Colorado Brookies

The brooktrout is such a jewel of a little fish. The bright orange
fins and color, especially in the fall, has to be seen. It is one of
the more spectacular of all of the trouts. In it's natural
distribution it is prized as the native species for those watersheds
and our good friends in Maine to North Carolina share a love affair
with this gem.

In Colorado, the brook trout is thriving as well and, while it seldom
gets very large (there are exceptions) it is abundant and one of the
fish you're likely to encounter here. In Colorado the brook trout is
no longer stocked but it reproduces extremely well and finds its way
up and down watersheds in Colorado. It is prolific in beaver ponds.
The brook trout is a prolific spawner.

The brook trout in Colorado is, generally, stunted and anglers are
encouraged to take an additional bounty (10) of the small brookies, as
part of its management strategy.

A study of the Brook trout in the Mt. Zirkel wilderness shows a swing
towards establishment of the Cutthroat trout there. Cutthroat are the
only native trout in Colorado.

http://www.mountainjaymedia.com/page...ess_area.h tm

The flesh of the Colorado stream born and reared brook trout simply
can not be surpassed. It is delicious and all the more so by its
scarcity in the smaller fish harvested. I once heard this contrasted
to small alpine berries, all the sweeter for where they were found and
appropriately sized in the harsh environment.

The brook trout is often caught in the smallest of streams and rises
eagerly to the dry. In the fall it is extremely aggressive and will
hit a small wet or beadhead with abandon. That said, they can be
particularly sensitive and spooky. One false move in a beaver pond and
they may stop rising for hours.

In man's quest to provide good fishing and eating in Colorado the
brook trout was stocked heavily along with the rainbow and brown
trouts. As we make our way back to a more natural state we might find
ourselves with extreme bountry of these species as we selectively
harvest them we will find ourselves the benefactors of these mis-
stockings.