Fly Rods
Redington Classic Trout Fly Rod
A smooth, moderate-action rod that is forgiving for new casters and protects light tippet.
Check PriceSpecies / Brown Trout
Trout & Salmon
Brown Trout Fishing
Wary, long-lived trout of rivers and tailwaters. Browns feed most aggressively at low light and turn to streamers and big flies in fall before spawning.
Best Months: Mar to May, Sep to Nov
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Best Flies, Lures & Bait for Brown Trout
Month
8 picks for October.
Parachute Adams #12-20
FlyDry Fly
Shop This FlyBlue-Winged Olive #16-22
FlyDry Fly
Shop This FlyPheasant Tail Nymph #14-20
FlyNymph
Shop This FlyPat's Rubber Legs #4-10
FlyNymph
Shop This FlyWoolly Bugger #2-10
FlyStreamer
Shop This FlySculpin Streamer #2-6
FlyStreamer · Low light and fall.
Shop This FlySuspending Jerkbait 4 to 5 in
LureHard Bait
Shop This LureInline Spinner 1/16 to 1/4 oz
LureSpinner
Shop This Lure
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Rod & Reel
Brown Trout Setup
Brown Trout
Fly 9 ft 5 or 6 wt rod, floating line for dries and nymphs, sink-tip with 0X to 2X for streamers.
Spin / Cast 6.5 to 7 ft light spinning rod, 2500 reel, 6 to 8 lb line. Jerkbaits and inline spinners.
The US
Where to Catch Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Arkansas
Little Red River
The Greers Ferry tailwater at Heber Springs that once produced a world record brown trout.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Arkansas
Norfork River
A short, cold tailwater below Norfork Dam with wade-friendly shoals and big browns.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Arkansas
White River
Cold tailwater below Bull Shoals Dam holding trophy browns. Drift boats and jon boats both welcome.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Cutthroat Trout
Rivers & Streams · California
Lower Owens River
An Eastern Sierra wild trout river below Pleasant Valley Dam, fishable year-round.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Lakes & Reservoirs · California
Mammoth Lakes Basin
Crowley Lake and the Convict area hold big browns and rainbows in the Eastern Sierra.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Lahontan Cutthroat
Rivers & Streams · California
Truckee River
Flows from Lake Tahoe through Reno. Wild trout in the upper canyon, hatchery rainbows below.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Lahontan Cutthroat
Rivers & Streams · Colorado
Arkansas River
Tailwater browns below Pueblo Reservoir and a long wild section through the Buena Vista valley.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Colorado
Blue River
Tailwater below Dillon Dam with big mysis-fed trout below the dam. One of the most technical waters in the state.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Lakes & Reservoirs · Colorado
Eleven Mile Reservoir
High plains reservoir at about 8,600 feet. Rainbow and brown trout from shore and boat, ice fishing in winter.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Colorado
Frying Pan River
A tailwater below Ruedi Reservoir known for big rainbows feeding on mysis shrimp.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Colorado
Gunnison River
A Gold Medal river through the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge with a famous salmonfly hatch.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Colorado
Roaring Fork River
A freestone with Gold Medal water from Basalt to Glenwood Springs that fishes well from drift boats.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Colorado
South Platte River
Tailwater gold medal water at Deckers and Cheesman Canyon. Tiny flies, big trout.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Colorado
Yampa River
Runs through Steamboat Springs, with Colorado River cutthroat in the upper reaches.
Colorado River Cutthroat · Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Connecticut
Farmington River
A cold tailwater with a catch-and-release trout management area and wild brown trout.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Connecticut
Housatonic River
A big Litchfield Hills river with trout in the cold reaches and smallmouth bass in summer.
Brown Trout · Smallmouth Bass
Rivers & Streams · Georgia
Chattahoochee River
A cold tailwater below Buford Dam that holds trout through metro Atlanta.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Georgia
Toccoa River
A tailwater below Blue Ridge Dam with drift boat trout fishing in the North Georgia mountains.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Idaho
Big Wood River
Runs through Ketchum and Hailey, with wild rainbows and browns.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Idaho
Boise River
A tailwater that runs right through the city of Boise, with year-round trout fishing.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Idaho
Henry's Fork of the Snake
Technical spring-fed water at Railroad Ranch. Selective rainbows and some of the best hatches in the West.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Idaho
Silver Creek
Spring creek near Picabo. Slow, picky rainbows on tiny dry flies.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Idaho
South Fork of the Snake River
Tailwater flowing about 64 miles out of Palisades Dam on the Idaho-Wyoming border to its junction with the Henry Fork. Trout densities often run 4,000 to 6,000 per mile, and native Yellowstone and Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat remain a major part of the fishery.
