We have good fishing here. Lake Superior is really good if you know where to go. And I have a Muskie lake, one mile from the house. And they claim walleye in there, but they elude me for some reason. But it's fun to fish new places. And we had so much fun at Mobridge, we just made it an annual thing. Until the water level dropped so bad, we could not launch the boat.

But some of the lakes around me are fished real bad.

Ditto on the Native Brookies Muley. I used to love it back in my younger years when My buddy and I used to camp along some of Pa.'s remote mountain streams and fish for Brookies. I can still taste the fresh caught Brook trout along with some wild leeks and spuds pan fried in butter. Life was so much simpler back then it d@mn near brings a tear to one's eye thinkin' about it. The problem I have anymore is that I find the little buggers too darn pretty to kill one!

BPS

I'm kind of a die hard old school fly fisherman. I use a bamboo rod and silk line. I only use flies tied with natural materials. I also only use dry flies. Not a snob, it just the way I love to do it.

I'm 99.9% catch and release, but I do make an exception with brookies now and then. The reason is to help out the DOW keep the creeks cleaned out of all the brookies Our native fish is the Greenback Cutthroat, and they starve when so many brookies are grabbing all the food.

So, I see no sense in killing the brookies. I just fill up on them. I don't really like to eat fish. I'm more of a meat eater, but I do make exception for fresh brook trout. (char)

Me Too.....our Trout Season opens April 1st, I have'nt went fishing for them in years, there just too small and stupid and not very good eating. I personally dont like the taste of Trout, there too Fishy Tasting and like you said Pretty.
I do however like to fish the bigger creeks for Steelhed and Browns and Rainbows, I keep mabey less than 1% of what I catch and let the Big Breeders go and enjoy the fight but keep a few small for the Smoker.
I also gave up Turkey Hunting, I know a-lot of you Love Turkey Hunting, but them buggers ar'nt that good eating either. I killed many a Big Longbeard, I used to love Turkey Season. But after taking a bunch of 23-25lbers with 11-12" Beards and 1 1/2"+++ Spurs one can only take so many that are so big as they dont get any bigger.
I then moved to Just Calling for Friends, but after calling in many I felt like why should I call in a bird and watch them go down because of me.
To me a Spring Turkey is a Beautiful Animal and I give them all the Credit in the world for how Savy they are and if Im not going to eat the Dark Meat why hunt them. I mostly Enjoyed to call them in and see them in all there Beauty while they Fanned and showed there stuff, and the Gobbles that sent shivers through my spine, that's what got me going the most.
In my younger days I'd have taken that Turkey without no regrets, or that young immature buck. But today I dont take any animal unless I really really want it and make sure it gets the respect it deserves during the Harvest and on my Dinner Table.
(BP)

I agree that trout taste lousy, but brookies aren't a trout. It's a char, or in the salmon family if you will.

Not sure i'd call them stupid either. Catching a big trout from a tailwater on a fly is not easy. Even harder to land with a small tippet. They'll dive under rocks everytime.

All these trout were caught from a short driving distance from where I live. Not what i'd call small, and not easy on light fly rod gear.

http://www.coloradotrouthunters.com/trophypictures.html

Ya I guess your right, them little Brookies ar'nt stupid there actually pretty darn smart. They see you comming and know your there and wont take the bait no matter how sweet it may be. I can dangle a nice little red earthworm in front of there noses and if they know your there they wont take it, even if Im all camoed out. And after they's seen it all then they practically become uncatchable.
And if you do happen to catch one they always seem to manage to swallow the hook and dont make it so you have to keep em. But it also hurts to have to throw one back when he's too small and you know he's not gonna make it, then the other critters end up with a nice Trout Dinner.
(BP)

A big part of fishing creeks is stealth. I guess it why I like fly fishing, and also still hunting. Being sneaky is a challenge I enjoy.

One thing to keep in mind. Trout face upstream into the current. That could change in an eddy, but the majority of the time they face upstream. So, you have to fish upstream. That way the fish has their backs to you. You cast past them, and let the fly drift naturally into them.

I suppose this would work for a worm too. I never fish with bait, so I don't know. If you use bait you should keep the fish. Most of the time they swallow the hook. That will kill them no matter how careful you try to remove it.

I wasn't really talking about brookies being hard to catch. Especially, in a small creek. I was talking about the big mature browns and rainbows in tailwaters. Like in those in the link I posted. They get a lot of pressure, and become very smart. They learn the difference between a natural fly and a fake one. The fake fly has to look natural in how it moves in the water. Which is hard when it's attached to your leader.

I love the challenge of fly fishing. First you need to know where the fish are holding. Then you have to figure out what flies they're feeding on. Then you need to present that fly to them so it looks natural.