Fly Fishing for Brown Trout

Brown Trout

Salmo trutta

Freshwater
Saltwater
Fly Fishing for Brown Trout

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Flies

Alexandra

Ant

Black Gnat

Bloodworm

Blue Damsel


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Rods

AFTMA 3 to AFTMA 7

Where you can find Brown Trout

On this map you see where there were observations of Brown Trout around the world, to give you an idea in which continents, countries and waters you can find this fish species.

Years 2000 until now, source: GBIF

Brown trout come with a built-in bonus. So varied and eye-catching is their colouration that their size becomes an irrelevance. From speckled silvery bars to red-spotted stunners with bellies the colour of butter, there is no such thing as a ‘too-small’ brownie: you’re too mesmerised by their looks to care. 

Wild brown trout are found in rivers and still waters all across the world with an average river fish weighing three-quarters of a pound, while lake fish can go to several pounds. 

Stick to trout fishing’s ‘shoulder seasons’ of March-June and September and you can catch brown trout throughout the day. Come the high season of July and August, however, the brownies will save their feeding energy for the cooler periods of early morning and around dusk, so save your fishing for those times or else on overcast days, when heat isn’t a factor.

How to fly fish for brown trout

Fussy about the water it calls home, brown trout are found in cool, highly oxygenated water; in the faster upper stretches of rivers or chalk streams, or near weirs, where the water is more active and so absorbs more oxygen. They can also be found in unpolluted stillwaters. Many commercial stillwaters, run specifically as fisheries, stock brown trout but that doesn’t make them the easier option when it comes to catching one. Stocked brownies are notorious for disappearing the moment they are introduced to a fishing lake, to the despair of fishery owners and their customers alike.

That same instinct for self-preservation is found in wild browns, too. These are very savvy fish and they are not easily caught. 

Their colours can make them hard to spot (get in the habit of looking for their shadows on the river bed rather than for the fish themselves) and they are easily scared.

You must therefore land your line and fly gently on the water and de-grease your leader so it sinks beneath the surface, where it is less obvious. It can pay to fish just after rain has put a bit of colour in the water, so that the brownies can’t inspect your fly as thoroughly as they might.

These solitary home birds can find a watery lair and stay there for some time, so fish around undercut river banks, overhanging vegetation or fallen trees, especially if there is a nearby current providing a conveyor belt for food. Mid-stream, browns are often found next to submerged boulders, awaiting food.

A large brown trout
A large brown trout

What are the best flies for brown trout?

Brown trout feed deep early in the season, on shrimp, caddis and nymphs, before gradually ascending as water temperatures rise, until they are picking off midges, sedges and up-winged flies on the water’s surface.

So, when deep underwater patterns are called for, try a Hare’s Ear, Pheasant Tail Nymph, Montana Nymph, March Brown Nymph or Peeping Caddis

Traditional wet flies will serve you well on wild trout stillwaters when you fish the shallows or the water around any points of land that jut out into the lake. Try a Black Pennell, Silver Butcher, Invicta or Blae and Black.

And when the brown trout start looking to the surface for their food, put a Griffith’s Gnat in front of them, or an Adams, Elk Hair Caddis or Blue-winged Olive. If the fish are ‘sipping’ in flies just below the surface, use a Shuttlecock or CDC Emerger. And of course: once there is a may fly hatch you'll know. Then it's time to tie on one of the most infamous flies, and they'll go for it like crazy.

Once trout grow beyond 12 inches in length, their attention will also turn to small fish as a food source. Try Woolly Bugger or Zonker patterns to cater for this demand.

More tips for brown trout flies

Want to get a more extensive list of flies? Read our article from the library: best flies for catching brown trout.

Brown trout caught on a may fly
Brown trout caught on a may fly

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Flies that you can use to fly fish for Brown Trout

Alexandra

Ant

Black Gnat

Bloodworm

Blue Damsel

Blue Winged Olive

Brassie

Brown Drake Nymph

Bumblebee

Butcher

Buzzer

Caddis Fly

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View all flies for Brown Trout

Locations where you can fly fish for Brown Trout

New Zealand 🇳🇿

Tekapo Region, Central South Island

Sight fishing in clear mountain rivers and streams

Stream

Brown Trout

Rainbow Trout

France 🇫🇷

La Saâne

Serenity and trout between the cows

Stream

Brown Trout

Sea Trout

New Zealand 🇳🇿

Tongariro River

Big trout in a big river

River

Brown Trout

Rainbow Trout

New Zealand 🇳🇿

Taranaki Region

Immersive sight fishing against a picturesque backdrop

River

Stream

Brown Trout

Perch

Rainbow Trout

Austria 🇦🇹

Zemmbach (Finkenberg)

18km of river among beautiful mountains

Stream

Brook trout

Brown Trout

Rainbow Trout

Germany 🇩🇪

Wiesent

Ample opportunities for all levels to catch trout and grayling

River

Brown Trout

Grayling

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Countries where you can fly fish for Brown Trout

🇦🇹 Austria

🇧🇪 Belgium

🇩🇰 Denmark

🇫🇮 Finland

🇫🇷 France

🇩🇪 Germany

🇮🇸 Iceland

🇮🇹 Italy

🇳🇿 New Zealand

🇳🇴 Norway

🇸🇪 Sweden

🇨🇭 Switzerland

🇳🇱 The Netherlands

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇺🇸 United States

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Guides specialized in fly fishing for Brown Trout

Northern Fishing School

United Kingdom 🇬🇧

Guiding

Workshops

TnT Guided Fly Fishing

New Zealand 🇳🇿

Guiding

James Curley Fly Fishing

United Kingdom 🇬🇧

Guiding

Workshops

Fly Fishing in the Alps

Austria 🇦🇹

Guiding

Brendan Shields

New Zealand 🇳🇿

Guiding

Queenstown Fishing

New Zealand 🇳🇿

Guiding

View all guides for Brown Trout

Articles about brown trout from the library

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Flies

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Identifying trout species: brook, brown, rainbow, sea, marble and cutthroat

Fish

Identifying trout species: brook, brown, rainbow, sea, marble and cutthroat

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Best flies for catching brown trout: a list of 14 flies

Flies

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Locations

Fly Fishing England’s renowned chalk streams

Mention ‘fly fishing’ to most English people and even for those who have never held a fly rod in their lives, a certain image will immediately come to mind.

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