Cutthroat Trout · Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Kentucky
Cumberland River Tailwater
A big tailwater below Wolf Creek Dam with trophy brown trout.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Massachusetts
Deerfield River
A Berkshire tailwater with catch-and-release trout water and wild browns.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Maryland
Gunpowder Falls
A cold tailwater below Prettyboy Dam with wild brown trout near Baltimore.
Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Maine
Kennebec River
Trout water below the dams upstream and a striped bass run in the tidal lower river.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Striped Bass
Rivers & Streams · Michigan
Au Sable River
Birthplace of Trout Unlimited. Holy Water dries and night-time Hex hatches.
Brown Trout · Brook Trout
Rivers & Streams · Michigan
Manistee River
A big river below Tippy Dam with heavy salmon and steelhead runs.
Steelhead · Chinook Salmon · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Michigan
Pere Marquette River
A wild, free-flowing river with salmon in fall, steelhead in winter and spring, and resident browns.
Steelhead · Chinook Salmon · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Missouri
Current River
A spring-fed Ozark National Scenic River with trout in the upper river and smallmouth below.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Smallmouth Bass
Rivers & Streams · Missouri
Lake Taneycomo
A cold tailwater lake below Table Rock Dam near Branson with heavy trout numbers.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Beaverhead River
A narrow, brushy tailwater below Clark Canyon Dam known for large trout.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Big Hole River
A freestone river in southwest Montana with a famous salmonfly hatch and native Arctic grayling.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Bighorn River
A tailwater below Yellowtail Dam at Fort Smith with some of the highest trout densities in the West.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Bitterroot River
Wide, wadeable valley river south of Missoula with heavy caddis and stonefly hatches.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Bull Trout
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Blackfoot River
The river of A River Runs Through It, with native westslope cutthroat.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Clark Fork River
A big western Montana river through Missoula with strong dry fly fishing.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Gallatin River
A fast, scenic freestone through Gallatin Canyon near Bozeman and Big Sky.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Madison River
Fifty-mile riffle famous for salmonfly hatches and wild browns and rainbows below Hebgen and Quake Lakes.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Mountain Whitefish
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Missouri River
Tailwater below Holter Dam from Wolf Creek to Cascade, plus the big trout of the Hauser to Holter reach.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Walleye
Rivers & Streams · Montana
Yellowstone River
Longest free-flowing river in the lower 48. Paradise Valley floats, big dries, and native cutthroat upstream.
Yellowstone Cutthroat · Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · North Carolina
Davidson River
A clear Pisgah Forest stream with selective, hard-fished trout.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · North Carolina
Nantahala River
A cold tailwater with delayed-harvest trout water above the Nantahala Gorge.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · New Hampshire
Androscoggin River
A big river below Errol Dam in the North Country with landlocked salmon and trout.
Rainbow Trout · Brook Trout · Brown Trout
Lakes & Reservoirs · New Jersey
Round Valley Reservoir
New Jersey's deepest lake and one of only two in the state with lake trout.
Lake Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · New Jersey
South Branch Raritan River
Ken Lockwood Gorge, a scenic catch-and-release trout stretch an hour from New York City.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · New Mexico
Pecos River
A mountain trout stream flowing out of the Pecos Wilderness near Santa Fe.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · New Mexico
San Juan River
The Quality Waters below Navajo Dam, a tailwater with huge numbers of large trout feeding on midges.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · New York
Beaverkill River
A birthplace of American fly fishing in the Catskills, with historic pools and hatches.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · New York
Delaware River (Upper)
Wild rainbows on the East and West Branches; demanding dry fly fishing on the Catskills border.
Wild Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Shad
Lakes & Reservoirs · New York
Lake Ontario (Oswego)
Charter and harbor fishing for kings, lake trout, and brown trout on the eastern lake.
