A Couple Driftless Brook Trout

While most people think of brook trout as an eastern species, They are native to the Driftless as well. Unfortunately they have a harder time competing against brown trout in the slow spring creeks common in this area than they do in mountain streams, so they are somewhat rare here.

Luckily, I've found a couple small streams that support them. Interestingly, I've found that the Driftless brook trout are much paler than those in the East. I think this is likely a result of the light-colored stream bottoms common here, but it could also be a genetic difference.

Below are a couple pics of fish I caught last weekend on one of the nearby brook trout streams. Both fish hit streamers. These fish will hit dries, but I find it easier to present a streamer with a downstream presentation.