Why do streamers work so well in Red Brook?

Having read my posts on fishing Red Brook over the years many of you may have wondered why I almost always fish some type of streamer pattern, and very seldom fish any other pattern that will take brook trout in almost every place they are found. Brook trout when hatched in the stream do what most brookies do. They search out the stream for food. Their diets are most anything they can find that they can get in their mouth. The big part of the diet is the small insects, nymphs, worms. As these fish grow some will notice the abundance of small fish that most streams have swimming about. They soon realize that they can get a full belly faster by eating one or two of these small fish then they can eating insects. Red Brook is unique in that it flows into a salt water bay. That bay is a full blown buffet, the variety of food is almost endless. The tattoo is inscribed onto the "salter" that small fish are the thing, the never feel hungry protein source.

On my last visit to Red Brook I saw an incredible sight. In the pool in the first photo which is tide water, I saw these young herring fry. There were hundreds schooling up in preparation for their movement out to sea.

This brook trout which obviously is primed for the the spawn was taken just upstream from the pool with the herring in it. He took the streamer fly with out reservation.

This simple fly shows a likeness to the herring fry. I never fished the fly in the brook but have fished it in the bay. Success was good, and will be much better in the months to come.