Chinook Salmon · Lake Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Oklahoma
Lower Mountain Fork River
A year-round trout tailwater below Broken Bow Dam in the Ouachita foothills.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Pennsylvania
Penns Creek
Pennsylvania's largest limestone stream with wild browns and a big green drake hatch.
Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Pennsylvania
Spring Creek
A State College limestone creek with high numbers of wild brown trout.
Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Pennsylvania
Yellow Breeches Creek
A limestone creek at Allenberry with a famous catch-and-release stretch and white fly hatch.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Rhode Island
Wood River
One of Rhode Island's top trout streams, with wild brookies and stocked trout.
Brook Trout · Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · South Carolina
Chattooga River
A Wild and Scenic River on the Georgia line with delayed-harvest trout water.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · South Dakota
Rapid Creek
A Black Hills trout stream that runs through Rapid City below Pactola Reservoir.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Tennessee
Clinch River
A tailwater below Norris Dam known for big trout and midge fishing.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Tennessee
South Holston River
A tailwater below South Holston Dam with very high numbers of wild brown trout.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Tennessee
Watauga River
A tailwater below Wilbur Dam near Elizabethton with good caddis hatches.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Utah
Green River
The Flaming Gorge tailwater, with clear water and thousands of trout per mile.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
Rivers & Streams · Utah
Provo River
A Blue Ribbon river near Park City and Provo with wild brown trout.
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout
Rivers & Streams · Virginia
Mossy Creek
A private-land spring creek with permit access and large wild brown trout.
Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Vermont
Battenkill River
A classic Vermont trout stream near Manchester, home of the American Museum of Fly Fishing.
Brook Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Vermont
White River
The longest free-flowing river in Vermont with wild rainbows and browns.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Wisconsin
Bois Brule River
A historic Lake Superior tributary with steelhead and brown trout runs.
Steelhead · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Wisconsin
Driftless Area Spring Creeks
Hundreds of miles of spring-fed limestone creeks in southwest Wisconsin with wild brown and brook trout.
Brown Trout · Brook Trout
Rivers & Streams · West Virginia
Elk River
A trout river with catch-and-release water near Webster Springs.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Rivers & Streams · Wyoming
North Platte River
Grey Reef and the Miracle Mile near Casper, with large trout and year-round floats.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Recommended
Gear for Brown Trout
Fly Rods
Orvis Clearwater Fly Rod Outfit
A complete rod, reel, and line outfit that covers most trout water and small-stream bass.
Check PriceFly Reels
Redington Behemoth Fly Reel
A strong, sealed drag at a modest price, made in sizes from trout to saltwater.
Check PriceFly Lines
RIO Gold Fly Line
A trout line that casts dries delicately and turns over nymph rigs.
Check PriceFly Lines
Scientific Anglers Mastery Infinity Fly Line
A smooth-shooting, all-around freshwater line.
Check PriceLeaders & Tippet
RIO Fluorocarbon Tippet
Low-visibility tippet for nymphs and wary fish in clear water.
Check PriceLeaders & Tippet
RIO Tapered Trout Leaders
Nine foot tapered leaders in 3X to 6X for dries and nymphs.
Check PriceWaders & Boots
Simms Freestone Stockingfoot Waders
Durable, breathable waders that hold up to seasons of wading.
Check PriceWaders & Boots
Simms Freestone Wading Boots
Supportive boots with good grip on slick rock.
Check PriceNets & Tools
Frabill Rubber Mesh Landing Net
A fish-friendly rubber net that does not tangle hooks.
Check PriceSunglasses
Costa Polarized Fishing Sunglasses
Polarized lenses cut glare so you can see fish, structure, and flats.
Check PriceFlies
Trout Fly Assortment
A starter mix of proven dries and nymphs for Western and Eastern trout water.
Check PriceBrown Trout Fishing by State
Montana (10)Colorado (8)Idaho (5)Tennessee (3)Pennsylvania (3)Arkansas (3)New York (3)Michigan (3)California (3)New Jersey (2)Connecticut (2)Georgia (2)Missouri (2)North Carolina (2)New Mexico (2)Utah (2)Vermont (2)Wisconsin (2)Oklahoma (1)Massachusetts (1)Rhode Island (1)South Carolina (1)South Dakota (1)Kentucky (1)Wyoming (1)Virginia (1)New Hampshire (1)Maine (1)West Virginia (1)Maryland (1)