Brook Trout

Brook trout are actually a char, and the largest wild brook trout on earth swim in Labrador, the remote lakes of Québec, and a handful of fly-in camps in northern Manitoba and Ontario. Where stream-bred brookies in Appalachia top out around 12 inches, Labrador's lake-dwelling fish push 6 pounds routinely and 8-pound trophies are caught every week during the peak season of late July through August.

Labrador is the pilgrimage destination. Camps like Three Rivers Lodge, Igloo Lake, Riverkeep, and Park Lake operate out of fly-out cabins on systems that see single-digit angler pressure per year. The fish are aggressive and will take mouse patterns on the surface; they'll crush streamers; they'll eat dry flies during caddis hatches. It is, quite simply, the most willing species of trout to eat a fly anywhere on earth.

Best Methods

• ● Mouse patterns on Labrador lakes at sunset
• ● Streamers stripped along drop-offs
• ● Dry flies during caddis and stonefly hatches
• ● Wet-fly swings on connecting rivers between lakes

Gear Notes

6- or 7-weight rods. Labrador camps typically recommend a 9' 6-wt for dries/streamers and a 9' 7- or 8-wt for bigger streamers and wind. Floating lines plus a sink-tip cover most scenarios. 9-foot leaders with 3X–4X for most fishing; 5X on the spookier rivers.