In many rural Nova Scotia streams and lakes on the Southern and Eastern shores run with dark, tea stained water. Though the water is acidic they hold many brook trout, known locally as speckled trout. In Nova Scotia, many wild brook trout populations are diminished due to low pH levels , high water temperatures and in some areas invasive species such as smallmouth bass, brown trout, rainbow trout and chain pickerel.
But all is not lost, brook trout still thrive in many systems and are readily available to angled by flies, lures or bait. My preferred way to catch these speckled beauties are with flies... hooks dressed with feathers, furs, tinsel, wires, floss, yarns, even metal beads, rubber legs and other synthetic materials. Brook trout can also be found in non-tea stained water. Although my passion is to capture brook trout in tea colored backwoods streams, running from lakes or ponds located in sphagnum filled barrens or bogs. Many lakes and streams in these areas are also laden with granite outcrops. The brook trout caught in these conditions usually posses colorful "speckles" and a dark background coloration due to the color of water and insects eaten by these fish.
Keep in mind, many anglers prefer to release their catches not harvest them. I usually practice catch and release but if spending a few days in the bush I will harvest enough to keep me going for the rest of my stay in the wilderness.. Brook trout have many factors working against them, please consider catch and release. If done correctly it can be very effective in the survival of the released fish, though water temperatures and other factors can determine the survival of the specimen.
Keep your line tight and your creel full,I mean empty
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