Lava Lake and caught dozens on dries.
 

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